Listening is not hearing. It is more than that. Listening is the skill of hearing, comprehending, and properly categorizing what the teacher is teaching for effective recall. It is a skill that students must consistently and intentionally cultivate to be successful learners.
Teachers can help, however. Teachers can cultivate listening skills in their students in the following ways.
Attention
Gain or earn the students’ attention by deportment, kindness, and by grabbing the students’ attention with something interesting (e.g., painting, thoughtful question, addressing them by name, etc.) before getting to the salient points of discussion.
Modeling
Model responsive listening skills for your students. When they speak to you, as much as possible (without being awkward) make eye contact, smile, nod, lean in, give verbal cues (i.e., “uh huh,” “yes,” etc.). Then repeat back to them a summary of what they said (i.e, “So you’re saying….”).
Questioning
Ask students to summarize what has been said, viewed, or read followed by conceptual, definition, and quality questions (e.g., What does X mean? What is the relationship between X and Y?, Is there any testimony to support an argument that suggests X, Y, or Z?, Is it unlikely, possible, probably, or certain that X will A or B?, etc.)