Q 1

a) Describe the process of communication as it occurs in the classroom  5marks

b) Identify five possible barriers to communication in the classroom and for each barrier make practical suggestions on how each can be mitigated  5 marks

c) Explain what a teacher can do to make class presentations effective  5 marks

Q 2

a) ''The instructional process cannot be effective without the extensive use of a variety of educational media'' Justify this assertion  7 marks

b) '' Explain how the ASSURE model can be applied to improve the process of teaching and learning' 8 marks

A. Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and nonverbal messages. It is a continuous process. A prerequisite of communication is a message. This message must be conveyed through some medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender. He must respond within a time frame. In a classroom, the meaning of communication is related to the messages and counter-messages, which constitute the teaching-learning process. This involves initiation, reception, and response that serve as feedback.

B. Barriers to communication in a classroom:

• Speech and Language Difficulties

Students with unaddressed learning or speech difficulties often struggle to communicate in classroom settings. Some might have trouble comprehending lessons and organizing their thoughts, and others might rely on hand gestures rather than words. Students often shut down, isolating themselves out of fear or embarrassment. This communication barrier can often be overcome by developing individual education plans for struggling students and consulting with special education teachers, parents and counselors.

• Boring Classroom Lessons

Classroom communication breaks down when students are bored, unmotivated or disinterested in their schoolwork. Students don't need to be entertained all day, but teachers should work hard to develop engaging lessons with interesting, relevant activities. Thought-provoking assignments, technology-enhanced lectures and creative projects spur classroom communication and interaction. Outdated, routine assignments and busywork create communication barriers students don't want to interact with their teachers and just want class to be over. Teachers who put energy, enthusiasm and creativity into their lesson plans don't usually have to deal with this communication barrier.

• Personality Differences

Some communication problems stem from personality differences between students and teachers. For example, students who don't want to connect on a personal level with their teachers often avoid communicating with them. This personality dynamic frustrates teachers who attempt to bond with each student, only to find their efforts unsuccessful. Students who crave closeness and acceptance often strive to be the teacher's pet. Teachers and classmates might get irritated with students who brown nose for attention. Personality differences lead to frustration, unhappiness and a lack of communication between students and teachers. Teachers must recognize and understand these personality differences and strive to find a healthy balance, without showing partiality or favoritism.

• Peer Pressure

Peer pressure creates communication problems in the classroom when students respond to teachers by acting funny, cool or disengaged. Students might refuse to build relationships with their teachers in order to maintain their not-so-interested-in-school reputations. Peer pressure can influence classrooms as early as first grade. The best way to combat communication difficulties resulting from peer pressure is to reward positive behavior.

C. Effective presentations in the classroom

• Establish one clear idea.

The conventional wisdom of the past used to be about putting as much information and content into a presentation as possible. It was all about trying as hard as you could to come across as an authoritative figure who truly was a master of the subject. That barely works in higher ed, and certainly is pliable in K-12. Consider that you aren't trying to teach someone everything you know in a short window, but rather making an impression for long-term retention. Focus on one idea with supporting information in a quick period of time.

• Start with a compelling hook.

When you consider the average suggested presentation length is only around ten minutes, you don't have any time to waste. Obviously the specifics of the presentation will vary depending upon the grade level, time of day, content being presented and so on. One thing that won't vary is the need to grab students right off of the bat and have them paying attention from the first few seconds.

As Cision recommends, when the average attention spans have shrunk down to around eight seconds, you know that you need to jump right in with something captivating. Obviously, your presentation needs to have a point and needs to be worthwhile as well, but if you can simply give them something that they actually want to see in the first place, you stand a much better shot of being successful in your presentation. It might not seem like a powerful point but it is true in any context.

You might even do it without noticing, but you still do it constantly. Do your ears ever perk up when someone talks about a certain subject? Or, do you hear someone start a conversation with words that bore you and immediately look for a way out? It's the same thing when it comes to presenting. You only have a few seconds to get it right and hook your class.

• Prioritize-only put in what's important.

Another major item to remember is what you are putting into your presentation as far as content is concerned. If you already understand how important it is to captivate your classroom and capitalize on the short attention spans, it's not a wise strategy to grind the presentation to a screeching halt just so that you can read boring statistics and bland figures. There does need to be some information, but you could read and reference figures without using presentation software in the first place.

• Consider schema and background knowledge.

Familiar images, references, sounds, music, and other bits of information can act as anchors to ground student understanding, as well as disarming some of the intimidation or anxiety new content can represent for some students. Along with focusing on a single idea per presentation, this can go a long way towards making better presentations for students.

• With slides, less is more.

Believe it or not, the most acceptable answer from professionals is that you don't need a lot of slides in a presentation. As Six Minutes Speaking and Presentation Skills suggests, sometimes you don't need any slides. However, if you are going to give a presentation to your class and you need to have supporting information then you can easily do that with a few slides. The short answer is you probably need fewer slides than you think.

If there's too much information, students are instantly going to go from trying to listen to you into a mode where they simply skim the PowerPoint slide. Once they realize it is the same message, the PowerPoint slide is basically worthless. You obviously can put summarizing points, facts, and figures into your presentation. But with that being said, PowerPoint was created as a tool and you need to be comfortable with using it. By having the right type of information in it you can actually enhance the presentation and student retention.

Step-by-step explanation

A. The use of media to enhance teaching and learning complements traditional approaches to learning. Effective instruction builds bridges between students' knowledge and the learning objectives of the course. Using media engages students, aids student retention of knowledge, motivates interest in the subject matter, and illustrates the relevance of many concepts. Media can be used to motivate discussions or lock-in concepts. However, there are a number of important considerations for faculty before they integrate media or ask their students to use or develop media in their courses. This section explores tips for effectively using media, notes a number of common mistakes to be avoided, and describes how to involve students in creating media on their own. The dramatic growth of social media creates new opportunities for engaging students.

B. The ASSURE model is an instructional system or guideline that teachers can use to develop lesson plans which integrate the use of technology and media (Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2008). The ASSURE Model places the focus on the learner and the overall outcome of accomplishing learning objectives. The ASSURE model is an enriched evolution of the ADDIE general model. Although the ASSURE model has six steps, which do not exactly correspond to ADDIE's five, ASSURE also presents design phases, and shares with it the two main features: the initial focus on analysis and the cyclic structure. The peculiar feature of this model is that it is focused on "planning and conducting Instruction that incorporates media" (Heinich, Molenda & Russel, 1993). Its main perspective is on how to integrate media (any kind of media) into instruction in a method capable of producing the desired learning outcomes. Developed by Robert Heinich and Michael Molenda decades ago, the ASSURE model gained popularity because of its use in a popular textbook for educators. It is a well-known instructional design guide that uses the constructivist perspective, which integrates multimedia and technology to enhance the learning environment (Lefebvre 2006). The ASSURE model was modified to be used by teachers in the classroom by Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2008.

Teachers prefer the ASSURE model because it is designed to be used for a few hours of instruction and for each individual student. This model does not require high complexity of delivered media, deep ID knowledge, or high revision of designs (Gustafson & Branch, 2002). The main difference between an inexperienced teacher and an expert teacher is that an expert teacher can easily decide on content, appropriate teaching strategies, and delivery medium. The ASSURE model gives new (inexperienced) teachers a general roadmap to follow to help them think more like expert teachers.