Classroom Relationships and Nonverbal Messages

When I think of this professor, the words boring, monotone, and confusing come to mind. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ben Stein plays an economics professor who seems to be oblivious to the chasm existing between himself and his students. So in order to escape this dreary lecture, Ferris decides to skip school and pursue more exciting escapades. I personally believe that education is important. A good teacher can influence who we are, who we will become, and the ultimate direction of our lives.  Unfortunately, many teachers, like Farris’, fall short when communicating with their students.  While their verbal message is appropriate, their nonverbal messages can shut down communication and the entire learning process. If teachers can be open, be a storyteller, be responsive and assertive, and be aware of their subconscious, they can send more effect messages to the students, gaining better understanding and relationships.

1. Be Open

One way that teachers can more actively engage their students is by changing their body posture.  By presenting information with an open body position, the audience is more interactive and more easily persuaded (McGinley et al., 1975). If you present information with a closed body posture, it can act as a barrier between the sender and the receiver. McGinley et al. (1975) says, “The analyses of variance data showed that as opposed to the communicator with closed body position, the communicator with open body position: (a) effected more addressee opinion change and (b) was rated by the addressee as being more active (p. 690).”  If teachers can present information with an open body position, students are more likely to accept the message from the teacher.

2. Be a Storyteller

In a study by Myers et al. (2009), researchers looked at the relationship between instructor immediacy and student participation.  As defined by the researchers, the degree of immediacy is formed by looking at an instructor’s credibility, attractiveness, and homophily or how similar the instructor is to the student (p. 124-125).  The study revealed that teachers who are considered to have social attractiveness, physically attractiveness, background homophily, and attitude homophily tend to be more immediate with their students (Myers et al., 2009).

One way to make yourself more relatable and socially attractive is by telling your personal life stories.  Myers et al. (2009) said, “Not only do instructors use self disclosure to clarify content, provide relative examples, and promote discussion, they also employ it as a way to relate to students by sharing information about their personal lives, their educational experiences, and their personal opinions (p. 130).” By sharing your life experiences with students, you become more relatable, and students feel like they can identify with you more.  Then, they become more inclined to participate in class.

3. Be Responsive AND Assertive

Sometimes, teachers believe they can’t be friends with their students because they might be seen as a push over.  However, as stated above, establishing immediacy is an important aspect to increase class participation and active learning.  So where is the line?

In an article by Thomas et al. (1994), researchers discovered that assertiveness was as highly associated with immediacy as was responsiveness (p. 111).  So in order to be immediate, teachers need to befriend their students while also maintaining their position of authority.  To display the responsive side, teachers need to lean forward and look their students in the eye.  To show the assertive side, teachers need to show their confidence by having their shoulders back and head raised.  This allows the students to see their teacher as a role model and mentor.

4. Be Aware of the Subconscious

We’ve always heard the phrase, “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”  However, in reality, our physical level of attractiveness can have a tremendous effect on how others perceive us, especially in the classroom.  According to Richmond et al. (2012), teachers are subconsciously bias towards more attractive students.  Teachers tended to reward those students with better grades, more personal interactions, and trust (Richmond et al., 2012).  If teachers are more aware of their subconscious disposition to favor more attractive students, they can work to ensure that our actions are equal among all students.

Learning is supposed to be an active and engaging process. Since we spend more than a quarter of our lives in the educational system, we should have teachers with whom we can relate and respect while still participating in the learning process. Teachers who send closed-off messages can also close off the learning process. If all teachers were like Ferris Bueller’s, I think I’d skip school too.

Sources

McGinley, H., LeFevre, R., & McGinley, P. (1975). The Influence of a Communicator’s Body Position on Opinion Change in Others. Journal Of Personality & Social Psychology, 31(4), 686-690.

Myers, S. A., Horan, S. M., Kennedy-Lightsey, C. D., Madlock, P. E., Sidelinger, R. J., Byrnes, K., & … Mansson, D. H. (2009). The Relationship Between College Students’ Self-Reports of Class Participation and Perceived Instructor Impressions. Communication Research Reports, 26(2), 123-133. doi:10.1080/08824090902861580

Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C., & Hickson, III, M.L. (2012).  Nonverbal behavior in interpersonal relations ( 7th ed.).  Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Thomas, C. E., Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (1994). The Association Between Immediacy and Socio-Communicative Style. Communication Research Reports, 11(1), 107-114.