Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom Making Your Point without Saying a Word
Carmen Y. Reyes
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***Introduction*** Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages that enables us to share our knowledge, skills, attitudes, and feelings. Although primarily we communicate with words and spoken s poken language, communication consists of two main dimensions –verbal and nonverbal. Verbal communication uses speech; the nonverbal dimension of communication is defined as communication without words. The nonverbal dimension of communication qualifies and gives deeper meaning to our verbal messages, providing essential information beyond the content of what we say. Nonverbal communication includes behaviors such as gestures, facial expression, eye contact, posture (bodily attitude), at titude), vocal characteristics (e.g., tone of voice), and breathing, bre athing, as well as less apparent nonverbal messages sent through our physical appearance (e.g., the way we dress), and even the physical space between people or between between people and object objectss in the environ environment. ment. A well-tra well-trained ined speaker speaker can enormously add depth, meaning, and persuasive power to any verbal message through simple nonverbal cues and signals. No matter matter how hard we try, try, it is impossible impossible not to communica communicate. te. Both what we say (words) and what we do not say (our ( our silence and pauses) send a message to the other person per son or people. Words and silence both have message value, and they are constantly influencing others as well as others are constantly influencing us. Most specifically, spe cifically, teachers and parents parents greatly greatly improv improvee the impact impact of their communica communicative tive messages messages by learning to use and manipulate all four paths of communication:
Path 1: Verbal communication or words and spoken language.
Nonverbal communic communication ation such as body language and Path 2: Nonverbal messages without words.
Para-verbal communicat communication ion or the way we speak, loudness Path 3: Para-verbal of speaking, pauses and keeping silent, and interruptions in the conversation.
Extra-verball communic communication ation like using time and place, the Path 4: Extra-verba context in which the message is sent, our orientation towards the listener (e.g., how alike or distant our attitudes and feelings are), and
the use of other senses such as olfactory (smelling) and tactile (touching). Nonverbal Nonverbal communica communication, tion, commonly commonly called body language, language, seems so powerful powerful that that researc researchers hers and practitioners practitioners in the field agree that many more feelings and intentions are communicated nonverbally than verbally. Depending on the author, from 7-to-37 percent pe rcent is communicated through words, while as high as 82-to-93 percent is sent nonverbally (for example, see Nitsche, 2006; O’Connor and Seymour, 2002). This reinforces reinfor ces the notion that, whether we are speaking or not, we are constantly communicating and sending messages. In school, approximately app roximately 75 percent percent of the classro classroom om manage management ment is considere considered d nonverba nonverball (e.g., (e.g., teacher frowning or eye gaze) (Balzer, 1969). In the classroom or at home, how we express something seems to carry more message value and weight than the words we say. This being true, to influence students toward positive positive behavior, behavior, it is not as as important important what we what we say, but rather how rather how we say it. Types of Nonverbal Communication Communication
Before we can improve any behavior, we need to understand fully the t he behavior. behavior. Depending Depending on the sensory channel channel used used (visual, (visual, auditory, auditory, or tactile), there are different types of nonverbal communication: 1.
2.
3.
Universal facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, or fear. The face is the primary source of information for inferring feelings. We probably communicate more and unintentionally by our facial expression than by any other mean. Physiologic Physiological al response responsess such as blushing, shaking, sweating, blinking, blinking, flaring flaring of of nostrils, nostrils, swallowing, swallowing, trembling trembling chin, or breathing breathing heavil heavily. y. Gestures are deliberate movements and signals that we send. Common universal gestures include waving, pointing, and a handshake. Cognitively, gestures operate to clarify, contradict, or replace verbal messages. Ekman and Friesen (1969) identified five types of universal gestures:
Emblems Emblems are body movements that have direct translations to words and directly replace words, e.g., OK and the V for victory or peace.
Illustrators Illustrators accent, emphasize, or reinforce words and help in shaping the meaning of words; for example, opening our arms to illustrate the sentence, “The rat was huge!”
Affect Displays Displays show emotion. Our feelings are shown through face and body motions; for example, ex ample, smiling, grimacing, smirking, or pouting. A clench clenched ed fist fist is an exampl examplee of a body body motion. motion.
Regulators Regulators control the flow of a conversation or turn taking; for example, holding the index finger up to signify, “It’s my turn to talk” or “Hold one second; let me finish.”
Adaptors Adaptors help relieve tension and are a way of adjusting to the situation; for example, twisting the hair, foot tapping, biting fingernails, or tapping a pen.
4.
Posture and the way we move (kinesics) can also convey meaning, and influence the way others perceive us; for example, authority, submission, or withdrawal. Posture includes the pose, stance, and bearing of the way we sit, sit, slouch, slouch, stand, lean, bend, hold, and move our body in space. s pace. For example, a slouched posture may signal that the person lacks confidence. If during a conversation a person’s torso leans forward it signals closeness and rapport; if the person’s torso leans back it signals s ignals distance from what is being said. A closed or crunched body position can mean disapproval, defensiveness, or a lack of interest. In a group setting, we tend to adopt a similar pose to those in the group that t hat we agree with.
5.
Vocal communication or paralinguist paralinguistic ic,, including factors such as tone of voice, loudness, voice inflection, and pitch. pi tch. Our paralanguag paralanguage, e, or the way we say say words, words, may include include vocaliz vocalization ationss such as hissing, shushing, and whistling, as well as speech modifications such as quality of voice or hesitations and speed in talking. Examples of paralanguage are laughing, crying, whispering, snoring, sucking, sneezing, and sighing. Loud voices are perceived p erceived
as aggressive or overbearing, but if the voice is too soft it may be perceived perceived as as timid timid or polite. 6.
Vocal intonation includes rhythm, pitch, intensity, nasality, and slurring.
7.
Projection Projection,, variety, timing, and rate of speech all influence how others perceive us, and give clues to our self-confidence and enthusiasm with the topic.
8.
Eye gaze; gaze; for example, looking, staring, staring , and blinking. When we take interest in something or someone, s omeone, our blinking rate decreases and our pupils dilate. The size of the pupils is considered a reliable predictor predictor of of a person’s person’s attitude attitude towards towards people and events events in the environment; that is, wide opened to see things thi ngs that are pleasant and agreeable, and close down noticeably at the sight of disagreeable people, objects, objects, or events. We also also tend tend to look longer and more often (eye contact or oculesics or oculesics)) at those we like or trust. Chances are that teachers look more often at students they like than at students they do not like. Low L ow eye contact may signal lack of confidence, however, excessive eye contact may signal nonverbal aggression. Eyes behavior may serve as a major decision factor in interpreting the other person’s spoken words.
9.
Touch or haptics or haptics;; for example, finger pressure, grip, and hugs. Touching is very common in many greeting rituals; for example, shaking hands or cheek kissing. In the positive side, touching can give encouragement, express tenderness, and show emotional support; in the negative side, touching can slap, punch, or punish (spanking).
10. 10. Proxemics is communicating with others by virtue of relative positioning positioning of of our bodies. The first person person to use this term term was anthropologist Edward T. Hall to explain the manipulation of space to send messages from one person to another. another . Proxemics describes the changing space that separates people during a conversation or interaction. The amount of distance we need when interacting and how much space we perceive as belonging to us; that is, is , the distance which
we feel comfortable interacting with others or having others oth ers approaching us, is influenced by factors such as social norms, situational factors, personality characteristics, and level of familiarity. familiari ty. Hall distinguished between three key zones: zones:
Intimate Intimate Space Space goes from touching the other person to a separation of ten inches. This intimate space is reserved to our close friends and family.
Casual or Casual or Personal Personal space space goes from eighteen inches to four feet. In this key zone, informal conversation with our friends f riends takes place.
Social or Social or Consultative Consultative space goes from four to twelve feet. This key zone belongs to formal transactions in public and for addressing groups of people.
After Hall, a fourth zone was identified, labeled the Publi the Publicc Space Space Zone Zone.. This is the outermost zone of our individual space, extending from twelve feet to as far as the eye can see. In tthis his zone, all speech becomes formal, and the speaker lectures more than talk. When we interact with someone pleasant, we reduce the th e space between us and the other person, but, if we interact with someone we dislike, we increase space. This adding or taking away space between two individuals can give us clues to make inferences infer ences about their attitudes at that given moment. 11. Our appearance Our appearance or choice of clothing, hairstyle, hairs tyle, and jewelry does communicate. It identifies our gender, age, socioeconomic class, status, role, group membership, mood, and physical environment (temperature and season). In summary, spoken language is accented and punctuated by body movements and gestures while facial expression and voice reveal feelings and inner states. The validity and reliability of any verbal message is checked with nonverbal actions; if there is a mismatch between the verbal and the nonverbal message, the listener will use the nonverbal message to grasp the true meaning of the message. Therefore, when we are unsure about words and/or trust the speaker less, we pay more attention to what we see and hear than to the speaker’s s peaker’s words. We can often clarify and
reduce misunderstandings by developing the ability to notice noti ce and comment on the nonverbal behavior that we see. In addition, the more we understand the importance and dominance of nonverbal language, the more persuasive in our communication we can become. Clusters of Nonverbal Communication Communication
With careful observation, we can detect emotions and even thoughts from nonverbal signs. However, to infer meanings accurately from nonverbal cues, we need to analyze gestures and other nonverbal signals as a group. group. A single gesture viewed in isolation can mean any number of things, or may mean nothing at all. Body language can have multiple meanings, so, to infer feelings and thoughts accurately from nonverbal behavior, we need to look for groups of signals and behaviors b ehaviors that emphasize and reinforce a common theme. Body language is most significant when it appears in clusters, so we need to look for things that happen at the same time or synchronized. To summarize, to interpret body language accurately, we need to pay attention to both clusters and synch and synchroniza ronization tion.. It is also important that we stay open to alternative meanings of the behavior, behavior, and that that we we place place our our interpreta interpretation tion of the behavior behavior within within the context in context in which the body language is used. us ed. For example, a troubled student can move closer to you to communicate nonverbally that he wants to connect with you emotionally, or an angry angr y child moves closer to you to emphasize his anger towards you by invading your personal per sonal space. Keep in mind that the real r eal meaning of any message derives from observing and analyzing the totality or complete pattern of the communication, and this can only be done by in including cluding both the verbal and the nonverbal. Some examples of nonverbal clusters follow: •
•
A wrinkled nose, lowered eyelids and eyebrows, and a raised upper lip is the facial cluster for disgust; raised eyebrows, eyes wide open, and an open mouth is the facial cluster for surprise. Clenching on fists that seem ready to strike, lowering and spreading the body for support and stability, and redness of face: getting ready to attack.
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•
•
•
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Hiding the mouth with one hand, touching nose, avoiding eye contact, and the pace of blinking picks up: not telling the truth. Short breaths, patting the back of the neck, clenching hands, and wringing hands: frustration body language. Leaning forward, the head tilted slightly forward, fo rward, looking at the speaker without taking the gaze away and less blinking, the eyebrows brought together, and the body largely still: s till: attentive body language. Nodding shows agreement with what the speaker s peaker says and encourages the speaker to tell more. Tilting the t he head may signal interest. Drumming the table or desk, tapping the feet, feet , clicking a ball point pen, holding holding the head in the hands, doodling, doodling, looking looking at the the ceiling, ceiling, and staring blankly: boredom cluster. Sweating, the face pales, dilated pupils, not looking at the other person, a tremblin trembling g lip, thinning thinning of the lips, lips, voice voice tremors, tremors, a visible high pulse that can be seen se en on the neck or movement in legs, gasping and holding the breath, bre ath, fidgeting, and tension in muscles (e.g., clenched hands or arms and jerky movements): fear and nervousness.
***Using Nonverbal Nonverbal Messages Messages to t o Influence Inf luence Children’s Behavior*** Being able to predict behavior and therefore ther efore responding quickly enough so that we remain in the sphere s phere of influence rather than moving into controlling and power is the art of managing behavior (Nitsche, 2006). The most persuasive communication takes place when we (a) accurately read the nonverbal signals the child is sending us, and (b) adjust our own nonverbal cues to reinforce our verbal verb al message, so that our verbal and nonverbal language work in synchrony to influence the child’s beliefs and feelings. Some guidelines follow. The tone of your voice voi ce can convey a wealth of information, ranging from enthusiasm to disinterest and anger. Pay attention to how ho w the tone of your voice influences how children respond to you, and start s tart using a tone of voice that emphasizes and reinforces the ideas that you want to communicate. For example, if you are trying to motivate students, show your enthusiasm in the subject by using us ing an animated tone of voice. Use a low pitch of voice. A lower pitch pit ch is associated with strength and maturity; high pitch is associated ass ociated with tenseness, helplessness, and nervousness. To defuse anger or tension use u se a lower volume of voice. A loud volume can be perceived as aggressive, reinforcing the child’s angry feelings. To communicate understanding and emotional connection use sounds that convey meaning (e.g., ahhh, umm, ohhh) matched with congruent eye and facial expression. These sounds of understanding and interest inter est in the conversation indicate to the child that you are paying attention. To get the student’s attention, rather than raising the voice or yelling, look at the child in the t he eye, lower the voice, and drop the pitch. p itch. Teachers should use a variety of vocal inflections to present information, and a variety of speech s peech patterns to emphasize important points or to ask questions. Change your rate of speech for emphasis, using inflection and moderate changes in pitch and volume to maintain children’s attention (Miller, 2005).
According to Miller (2005), in the classroom, nonverbal effectiveness is characterized by showing enthusiasm, varying the facial expression, using gesturing for emphasis, moving towards the students, maintaining eye contact, displaying positive head nods, and speaking with a clear voice and varied intonation. Successful teaching uses positive nonverbal communication in the teaching methodology. Nod to emphasi emphasize ze a point. point. Nodding Nodding or shaking shaking the head while we talk talk encourages the listener to agree with us. Emphasize your point using your voice (words and intonation) synchronized with your body. The key to emphasis is exaggeration; exaggeration; exaggerate by doing things bigger; for example, moving your arms faster. For big emphasis, make big movements, like an exaggerated arm movement (e.g., wide sweep), nodding or shaking the head, moving fast from one point to another, ano ther, and creating contrast. For example, not moving and then moving suddenly. For a more subtle s ubtle emphasis, do smaller movements, e.g., a finger movement or slightly inclining the head. he ad. Make good eye contact, avoiding staring. Too much eye contact can be seemed as confrontational or intimidating. The nonverbal literature recommends using intervals of eye contact lasting from four to five seconds. If you are a teacher, you can develop an individual connection with every student by simply using eye contact. Make eye contact with each student individually and gently force yourself into i nto each child’s mind. Validate each child’s presence in your classroom by visually vi sually letting each student know that you are aware that he or she is there. Teacher or parent, parent , our eyes can be powerful persuasive weapons if we know how to use them. With our eyes, we can “speak” volumes to children projecting pr ojecting acceptance, understanding, security, trust, and tolerance. With our eyes and tone t one of voice, we can also guide children toward confidence, calmness, and selfcontrol. Be aware that, when you are reprimanding a child, if the t he child moves his gaze away from you, you had made your point. Stop reprimanding at that precise moment moment and and do not force force the the issue. issue. You can increase increase your your
persuasive persuasive power by noticing noticing and commen commenting ting on the child’s nonverbal nonverbal behavior; behavior; for for example, example, you would would say, say, “I “I can see that you are are listening listening to me and that you agree with what I am saying.” Let children have the last word, but you have the last nonverbal signal. sign al. Nitsche Nitsche (2006) (2006) provides provides the followi following ng exampl example: e:
Teacher: Susie and Eve! Please stop talking!
Susie: We didn’t say anything!
The teacher remains silent. Then she stretches out a hand, palm p alm down, towards the two girls. While doing this, the t he teacher looks away and continues teaching. When one person refuses to talk, there is no place for a confrontation. In a group setting, we tend to adapt similar poses to those in the group that we agree with. This is why counselors often adopt a posture similar to the client’s posture, to help the client self-disclose. An open body and arm position, leaning forward, for ward, a relaxed posture, and touching gently increases a perceived liking in an interaction. Known as the Mehr the Mehrabian’s abian’s Immediacy Immediacy Principle, Principle, this immediacy body cluster is recommended when we are attempting to persuade a child. When we are dealing with troubled feelings (e.g., anger) and acting-out acting -out behaviors, behaviors, we can can use use the acceptance cluster : place one hand to your chest (touching heart), move closer to the child, child , and gently touch the child in one arm or shoulder. s houlder. Other acceptance and approval gestures that we can use are smiling, nodding the head, winking, gently gent ly squeezing the child’s hand, and a pat on the back. When our arms are curved and moving slowly, we offer support; with rounder arms, we are symbolically embracing the child. To project confidence, use the following nonverbal cluster: maintain eye contact, keep the eye blinking to a minimum, make sure that you y ou sit up straight, gently touch the child, and touch the fingertips of your hands together to form a steeple. When dealing with students’ angry feelings, use your voice and body language to communicate that you are emotionally centered and calm,
even when you feel annoyed, and to show yourself yours elf to the child as nonconfrontational. Use a controlled, gentle tone of voice to present a sense of confidence and assurance, and assume a nonthreatening physical posture. Standing tall will help the adult achieve dominance, but for closeness and self-disclosure invite the child to sit, and then you both sit. With a younger child, bend, so that you talk with the child at eye level. Move forward to speak confidentially. Moving closer sends the message that we are interested in what the child has to say, that we feel comfortable, and that we are giving the child our full attention. To communicate that we are listening and paying attention to the child use nonverbal behaviors such as smiling, maintaining eye contact, nodding the head, and leaning the torso forward fo rward combined with minimal verbal encouragers such as “I see…” “I follow you…” and “uh-huh.” Our nonverbal behaviors tell children what we expect from them. Our positive positive expecta expectations tions bring positiv positivee achievem achievements; ents; negative negative expect expectation ationss bring low self-confiden self-confidence ce and failure. failure. Make sure that your nonverba nonverball behavior behavior conveys conveys positive positive expecta expectations. tions. Nonverbal Nonverbal behaviors behaviors associated associated with positive expectations are touching, proximity, forward body lean, eye contact, more gestures, approving head nods, and positive facial expressions (Miller, 2005). To bond with a child, gently ge ntly invade his personal space. When we invade the child’s personal space, the child expects e xpects to hear something personal. Personalize the interaction by standing next to the child and praising him verbally, or with a touch on the shoulder or a pat on the back for a job well done. Remember that, the less the child knows and likes you, the less your influence will be. As a remote r emote and distant adult, our influence is limited, but as a friend, fr iend, there is no limit to how much we can accomplish. The key to influence and persuade children is to move a little closer to the child, in physical space as well as in feeling and thought. Touching during a conversation creates a bonding effect and strongly s trongly influences the other person (Gueguen and Fischer-Lokou, 2003). The authors recommend that we use sympa use sympathetic thetic touching touching such such as a brief
touching on the back, shoulder, or arm. Closer forms of sympathetic touching are putting the arm around the child, hugging the child as he cries, and touching the child’s arm for a longer period. People in rapport tend rapport tend to mirror and match each other in posture and gesture. The key to rapport is i s to adopt an overall p physiological hysiological and mental state that is similar to the other person. Therefore, to develop rapport and increase your persuasive power, you can use the exchanged matching technique; technique; that is, synchronize your nonverbal behavior with the child’s nonverbal behavior but without directly copying the child. For example, if the child crosses her arms, you cross your legs; if the child frowns, you look pensive; if she talks fast, you move fast; if she scratches, you rub your arm. Once the nonverbal behaviors are synchronized, make a change in your nonverbal behavior (e.g., coughing) to check if the child follows you with a compatible behavior (sound). This is called pacing called pacing and leading in leading in the neuro-linguistic literature (Vaknin, ( Vaknin, 2008; O’Connor and Seymour, 2002), and is telling you that the child is receptive to your persuasion. persuasion. When you are are at the leading leading level, level, shift shift your your physiology physiology and attitude (i.e., breathing pace, facial expression, and body language) to change your behavior in the direction dir ection you want the child to behave. For example, with a loud and agitated child, you start moving slower and talking lower to shift tthe he child, slow her down, and calm the child. To summarize, the four steps to improve i mprove relationships and our persuasive power, are:
po sture, word choice, Step 1: Mirroring the child by matching her posture, voice, or breathing.
Step 2: Establishing rapport using mirroring.
fo r a while at the Step 3: Pacing, or moving along with the child for same speed.
st ate and attitude where the Step 4: Leading the child to a mental state child mirrors and matches our behavior (Nitsche, ( Nitsche, 2006).
With matching behaviors, we find ways to be alike. Other matching behaviors behaviors that we can can use use are: are: •
Matching arm movements with small hand movements
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Matching body movements with head movements Matching the distribution of the body b ody weight; for example, resting on the same arm
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Matching the posture
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Adopting the same sitting position
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Matching our breathing by breathing in unison
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Voice matching (tonality, speed, volume, and rhythm)
In addition, we can mirror a child who is fidgeting by swaying our body (Vaknin, 2008; O’Connor and Seymour, 2002). Here is another way of using mirroring, mirr oring, pacing, and leading to persuade a child. Observe if the child is standing or sitting in a closed body position (i.e., arms and/or legs crossed). This is a signal that the child is not yet susceptible to persuasion. Shifting the child from f rom a closed body position to an open body position posit ion significantly increases the chance of persuading the child. There are two ways of doing this:
Example 1: Give the child something to hold or have the child use his arms; for example, e xample, holding a book, sharpening pencils, or erasing the board. Example 2: Adopt a closed body position similar to the child’s body position. position. Then, Then, spend spend some time building building rapport; rapport; for example, example, talk about any topic of interest to the child. After a few minutes, open your body, unfolding your arms followed by your legs, and see if the child is following you. Do this naturally and gradually. For example, you open your arms to grab a book. If the child remains in a closed body position, you return to a closed body position and continue developing rapport before you try again.
Children mirror behavior all the time; that is, what children see teachers and parents doing, children do. For example, when the teacher is lively, the class is lively, when the teacher t eacher is reflexive and calm, the class is reflexive and calm, when the teacher is talkative, the class talks a lot. The volume of the teacher’s voice determines the volume of the t he class’ voice. The softer the teacher speaks, the softer soft er the class speaks. As long as your
class is behaving according to your instructional goals, the mirroring is fine, but if students are too talkative when they are supposed to be reading silently, ask yourself, “Is my class mirroring my behavior?” and make changes in your behavior to match the results r esults you want. For example, during reading time, whisper and move slowly (Nitsche, 2006). Always keep in mind that the adult, teacher or parent, sets the tone; the t he child mirrors the adult. Use proxim Use proximity ity control control to to discourage disruptive behaviors. Schoolteachers can tailor classroom circulation to prevent behavior problems prob lems before they happen. Circulation of the classroom should be unpredictable unpr edictable so that the teacher does not follow the same route every time. ti me. Teachers can also pair also pair proximity proximity with praise; praise; for example, stopping at the child’s desk and saying something like, “Thank you Ashley for working wor king so hard and staying on task” (Lampi, Fenty, and Beaunae, 2005). Long and Newman (1996) identify five identify five levels levels of proximity proximity control control in in the classroom:
Level 1: Orienting our body towards the child
Level 2: Walking towards the child
Level 3: Putting one’s hand on the student’s desk
d istracting the Level 4: Touching or removing the object that is distracting child
Level 5: Putting one’s hand gently on the student’s shoulder or arm
When we repeatedly and systematically give the same nonverbal signal in connection to an event, a concept, or an idea, id ea, the nonverbal signal and the concept become connected or anchored with one another. anot her. The anchor is anchor is the nonverbal signal or stimulus st imulus that always triggers the same reaction, and can take many forms. For example: •
posture
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movements
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gestures
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facial expressions
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touch
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sounds
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voice
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rules
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symbols
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traditions
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ceremonies
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contracts
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rituals (daily, weekly, or monthly)
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a place where an activity takes place or is explained (e.g., time out area or story time)
Anchors Anchors are part of the classroom-structured routines. The reaction can be either an action (can be observed), or it can take the form of change of inner state (a change in attitude or mood). That is, the anchor results in a change of mental or emotional state, creating a positive expectation (e.g., “It’s story time!”) The positive expectation is an automatic reaction that we create without using words (Nitsche, 2006). We know that we created an effective anchor when we use the anchor and, as a result, we need to use fewer words (or no words at all) to create the desired d esired mental or emotional state in the child. In other words, an effective anchor is a reflex, the more we use the anchor, the faster it works. From Nitsche, we get the following examples of anchors: •
Placing a hand on the back of the chair and looking directly at the child who is talking. The nonverbal non verbal message here is, “This is a warning. Stop talking.”
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Sitting down on a chair to signal to children to sit down too.
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A freeze posture.
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Knocking three times on the chalkboard or table (“Quiet” ( “Quiet” or “Pay attention to this”). Saying “Ready-Steady-Go!”
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Counting down from five to one to stop a behavior or to start a new behavior. behavior.
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Using slowly or lively music to set the mood.
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Clapping.
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Dropping an object, like a book or a key chain, loudly to the floor to get children’s attention. Using a whistle or an alarm clock. Saying 1-2-3-Zap! In addition, freezing your posture. The students freeze into statues. A few seconds later, you continue teaching or giving directions. Turning a light on and off three times; “Quiet down” or “Move back to your seats.” Drawing a big eye on the chalkboard and pointing at it (“Look” or “Pay attention to this”). You can also use a picture. Holding a hand up in the th e air and slowly moving the thumb and forefinger toward each other (“Quiet”). Using the hand to signal stop, or holding up the hand and saying “Stop!” Pointing at your own eyes (“Look!”) or ear (“Listen”).
Nitsche Nitsche (2006) (2006) warns warns teachers teachers that that we we keep keep our our anchors anchors “clean “clean”” by making sure that we do not use the same anchor for different purposes. For example, if we use a specific hand anchor to t o signal silence, then we do not use the same hand anchor to elicit a different behavior or mood. When we sit down to signal children to sit s it down, we always use the same anchor chair placed in the same spot in the room (e.g., in front of the room). Alternatively, if we put a green gr een hat to signal story time, t ime, we do not use the same green hat for any other activity. We also prevent “contaminating” our anchors by keeping the activities apart; for example, when we use the hand anchor to achieve silence, we are silent ourselves, and we wait until there is absolute abs olute silence in the classroom to continue talking or teaching.
If you are confused about the nonverbal signals that you see in the child, do not be afraid to ask questions. To clarify a nonverbal message, we can repeat back our interpretation of the student’s s tudent’s message, so that the child confirms or clarifies. For example, ex ample, you can ask, “So what you are saying is _____. Am I right?” Before rushing to a conclusion, verify your interpretation with the child, e.g., “I get the feeling that you are uncomfortable with _____. Would you like to add something?” Look for mixed messages and incongruence between the verbal and the nonverbal message; that is, words that do not no t match the nonverbal signals. For example, the child says he feels fine f ine while frowning and staring at the ground. When this happens, you can gently confront the t he child, e.g., “Your behavior behavior is telling me that that you you are are feeling feeling upset.” upset.” Bring Bring the nonverbal nonverbal behavior behavior to the child’s child’s attenti attention, on, and together, together, explore explore these these incongru incongruities ities to help the child develop de velop self-awareness. Analyze the nonverbal behavior in context; for example, “You started talking loudly and very fast when I asked you about _____. I get the impression that you feel strongly about this issue” or “You are pulling your hair and you sound unsure. Do you feel nervous about this test?” Do not assume your interpretation is correct until you ask the child.
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