“In one ear, out the other” – most of us heard this as children from an adult, and many of us have probably used the phrase ourselves. As parents, we sometimes wonder how much attention our kids pay to instructions and learning.
Researchers have found that listening is so much more than hearing words. That it should involve an active process of interpreting information and making meaning of those words. Skilled learners have shown specific listening strategies that have led to their superior comprehension. The short of it is, your child can work at becoming a better listener.
Here’s how:
- Skilled learners approach a listening session with a sense of what they want to get out of that session. They have mentally reviewed what they have learned already, a goal for their current session and they make some predictions about what the instructor will say.
- Once the session start, they maintain their focus. They have learned to bring their wandering mind back to the words being spoken, and interpreting what is being said. If faced with something they don’t understand, they don’t let their minds think about it in that moment, but rather make a note of it to review at a later time. They don’t get caught up in the fine details, but rather keep in time with the flow of the talk.
- As they listen, these skilled learners keep evaluating what they hearing and applying to it what they already understand. They are checking their own interpretations against what is being said in the moment to see if they are correct, and they identify they questions they still have to pursue at a later time.
It’s all about “thinking about thinking”. Learners who do this are better at processing and storing new information. They are better at finding the best ways to learn. They are better at reinforcing what they have learned.
