Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Nonverbal Communications in the Classroom Amy Campbell EDUC 322 Kelli Crain Southwestern Professional Studies

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS Abstract Did you know that about 66% of our communications is nonverbal? According to Miller (2005), some experts suggest that only about 7% of the messages we send to each other are used with words, while the other messages are sent through facial expressions (93%) and vocal intonation (38%). Nonverbal communication is used in our classrooms everyday and it is vital that educators know what these nonverbal communications are and how to send and receive them. What are nonverbal communications and how are they sent and received? Some nonverbal communications include illustrators, kinesics, eye behavior, immediacy, haptics, and vocalics. This will explain nonverbal communications in the classroom and why it is important to know them as an educator.

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS Nonverbal Communications in the Classroom Body movement and gestures are one of the biggest nonverbal communications, both in and out of the classroom. Many of us move our hands when we speak and make gestures which are called Illustrators. Illustrators are movements that complement verbal communication by describing or accenting or reinforcing what the speaker is saying. (CReducation.org, n.d.) When we describe an object, we may move our hands to articulate it in the air. According to Richmond (2011), small children use gestures and movements for what they cannot verbalize. We communicate with our bodies by the way we walk, move our arms, and lean our bodies. It is important that teachers learn how to use natural body movements when talking in front of a class of students, since inappropriate ones will diminish the lessons delivery. (Miller, 2005, p. 29). When I am delivering the instructions to the students, I will be standing tall and facing all of my students. I cant be standing off to the side with my shoulders slumped. They will not know that I am addressing all of them and slumped shoulders indicate that I am uninterested. They will be placed in groups of four so I need to be standing in front of all of them to address them. I may need to model the use of the plastic knives to cut open the bean pods for the science lesson. Keeping a steady hand and holding the plastic knife in a safe position is extremely important to model to the students. This Illustrator is a key factor for students. The body movements should coincide with the verbal message. This takes us into body movement, or kinesics. (CReducation.org, n.d.) Kinesics is important since students need to know what my body language is expressing which includes facial expressions. Am I excited about the lesson plan that we are about to embark upon? Since we are conducting a science lesson, I want my students to be excited about it, so I need to be excited about it as well. My kinesics needs to convey this to my students. I need to have a smile

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS on my face when I am introducing the lesson to my students and moving around to show that I am ready to get started so that it encourages the same to my students. According to Richmond (2011), Teachers facial expressions can affect how students feel about the classroom environment. Eye behavior is vital in the classrooms as well. Educators can use eye contact to observe students engaging in a project or completing an assignment to obtain information. Is the student working diligently? If the student is working in a group, is the student participating? If there is an argument or horseplay going on, educator eye contact can cease the behavior until they can arrive to that student. Effective eye contact between educators and students brings about quality communication. Keeping eye contact amongst my students during my science lesson will play a key part in communication. Eye contact bridges students and educators together in the language of the lesson. Immediacy, the perception of physical or psychological closeness, is another nonverbal communication. Social psychologist Albert Mehrabian has been credited with defining the concept of immediacy in terms of his principle of immediacy, which states people are drawn toward persons and things they like, evaluate highly, and prefer; and they avoid or move away from things they dislike, evaluate negatively, or do not prefer. (Mehrabian, 1971). Being close to your students can be an effective way to obtain your students attention. The students will more than likely abide by the teachers requests if they are respected. If we are comfortable or feeling good about someone, we are more likely to lean in. If we are feeling uncomfortable or hostile towards someone, we are more likely to lean out or away from the person. While I am moving around the room and teaching the science lesson, I will need to get close to the students to ask them questions and to observe them engaging in their findings. I may

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS need to lean in to view their drawings and recordings. I can do this since my students are comfortable with me and respect me and will allow me to do so. I will need to be able to get close enough to the students to allow them ask me questions without having them to shout out across the classroom. Touch, or haptics, can be used as a positive reinforcement. I may lay my hand on a students arm and say, Keep going, youre on the right track! I can pat the student on the back as well. Touch can also be used to maneuver behind a student or beside a student. Placing my hand on the students back or shoulders and saying, Excuse me is a respectable way to pass by a student. We must remember that not everyone likes to be touched however. Avoid touching students that are touch-avoidant. While conducting our science lesson, there may be multiple opportunities for touch. I would use touch for positive reinforcement so that I could move from group to group to observe students working. It may not seem like it but Vocalics, or the sounds of the voice that arent words (CReducation.org), are also nonverbal communication. The pitch, tone, and rate of my voice are important when speaking to my students. If I speak to my students too quickly or softly, they may miss important details. Its also important that I use words that include my students. According to Richmond, One of the most important ways of increasing immediacy in a relationship is sending verbal messages that encourage the other person to communicate. (Richmond, 2011, p. 68). When I have the students record their findings after investigating the bean pods, saying, What do we notice about these bean pods? would encourage the students to communicate with each other better than, What do you notice about these bean pods? I have to remember that silences and pauses are important as well. When I ask students questions, allowing pauses and silences gives the students time to answer. Intonation or

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS inflection (CReducation.org) is important to keep in mind. The way that I verbalize statements or questions to my students matters. Did I say it in the correct tone? Did I give an answer away by mistake? For example, did I ask, Are the bean pods like the pea pods? with an inflection that they are? I must be very careful in how I ask my question, but I dont want to speak in monotone either. Nonverbal communication is important in the classroom. Students need to feel comfortable with me and respect me. Proximity can make all the difference. Being close to a student can let them know that I am aware of a situation or it can allow me to assist them with an assignment or have a private conversation with them. Keeping eye contact with my students is vital. This is important when having a conversation with my students and when giving them positive feedback, deterring negative behavior, or just observing the classroom as a whole. Kinesics sends out bodily messages that my voice is not. My posture, stance and the way that I carry myself expresses who I am to my students. What am I conveying to them? Am I going to be approachable and responsive to their needs, or am I unapproachable and negative? Finally, a smile goes a long way. Students will be more receptive to my smile and encouragement then they will be to a glare and negativity. Its important to be aware of my facial expressions when I am listening to my students questions and answers as well. One negative facial expression can be the one thing they will remember for a long time. Remembering to speak positively, nodding for encouragement, and laying a hand of encouragement on a students hand or arm can make all of the difference.

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS References Nonverbal communication for educators. (n.d.). In Nonverbal communication for educators. Retrieved March 27, 2013, from CReducation.org website: http://www.creducation.org/resources/nonverbal_communication/types_of_nonverbal_co mmunication.html Richmond, V. (2011). Teacher nonverbal immediacy: Use and Outcomes. In Our teaching behavior (pp. 65-82) ["EBook"]. Retrieved from http://ebookbrowse.com/richmondteacher-nonverbal-immediacy-pdf-d269506748 Rocca, K. (2010, January 6). Immediacy in the classroom: Research and practical implications. In Student motivations and attitudes: The role of the affective domain in geoscience learning. Retrieved March 27, 2013, from On the cutting edge - Professional development for geoscience faculty website: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/immediacy.html

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Name: Amy Campbell Learning Target: I can

Subject: Science

Date: March 20, 2013

Name the part of the plant where seeds are found. Use simple tools and the senses to gather data. Ask questions while investigating that can be answered. Answer questions about seeds, explain my findings, and make predictions.

Common Core Standard #: STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

Domain/Strand: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY The student will experience science as full inquiry in the elementary grades; students begin to develop the physical and intellectual abilities of scientific inquiry.

Cluster/Career Readiness: 1: The student will be involved in activities that develop skills necessary to conduct scientific inquiries.

Standard(s): 1. identifies properties of objects. 3. uses appropriate materials, tools, and safety procedures to collect information. 4. asks and answers questions about objects, organisms, and events in his/her environment. 5. describes an observation orally or pictorially.

Best Practices

Lesson Component

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

APK(Activate Prior Knowledge)

Place students in small groups of four or five (depending on number of students in the classroom.) Ask the students what they know about beans and peas. Has anyone seen a raw bean or pea? Has anyone touched one? Does anyone know what the properties of a bean or pea pod is? Record the answers on the chalkboard or SmartBoard.

TIP (Teacher Input) (Each station will have 2 paper plates and 2 plastic knives available to them. Students each take a pencil and coloring utensils with them.) Pass out two bean pods and two pea pods to each group. The students will use their four senses (sight, touch, smell, and hearing) to investigate their pods. DO NOT taste the pods! The students will record their findings using drawings and words on their investigation sheet. SAP (Student Active Participation) The teacher will model safety of using the knife to open up the bean pod. (Students will use the knife to open the pea pods as well.) The teacher will ask the students, What observations did we make? What did we find inside? What are the properties of what is inside? Were both of our pods the same? The students and the teacher will discuss the vocabulary terms of pod and seed. The pod is part of the bean plant that holds the seeds. The students will label the pod and seeds on their drawings. How are the pea pods like the bean pods? How are

Marzano
_x_Similarities & differences _x_Reinforcing effort & provide recognition _x_Summarizing/ note taking __Homework & practice _x_Nonlinguistic representations _x_Cooperative Learning _x_Setting obj. & providing feedback _x_Generating & testing hypothesis _x_Cues, questions & adv. Organizers

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS Differentiated by:

___Choice _x__Flexible Grouping _x__Tiered _x__Product/Outcome

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they different? The students will discuss this amongst their groups and record their answers while the teacher creates a Venn diagram, labeling one circle Bean Pod and the other Pea Pod on the SmartBoard or chalkboard. Students will come up from each group to share their ideas. Similarities will be recorded in the interlocking circle area. Once all ideas have been recorded, the students and teacher will review whether the Venn diagram was a good way to record information or not. ISS (Identify Student Success) Observe that students are using their four senses. Observe that students are taking the time to carefully investigate the pods. Observe that the students are identifying ways that the objects are alike or different. Students are using drawings that resemble their pods. Students label their objects. Students write down their words and/or phrases. Students are working together collaboratively. Students discuss their findings and ask questions amongst themselves. The groups worksheet will be turned in.

Resources/Materials/Preparation (websites, handouts, books): Bean pods, pea pods, plastic knives, paper plates, paper, writing utensils, and coloring utensils (can be crayons, markers, colored pencils). Laptops for students that may need to type their answers instead of writing.

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS Reflection: What needs improvement? Would you want to do this again? Why or why not? I would want to turn this into a two day lesson plan or perhaps a unit plan on the life cycle of a bean plant. I would focus on the bean pod more than the pea pod and allow the students to plant the beans in a cup of soil and let them grow in the classroom. I would want to do this again. It lets the students see what is inside a bean pod and that there are indeed seeds inside.

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Homebase/MTSS: Students with language barriers, such as ESL, will have the hands-on experience and can draw the pods. I will be modeling the safety use of the knife. The senses are going to be used for investigation.

Students with ADD and/or ADHD will have plenty of movement. They can stand up while investigating their pods and they will be able to go to the SmartBoard to record their findings in the Venn diagram. They will be working in their perspective group as well.

Students with other learning disabilities such as autism, or Downs syndrome that are in inclusion in the classroom have the perfect opportunity to work with other students to have the hands-on experience with this lesson. I would absolutely allow the use of the computer for them to type out their answers if they preferred to not write them.

Students with poor eye-sight will have no trouble participating as they can hold the pods as close to them as they would like. The sheet that they will record their answers on can be typed in large print as well.

Students with poor hearing will be working in their group and I will have the opportunity to stop at each station to observe each group, answer questions and assist in anyway necessary.

Running Head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

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