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Back-to-Back Listening

This strategy helps to identify communication skills and to develop them more fully. Knowing that skilled listening is critical to interpersonal communication, students place greater value on listening as a factor in cooperative learning and in successful team work.

Implementation

Before beginning the activity make sure that you have the following:

 

  • A seat for each participant arranged in the back-to-back arrangement
  • Simple drawings such as a house, a sailboat, a tree.
  • A piece of paper for each pair, a writing utensil (pencil is best so they can erase).
  • Something on which to steady the paper (a book, a desk top).

 

Classroom Management

 

  1. Divide students into pairs and have them identify one person in the pair as Student A and the other as Student B.
  2. Set up two lines of chairs positioned back-to-back. All Student As sit on one side (all facing the same direction) and all Student Bs sit in the corresponding chair back-to-back with their partners.
  3. Provide copies of simple drawings to the Bs and plain paper/pencils to the As.
  • Student As must not see the drawings.
  • Each pair should have a drawing unlike their neighbors’ drawings.
Student B, the person with the drawing, must describe to his partner, Student A, how to draw the picture. Student B does not show the picture; but rather just describes it (e.g., “Put the pencil in the bottom left corner and draw a line halfway up the left side of the paper.” After 10 minutes, have each pair compare their pictures. Ask the entire class these questions:
  • What it was like for each of you to conduct this activity?
  • What did both of you observe about each other during the activity?
  • What did you have to do to make this process work?
  • How did you work together to improve the process?
  • Did Student A have to ask questions to understand what Student B was saying?
  • What good speaking and listening communication skills can you say you have now that you have tried this activity?
  • How can you improve those listening skills?

 

Weblink address (URL): 
Learning through Listening
Back-to-Back Listening (Taking It Global)

References

Contributors: 
Richard Audet
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation