Hi everyone, and welcome to Unit 1: Foundations of Listening.
This first unit sets the stage for everything we’ll do in this course, because listening isn’t just something we do automatically.
It’s a skill, and even more, it’s a process.
By the end of this unit, you should be able to differentiate between hearing and listening by describing the role of attention and active engagement in making meaning from spoken messages.
To get there, we’ll work on several important sub-skills, including differentiating between hearing and listening and explaining how attention makes listening active.
You’ll also learn to identify and describe the three stages of listening: receiving, understanding, and remembering.
We’ll explore how attention, perception, and memory work together when we listen, and how your schemas—your prior experiences and expectations—shape how you interpret messages.
Throughout the unit, you’ll practice these skills in several ways, starting with a pre-assessment to see what you already know about listening.
You’ll watch short videos that break down the science of hearing, attention, memory, and listening, and complete interactive knowledge checks to apply new concepts.
You’ll also complete hands-on assignments like the Stages in Action Timeline, where you’ll map out the listening process in your own words.
In the Schema Spotlight assignment, you’ll reflect on how your background experiences shaped the way you interpreted a message.
The unit concludes with your Unit 1 Major Assessment, More Than Words: Analyzing the Listening Process.
In this assignment, you’ll analyze a real-world scenario from class, work, or your personal life and show how hearing, listening, attention, and memory all played a role.
You’ll present your analysis by creating a short video, such as a TikTok, Reel, or Substack-style video, for a specific audience you choose.
So why does this matter? Because listening is everywhere, and the difference between hearing and truly listening can change outcomes.
Listening actively helps you succeed in the classroom, avoid mistakes in professional settings, and build trust and stronger relationships in your personal life.
This unit gives you tools you can use every day.
By the end, you won’t just hear more—you’ll know how to listen better, remember more, and respond more effectively.
I’m excited to get started with you. Let’s dive into Unit 1: Foundations of Listening.