Interpersonal communications as element of learning

Abstract

During the teaching of a learning course in network multiple communications appear, grow as trees that prevent from seeing the forest, until this forest of communications prevents from seeing each of the trees. The learning in network system works as a complex system, where the interventions of every part (pupil or teacher) influence all the rest. This document provides instruments that teachers could use to put in order this forest, to convert this forest into a garden of pleasure for all, facilitating in this way the learning processes.

The teacher/trainer while acts as process facilitator, needs to understand and to handle communications and this ability is necessary both in the semantic level and in the relational level of the communication. This document develops the interpersonal communication competence of the teacher in his relational level. First it introduces a theoretical framework to analyse the interpersonal communications that take place in network learning groups; it then suggests a graphic on 2 dimensions to locate those communications (and roles) and propose an order to make decisions on what to do with those communications. Examples provided came from several learning courses given in network during 2002/2008 for trainers and adult technicians from the European Union and Latin-America.