Teacher Questionnaire Teacher Tone of Voice A self-evaluation guide to help teachers understand and become more aware of their

own tone of voice Please Note: This self-evaluation is a general comparison scale. It is not meant to reflect the effectiveness of any teacher.

Directions: Answer each question about yourself honestly (write down your answers on a separate piece of paper). Some questions and/or answers might seem repetitive, but it is important that you answer all questions for an accurate analysis.

1. a. b.

How do you use your tone of voice when you teach? I use whatever tone of voice comes naturally to me when I teach. I try to use my tone of voice to support what I want to say. Most of the time, I am successful.

c. I sometimes focus on my tone of voice when I teach. I do not overemphasize anything with my tone, but I do not think I use negative tones too often. d. I always use a specific tone of voice to help my students know what I am saying. I believe my students understand my tone of voice more than my words.

2. a.

How is body language linked to communication? I do not feel tone of voice has any link to communication.

b. I feel tone of voice is important to recognize, but not one of the top components in the communication process. c. I feel tone of voice is highly important in the communication process, but I also believe some other components take priority at times. d. I feel tone of voice is the main component to communication.

3.

How conscious are your of your tone of voice when working with children?

a. I always am aware of my tone of voice. I am able to adjust my tone of voice to match what I want to portray to my students.

b. I am aware of my tone of voice about 50% of the time. Tone of voice is important, but I focus more on what I am saying rather than how I am saying it. c. I am aware of my tone of voice about 75% of the time. There are times when I get caught up in the moment and am unaware of my tone of voice. d. I am just not that aware of my tone of voice. I am more focused on my words and the lesson I m teaching. I believe students pick up on the words I say more than how I say it. 4. Do you think you can become more aware of your own tone of voice?

a. I already am very aware of my own tone of voice. I would not want someone telling me what I could improve on or what I am doing wrong in their eyes. b. I think I could become more aware of my tone of voice outside of situations; however, I do not see a severe necessity to improve my awareness because I already work hard to match my tone of voice to my words. c. I can always improve on my awareness in regards to my tone of voice. I try to keep it positive, but I would like someone to tell me of my actions in some situations. d. I do not believe I can become aware of something that comes naturally to me. To change my tone of voice based on increased awareness would make my tone of voice unnatural, and I feel some situations that arise would suffer due to unnatural behaviors.

5. How important is it to you to recognize your own tone of voice in order to express more positive/negative emotions? a. I believe it is not too important for me to recognize my own tone of voice when I teach in order to express what I want to say. b. I believe it is important for me to recognize my own tone of voice when I teach in order to express what I want to say. c. I believe it is critical for me to recognize my own tone of voice when I teach in order to express what I want to say. d. I believe it is very important for me to recognize my own tone of voice when I teach in order to express what I want to say.

6. a.

What behavior(s) matches your teaching style the best? I primarily focus on the tone of voice I use as well as my body language when I teach.

b. c. d.

I primarily focus on the words I use and my tone of voice when I teach. I primarily focus on the words I use and my body language when I teach. I primarily focus on the words I use when I teach.

7.

If you were to get frustrated during a lesson, what would you do?

a. I continue with the lesson, but I know my tone of voice would not be too positive due to my frustration; however, I would teach the lesson, trying to adjust my tone of voice when I notice it starts to become negative. b. I continue with the lesson, but I am not happy about it. I try to stay calm, but there might be sometimes when it is hard for me to watch how I say things. c. I make sure to keep my words positive and straightforward. I might have a negative tone of voice such as my voice sounding irritated, annoyed, or frustrated, but students will pick up on these inflections and should try to work harder to work with me to understand the material. d. I put my frustration aside and continue with the lesson possibly making it a little easier to understand, realizing the lesson material might be too complicated for the students. I make sure to stay calm and continue using the practices I know will help all students achieve. 8. How often do you match your tone of voice to the words you use?

a. I always emphasis what I say with what I perceive to be an equal tone of voice. I sometimes try to exaggerate that tone of voice to help my students understand what I want to portray. I ensure my tone of voice does not sound sarcastic. b. My tone of voice comes naturally to me. I cannot change what comes naturally to me.

c. Most of the time, I am aware of my tone of voice and try to match my tone with my words. There might be a few times when I am unable to put a focus on my own tone because I am concentrating harder on something else. d. I know I inflect my tone of voice when I talk, but I m not exactly sure how I match that tone of voice to my words.

9. a. b.

Do you believe tone of voice could help/harm any given situation? No. If anything, tone of voice helps give power to adults. Yes. Both positive and negative tone of voice could have an effect.

c.

Maybe. It depends on the situation and the student.

d. All of the time. Students are great readers of tone of voice and will pick up on that behavior more than anything.

10. How is your body language linked to your students achievement and motivation? a. I believe my students motivation comes from my enthusiasm about the topic, but I believe their achievement and success comes from factors I cannot control. b. I believe my students achievement and motivation has no correlation to my tone of voice; rather, their achievement is linked to their IQ and ability to learn, to comprehend, and to retain the information I present. c. I believe my students feel more open to me when I keep a positive tone of voice, making my students more motivated in my classroom. My students achievement and success come from their ability to take risks within my room. d. I believe that my tone of voice (both positive and negative) has an extreme effect on how motivated and successful my students are in my classroom. The more inflections I use, the higher my students will achieve. Teacher Communication Styles By clivechung 1. Directive. The teacher is demanding, sets high standards, dominates class dis-cussion, and expects students to complete their work. 2. Authoritative. The teacher is enthusiastic, develops well-planned and logically structured lessons with various instructional techniques, and shows a personal interest in students. 3. Tolerant and Authoritative. The teacher forms a close relationship with students, concentrates on teaching, ignores minor disruptions, organizes activities for small group work, and allows for student responsibility and freedom. 4. Tolerant. The teacher fails to challenge students academically, has poorly pre-pared lessons, lacks academic expectations, but does show an interest in the personal lives of students. 5. Uncertain-Tolerant. The teacher assumes little leadership in an unstructured class, ignores students inattentiveness at times, and students don t know what to expect when the teacher does react to misbehavior. 6. Uncertain-Aggressive. The teacher does not explain rules properly; overreacts to student misbehavior; displays unpredictable, unbalanced, and opponent-type behaviors; and permits confused and aggressive disorder in class.

7. Repressive. The teacher may repress students initiatives through sarcastic remarks, grading system or angry outbursts; lessons are structured but not well organized; and students are uninvolved, docile, and fearful. 8. Drudging. The teacher expends a great deal of energy managing the class, does most of the talking, follows a routine, avoids experimenting with new techniques, and looks as if he or she is suffering from work-related burnout.