Wk2-Project-Topic2

=== Ann says: Wow, Trevae! I had no idea you struggled with such an experience. I was also bullied, but in a more traditional way. I was hassled for my lunch money every day immediately before History class for an entire semester of my Freshman year and never even considered telling an adult. Finally, I said: "I'm not going to give it to you." The bully (a female!) stopped bothering me and I had no more issues. But, your story illustrates how much it can devastate a young person's life. Thanks for sharing your experience. ===

This was posted by Ann Bumbak to help explain the topic.
Empathetic Listening for Conflict Resolution Training This is our current topic we have chosen as a team to create an instructional design training on. Feel free to post on our discussion page any relevant links and articles that may help us fully understand this topic, as this may be a new subject for a few of us.

//**This is posted by Trevae Golden-Oloye in response to the topic selection. **// //**Thanks Ann for the excellent topic for it digs way to the core of one of my pet peeves! By adults listening, they can show high school students how to avoid conflict in their lives! **//

It is official that our selected topic is “Empathetic Listening for Conflict Resolution Training”. Moreover, keep in mind that we are training principals and teachers to "think" like the targeted audience (high schoolers) so they will take what they learn from our training course back to their schools to train the targeted audience, which are students ranging in age from 12 to 20 years of age.

The reason why this topic is very special to me is, I must admit, that I was once a student of Chicago Public Schools that was a victim of bullying. One day while sitting in my history class a gang of five girls came into the room bothering our middle aged white history teacher...he seemed to be very afraid so I spoke out in his defense. That is when the trouble started. Being raised in the country and visiting every summer they had no idea how strong I was...I took all of them on and picked up something to defend myself as a threat to make them leave the room...and they did! However, I was too scared to go back to school. I dropped out of high school because of that incident. However, due to a empathetic school counselor that took me under his wing, I was able to start at Double E (Employment and Education) located in downtown Chicago. The commute was far from the far south side where I lived; however, the commute to my job (file clerk & proof reader/typist) at Western Electric Company in Cicero, IL was even further. Nevertheless, I made it and I graduated from two high schools. Calumet Evening High and Double E High. So now, you know the whole story. Now, let us teach these teachers how to listen with empathy, like that counselor did for me that ended up changing my life for the better.

This was posted by Ann Bumbak to help explain the topic - Continued:
Empathetic listening is the art of carefully understanding another person's view before entering in to a more thorough discussion.
 * || [|abumbak]

For example, if John is angry and confrontational, we first want to deal with John's anger by asking a set of questions or making neutral statements that are neither aggravating nor confrontational. The goal of empathetic listening is to diffuse emotion and provide support for someone in crisis.

One example:

John: "I hate school." You: "School can be very difficult. Is there something in particular you want to share?" [offers support, probes gently] John: "The teachers play favorites." You: "It sounds like you are seeing people treated unfairly. Is that it?" [Rephrasing, asking for confirmation] John: "They think I am a pothead." You: "I wonder why they would think you are a pothead." [neutral statement instead of question, rephrasing content]

And, so on.

I have some good resources we can use that I will either upload e-files or bring website links. A good place to start with your own research might be reading up on search materials under "crisis intervention techniques", "conflict resolution" and the philosophy of psychologist Carl Rogers (especially "unconditional positive regard"). ||

==The Benefits of Empathic Listening (Salem, 2003)== Empathic listening (also called active listening or reflective listening) is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding and trust. It is an essential skill for third parties and disputants alike, as it enables the listener to receive and accurately interpret the speaker's message, and then provide an appropriate response. The response is an integral part of the listening process and can be critical to the success of a negotiation or mediation. Among its benefits, empathic listening
 * 1) lds [|trust] and respect,
 * 2) enables the disputants to release their emotions,
 * 3) reduces tensions,
 * 4) encourages the surfacing of information, and
 * 5) creates a safe environment that is conducive to collaborative [|problem solving].
 * 1) creates a safe environment that is conducive to collaborative [|problem solving].

Reference: []

=Additional Resources=