Communication is the ability to effectively read, write, speak, listen to, represent and view information. Communication may be verbal, non-verbal, formal or informal, and is used for a variety of purposes, audiences and situations. Individuals demonstrate respect, responsibility and empathy when communicating with others.
Each core competency is divided into three levels to support your growth and learning. Below are indicators and examples of the competency at each level.
Involved level Engaged level Leading level
Involved-level Competency
Students know the indicator or the criteria for demonstrating it. They can talk about it, write about it, describe it or explain it.
Competency indicators
How might someone demonstrate this competency?
- Draws information from sources to develop a message.
- Describes how to choose the best communication medium for an audience or purpose.
- Identifies written, spoken, visual and non-verbal communication as different types of communication.
- Recognizes non-verbal cues of someone who doesn’t understand what is being communicated.
- Predicts how time and context impact communication.
What are some specific ways this competency might be demonstrated?
- Summarizes an article, lecture, or poster in a written, verbal and/or visual format.
- Chooses email to communicate a question to an instructor; chooses a presentation medium (e.g., PowerPoint) to present a concept to their class.
- Tells a friend how emojis help communicate feelings.
- Repeats the intended message in a conversation when the recipient does not respond.
- Decides to phone a friend because texting back and forth will take too long.
Engaged-level Competency
Students can perform or demonstrate the indicator or criteria; that is, they can do it.
Competency Indicators
How might someone demonstrate this competency?
- Combines information from multiple sources into a coherent message in multiple modes/channels.
- Reflects on the needs of the intended audience and chooses an appropriate mode of communication.
- Employs the conventions of written, spoken, visual and non-verbal communication.
- Analyzes feedback from others and makes accommodations to overcome common barriers to communication.
- Employs synchronous or asynchronous communication depending on the message and context.
What are some specific ways this competency might be demonstrated?
- Compares and contrasts two or more sources (e.g., articles, books, artwork, cartoons, opinions of classmates during a discussion, etc.) in written, verbal and visual formats.
- Adjusts the language and tone of an email being sent to an instructor to ensure it is concise and respectful, or uses bright colours, large fonts, and visuals when making instructional materials for children.
- Writes papers using a variety of sentence and paragraph structures.
- Purposely stands close to, and facing, a hard-of-hearing teammate to ensure they can lip read and hear the information.
- Uses an asynchronous messaging app for group work so everyone can communicate even if they are in different time zones.
Leading-level Competency
Students are innovating, extending, transforming, showing initiative, integrating, or collaborating.
Competency Indicators
How might someone demonstrate this competency?
- Synthesizes information from a variety of sources into a coherent, original message in a variety of modes/channels.
- Chooses an innovative mode of communication, given the needs of the audience.
- Investigates novel forms of communication beyond written, spoken, visual and non-verbal communication.
- Employs active listening and paraphrasing to ensure understanding.
- Recommends a communication method that considers time constraints and context.
What are some specific ways this competency might be demonstrated?
- Creates an art project that reflects input from Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives and portrays a variety of symbolic meanings.
- Writes and composes a song to help young children learn how to dress themselves.
- Writes critical, persuasive, or research papers using varied sentence and paragraph structures with few to no errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling, or represents a complex idea with a simple visual.
- Navigates a difficult conversation with some upset coworkers by calmly listening and restating their concerns to empathize and gain clarity.
- Proposes to use a video chat app to communicate with family living far away.