Inappropriate communication used in Colinvale Court Private Nursing Home.
While on my two-week work placement in Colinvale Court Private Nursing Home I think that the communication between staff and clients and staff and other professionals was very effective, because everybody seemed comfortable with everybody else and also that things were being done how they should be. Also the residents in the home had their daily needs met and their self-esteem was not affected by anything that was said or done while they were in the care of the staff.
There were times when inappropriate communication was shown:
- In the mornings when the home tends to become chaotic because of residents getting ready and relatives coming to visit, some residents were ignored for a while, while the carer is carrying out other tasks.
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There were also insufficient activities in Colinvale Court Private Nursing Home to stimulate the residents.
Recommendations for improving interactions
There are a few ways in which interactions can be improved in Colinvale Court Private Nursing Home. These could be:
- There are insufficient activities in the home and to stimulate the residents they could provide more activities on a daily basis to allow residents to interact more often with other residents as well as other members of staff.
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After the activities end residents usually return to their units. If the home set up a TV room it would allow the independent residents within the home to interact with each other more than they do and would also give them more independence and empower them.
Confidentiality.
Confidentiality plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining the trust that effective relationships depend upon. Confidentiality refers to the protection of personal and private details about a client’s situation or condition. A person who is in the situation where personal details have to be given generally consent to this information being made available to a restricted group on a need to know basis. A person can also expect that care practitioners will respect the limits they place on the disclosure of the information outside the care team or for any reason that is not directly linked to the persons care. Disclosure of a person’s private details or information about someone’s condition must only be made available with that person’s explicit consent.
Disclosure of confidential information can and in some cases must be made available.
When required by a court order.
- During social services case conferences dealing with children and childcare matters.
- When one can justify that disclosure is necessary in the wider public interest.
- What a person reveals involves them breaking the law or planning to do so.
- The person tells you that they intend to harm themselves or others.
- They reveal information that can be used to protect another person form harm.
In all care settings the standard of confidentiality should be communicated to the client at the first point of contact. In Colinvale Court Private Nursing Home the standard of confidentiality is excellent. Manual records about clients are kept in a locked filing cabinet, which is kept in a locked office, and only authorised staff can gain access to these particular records. Electronic records, which are kept on clients, are protected by password so again only authorised staff gains access to this information. There is also a policy in place in Colinvale Court Private Nursing Home on the printing of details so that hard copies are not misplaced or seen by unauthorised people. There is also a policy on who is authorised to up – date or make changes to records. This is to prevent information being altered or lost by accident.
Information kept on clients in the school include details such as
- Name.
- Age.
- Date of birth.
- Address.
- Exam grades.
- Intellectual progress.
In the care setting confidentiality helps gain the trust of the client. It does this because it lets the client know that the carer will not pass information on and this will let the client know they can tell the carer how they think and feel.
Confidentiality and a person’s right to confidentiality can also help a person’s self–esteem because the client knows the carer has promised to keep things private and this show the client they are respected and valued by another person.
Confidentiality is a basic human right that has become so important that certain acts have made it a legal requirement that health and social care providers keep client details confidential. Such acts are:
- The data protection acts 1984 and 1998. This act provides individuals with a range of rights including:
-The right to know what information is held and to see and correct the information if necessary
-The right to refuse to provide information.
-The right that information should be accurate and up-to-date.
-The right that information should not be kept for longer than necessary.
-The right to confidentiality – that the information should not be accessible to unauthorised people.
- The access to personal files act 1987 – this only allows people with the appropriate authority to access these files.
- The access to health records act 1990 – this also only allows people with the appropriate authority to access health records.
It is important that confidentiality is maintained in a care setting all the time and for all clients because if it is not they and their families may lose trust and therefore the institution cannot completely provide the care it needs to as they may not be aware of certain clients needs as they will not tell the carers as a result of the lack of trust.
One-to-one interaction
I chose to carry out my one-to-one interaction with Alicia who was the youngest in the class, at 5 years of age.
Barriers to one-on-one communication and how I intend to avoid them.
There are a number of different barriers, which could have an effect on my one-to-one interaction. These barriers could be;
PHYSICAL BARRIERS: (special needs).
Stammers and speech defects: if the person suffers from a speech defect or stammer, I will need to be patient with the person and try not to finish their sentences for them, as this would be seen as intimidating.
Deafness: If the person has a hearing impairment I would have to take into consideration their usual types of communication, which could be; use of written communication, lip reading or sign language I will have to find out beforehand what methods of communication they use, I will have to make sure I am sitting close to the client so they can lip read and remember not to shout at the person.
Blindness: if the person who has a visual impairment or are blind, I will need to make sure I use verbal reinforcement to allow the person to see that I have understood what they are saying. I would do this by saying yes or no instead of nodding or shaking my head as this way the person will be able to hear that I have understood them.
ENVIRONMENTAL: In order to avoid any environmental barriers I must chose a suitable setting to carry out the one-to-one, I will have to consider certain factors such as; noise levels in the area I have chosen. Will there be privacy, will the seating be comfortable and appropriate for the person I am carrying my one-to-one interaction with. This would also include things like is the room too hot or too cold. I will need to avoid both of these factors because if a room is too hot it will make a person feel tired or uncomfortable. To avoid this I would need to open a window if possible to let air circulate the room. Also if a room is too cold it could also make a person feel uncomfortable. To avoid this as a barrier I would have to turn the heating up so that the room would become warmer.
Cultural: (ethnic, religious, and social differences), there may be a number of different cultures and religions within the nursing home, because of this I will not be discriminative towards the person who I carry out my interaction with if they have different beliefs or culture to mine.
Perceptional: (viewing what is said from your own mindset). When a person talks to another person or asks them a question one of these people may take up what the other person has said or asked in a way that it was not intended. I will have to ensure that the person who I carry out my one-to-one interaction understands exactly what I am saying or asking them.
Linguistic: (different languages or vocabulary) if the person I carried out my one-to-one with has a different language from mine this would make the interaction very difficult, as neither of us would understand each other. To try and avoid this as a barrier to my interaction I am going to carry it out with a person who speaks the same language as me as this will enable us to communicate effectively.
Variations in language: (accent, dialect, Slang - jargon – colloquialism) to avoid this as a barrier I will make sure I refrain from using slang in my interaction as the person who I carry it out with may not understand what I mean.
Dress: how a person dresses may have an effect on how they interact with another person. To avoid this as a barrier I will dress quite smartly as it is a health and social care setting, but I to as a result of this could make the person feel uncomfortable.
Factors that influenced my interaction and how I avoided these.
Before I could carry out my one-to-one interaction I had to gain permission fromAlicia’s teacher and parents. I had to do this because Alicia is a young child and it may not have been allowed within the school because of confidentiality reasons.
There are number of factors which influenced my interaction:
Setting: I chose to carry out my one-to-one interaction in the school because I completed two weeks work placement in it. The placement was suitable because I had built friendships with the staff.
Chosen topic: I decided to talk to Alicia about why she was in the hospital and her opinions towards the staff.
Confidentiality: To record the conversation with Alicia I wanted to tape it, but because of confidentiality reasons within the nursing home this was not allowed. While carrying out the interaction I asked a member of staff if they would sit in and observe and also to evaluate my skills as the conversation took place. I asked Miss Carleton who is a care assistant working in the nursing home. In order for her to evaluate what happened during the conversation I compiled an assessment sheet, which she then filled in as the interaction took place.
To enable my one-to-one interaction to be effective I had to make sure there were no factors that would inhibit it in anyway. To do this I asked the teacher if I could carry out my one-to-one in the quite room were the children are taken for reading time and story time. The quite room is a large, bright, airy room that is used when families come to visit residents in the home, because of this it has a homely feel to it and it is easy to get comfortable in. There is a leather suite consisting of a settee and two chairs, which are all situated around a coffee table. It is also set away from all the other units in the nursing home and as a result this should help minimise noise.
Overall I feel that the conversation with Mary went well because I knew her beforehand and I had built a relationship with her. I was able to keep the conversation going and this provided an opportunity to practise my skills. However there were some distractions that caused problems.
Ask mrs Nixon bout transcript.
Transcript of one-to-one interaction.
Below is a transcript of the one-to-one conversation that I had with Mary.
ME- “Hello Mary, how have you been keeping”?
MARY- “I’m fine pet, how have you been”?
ME- “I’ve been good just working away and studying for my exams”.
MARY- “That’s good you need all the qualifications you can get these days to get you anywhere in life”.
ME- “That’s true. Anyway how have your boys been keeping”?
MARY- “They are doing fine, Colin moved house about a few weeks ago and I’ve been down visiting a few times. It’s lovely”!
ME-“That’s good. Where abouts is he living now”!
MARY- “I can’t remember what you call the street but its not that far away from here, so he’s come up in the car and brought me down a few times. Which is good because I can’t walk anywhere these days with my useless legs”.
ME- “Ack! Don’t say things like that they’re not useless. How did your operation on your foot go? You were getting that a few weeks after I left here weren’t you”.
MARY- “Yes it was in January. It didn’t go to bad, I just didn’t like having to stay in the hospital for the couple of days that I did. My foot is alright now I couldn’t walk on it for about 2 months but it’s not so bad now”.
ME- “That’s good to hear”.
ME- “How’s your Tommy getting on now? Has he been up lately to visit you”?
(At this point one of the other residents in the home came into the day room and I had to ask her to leave).
MARY- “That’s woman’s a pain every time you have visitors in she’s in having a nosey. Anyway what were you saying love”?
ME- “I was just asking how your Tommy’s getting on now? Has he been up lately to visit you”?
MARY- “Yes actually you just missed him he’s not that long out the door. He’s getting married in October to his girlfriend I was telling you about. She’s a lovely girl and I think she’s pregnant”.
ME- “Oh that’s lovely you’ll be a granny again”.
MARY- “I know it’s lovely but having the wee children up visiting”.
ME- “You’re going to have to get yourself a new dress and a hat for the wedding”.
MARY- “I know. It’s going to be lovely. They are having a champagne breakfast and everything. It should be a good wee day out and I will get to see all my family in the one place for once”.
ME- “I know what you mean. The only time I ever see my family all in the one place is at Christmas and that’s just chaos”.
MARY- “Speaking of which did you have a good Christmas”?
ME- “I did it was lovely. It was good to get of school for a while even though I was working for most of the holidays. What about yourself did you have a good Christmas”?
MARY- “I did, I went to Colin’s house for my dinner. It was just lovely. And then I came here and the staff put on a Christmas party and there was a wee band in. It was a good night”.
ME- “Did you get any nice Christmas presents”?
MARY-“I did I got a lovely green knitted cardigan, a dress and a bottle of my favourite perfume. Which was nice”.
ME- “That’s good, well listen Mary I will go now and let you get your lunch, I don’t want you missing charlottes lovely cooking. It was nice seeing you again. I’ll call in again sometime to see how you are doing”.
MARY- “Ok pet it was nice seeing you to. Take care of yourself and study hard for exams”.
ME- “Ok Mary, will do. Bye”
MARY- “Bye pet”.
Evaluation and review of the skills used in the one-to-one interaction.
When carrying out my one-to-one interaction with Alicia I asked Mrs Stevenson a teacher who was present during the interaction to complete an assessment sheet to see if I was able to use the skills needed to communicate effectively. These skills have been rated between 1 and 3, 1 representing poor, 2 representing good and 3 representing excellent and the completed sheets have been included at the end of this section.
The skills that I used to use during the one-to-one interaction were:
Non-verbal communication
Maintaining eye contact – I feel that I was able to maintain eye contact the whole way through the one-to-one interaction. I was positioned directly facing Mary. I feel that maintaining eye contact with Mary was an essential part of the interaction as it made her trust me and it showed her that I was interested and cared about the things that she was saying.
Appropriate posture – I feel that I sat upright with the correct posture for most of the conversation with Mary but there were times when I slouched. I think this happened because we were sitting in the day room for a long period of time. I will try to improve this in future interactions by making sure that when I am sitting on a chair talking to a person make sure that I do not slouch and always sit with my back against the back of the chair as this will make me sit straight.
Muscle tension – I feel that my muscle tension was suitable for the situation. It could be seen that I was relaxed during the conversation but not overly relaxed to make it look that I was not interested in what Mary was saying.
Gestures – I do feel that I used gestures appropriately by nodding and smiling during the conversation.
Touch – I feel that I used touch appropriately while carrying out this interaction as I only touched her on the hand where it seemed relevant. This was when we were talking about her missing her school friends.
Verbal communication
Use of open questions – I feel that I used this skill effectively as nearly all the questions that I asked during the interaction were open ended, such as “that’s good where is he living now?” I asked Mary this question about one of her son’s when she told me he had moved house. I asked her this question as it would enable her to talk in depth about her son and it would keep the conversation. I also asked her “how is your Tommy getting on? Has he been up to visit lately?” I did this as I felt that it would give Mary more to talk about and it would allow me time to think of other questions that I could ask from the things that she was telling me.
Closed questions – during the conversation I tried not to use closed questions, as they tend to block conversations rather than keeping it going. I feel that using open questions helped because the conversation ran smoothly and there were no awkward silences between Mary and I.
Use of probes and prompts – I feel I used sufficient probes and prompts. An example of this is when I asked Mary “how’s your Tommy getting on now? Has he been up lately to visit you?” when I asked Mary this question another resident from the home came into the day room and this caused a distraction for Mary she said “that woman’s a pain every time you have visitors in she’s in having a nosey. Anyway what were you saying love?” at this point I then asked her the same question that I had asked her previously allowing the conversation to resume where we had left of. This also showed that I was able to remember where we had left the conversation.
Conveying sincerity – l feel that while I was talking to Mary I was not false and showed my true personality. I feel that this helped this conversation rather than me trying to be false or act in a way that I would not normally act.
Conveying understanding – I feel that I was able to show that I was listening to Mary through the use of gestures, such as nodding my head when I understood. An example of this is when Mary was talking about her son’s wedding and she said “it should be a good wee day out and I will get to see all my family in the one place for once”. I agreed by nodding my head and showed that I understood what she meant by replying with “I know what you mean. The only time I ever get to see my family all in the one place is at Christmas and that’s chaos”.
Voice tone – while carrying out the one-to-one interaction I used a clear slow voice which I feel helped Mary to feel more comfortable as I was not shouting questions at her and I was not talking too fast. I feel I was also able to change the tone of my voice appropriately when she was talking about her sons wedding and the possibility that she may be a grandmother again.
Environment
Heating and lighting: I checked with Mary to make sure that the heating and lighting were suitable for her. I also feel that the heating in the room was correct for the time of day and there was enough ventilation into the room to feel comfortable. The lighting was also appropriate for the conversation to take place as it was not too bright or too dark.
Seating: I feel that the seating was correct for the conversation to take place as it was laid out in a way that helped to make Mary feel at ease with me while we were having the conversation. The coffee table between us also made the conversation seem very informal overall I feel that this had a part to play in why Mary was so open about questions that I asked her.
Overall I feel that the skills I have demonstrated were very good although I do feel that there are some areas, which I could try to improve my skills.
Plan to improve my communication skills in one-on-one interaction.
In order to improve on my communication skills there are a number of different things I could do such as:
I could practice each skill with friends, family and class mates to enable me to carry out the different aspects of communication more effectively.
Before I have carry out an interaction such as the one that I had with Mary, I would find out more about the person, such as interests or hobbies that they may have, as this will give me more insight knowledge which in turn will allow me to talk more during the conversation about these particular interests or hobbies
I will also try to find out if the person has any particular special needs and I will then be able to make suitable adjustments to the room or to things that I may have to do to make the other person feel more comfortable with the interaction.
If I was carrying out an interaction with a person in a room in a busy building I would put a put a sign on the door of the room that we are using saying that there was a private meeting and not to disturb.
Also because I was writing down what was happening during the interaction it was quite hard to observe all the types of communication that were being used and how effectively they were being used in future I would write up what needs to be written after the interaction has taken place as this would prevent distraction for both me and the other person.
If possible, I would like to video tape the interactions to gain a better insight into non-verbal communication and facial expressions that are used and this would allow me to see what skills I need to improve on.
Group interactions.
In this part of my assignment I will be looking at group interactions. As part of my course I must complete two weeks work placement in an early years setting. As I was doing this work placement I decided to carry out a group interaction task in the early years setting because by the second week completing this placement I felt I would know the children and they would know me well enough to enable me to carry this task out successfully.
Within the group of children who would be helping me to carry out my group interaction task they would all share the following features:
They all know each other as they are in the same class.
There will be a feeling of belonging shared by each child in the group.
The children have a common purpose or reason for coming together.
They share a set of beliefs or norms.
Tuckman was one of many theorists to explain the stages that groups often go through. He suggests that most groups go through a process, which involves four stages before they can become an effective group.
These stages are known as:
STAGE 1 – Forming.
STAGE 2 – Storming.
STAGE 3 – Norming.
STAGE 4 – Performing.
STAGE 1: Forming - this is when the people first come together. There may be an introductory period if the people are complete strangers. The forming stage also lets the people in the group know exactly why they are there and what the intentions of the meeting or task are. In the early years setting this stage will allow me to explain to the children what the task is that they will complete and will allow me to make sure that they fully understand what they are being asked to do.
STAGE 2: Storming – there may be power struggles within the group as individuals may contest each other for leadership of the group. There may also be arguments between the people involved as to how certain things should be carried out. During this stage it will allow me to make sure the children know that I will be the main leader but they will all be treated equally and as individuals so that nobody will feel like they need to compete to get certain points across or to gain my attention.
STAGE 3: Norming – at this stage group members develop a set of common beliefs and values. During this stage people usually start to trust each other and develop clear roles. As the children in my group interaction will already know each other as they are in the same class they should already have a sense of trust between each other and also have a clear understanding of what their roles are as I will have already explained this to them.
STAGE 4: Performing – as people share the same values and norms the group is able to perform effectively. People may feel that they are comfortable and belong in the group. With the children this should already be present as they already work together in a group in the classroom but it will allow them to feel more comfortable with the task they have been set to do.
Barriers to group communication.
Certain factors can cause group communication to fail, or at least to be less successful than it could be. Some of the following are factors that can cause barriers because of particular individuals:
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Being concerned with self-image: This could affect any of the children within the group who may be shy about themselves and may feel uncomfortable about being in this situation. If any of the children within the group are shy or have any problem with their self-image I will try to reassure them and let them know they have nothing to worry about.
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Stopping people from expressing their own ideas: if there is a person within the group who tries to stop another child from expressing their own ideas, I will explain to this child that they are not allowed to do this as every child is allowed to have their own ideas and opinions.
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Trying to dominate the discussion: if any of the children in the group try to dominate the discussion I will explain to them that everybody in the group has to have a turn at talking and they will have to allow each child to have their turn so that it is fair.
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Trying constantly to change other people’s opinions: if any of the children within the group try to change other children’s opinions I will try to explain to that child that each child is entitled to their own opinion and they should try to change other people’s opinions.
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Always responding with certainty and force: if there are any children in the group who are being aggressive while responding to the discussion I will explain to them that they should not respond in this manner as it may make other children in the group feel uncomfortable.
All of the explanations given above are barriers to the group communication that may be a result of how people act. Other barriers that may have an affect on the group communication are:
- ENVIRONMENT: where the communication takes place may be a barrier to communication. I will need to carry out my group interaction in a suitable room. This room will need to have the right lighting, heating and seating arrangement, as these will all have an effect on how the person reacts in the situation.
I will avoid having heating as a barrier by, making sure the room is not to hot by opening a window or making sure it is not to cold by turning the heating up.
I will also make sure that the seating is correct during the communication as this shows people that they are all treated as equals and it also shows that I will be the main person during the interaction. There are a number of different ways the seating can be arranged, but to make sure that all the people in the interaction can see each other and see me I will be using the seating plan illustrated below.
Factors that influenced my interaction and how I avoided them.
Before I could carry out my group interaction I had to gain permission from the school and from the parents of the children involved. I had to do this because of child protection laws that state that children are not to be observed or to be involved in any activity unless permission from a parent or guardian is sought.
There are a number of factors which influenced my interaction, these include:
Getting permission: to carry out a group interaction with the children. I will need to get permission from both their parents and the school, as it is illegal to ask a child to participate in something without getting the proper permission from the person/persons’ responsible for the child.
Environment: the environment in which the group interaction was carried out was a factor which influenced the interaction as it needed to be a suitable place to stop the children from being distracted. To make sure this factor did not cause any problems with my interaction I carried out my group interaction in a room of the classroom as it was away from the other children and prevented us from being disturbed.
Seating arrangement: because this has a major influence on how the group will perform as certain seating arrangements may make the children feel that they are not part of the group. Because of this I made sure that the seating was appropriate for this interaction and that none of the children felt unwanted in the group.
Confidentiality: To record the conversation with the group I wanted to tape it, but because of confidentiality reasons within the school this was not allowed. While carrying out the interaction I asked a member of staff if they would sit in and observe and also to evaluate my skills as the conversation took place. I asked Miss Donoghue who is a class room assistant working in the primary school. In order for her to evaluate what happened during the conversation I compiled an assessment sheet, which she then filled in as the interaction took place.
Chosen topic: while carrying out the group interaction I chose to read a book to the boys that they were doing that week in school. I chose this book because I knew that the boys would understand it as they had already read it and that they would be able to answer the questions that I asked about it due to their previous knowledge of the story.
Overall I feel that the group interaction with the children went well as I had got to know them beforehand and this allowed me to feel at ease talking to them.
Group interaction.
I am going to carry out my group interaction in Edmund Rice Primary School where I will be doing two-weeks work placement. I have decided to carry it out here as I will be working with a class of 6 year olds and think this would be a good age group. Before I carry out my group interaction I will have to gain permission from both the parents of the children and the school principal
To do this I had to compile a letter to all the parents of the children I was planning on carrying out the group interaction with and ask them to sign it. (An example of the letter that was given to the parents is attached. See appendix 1).
After gaining permission from the parents of the children who were involved in the group interaction I decided to carry it out in the reading recovery room.
This is a room, which is used to help certain pupils in the school to practice their reading skills. I though this would be a good location to carry out the group interaction as it is away from the classroom and away from the noise of the school and the playground.
I chose 6 children to carry out the group interaction with.They ranged between the ages of six and 11, as this was the age group of the school that I was carrying out my work placement in.
Due to confidentiality reasons all of the names of the pupils who took part in the group interaction are changed in the transcript.
The book that I read to the boys during the group interaction was called bear and the scary night. This book was about a bear that was left behind in a park by its owner and had to spend the night wandering around looking for the boy who had left him behind.
While I was carrying out my group interaction I asked Mrs Donoghue if she would sit in and evaluate the skills that I would use during the interaction. In order for her to evaluate what happened during the conversation I compiled an assessment sheet, which she then filled in as the conversation took place.
Transcript of group interaction
ME - “now boys I’m going to read a book to you and when I’m finished I’m going to ask questions about what happened in the book. Is that ok“?
BOYS - “yes, yes, yes” (shouting)
ME - “because it’s a big book I’m going to use a pointer so you know were I am reading from“.
BARRY - “can we read along with you miss“?
ME - “I’ll read it first and then we can read it again and you can all help me to read it. Ok“?
(After reading the book to the boys I then asked them questions about what happened in the story.)
ME - “now boys I’m going to ask you questions about what happened in the book and I want everybody to take turns and put their hand up when they think they know the answer“.
ME - “who can tell me if it was a girl or a boy who left their teddy behind in the park“?
PEARSE (shouting out without putting his hand up) “it was a boy miss“.
ME - “now Pearse what did I tell you about putting your hand up you have to be fair on the other boys who might know the answer too”
PEARSE - “sorry miss”
ME - “that’s ok but next time put your hand up like a good boy”
ME - “ok next question. What type of animal did bear meet while he was in the park“?
(All the boys put their hand up to answer this question)
ME - “yes Roy”
ROY - “he met an owl miss and the owl tried to help him to get back to his home.
ME - “yes Roy that’s right. Good boy”
ME - “who can tell me what happened after the owl picked up the bear”?
ME- “Sean-Paul”.
SEAN-PAUL - after the bear was picked up by the owl he started to fly about looking for the bear’s house and bear slipped out of his beak and fell into a pond”
ME - “good boy Sean-Paul that’s right he did he fell into the pond and got all wet”
BARRY - “Miss my sister fell into a swimming pool once and she nearly drowned and when my daddy got her out she was all wet”
ME - “that’s terrible Barry. Is she ok now”?
BARRY - “yes miss she’s ok, but my daddy said that that’s why she is afraid of the water now because she nearly drowned”.
ME - “well as long as she’s safe now and she wasn’t hurt that’s the main thing”.
BARRY - “yes miss and she’s not allowed near the swimming pool on her own when we are away on holiday in case she falls in again”.
ME - “that’s a good idea Barry at least that way she won’t fall in”.
ME - “now back to the questions about the book boys and we can talk about other things later”.
ME - “who can tell me what the instrument that the man used to rescue the bear was called”. “Yes Anthony”
ANTHONY - “it was a trumpet miss”.
ME - “well Anthony that’s close it was like a trumpet but it’s actually called a trombone. You blow into it like you do with a trumpet but it has a long bit that pulls out as well to help make the music come out. But you were almost right, good boy for trying”
ME - “who can tell me what the man did with the bear when he took him out of the pond”?
(During the course of this conversation Gerard was very quiet and only put his hand up to answer one of the questions that I asked so I tried to encourage him to answer the next question)
ME- “Gerard will you answer this question for me”?
GERARD - “I don’t know the answer miss”
ME - “make a guess at it Gerard you might get it right and if you don’t it doesn’t matter, One of the other boys will help you out”
GERARD - “Did he bring the bear back to the park bench and leave him there”
ME - “yes Gerard that is what he did, good boy! Well done!”
ME - “Now this is the last question about the book and then we can talk about something else”. “Who can tell me if the boy get his bear back or not”? “Yes Pearse”
PEARSE - “yes miss the boy found his bear the next day on the park bench where he left him and then he took him to a picnic with him”
ME - “Yes Pearse that’s right good boy”
ME - “now boys why don’t we talk about what happened at the weekend” “who wants to go first”?
BOYS - me, me ,me (shouting)
ME - “right if you want to tell me about your weekend you have to put your hand up and I will pick who goes first”
(All the boys put their hands up)
ME - “Roy do you want to tell us about what you did at the weekend”.
ROY - “yes miss. At the weekend I went to my granny’s house with my mummy and my cousin Paul was there and we played smack - down on the play station. It was good fun. And after I went to my granny’s house I went into town with my mummy so she could buy me some new clothes”
ME - “you had a good weekend then”?
ROY - “yes miss, it was good”.
ME - “what is smack - down Roy?”
ROY - “it’s a game that you play on the play station and it has wrestling in it and you get to beat up other players in it, it’s really cool”
ME - “that sounds terrible you beat other people up” “I hope you don’t beat anybody up”.
ROY- No miss just the players in smack - down”
ME - “that’s good”. “Now who wants to go next and tell us about their weekend? Anthony”
ANTHONY - “I went to my granny’s house as well miss but she doesn’t have a play station so I didn’t play smack down like Roy did. I got to go with her to the park but when she was walking her dogs and she let me throw sticks for them to run after”.
ME- “that must have been good fun, was it”?
ANTHONY - “yes miss because Benny (one of his granny’s dogs) kept bringing the stick back to me and I had to keep throwing it for him”.
(The bell rings for the boys to go to lunch and the group interaction has to come to an end)
ME - “right boys that’s the bell for lunch we will have to finish up now and go back to the classroom. Ok”?
SEAN-PAUL - “can we come back down after we have our lunch because I didn’t get to tell you about what I did at the weekend yet”.
ME - “no we can’t come back down because Mrs A will be teaching you lessons after lunch but you can tell me about your weekend on the way up to lunch, ok pet”?
SEAN-PAUL - “ok miss”.
PEARSE - “can I tell you about my weekend on the way up as well miss”?
ME - “yes pet”.
(This was the end of the group interaction as it ran longer than it was supposed to and the bell for lunch rang so we had to finish here
Evaluation and review of skills used in the group interaction.
When carrying out my group interaction with the children I asked Mrs Donoghue a classroom assistant working in the school who was present during the interaction to complete an assessment sheet to see if I was able to use the skills needed to communicate effectively. These skills have been rated between 1 and 3, 1 – poor, 2 – good and 3 – excellent.
The completed assessment sheet has enabled me to see the areas of skills that I will have to address to be able to communicate effectively with other people. It can be viewed on the sheets enclosed.
The skills that were to be met during the one-to-one interaction were:
Non-verbal communication.
Maintaining eye contact – I feel that I was able to maintain eye contact with the children who were talking to me at the different times during the group interaction. I was positioned directly facing the children and feel that this enabled me to maintain eye contact with each child, as it was needed. I feel that maintaining eye contact with each child was an essential part of the interaction as it made them trust me and it showed that I was interested and cared about the answers each child was giving to my questions. From the assessment sheet it can also be seen that Mrs Donoghue also felt that I maintained eye contact throughout the interaction.
Appropriate posture – I feel that I sat upright with the correct posture for most of the conversation with the children but there were times when I slouched. I think this happened because we where in the quiet room for a period of time and I also stood up a few times while asking questions I feel that I had the correct posture when I done this and this was important to show the children that I was interested in the activity.
Muscle tension – I feel that my muscle tension was correct for the situation. It could be seen that I was relaxed during the conversation but no overly relaxed to make it look that I was not interested in what the children were saying. Mrs Donoghue also gave me a 3 for excellent in muscle tension.
Gestures –I feel that I used gestures appropriately when I corrected Pearse for shouting out the answer to one of the questions after I told the boys to put their hand up if they thought they knew the answer to the question.
Touch – I feel that I did not need to use touch while carrying out this interaction. As I felt it was not needed.
Verbal communication.
Use of open questions –I feel I did not use a lot of open ended questions during my interaction as the questions that I asked were mostly about the book and they all had one answer which could not really be expanded on by the boys. There were some open-ended questions used when I asked the boys about their weekend. I think these were used effectively as they were able to discuss their thoughts and the things that had happened over the weekend without me needing to use probes to help them
Closed questions – during the conversation I had to use a number of closed questions, as these were to get answers about the book that was read. I feel I used these effectively as they were worded in a way that the children understood and were able to answer. Examples of closed questions that I used include – “who can tell me if it was a boy or a girl who left their teddy behind in the park?” and “what type of animal did bear meet while he was in the park?”
Use of probes and prompts – I feel that these were used effectively as there was only one occasion when I had to prompt Anthony and I feel I did this effectively. An example of when I used this skill during my interaction was when I was trying to encourage Gerard to answer a question I prompted him by saying “make a guess at it Gerard you might get it right and if you don’t it doesn’t matter. One of the other boys will help you out”.
Conveying sincerity – l feel that while I was talking to the children I was sincere. I also feel that this helped this conversation rather than me trying to be false or act in a way that I would not normally act.
Conveying understanding – I feel that I was able to show that I understood at a number of different points in this interaction and did so effectively. During my interaction I showed that I understood when Barry was telling me about his sister falling into the swimming pool when they were on holiday. I showed I understood what he was telling me by saying “that’s terrible Barry. Is she ok now” and also “well as long as she’s safe now and wasn’t hurt that’s the main thing”.
Voice tone – while carrying out the group interaction I used a clear slow voice which I feel helped the children to feel more comfortable as I was not shouting questions at them and I was not talking too fast so they were able to understand me when I was reading the book. I feel I was also able to change the tone of my voice appropriately there was exciting bits in the book. I feel that this helped to make the book more interesting rather than reading it in a flat tone, which may have made the children lose interest in the story.
Environment
Heating – I feel that the heating in the room was correct as none of the children complained that they were to warm or to cold and the room was also well ventilated so it did not become stuffy.
Lighting – the lighting in the room was appropriate for the conversation to take place it was not too bright and it was not too dark.
Seating – I feel that the seating was correct for the group interaction as it showed that I was the main leader and that the children should follow my instructions. The children where placed in a semi circle on the reading mat in front of me. This did not seem to annoy any of the children, as this is how they always sit when they are listening stories being told by their teacher.
Overall I feel that the skills I used while carrying out the group interaction were appropriate and also effective in this situation. I feel that I helped Anthony to feel more at ease in the situation by encouraging him to answer the question and telling him it did not matter if he got it wrong as long as he tried
Plan to improve my communication skills in the group interaction.
There are a number of different ways in which I could try to improve my communication skills in a group situation, these include:
I could practice each skill with friends, family and class mates to enable me to carry out the different aspects of communication more effectively.
Before carrying out an interaction with a group of people I could find out more about each individual and how each of these get along together as this would show how they are going to act together when they are in a group situation
As I was writing down what was happening during the interaction it was quite hard to observe all the types of communication that were being used and how effectively they were being used in future I would write up what needs to be written after the interaction has taken place as this would prevent distraction for both me and the other people involved.