Hydrology Education and Creative Communication Skills

A sound understanding of the subject matter of Hydrology, Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics all require very good communications skills at a University Junior level Engineering Curriculum. Visual, Verbal and Vocal Communications Skills are extremely important for the 21st Century Tech-Savvy Students.

These skills form an essential bridge element between the instructor and the learner. Intelligent utilization of Visual, Verbal and Vocal Communications skills provide great opportunities for the development of a constructive dialog among the learners as well as instructors, In this presentation the author describes how he has incorporated these essential skills while teaching a course in Fluid Mechanics. He also provides an analysis of the assessment data he has collected. Listed below are five important ideas to achieve Creative Communications Skills in the Classroom. 1. Culture of the Classroom: Encourage learners to become open-minded so that they know that the same problem can be solved with multiple modes of approach and different methodologies. Ask them to take "Ownership of Learning."

2. Generate a Respectful Dialog: A positive learning environment can be created when both the instructor and the learner learn to respect each other's space and time. Learning, sometimes is a two - way traffic.

3. Importance of Eye Contact: Positive Body Language, Dynamic Actions and Thoughtful Movements send a strong signal to the inquisitive learner and the instructor should be aware of the importance of eye contact.

4. Promote Active Learning: The need to understand the full objective of the task on hand is an essential element of being a good listener whether it be the instructor or the student learner.

5. Provide Constructive Feedback: This is the most important aspect of Classroom Communication Skills. Correcting mistakes can be implemented in a diplomatic and creative manner instead of being in a direct and confrontational manner.

The author has tried to utilize these ideas and has collected assessment data. In this presentation he provides details as to how to improve student learning using some of the ideas outlined in this paper.