Tutor Training Nonverbal Tutoring

When full ideas or concepts are expressed without coherent labels. Kanh (2001)

Barrington Campbell and Tem FullerThe Learning Center

Spring 2010

What is nonverbal communicationThe first study on nonverbal communication (written for non-specialists)

belongs to Charles Darwin:

In his book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872), Darwin argued that all mammals show emotion reliably in their faces.

The notion of universality implied that emotional facial configurations served as stable, predictable, and accurate signals.

Nonverbal Communication According to Khan

• When full ideas or concepts are expressed without coherent labels. Khan (2001)

Khan, A. A. (2001, February 21). Non-Verbal Communication: Fact and Fiction. Retrieved January 08, 2010, from Strange Horizons: http://strangehorizons.com/2001/20010226/nonverbal.shtml

The Overlap of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

A good poet uses words not only for their meaning, i.e. as a means of verbal communication, but also uses words for their sound, for the various rhythms that these sounds can produce, for images that these sounds can evoke in the mind. The form of a poem is as much an integral part of the poem as its substance. Another example where verbal and non-verbal means of communication overlap is the graphic story, the comic book, where words and pictures blend harmoniously to convey information.

Khan, A. A. (2001, February 21). Non-Verbal Communication: Fact and Fiction. Retrieved January 08, 2010, from Strange Horizons: http://strangehorizons.com/2001/20010226/nonverbal.shtml, par. 28

Touch – don’t - Touch GeographyAxtell, R. E. (1991). Gestures (ISBN 0 - 471 - 18342 - 3). USA: Library of Congress, p. 40. (Group 4)

TouchTouch

Don’t TouchDon’t Touch

Middle GroundMiddle Ground

Don’t TouchDon’t Touch

Don’t TouchDon’t Touch

Don’t TouchDon’t Touch

Don’t TouchDon’t Touch

Touch

Touch

Touch

Middle GroundMiddle Ground Middle

GroundMiddle Ground

Functions of the Nonverbal Communication

• According to Argyle (1988) there are five primary functions of nonverbal bodily behavior in human communication:

• Express emotions • Express interpersonal attitudes • To accompany speech in managing the cues of interaction between

speakers and listeners • Self-presentation of one’s personality • Rituals (greetings)

Argyle, Michael. (1988). Bodily Communication (2nd ed.) Madison: International Universities Press. ISBN 0-416-38140-5

In small focus-groups, brainstorm and discuss examples of nonverbal

communications in the Learning Center

Group 1 Fast, J. (1970). Body language: The essential secrets of non-verbal communication (ISBN - 1-

56731-004-4). New York: Library of Congress Catalog, pp. 45 - 63.

• Focus on how students and employees in the Learning Center use and perceive the physical space around them.

• Using images for negotiating knowledge• Concept and mind maps as a visual semi-

verbal communication

Group 2

• Focus on nonverbal communication through the way we perceive time, structure our time and react to time.

• Time perceptions include punctuality and willingness to wait, the speed of speech and how long people are willing to listen.

• Time management as a semi-nonverbal comunication.

Group 2

• Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal communication.

• The way we perceive time, structure our time and react to time is a powerful communication tool, and helps set the stage for the communication process.

• Across cultures, time perception plays a large role in the nonverbal communication process.

• Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. The use of time can affect lifestyles, daily agendas, speed of speech, movements and how long people are willing to listen.

Group 3Fast, J. (1970). Body language: The essential secrets of non-verbal communication (ISBN - 1-

56731-004-4). New York: Library of Congress Catalog.

• Body language include mutual gaze, smiling, facial warmth or pleasantness, childlike behaviors, direct body orientation, and the like.

• The atmosphere in a cooperative learning group – imagination in addition to normal work

Group 4

• A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning.

• Gestures may be articulated with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling ones' eyes.

• The boundary between language and gesture, or verbal and nonverbal communication, can be hard to identify.

Group 5

• Nonverbal speech characteristics, such as tone, pitch, volume, inflection, rhythm, and rate are important communication elements.

• When we speak, other people “read” our voices in addition to listening to our words.

• These nonverbal speech sounds provide subtle but powerful clues into our true feelings and what we really mean. Think about how tone of voice, for example, can indicate sarcasm, anger, affection, or confidence.

Nonverbal Characteristics of Beginning and Ending a Tutoring session

Group 1 - physical space

Group 2 - time perceptions

Group 3 - body language

Group 4 - gesture

Group 5 – tone’s pitch, volume, inflection, rhythm, and rate

Assessment

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Basic Books. (p.ISBN 10: 0-465-01822-XISBN 13: 9 780465 018222

I define assessment as the obtaining information about the skills and potentials of individuals, with a dual goals of providing useful feedback to the individual and useful data to the surrounding environment … Assessment ought to become part of natural learning environment. As much as possible it should occur “on the fly” as part of individual natural engagement in a learning situation.

Assessment of Prior Knowledge by Using Probing Questions and Nonverbal Communication

• Please explain the usage of nonverbal communication in addition to using probing questions to make an assessment a natural learning experience.

• Group 1 Group 2 Group 3• Group 4 Group 5

Do’s and Don’ts

• Adopted by: University, S. R. (n.d.). The Do's and Don'ts of the Writing Center . Retrieved 01 08, 2010, from Slippery Rock University: http://www.sru.edu/pages/4454.asp

Add Nonverbal Dos and Don’ts to all Verbal Guidelines.Identify the Type of Non-verbal Messages In These Rules of

Tutoring

Do make the student comfortable; Don't allow a student to wait for a long period of time before being addressed by a tutor.

Do ask the student what the assignment is and what the paper is about; Don't tell the student how to do the assignment or what the paper should be saying.

Add Nonverbal Dos and Don’ts to all Verbal GuidelinesIdentify the Type of Non-verbal Messages In These

Rules of Tutoring

• Do allow the student to ask questions throughout the session, allowing yourself to become an active listener.

• Don't cut off all communication with the student and take the role of "expert."

Add Nonverbal Dos and Don’ts to all Verbal Guidelines:Identify the Type of Non-verbal Messages In These

Rules of Tutoring

• Do concentrate on both the student's and your own concerns about the assignment; Don't just use “yes” or “no”.

• Do be considerate of time, allowing only twenty minutes for conferences on busy days; Don't let a student wait for an hour for a session (and, if this in unavoidable, let the student know how long a wait he or she will have when they enter the Center).

Add Nonverbal Dos and Don’ts to all Verbal GuidelinesIdentify the Type of Non-verbal Messages In These

Rules of Tutoring

• Do ask open-ended questions (beginning sentences with the words What, Where, When, Why and How); Don't tell the student what to do and do not do the work for the student.

Add Nonverbal Dos and Don’ts to all Verbal GuidelinesIdentify the Type of Non-verbal Messages In These

Rules of Tutoring

• Do let the student make his or her own corrections; Don't take over responsibility of the paper by picking up the pen and making the corrections for the student.

• Do give positive reinforcement to the student, while still being a critical reader; Don't simply harp upon the student's faults and mistakes.

Add Nonverbal Dos and Don’ts to all Verbal GuidelinesIdentify the Type of Non-verbal Messages In These

Rules of Tutoring

• Do thank the student and encourage them to return to the Writing Center after the conference; Don't simply let a student walk away from the conference.

• And finally, Do have fun and learn while you are a tutor; Don't look upon this chance simply as another "job;" it can be much more exciting if you allow it to be.

Critical ThinkingBased on Jack Truschel (2009, p. 63) and Paul and Elder (2008, p. 10)

The interplay of verbal and nonverbal communication

Group 2Group 3Group 4Group 5

Basic Knowledge – Clarity and Accuracy

• The intonation with which you ask questions for clarification may be very

Understanding – Precision and Relevance

Applications – Breath and Depth

Analyzing - Logic

Assessment - Significance

Creating New Knowledge - Fairness- Fairness