Page 173 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

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Pedagogy and Communication | 161

episodes focused on support seeking, provision, receipt, processing, and
response.
Supportive interactions between the pedagogue and the pupils have a
typical structure composed of four phases or events that are sequenced in a
characteristic order. These events, in the order in which they typically occur
are: (a) support activation by the pupil, (b) support provision by the ped-
agogue, (c) support receipt and accompanying reactions by the pupil and
(d) responses to the pupil’s reactions by the pedagogue.
Support activation may be intentional (that is, the pupil may seek support)
or unintentional (that is, the pedagogue may notice that the pupil is not doing
well or is looking upset and indicates the need for concern). The term sup-
port seeking is described as support activation when it appears that the pupil
is intentionally acting to elicit support from the pedagogue. Support provi-
sion involves the pedagogues producing messages directed towards assisting
the pupil. A pupil’s reactions encompass immediate behavioural replies, both
verbal and non verbal, to the pedagogue’s supportive message. Finally, the
pedagogue responds to the reactions of the pupil.

Process of Supportive Interaction
First, supportive interaction is a logical structure, a schema or a script or
Memory Organization Packet (MOP) that channels expectations, interpreta-
tions, and actions in support episodes.
Second, supportive communication is naturalistic, requires interaction
analysis, experimental and message perception.
Third, each of the four support events has a variable internal structure
and may consist of anything from a brief bit of behaviour to long complex
behavioural sequence: for example, a pupil’s distracted look in a class to a
series of dysfunctional behaviour. Support activation may consist of a single
simple sigh or a very long multiple narrative like, ‘I am not being able to
cope up with all these. I am a failure. I am useless. I don’t think I can do all
these’. Let us see how support activation extends over multiple turns by this
following example:
Pupil: (Sighing dejectedly)
Pedagogue: ‘Is everything alright?’
Pupil: ‘Not exactly.’
Pedagogue: ‘Would you like to share it with me?’
Pupil: ‘Well.’ (Pause)
Pedagogue: ‘Come on let’s sit together and see what we can do. Let us
discuss and work it out.’
Pupil: ‘Well I have a problem. I cannot express myself clearly. I feel shy
to communicate and as a result my classmates ignore me.’

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