Communication (HJ320101) New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3)







Thank you to Joelle Peters who has assisted in the development of written resources and assessments for this communication course

 * The aim of this course is to enable learners to work as effective team members in the horticulture sector and our learners include students studying the New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3) (Amenity),New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3) (Landscape Construction) and New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3) (Arboriculture)


 * This course blends face to face sessions, online learning, and authentic work experiences.
 * Attendance during all practical classes is compulsory, as assessment is taking place.In order to make the best use of learning opportunities, you are expected to attend all face to face learning opportunities and participate in all learning activities – lecturer or student managed. Failure to participate in all learning opportunities may compromise your learning.
 * Feel free to contact the course coordinator if you need help with any of the learning material and/or activities.

Session 1

 * Welcome New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3) (Arboriculture) students!And your first communication class.Communications-easy-what could possibly go wrong?
 * IceBreaker- Dreams.
 * What are we doing here?
 * At the successful completion of this communication course, students will be able to:
 * 1) Cooperate and participate within a horticulture team.
 * 2) Communicate effectively using a range of techniques.
 * 3) Listen and respond appropriately to team members and colleagues.
 * 4) Practise Active Listening skills and following instructions.
 * 5) Use effective, respectful communication techniques.
 * 6) Identify team roles and responsibilities.
 * 7) Engage in cooperative strategies for working in teams.
 * 8) Formulate written, verbal and non-verbal communication strategies.
 * 9) Demonstrate giving and receiving constructive feedback in a team.

To Do Today

 * We will look at what is communication and what are the different types of communication.
 * What is good communication? in the workplace?
 * We will try to identify examples of 1, 1.5, and 2 way communication using a team exercise.
 * What are some barriers to communication and how can we learn to overcome them.
 * Let's work our way through a power point presentation and brainstorm where prompted.
 * There is also an activity that will reinforce the concepts outlined in the power point so you will team up with a class mate and stretch your legs.
 * We will then prepare our kawa kawa leaves which will be part of your team work exercise-I am thinking 5 teams of three? Or ?

Session 2

 * Welcome and attendance.
 * Today we will be focusing on active listening and teamwork.Many of you will belong to a team - a good example of being able to work in a team would be outrigger canoeing. The waka will not move smoothly thru the water and reach a destination without the whole crew knowing what their role is and working together.
 * What did we do last week ?
 * Please let me know if you find any interesting videos or resources about communication? Here is one I found helpful about how to improve communication with seven unique tips.

To Do Today

 * Watch powerpoint presentations which will spark discussion and activities to do with today's class.
 * At the end of todays class we should have a better understanding of the following:
 * 1) We will be able to recognise the different aspects of active listening.Watch this helpful powerpoint that defines active listening and how to be an active listener.
 * 2) We will be able to understand that listening is an active process.
 * 3) We will able to identify basic roles within a team and begin working productively in a small team.Watch this helpful powerpoint that defines team work and gives helpful tips on how to be part of a team.
 * 4) Have a basic understanding of the Belbin RolesWhat role or roles do you think best suits your skill set?
 * Plants are creative, unorthodox and generators of ideas. If an innovative solution to a problem is needed, a Plant is a good person to ask. A good Plant will be bright and free-thinking. Plants can tend to ignore incidentals. The Plant might be caricatured as the absent-minded professor/inventor, and often has a hard time communicating ideas to others. Multiple Plants in a team can lead to misunderstandings, as many ideas are generated without sufficient discernment or the impetus to follow the ideas through to action. Plants can also create problems with the timing of their ideas. The fact that the team has decided on a valid way forward and is now in the implementation stage will not stop the Plant from coming up with new solutions and disrupting the implementation process.
 * The Resource Investigator gives a team a rush of enthusiasm at the start of the project by vigorously pursuing contacts and opportunities. He or she is focused outside the team, and has a finger firmly on the pulse of the outside world. Where a Plant creates new ideas, a Resource Investigator will quite happily appropriate them from other companies or people. A good Resource Investigator is a maker of possibilities and an excellent networker, but has a tendency to lose momentum towards the end of a project and to forget to follow things up.
 * A Co-ordinator is a likely candidate for the chairperson of a team, since they have a talent for stepping back to see the big picture. Co-ordinators are confident, stable and mature and because they recognise abilities in others, they are very good at delegating tasks to the right person for the job. The Co-ordinator clarifies decisions, helping everyone else focus on their tasks. Co-ordinators are sometimes perceived to be manipulative and will tend to delegate all work, leaving nothing but the delegating for them to do.
 * The Shaper is a task-focused individual who pursues objectives with vigour and who is driven by tremendous energy and the need to achieve. For the Shaper, winning is the name of the game. The Shaper provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team is kept moving and does not lose focus or momentum. Shapers are people who challenge the team to improve. They are dynamic and usually extraverted people who enjoy stimulating others, questioning norms, and finding the best approaches for solving problems. The Shaper is the one who shakes things up to make sure that all possibilities are considered and that the team does not become complacent. Shapers could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done. Shapers often see obstacles as exciting challenges and they tend to have the courage to push on when others feel like quitting.
 * Monitor Evaluators are fair and logical observers and judges of what is going on in the team. Since they are good at detaching themselves from bias, they are often the ones to see all available options with the greatest clarity and impartiality. They take a broad view when problem-solving, and by moving slowly and analytically, will almost always come to the right decision. However, they can become very critical, damping enthusiasm for anything without logical grounds, and they have a hard time inspiring themselves or others to be passionate about their work.
 * A Teamworker is an oil between the cogs that keep the machine that is the team running smoothly. They are good listeners and diplomats, talented at smoothing over conflicts and helping parties understand one another without becoming confrontational. Since the role can be a low-profile one, the beneficial effect of a Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent, when the team begins to argue, and small but important things cease to happen. Because of an unwillingness to take sides, a Teamworker may not be able to take decisive action when it's needed.
 * The Implementer takes their colleagues' suggestions and ideas and turns them into positive action. They are efficient and self-disciplined, and can always be relied on to deliver on time. They are motivated by their loyalty to the team or company, which means that they will often take on jobs everyone else avoids or dislikes. However, they may be seen as closed-minded and inflexible since they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well-thought-out plans, especially if such a deviation compromises efficiency or threatens well-established practices.
 * The Completer Finisher is a perfectionist and will often go the extra mile to make sure everything is "just right," and the things he or she delivers can be trusted to have been double-checked and then checked again. The Completer Finisher has a strong inward sense of the need for accuracy, and sets his or her own high standards rather than working on the encouragement of others. They may frustrate their teammates by worrying excessively about minor details and by refusing to delegate tasks that they do not trust anyone else to perform.
 * Specialists are passionate about learning in their own particular field. As a result, they are likely to be a fountain of knowledge and will enjoy imparting this knowledge to others. They also strive to improve and build upon their expertise. If there is anything they do not know the answer to, they will happily go and find out. Specialists bring a high level of concentration, ability, and skill in their discipline to the team, but can only contribute on that specialism and will tend to be uninterested in anything which lies outside its narrow confines.

Homework

 * Next week we have the bonsai lady as guest presenter for our three hour session - each of you will be engaging your active listening skills in order to create a bonsai.So brush up on your active listening and be prepared for a dynamic practical session!
 * Check out this video where a bonsai enthusiast explains how a bonsai tree can be valued at two hundred thousand dollars ! Nice little side line for an arborist?

Session 3

 * Welcome and attendance.
 * Today we will be focusing on active listening.
 * To help you fully concentrate on the message that is being communicated and attempting to truly understand it please refer to the following prompts and make notes after the talk/demonstration has concluded:
 * 1) Based on what you heard today, briefly outline the process of creating a bonsai.
 * 2) There are five skills used in active listening: paying attention, showing that you're listening, providing feedback, deferring judgment, and responding appropriately.Which of these five skills were the easiest to use, and why? (You can talk about more than one).
 * 3) Which of these five skills were the most difficult to use, and why? (You can talk about more than one).
 * 4) What barriers to active listening did you encounter, and how might you overcome these in the future?

Session 4

 * Welcome and attendance
 * How will you be assessed on this course?
 * We have an awesome day planned! Today your instructor will be showing you some different activities related to horticulture so you can be observed following instructions, writing instructions and working as a team.
 * Our first activity will be focused on receiving and giving instructions.This activity will be followed by a re cap on team work and then you will will work in teams to do a small presentation.

Receiving Oral Instructions

 * You will receive a series of oral instructions on how to create cyanotypes.Take notes of the instructions as they are given to you, so you can remember what to do at each step.Ask any questions you have about the process before you begin.You will be assessed on how well you understand and carry out these instructions.

Writing Instructions

 * You will also be writing instructions on how to create cyanotypes as you work through this process.Target your instructions at someone who has never tried to make a cyanotype before so explain the context (what are they making), the purpose (why are they making it), and the steps they will need to take.Your instructions should be detailed, in the correct order, and include diagrams/drawings where useful. You will be assessed on how clear your instructions are, and if they would make a cyanotype if accurately followed.

Team Work Practical

 * As a team you will make kawakawa balm. This balm will be bottled and labelled with your team name and branding (name, logo, and slogan). A member/s of your team will have 2 minutes to present your balm and branding to the class in a mini sales pitch in our next session.Clearly and fairly decide what roles people will fill, and what tasks each member will complete. A recipe for making kawkawa balm will be provided for you. You can use a computer to help develop your labels or use labels ,pens and coloured pencils provided.

Session 5

 * Welcome
 * Why are we here? Students have asked why we are doing this course and the answer is it has been developed in response to industry feedback about what kind of people they would like to employ in the arboriculture industry.So employees who are capable of the following:
 * 1) Cooperate and participate within a horticulture team.
 * 2) Communicate effectively using a range of techniques.
 * 3) Listen and respond appropriately to team members and colleagues.
 * 4) Practise Active Listening skills and following instructions.
 * 5) Use effective, respectful communication techniques.
 * 6) Identify team roles and responsibilities.
 * 7) Engage in cooperative strategies for working in teams.
 * 8) Formulate written, verbal and non-verbal communication strategies.
 * 9) Demonstrate giving and receiving constructive feedback in a team.
 * Today our focus is going to be on giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Team Work Practical

 * As a team you will make kawakawa balm. This balm will be bottled and labelled with your team name and branding (name, logo, and slogan). A member/s of your team will have 2 minutes to present your balm and branding to the class in a mini sales pitch towards the end of the session.Clearly and fairly decide what roles people will fill, and what tasks each member will complete.

Session 6

 * Details TBA
 * Welcome