A Model for Reading Digital Facial Tones and Body Language in the Online Classroom

1. A Model for Reading Digital Facial Tones and Body Language in the Online Classroom Leslie J. King, Ph.D. Franklin University Columbus, Ohio kingl@franklin.edu

2. Human Interaction • Verbal and non-verbal communication can be uniquely separate, but in most situations they both need to be present to understand the full meaning of the communication (Arndt and Janney, 1987)

3. Words • All non-verbal communication is that which does not use words (Andersen, 1999) • “The telltale body is all tongues.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

4. Educational Goal of Communicating • For there to be verbal and non-verbal communication between students and faculty: • Students and faculty • Students and students • To what end: • In order for faculty to observe and determine student comprehension of the course material. • Satisfactory comprehension --- move on • Unsatisfactory comprehension – intervention strategy

5. Criticism • In the distance learning classroom, non-verbal communication is not present, therefore online faculty do not have the same ability as F2F instructors to determine a student’s learning comprehension.

6. Non-verbal Traditional • Facial Expressions • Eye Contact • Body Language • Posture • Gestures Evolving • Attendance (tardiness or absence) • Late submissions

7. Information Gathered • Non-verbal clues can indicate that there are potential barriers in the learning process: • Confusion • Frustration • Lack of engagement • Agreement • Understanding • Are potential barriers actually opportunities for interactions.

8. Potential Causes • How the material is presented • How the course is designed • Personal circumstances • Even when everything is ideal

9. Myth (D) Feedback Loop

10. Non-Verbal Clues Feedback Loop (E) Non-verbal Clues Feedback Loop (D) Feedback Loop

11. Online Non-Verbals’ (E) Non-verbal Clues Feedback Loop • Frequencies of course log-ins • Navigation behavior • Late assignment submissions • Last minute submissions of assignments • Discussion board post quality • Low scores on assignments • Slow responses to emails • Types of questions students ask (D) Feedback Loop

12. Observation Strategies • Develop practice assessments or exercises that can provide information on student performance. • Insert “Reflective Learning” components which focus on a student sharing their learning experience. • Online instructors can build into their teaching routine the observation of student log-in patterns and navigation behavior. • Don’t just look at a student’s assignment scores independently; • Similar to making eye contact with a student, email students directly about their performance, log-in frequency, discussion board activity and assignment grades. • Solicit feedback from students as to how things are going, the good and bad…

13. Key • Feedback needs to be timely • Look for non-verbal clues during the lesson • Intervention strategies • Student specific and personal • May apply to the whole class • Remain flexible and adaptable to “change” during the learning process • Needs to be consistent

14. Helpful Hints • Plan ahead to observe non-verbal clues • Change instructional behavior • Develop your classroom management around the non-verbal feedback loop • Document what you observe and plan for improvements when the class is over

15. (E) Non-verbal Clues Feedback Loop Observe and Intervene (D) Feedback Loop Non-verbal Observation Intervention Strategy

16. References • Andersen, P.A. (1999). Nonverbal communication: Forms and functions. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co. • Arndt, H., & Janney, R.W. (1987). InterGrammar: Toward an integrative model of verbal, prosodic and kinesicchoices in speech. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.