Subject: COMMUNICATION, an important soft skill E O2
I devised this lesson because at the medical device manufacturing company where we went, we saw a work station where medical devices were assembled. There were written instructions at the station how to assemble the device. We were told that:
1. Doing the assembly perfectly was extremely important.
2. They required written instructions to be easily available to whomever was assembling the device, even if they were not the person who normally did the assembly.
3. Quite often, they discovered they needed to improve upon the instructions to make them clearer to the person following the instructions.
Of course, I was not allowed to take home one of their medical devices to share with you, so I have brought items from home that hopefully, will give you some real practice of your communication skills, and a taste of the type of skill that is very important in the work place.
Materials: Rush Hour game
Lesson objective(s): to see if you can clearly explain to another person what they should do
Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs: see, feel, and hear instructions, read instructions
ENGAGEMENT
Describe how the teacher will capture students’ interest. Set up the scenario. You are assembling a life-saving device at E O2 when you are suddenly called away. The device must get assembled, whether you are there or not.
Find out if you have left good enough instructions that someone else who has never done this before can complete your task.
What kind of questions should the students ask themselves after the engagement?
Can I verbally communicate instructions clearly enough for someone else to follow?
Did the other person successfully complete the task?
Could the other person read my writing?
Did I leave out any steps?
Can I follow verbal or written directions?
EXPLORATION
Describe what hands-on/minds-on activities students will be doing.
This activity is similar to assembling a product at a factory.
I used the toy, Rush Hour, by Discovery Toys to be my example.
Student 1 will look at a chart and direct Student 2 how to lay out the cars and trucks on the grid.
Student3 will explain what the object of the game is.
Student 4 will read written instructions to Student 6 who will move the trucks and cars where he/she tells them to.
Victory or confusion?
I used metal 2-piece puzzles that are supposed to be separated. Only a drawing was provided for instructions. There were no words.
Note: I had trouble understanding exactly how to solve these puzzles. Please see if you can figure out how to solve them, and then please explain it to me and others to see if they we can do it as you tell us what to do.
Students will interpret a drawing and write down their own instructions how to get two objects apart.
Volunteers will read their instructions aloud to another student who will try to separate the two objects.
Hmm. Is it easier with both a picture AND instructions?
List “big idea” conceptual questions the teacher will use to encourage and/or focus students’ exploration.
Would your person know what to do to save the day if this were a medical device they were helping assemble while you were away? Why or why not?
What might be a better way to describe an action? Are diagrams helpful?
What other means could you use to make the explanation more clear?
What could you do to improve your handwriting in order to make it more legible?
Our guide at the medical device location told us that problems reading someone else’s handwriting had caused glitches in the correct assembly of a device.
EXPLANATION
Student explanations should precede introduction of terms or explanations by the teacher.
What questions or techniques will the teacher use to help students connect their exploration to the concept under examination?
Did you know that being able to clearly state information is a very important work “soft skill”?
Did you know that having a legible handwriting is considered an important work “soft skill”?
List higher order thinking questions which teachers will use to solicit student explanations and help them to justify their explanations.
How do you think this type of skill might be important in the workplace?
When have you had to use this skill before in everyday life?
ELABORATION
Describe how students will develop a more sophisticated understanding of the concept.
They will see that their ability to express themselves clearly to another individual is a very important skill.
They first must be able to understand the procedure themselves in order to correctly explain it to someone else.
What vocabulary will be introduced and how will it connect to students’ observations?
How is this knowledge applied in our daily lives?
Following a recipe, following driving directions on your Smart Phone, telling someone how to get to your house from their house, assembling a lawn mower.
EVALUATION
How will students demonstrate that they have achieved the lesson objective?
They will successfully direct another student to follow what they tell them to do.
They will successfully do what they are directed to do by another student.
(They will be able to make fewer mistakes at work, and in daily life.)
This should be embedded throughout the lesson as well as at the end of the lesson.