The Art of Successful Communication: Learning Styles and So Much More!

With Sophia F. Dziegielewski, Ph.D., LCSW

How do people learn?How can we maximize learning?

Learning Styles

Different approaches to learning. There is no pure type. Primary learning style is the preferred

style of learning.

In classroom we now often use:

Learner-based learning

Responsibility for learning rests with the student, not the teacher.

Why is it important to know my style?

Your learning style defines how you acquire and process knowledge.

It does not determine how smart you are, only how you trigger development.

Learning Styles

Auditory learners (40%) Visual Learners (50%) Tactile Learners (10%)

Auditory (listen and learn)

Learn from verbal instruction Need phonics (need to understand

what is spoken) Write lightly and not always legible Talk while they write Remember names but easily forget

faces

Auditory Learners

Easily distracted by noise outside of the speaker or presentation

Games and pictures can be perceived as un-necessary and distracting

Auditory Learning

Enjoy presentations that mix music and voice

Auditory Learner: It started with hello

Think about when you met that special someone.

What stays with you?

For me, it started With Hello

Visual (see, write and learn)

Facial expressions are central Need to connect with the other

person Uses color and often remembers

things by the colors Often remember faces but not names Vivid imaginations

Visual Learners

Can see pictures or words in their mind when someone is talking

Think in pictures

How do you remember things?

Describe the day J. F.K. died. Where were you when you heard about

the twin towers on 9/11. Describe an event that really touched

your life?

Something that brought you pleasure and something that brought you pain.

Kinesthetic (whole body learning) or Tactile Learners (fine motor learning)

Learn by doing, experiential learners

Love to practice tasks, role plays Poor spellers Doesn't always hear things well

*All children are kinesthetic learners till around age six

Kinesthetic or Tactile Learners

Touch is critical Love games and simulation exercises Impulsive Want to address most things on a

physical basis Does not want to talk rather wants to

act

Learning Exercise

Where do you fit?

Example 1:

Social Workers

are the bridge between

the person and

the environment.

Back in classroom Teaching example

Defense Mechanisms

Projection Projective Identification

Killing me Softly!

Example 2:

Back in the

classroom Teaching

example

Defense Mechanisms

Projection

Projective Identification

Learning Exercise

IS BE (my example)

IS Be

Invited for Session Together

IS BE model

IS BE His 1

IS BE Hers 2

IS BE His 2

ProcessWhich did you like better? Explanation/Exercise 1 or 2Why do you think you liked one exercise better than the other?

Which example

did you feel was most helpful?

Which example

did others feel was most helpful?

Lessons learned: How do the changes we encounter affect our learning styles? Hearing Impairment Vision Impairment

Mature Adult Learners

Tend to be Self-directed

Have a rich reservoir of experience

Intrinsic need to know or understand something

Take an active role

Try new things Pick things that

interest you

Therapy in Action:Stand-up and Smile at the Ceiling

Maximizing learning.

Using all three learning styles to engage my client.

Learning to find humor in what we do and how others see us.

Enhance Opportunities for Socialization-Need More Socialization

Interact with Children Adolescents

INCORPORATING ADULT LEARNING PRINCIPLES: LISTENING AND

LEARNING

Listening involves: understanding and manipulating the sender, message and receiver.

ENVIRONMENT

Be aware of the physical environment for listening (e.g., distractions, where you sit, how you sit, can you see or hear audiovisuals)

SENDER

Identify speakers and allow yourself to connect

MESSAGE

Identify what the message is and relate it directly to your own experience if possible

RECEIVER

Identify receiver emotional barriers to listening and learning

Johari Window

Recognize areas of concern that may not seem obvious to the self or others

Public

Private

BlindSpot

InnerJungle

Johari Window

Feedback

Known to self Unknown to self

Knownto others

Unknownto others

Adapted from P. Hersey, K.H. Blancard & D.E. Johnson (1996). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing human resources. 7th Edition. p. 308

Disclosure

Summarization

Individual Therapy Group Therapy Individual Communication Group Communication Teaching Homework

Using Self-Disclosure: It is not about you!

Open lines of communication are not about you. It means listening to others.

Don’t Catastrophize!

It could be embarrassing but you will be just fine.

Get up and start again.

MAXIMIZING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Involves feedback and action upon the feedback

Learning is best when it concrete, structured and applied

Recognizing cultural aspects and awareness of differences

Education and objectivity, when the personal and professional cross paths

Sympathy vs. empathy Always build rapport and seek

participation

Top Ten for Successful Communication!

1. Know your strengths, weaknesses, feelings and values.

2. Identify these same factors in others, regardless of whether you agree.

3. Know where your "habit roots" or "expectations" came from.

Know Yourself and Others

4. Become comfortable with the thought of being alone.

5. Recognize and clear up confusing words in conversations that improve communication.

6. Find someone to talk things over with.

7. Rehearse different ways of saying yes and no.

MAXIMIZING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

8. Be aware of the preferred learning style of the those you want to communicate with.

9. Incorporate adult learning principles that can maximize understanding taking into account -hearing and vision.

10. Summarization and never catastrophize!

So What Style Are YOU?Make the most of your communications and NEVER burn that candle on both ends!

Enjoy the Day!

Thank you