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With Minds Wide Open: Confronting the Barriers to Effective Communication in the Classroom

The university classroom should be a vibrant and wholesome learning environment, but the educational process is often short-circuited by elements that have little to do with course content. The effectiveness of student and faculty interactions may often determine the motivation and readiness of students to learn and participate in class discussions. This workshop will examine some of the barriers to learning and consider such important issues as communication style, gender, ethnic, generational, and geographical differences, sociolinguistic considerations, and attitudes towards the disabled.

The objectives of the workshop are to:

  • enable participants to assess and improve their skills in dealing with potential barriers to communication in the classroom
  • suggest resources and teaching techniques that will stimulate learning and discussion
  • exchange ideas and experiences on dealing with diversity in the classroom
  • engage in practical exercises and discussion of case studies to improve awareness and sharpen problem-solving skills.

Workshop presenter: Dr. Frank B. Jones, Tennessee State University 

     WHEN: Saturday, March 10, 2001
           9:00 AM - 2:00 PM 
           Continental breakfast at 8:30 AM 
           Lunch provided 

    WHERE: Library 501 

    Please RSVP to arheins@xula.edu or by calling Arriana at ext. 7512.

DR. FRANK B. JONES has taught college for over 18 years at such institutions as Indiana University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and, most recently, Tennessee State University. For the past seven years, he has taught graduate courses on research, regional and urban dialects, and multicultural education. He has guest lectured and given workshops at Volunteer State College, Augustana College, Lawrence University, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Indiana University at Purdue, Delaware State College, several federal agencies, churches, and elsewhere. Dr. Jones has worked as a rehabilitation counselor for two years at Jewish Vocational Service and served as Director of the African American Cultural centers at Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Jones received his Ph.D. in Folklore, with minors in African Studies and Linguistics. His undergraduate major was in French. He received Language Certificates from the Sorbonne in Paris, the University of Aix-en-Provence, and The Goethe Institute in Berlin. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer who taught English and German in Chad, Africa and developed an Africanized English textbook for use in the Chadian schools.



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