Nonviolent Communication Summer 2023 (August)

Presenter: Lore Baur, MA, Certified Trainer for the International Center Nonviolent Communication, Teacher and Restorative Practices Ambassador, Iowa City Community School District

Date/time:

• 8 hours Synchronous (Zoom) - August 1, 12:30-2:30 PM; August 3, 8 & 10, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• 7 hours Asynchronous - videos, reflections and readings 

Description: One of our primary ways of connecting with others is through language, whether it is speaking, emailing, texting or even thinking. The way we communicate is born of habit and training from the people we interact with on a daily basis. Patiently bringing attention to specific aspects of our words and thinking can have profound and far-reaching impacts on our world. The more we notice, understand and transform our own communication habits, the more care, clarity, and flexibility we are able to bring to all of our life’s relationships. In the classroom, our skills in speaking clearly and listening empathically are vitally important. With practice and attention, we can communicate in a way that helps us to connect with our students at a deeper level, enabling us to better meet their needs, academic and personal.

In this course we will practice skills to reduce stress and learn to lean into relational challenges. 

• Develop skills to create more trust and cooperation with students, parents, faculty and administration.
• Find creative tools to handle student behavior issues effectively.
• Hear the genuine concerns and real needs of others no matter how they express it. 
• Practice expressing yourself in ways that are more likely to be heard by others.

Required texts:

Rosenberg, M. B. (2015).  Nonviolent communication: A language of life (3rd ed.). Puddledancer Press.

Rosenberg, M. B., & Eisler, R. (2003). Life-enriching education: Nonviolent communication helps schools increase performance, reduce conflict, and enhance relationships. PuddleDancer Press.

Plan of Study:

Session 1:

• • Articulating our experience through observations that are free of evaluations.
  • Feelings as information about myself and the other person.
  • Listening for what matters; connecting with universal human needs - my own and the other person’s.

Session 2:

• • Learning to connect to needs (mine and others) before going to strategies.
  • Empathizing with a strategy.
  • How to hear and express “No.”

Session 3:

• • Four ways we can hear a difficult message.
  • Ways we disconnect from ourselves and others.
  • Making requests of others free from demands.

** Attention: If you wish to use this course for licensure renewal credit, make sure to check with your school district for approval prior to registering for the course.