Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Discovering the Communication Style of First-Generation Students

Posted by anne.grey | Start the discussion

Presenter: Lynda Coates, Part-Time Faculty in Communication Studies.

Summary

This session explores how communication and learning styles can shape the experiences of first-generation and nontraditional college students. Lynda Coates draws from her experience as a first-generation college student, Communication Studies instructor, and longtime presenter on poverty and communication to introduce a framework for understanding oral and print communication styles.

The session describes oral communication as relationship-centered, spontaneous, holistic, present-oriented, and often supported by storytelling, repetition, sensory information, and hands-on experiences. Print communication is described as more linear, structured, analytical, future-oriented, and connected to reading, planning, organization, and delayed gratification. Coates emphasizes that one communication style is not better than the other and that people may use characteristics of both styles.

Participants consider how colleges and classrooms often rely heavily on print-based expectations, such as written instructions, deadlines, multi-step assignments, and complex online course structures. These expectations may create barriers for students who are less familiar with print-oriented ways of organizing and receiving information.

Coates shares practical strategies instructors can use to support a wider range of learners. These include developing relationships with students, repeating important information, reviewing assignments and deadlines regularly, providing hands-on practice, offering information in multiple formats, breaking complex assignments into clear steps, identifying key takeaways, and showing examples of completed work. The session encourages faculty to consider whether they are evaluating students’ understanding of course content or their familiarity with unspoken print-culture expectations.

Slides: Oral and Print: Two Distinct Communication and Learning Styles

Presentation outcomes

• Explore oral and print communication as two different communication and learning styles.
• Consider how lived experiences, including first-generation college experiences and poverty, may influence how students communicate and approach learning.
• Recognize how print-oriented expectations in education can create barriers for some students.
• Identify strategies for building relationships and honoring oral communication styles in the classroom.
• Use repetition, hands-on learning, examples, multiple formats, and clear step-by-step instructions to support students.
• Reflect on whether course expectations and assessments measure student learning or familiarity with print-oriented academic practices.