Active Listening and a “[Hear], Think, Wonder” Strategy – A Case Study

Thom J. Woodward

Introduction

As an audio visual design and sound production teacher, I am always looking for new ways to connect with my students and, more importantly, to facilitate them finding meaning in the concepts that they are learning. Long before we ever discuss anything related to methods and techniques, we focus our attention on design elements (primarily related to audio), the design process, and vision. In this regard, the development of the What is emphasized and is of greater importance than the How. What I want to provide for them is framework for freedom. It is a freedom to observe; to think more deeply; freedom to analyze and be critical; and ultimately, freedom to express themselves and to create. Besides, that is what design is all about.

The notion behind this approach to teaching design is that there are several benefits from not just a purely artistic standpoint but also from a motivational, engagement, as well as academic point of view. In cultivating within the students a sense of freedom to express themselves, along with a designer’s mindset, the goal is that they are developing their own voices (and a spirit of belief in them) (Keller & Deimann, 2018), and that they are further motivated by expectations of success and feelings of accomplishment (2018); that their curiosity is kindled (2018); and that they find meaningfulness in the knowledge gained as it relates to their own goals (2018).

What We Do

For these purposes I have synthesized an active listening exercise, that I primarily employ with Audio Visual Design students, with that of the core concept of the Artful Thinking program illuminated by Tyla Bowers (2020). In this harmonized approach, students are taught that, as an integral part of the design process, active observation is essential to their development of imaginative ideas and to true authenticity. Not only do they draw inspiration from other expressions of art and design but also from the everyday world around them. In a more directed fashion, we do this in class by listening to either a piece of music or an ambient soundscape. The students then derive a story, story idea, or an individual scene from what they hear. In essence, I ask them to “reverse-engineer” a story. In making their observations about the pieces, the students apply the core strategy of Artful Thinking, “See, think, wonder” (Borchardt, 2014). (More accurately for our application, it would be “Hear, think, wonder.”) They are then asked to either share their ideas verbally or within the group chat for everyone else to see. Since incorporating this framework, most students’ observations have become more keen, the details of the stories they are telling are more vivid and reflective, and it appears that more students are more engaged.

Kindled Curiosity

The desired results for these hear, think, wonder active listening exercises is to allow students to engage in the material more meaningfully, give voice to their own creative ideas, and to reinforce within them a framework for more critical thinking across subjects and disciplines on a consistent basis. As sited by Josephine Fleming, et. al, (2015), generating ideas, in and of itself, comes naturally to young people, in particular; however, the effort to improve upon ideas, on a regular or consistent basis, does not come so naturally. In other words, we have to be deliberate, intentional, and consistent in this area.

These activities are very much about deepening within learners a sense of curiosity. According to John Keller and Marcus Deimann (2018), “curiosity is aroused by uncertainty or a desire to close a perceived gap in one’s knowledge due to things such as unanswered questions or unresolved conflicts” (p. 80). It is also important for this arousal of curiosity to consistent (Simsek, 2014). In this way, the wonder aspect of these activities becomes essential to learners motivation to engage in the process, the material, and with each other. With each instance of the exercise, they are being asked to dig a little deeper into their analysis and to ask more, or more thoughtful and probatory, questions. It prompts them to “seek” at a higher level. It not only deepens their individual thoughtfulness, it also enhances their collective ability to collaborate.

In this way, the wonder aspect of these activities becomes essential to learners motivation to engage with the process, the material, and with each other.

Meaningful Relationships

This activity promotes various concepts that are academic, creative, and motivational in nature. Even within each of these areas of interest, this seemingly simple approach to active within the hear, think, wonder strategy is quite impactful in the way of attaching a perceived meaningfulness to the knowledge being learned (Keller & Deimann, 2018). Audio and visual designers are storytellers. And what this activity does is it gives them a framework for freedom of creative and intellectual freedom in which to explore.

In world of audio and visual designers, collaboration is just as important as imagination. Also, as designers, it is oftentimes required of us to “buy into” someone else’s vision. To be successful in helping them to formulate and realize this vision, we have to find our own meaning and voice within the artistic work. For this reason, active listening, alone is not sufficient. Active listening stops at the What. It may even sometimes address the How something is created or recreated. However, by combining active listening with the hear, think, wonder strategy, learners are more apt to find or associate a Why. And of the three, between what, how, and why, the Why is the most poignant, meaningful and permanent.

Richard F. Bowman (2018) states that, “Influential teachers create environments where students want to pay attention by attaching meaning to instructional events through linguistic devices such as stories, metaphors, and emotions. Stories invite students to sense relationships with the whole[.]” (p. 100). The stories that my students derive from truly actively listening to music and ambient soundscapes are their way of attaching meaning and connecting more deeply with the learning experience.

Great Expectations

The key to my instructional design concept with regard to supporting a mindfulness and conceptual approach to audio visual design is as much about empowerment as it is freedom. This approach is especially evident in my implementation of active listening and the hear, think, wonder strategy. It is not uncommon for teachers to use storytelling as a tool to help facilitate understanding and promote meaning. Oftentimes, this is a passive engagement on the part of the students with the instructor playing the role of presenter. “[S]tories are inherently inclusive, breaking down barriers to equity by revealing innate human connections that go beyond external labels" (The Practice Space, n.d.). However, as effective as storytelling can be in many cases in helping students make connections, that is not always the case, as Bowman (2018) suggests. Not all stories are effective a achieving this. Prior knowledge and experience may influence how (or if) a student, or a group of students, is engaged in a story (2018).

This is why the active listening and hear, think wonder strategy is so highly effective at achieving its motivational strategy of supporting both learners’ belief of success in mastery and their anticipation, and experiencing, of satisfying outcomes (Keller & Deimann, 2018). From belief, anticipation and experience is derived expectation. Each student is their own storyteller. At no point do I direct or dictate a story to them. They each derive their own story, complete with characters, locations, time periods, and scenarios, that they are encouraged to share with the rest of the class, either through a verbal explanation or, as we are currently distance learning, within the Zoom chat.

From the very outset, the students have been granted the ability to express their own voice, and moreover, to share. What they usually discover in their sharing is that there is a lot of overlap in the general interpretation of the music or soundscape. However, the details of their stories may be quite different. This makes the shared experience that much more meaningful and collaborative.

Also in support of their belief, experience, and expectation is the fact that, although graded, the students are not graded based on ability, but rather on their full participation in the exercise. There are no wrong answers, only effort and engagement. They are solely in control of the outcome. “Research has shown that the more educators give their students choice, control, challenge, and opportunities for collaboration, the more their motivation and engagement are likely to rise” (Toshalis & Nakkula, 2012, p. 32).

Conclusion

If strategically engaging and motivating learners are indeed essential goals of instructional design, than implementation of any active observation strategy within the framework of see (or hear), think, wonder is a valuable tool. It is easy for the instructor to tailor to any subject matter or classroom environment. It both challenges and empowers learners think more critically in search for deeper, or sometimes shared, meaning. It promotes a learning community within the classroom by giving students voice and requiring instructors to also actively hear, think, and wonder alongside them.

References

Borchardt, S. (2014). Thinking routines [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.pz.harvard.edu/resources/thinking-routines-video

Bowers, T. (2020, October 16). Artful thinking – ways that strengthen student thinking and learning – a case study. IDT520 Strategies For Learner Engagement Case Study Blog.

https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1007/ s11528-015-0830-5

Bowman, Richard F. (2018, May 1). Teaching and learning in a storytelling culture. The

Clearing House, 91(3), 97–102. http://www.doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2017.1373547

Fleming, J., Gibson, R., Anderson, M., Martin, A. & Sudmalis, D. (2016). Cultivating imaginative thinking: teacher strategies used in high-performing arts education classrooms. Cambridge Journal of Education, 46(4), 435–453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2015.1064097

Keller, J.M., & Deimann, M. (2018). Motivation, volition, and performance. In Reiser, Robert A., & Dempsey, John V. (4th ed.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp. 78–84). Pearson Education

Simsek, A. (2014). Interview with John M. Keller on motivational design of instruction. Contemporary Educational Technology, 5(1), 90–95.

The Practice Space. (n.d.). Resource 2: making storytelling inclusive and equitable. https://www.practice-space.org/storytelling_guide/resource-2-making-storytelling-inclusive-and-equitable/

Toshalis, E. & Nakkula, M.J. (2012, September). Motivation, engagement, and student voice. The Education Digest, 78(1) , 29–35.