Cure aaContents Foreword v From Editors" Desk vi About the Editors vii From Editors’ Heart viii PART A: Essentials of Teaching Learning Process Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Making of a good Teacher 4 Prof. Gauri Shankar, HBT! Kanpur, India Chapter 3: Knowledge Vs Delivery: Teaching Effectiveness in « Psychological Perspective 10 Prof, Lilavati Krishnan, IE Kanpur, India Chapter 4: Understanding Teacher-Student Perception for Effective Leaming in Higher Education 16 Dr. Anshu Yadav, CSJM University, Kanpur, India Chapter 5: Advanced & Recent Teaching Technologies in Technical/Higher Education 24 Prof, Raghuraj Singh, HBT! Kanpur, India Chapter 6: Virtual Classroom 40 Dr: Chandan Srivastay, Bircham International University, Madrid, Spain Chapter 7: Characteristics and Qualities of a Good Teacher 38 Dr. Praveen KS. Yadav, HBT! Kanpur, India PART B: Issues in Classroom Teaching Chapter 8: Essential Elements of Classroom Teaching 64 Prof. Pramod Kumar, HBTI Kanpur, India Chapter 9: Strategies to prevent Absenteeism and Mass bunking of classes 69 Dr. Anand Kumar, HBTI Kanpur, India Chapter 10: Managing Classroom Discipline B Prof. A. B. Siddiqui, Sahara Arts and Management Academy, Lucknow, India Chapter 11: Effective Communication in Classroom Teaching 19 Dr. Swatantra Aseeja, IIM Indore, India & Pankaj Dwivedi, HT Ropar, India Chapter 12: Challenges of Classroom Teaching in Higher Education 94 Prof. Ajeya Kumar Gupta, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Indiaec cletel iw Contents PART C: Knowledge, Learning and Evaluation Chapter 13: The Leaming Models and their Relevance in Teaching Leaming Process Dr. Vinod Kumar Yadav, HBTI Kanpur, fndia Chapter 14: Research in Teaching: A Knowledge Management Approach Dr. Vinod Kumar Yadav, HBT! Kanpur, India Chapter 15: Student Evaluation and Validation Prof. Onkar Singh, Professor, HBTI Kanpur, India Chapter 16: A Pragmatic Approach to Evaluation of Teaching-Leaming Process: A Case Study of an Engineering Institution Prof KM. Mohapatra, Professor, HBT1 Kanpur, India PART D: International Perspective Chapter 17: International Collaboration in e-Education and Regional Digital Divide in Developing Countries Prof. Jay Rajasekera, Professor, International University of Japan, Japan Chapter 18; Global Practices in Teaching Methodologies Prof, Bharatendra Rai, & AnuradhaHerale D, Chariton College of Business University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA Index 98 104 109 126 133 140Chapter 11 Effective Communication in Classroom Teaching ‘Swatantra', Pankaj Dwivedi ‘Area Chair, Communication TIM Indore *Research Scholar, Linguistics HIT Ropar WAAT IS COMMUNICATION? Communication is an art, An art which is easy to recognize but difficult to define, an art which is easy to use but difficult to master and an art that comes for no price, yet becomes priceless if understood properly. Communication plays a key role in our life. Most of the activities, be it academic, informal ot formal or even professional, that we are engaged into are either fully communicative or involve a good deal of communica- tion, Itis one of the most important means though which tasks are accomplished and goals are met. It becomes ‘more obvious in the professional contexts where doing work has to do a lot with communication. Some profes- sionals who have direct bearing on communication are lawyers, teachers, counselors, anchors, actors, jour- nalists, leaders, writers, customer service executives, etc. Ability to effectively communicate encompasses a variety of skills such as how to ask a question, make a suggestion, act on a direction, state a fact, present a situation, deliver a speech, crack a joke or even how to laugh, stand, sit, dress, and walk, etc. The list is not exhaustive and can never be. Any movement that you make communicates some information about you to the outer world, or it can also be said that you are in the process of constant communication to the outer world. We can say that communication, in a way or other, fits into concerns, roles and interests of one and all CLASSROOMS AND CURRENT COMMUNICATION REALITY With the explosion in the field of information technology and phenomenal growth in the spatial and temporal reach of telecommunication means, there has been so much change on the communication plat- form that one cannot handle it comfortably. Social and professional networking websites, blogs, video conferencing, online hangouts, emails, SMSs, MMSs are some of the new avenues wherein people spend their most of the time communicating with one another. On the one hand, with the arrival of new technolo- gies in the communication market, numerous aew genres of communication have made their way; while, on the other, all these new genres have also come to be interconnected with one another, and old ones and, thereby, making the picture much more complex. This has equally affected all ~ varied spheres of media, all kinds and layers of professions, all ranks of people and all forms of communication too. Classroom communication is also not untouched by all these changes. These changes are apparent in both the verbal and non-verbal classroom behavior. For example:80 PART B: Issues in Classroom Teaching + Internet language or ‘chatspeak’ is very much in vogue and is getting rapid acceptance even by the learned. Use of slangs, abbreviations, blends, clippings, emoticons, pieto- and logograms, switching and mixing of codes ete. has become much common. + Transfer of message is gaining primary significance and following norms and standards has become secondary in nature. Earlier both carried the equal importance. + Freedom on the level of dress, speech, classroom policies ete. is rightfully demanded. + The ancient “gurw-shishy” parampara vanished long back due to the various reasons on both sides. Students’ can be seen even mouthing the words like “I deserve it or [ have worked for it, or I paid for it’ rather than ‘Teachers bestow the knowledge upon us.” ‘Students’ cumulative reach usually is much wider and larger than that of a teacher to these new communi- cation platforms. As a consequence, they are far richer in terms of information. Unlike before they are more independent and self-guided. Therefore, a teacher's role in present setting is no longer to provide the step wise step information but to train them with the skills so that they can, all by themselves, search the appropriate stuffs, Judging the authenticity of given information - knowing how to filter ‘not important” from “important” and ‘important’ from ‘more important’ are need of the hour, and accordingly, students are to be trained in such manner as enables them to hamess the power of information technology. + Asis apparent from the situation analysis, self introspection and peer review are the essentials of mod fem age learning. Members of the faculty are to play the role of facilitators so as to make them equip with these rudiments of modem day learning. + Students must be able to make self evaluation on the academic, personal and professional fronts. How to make self evaluation is something that should be taught by the teachers, Teachers should help the students overeome their faults + Learning goals are to be fixed. Under proper supervision, independence and experimentation must be encouraged at both level of teaching and learning. + Norms and standards; of spoken, written, non-verbal, academic and professional learning; are im- portant, We all must abide by them, But change is also unavoidable, This is how we travel from one language or culture to another one. Therefore, highlighting the art of striking that balance is a challenge to be met by an instructor. Communtcation, CLAssk0om Np Cutrorat Drversiry ‘The term ‘diversity’ refers to presence of different cultures, languages, ethnicities, age groups, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, political beliefS, professional statuses, educational competences, gender identi- ties, casts, creeds, physical features, etc. It is one of the main challenges that teachers face in the process of effective communication. Teachers on all layers and hierarchies of the educational system struggle with the ways to meet every student’s interests, needs and skills. A standard/typical classroom setting mostly witnesses teachers addressing to so-called above average group of students and spoon feeding to them who join last row of the grades. The members of this above average group usually vary from subject to subject ‘and teacher to teacher. These teachers do produce the toppers in their respective subjects but fail to deliver an effective improvement in the overall classroom performance. Few teachers make a positive impact on each individual present in the classroom. The tendency to provide a little more attention to the students’ overallChapter II: Effective Communication in Classroom Teaching 81 background is known as Diversity Responsive Attitude (DRA) that can bring some significant improvement in the whole leaming process, minimize student-teacher conificts and help both teachers and students to empower themselves in several ways, . Following points should be taken into account while addressing to a diverse group of students: + Analyze your students for their educational level, cultural background, age group, professional status, gender distribution, etc. Imagine yourself once in everybody's shoes, but wear only what fits the class best. * Be simple, clear and precise. Take neutral examples, Support your arguments citing appropriate refer- ences and data. Remember! information is power. * Teachers are no less than a leader of their classroom. But the fact is that great leaders are accepted not appointed. Leadership brings more responsibilities to address the whole group, and take each and every ‘member along with. A good teaching practice suggests taking swings, and providing some improve- ment to all the segments. Undoubtedly, the major attention goes to the majority, still something is to be provided to all, 5 Process or CLassroom CoMMUNICATION ‘Communication as a process can be defined as transmission of ideas (information or feelings) from one source to another in a way that a mutual understanding develops between a speaker and a listener. For effective communication, a person willing to speak must have a well-defined purpose or the idea. Thereafter, this idea is encoded into some mutually accepted linguistic, culture specific non-verbal and contextual codes and trans- ; ferred to the listener through some media. As soon as this message is received, decoding of all verbal, non- verbal and contextual information takes place. If everything goes successfully, an appropriate feedback follows and communication cycle is completed. eeliins Leet ee tenis Es = Z| ees Bcd Classroom Communication Environment82 PART: Issues in Classroom Teaching The above mentioned process presents an overall picture of classroom communication. The instructors are to pay significant attention to the dynamic interplay between the varied elements, The teachers also need to be attentive to environmental issues while selecting different ingredients for the process. Having sufficient subject knowledge, selecting language that is of the level of participants and a prudent choice of medium and channel, are the key factors that play a pivotal role in the suecess or failure of it. ‘One of the ground realities of communication is its being operational at both content and relational level is equally applicable to classroom scenario. In classroom seiting both teachers and students have their own rhetorical and relational goals. Based on these goals both employ different communicative strategies, These goals are often under the influence of diverse factors such as classroom environment, gender distribution, classroom tasks and assessment parameters, etc. Given a change in these factors, there comes a response change in the goals, and hence communicative strategies could accordingly tend to change. CLAssg0om ComMUNICATION: PLANNING, PRESENTING AND POINTING efore you Begin a Session Before going into a classroom, i.e., communicating in classroom, a teacher must be fully prepared. She should clearly understand objective of discussion, subject and mode of delivery, available time span and expectations and needs of audience. Defining Objective ‘A classroom objective is specific statement that asks the teachers what students should leam or will be able to perform, after the completion of the given session, module and course, A well defined objective helps a teacher to shape the contents, choose the correct mode of delivery and management of time. In context of classroom teaching, there are usually three types of leaming goals: short-term, intermediate and long-term. Meeting these goals largely depends upon the timely meeting these objectives. For example, sessions tell us about the immediate leaming of the class, whereas course refets to final, i.., long-term goal of the class, and whether a teacher is successfully moving on the right track can be judged by learning outeomes of the modules. Therefore, objectives of a particular session oF a module, or @ course serve as an important ‘ool in designing, implementing and proper evaluation. (On the students’ part objectives enable the students to know the directions of their learning, to understand the reasons behind their reading and, most importantly, to assess the inner coherence between varied sessions. It also assists the students in dividing them as long and short-term and thereby defining their priorities in tangible forms. The characteristics of effective objectives are mentioned below: + Student centric: Teaching and leaning objectives should be students centric, i.e, students should be able to learn new theories or upgrade their skills by active participation. + Clear and unambiguous: Don’t get attracted by related themes or benefits. + Specific: Focus is more important. Keep in mind your immediate, intermediate and final gol + Balanced: Achieving too many goals together or goals which are pole apart from one another are not feasible. Short-term, intermediate and long-term goals should linearly cohere with one another. Audience Analysis: There can be three major layers of audience analysis, (.e., demographic analysis, att dinal analysis and environment analysis and educational level of the audience. Attitudinal analysis assists anChapter 1: kiective Communication in Classroom Teaching 83, instructor to know about the liking or disliking of the students towards him as well as his subject. Through demographic and attitudinal analysis an instructor gets the feel of the class and becomes better equipped in his choice of vocabulary, language style,, citing anecdotes and usage of examples. Environmental analysis allows a teacher to judge the feasibility of conducting various activities, games, simulations or even using audio video systems. Balancing Expectations, Needs and Interests: In a class it is very important to keep a balance between expectations, needs and interests. Keeping a good balance, both in classroom content and behavior, is an issue which troubles students and teachers alike. Classroom teaching usually is time bound and-purpose oriented, {hat is, ibis meant to cater to some specific needs and goals in @ limited time frame. Meeting these needs/goals is and should be the top priority, Therefore, it is sometimes required to compromise on personal interests and expectations fronts. This compromise is inevitable for the mutual good, Both teachers and students prefer sticking to the content they like, But what may interest you, may not interest others; and what you may not find interesting, may be very significant - for examination, interview or practical. Therefore, both teaching and learning should be focused. Individual interests can be pursued indi« vidually in due course of time. Subject and Mode of delivery: Being aware of varied pedagogical tools like pure lectures, discussions, usage of power point, chalk and board, éase based discussions, audio-visual means, definitely make an instructor ‘more powerful in the classroom. Not only usage of these varied means enriches the classes, it also keeps the students away from boredom. However, while selecting mode of delivery one should always keep in mind the typical needs of the subject in hand, For example, no amount of discussion or theory can clarify mathematical Concepts to the students until they themselves put it into practice, Hence, lecture method through power point Presentation surely won't be as effective as a lecture/discussion with chalk and on board. Similarly, instead of teaching the theory of critical thinking or even group discussion one should put the students in such situations (role plays) whereby the major theoretical aspects can be discussed, Time frame: Keeping in view the shorter attention span of younger generation, the elongated lecturing sessions turn out to be less effective than an appropriate blend of the varied pedagogical tools. As per the need and demand of subject, introducing small relevant activity in the beginning or middle of the sessions has better impact than one-sided teaching. In any given situation, the instructor should always plan to keep part of the time for query session or elari- fications. Depending upon the need of a peculiar audience group, it can be placed in the end ofa session or at the beginning of the next one. Presentation: Begin: Itis a good practice to begin a session by connecting it with the conclusion of the previous one, and also by showing that this is going to serve as foundation for the discussions in forthcoming sessions. Clarifying this connectivity helps the students to concentrate and also assists in developing and maintaining smooth forward flow. The numerous ways of opening a session are mentioned below. 1g of a Session * Question: The question can be based upon the previous session's learning or may be an exploratory one that can set the tone for the forthcoming points. * Narration/Aneodote: With the help of an apt story, we can grab the wandering attention of participants. However, the important point to be remembered is that it should be short, crisp and relevant to the topic. Analogies are the popular example of this category wherein the parallel indicated by the instructor makes the meaning apparent and even closer to the heart84 PART B: Lesues in Classroom Teaching + Quotation: Presenting your idea in the words of a well established authority enhances credibility of the speaker as well as interest of the audience + Startling statement: Presenting the same information in a startling statement fetches the attention that ‘can be further channelized towards the intended direction. Instead of making’a particular style to be your typical style, it is better to use a mix and match as per the requirement and thereby, maintain novelty in your teaching styl. Main section ‘The technique to develop the main section of the session depends mainly on the kind of topic is in the hand. ‘The major techniques that are used by instructors are cause-effect, problem-solution, and question-answer chain, Among all the suggested sequences exposition remains as the most important one wherein the instructor ‘moves from a point to another one and keeps explaining the wider picture. While designing this major section, aan eye on the following points adds value to the whole plan. Short attention spans: The instructors should always remember that the already short attention span of an average adult is getting shrunk with the rapid socio-cultural changes. Therefore, itis suggested that a session’ lecture should be divided into shorter segments that are not formally announced but are taken care by the instructor. Itis always better to divide the devote 15-20 minutes to 2 particular topic, illustrate it with different examples and highlight its main point at the end of that span. Indicators of transition of ideas: It is also better to indicate the transition of the idea with the help of transitional phrases like first and foremost, to begin with, the next point that I wish to emphasize, in addi- tion to it, to conclude etc. This usage has two advantages: the chances of attention deviation of the audi- ence are lessened and even if a person loses the thread of discussion, these words help him in catching the clue back. ‘One-sided vs. two sided: It is always better to keep the session as a two sided, i. e. interactive sessions. The instructor should take small breaks fo involve the audience in one or the other way. Lecturing vs. activities: Lecturing is not an effective medium to teach all kinds of topics. It is always better, particularly in skill based courses, to combine a lecture with student activities. I enhances the value of lecture and keeps @ check on the attention of the participants. ‘Wrapping it Up: Closure of a lecture is an appropriate time to summarize the main poinis and check whether the audience has followed it or not. We may ask the students to connect the information to them, to tell us its practical implication etc, This is an effective technique to conclude or even to initiate the next lecture. We must plan our session in such a manner thet the main points come at & point when the students are most attentive, ice, either the initial 10-15 minutes or the last 10-15 minutes, The faculty should always keep some margin towards the end for discussion or feedback. You may aska few ‘questions to check whether the class has understood the concepts in the right direction or not. Keeping a backup plan: Despite all the required preparations, teaching is evidently and inevitably uncertain as until the class gets over no teacher can ever be sure about the outcome or even the degree of effectiveness of delivery of the session. Uncertainty can be at three levels, i. e., in effectively handling the content in hand, in being unsure about the mannerism (o react and sudden failure of crucial paraphernalia. The following points equip a teacher in handling uncertainty with a little more certainty and confidence.———eEE | Chapter: Effective Communication in Classroom Teaching 35 * Emergence of any unexpected twist and tum should not shock the instructor, i. e., while preparation the | Pr | idea of “might happen” should have occurred to the instructor. Being mentally prepared to face any of | the uncertainty is half the battle done, * One should always keep some warm up activities, relevant exercises, pertinent simulations that can be used as filler to enhance receptability of the students. * In order to be prepared to face technical failure, teachers should always carry a handout version of the slides that are to be used in the class. * During preparations, playing devil’s advocate helps the teachers to face all the types or queries, be it genuine or otherwise, * Behavioral uncertainty of the students is to be tackled with cool headedness. Many a times subtle humor is also helpful in handling it Pointing: Providing feedback With the growing trend of feedback being received by the formal authorities, the tendency to seek feed | back individually is diminishing, stil its significance in teaching-leaming scenario cannot be negated and an instructor needs to be apt a it. Iis impact on both the teacher and taught can be welt understood withthe help of following diagram. 7 Rethink Mutual ie Pedagogy Evaluation Learning Focus 1 4 i. Teacher's | Response * Feedback86 PART B: Issues in Classroom Teaching Thus feedback from the students enables # teacher to see the, to adjust accordingly and thereby, to bring better results. However, feedback from the instructors to their students has the inherent capacity to motivate a leamer to discover further or to kill his curiosity in its bud. The below mentioned suggestions can serve as a helpful tool in giving and receiving feedback effective feedback. Giving feedback: strategies: Keeping in mind the below mentioned strategies while giving feedback add value fo the whole feedback process and its impact on. Realistic: While giving the feedback on any given assignment or task, the goal should be to take the students to a step or two ahead from the current stage. Targeting straight a way for the ultimate goal can diminish their confidence and desire to move any further, Timely: The feedback should be as immediate as possible. Any delay in giving the feedback not only reduces its gravity but also reduces the impact. Feedback should be given when students are in learning ‘mode not ata point when their desire to learn has been overruled by other priorities, ‘Amount: Instead of referring to all the flaws at one and the same time, itis better to prioritize them and address the more important ones at a go. By doing so we can gain the whole attention of the student and the chances of improvement remain higher. Audience: Keeping ourselves in the shoes of the participants will let us realize that the negative feed- back should be given in private. As goes the popular saying, “praise in public but eriticize in private.” * Giving feedback: content Structure: As has been mentioned by Black etal (2003), Dixon (2005) and Haitie and Timperley (2007), feedback should be planned in a manner to identify what was done well, what needs improvement, and, how to improve Instead of pin pointing only negatives, effective feedback may follow sandwich technique, i.., putting the positive statement first, stating the negative statement in between and closing it again with a posi- tive statement only. The initial constructive statement puts the students in a positive mindset whereas the later positive statement assists them in maintaining their morale and confidence. Specificity: The points while giving feedback should be as general as leave the scope of further explo- ration and introspection on the part of the student but, at the same time; it should be so specific that the students get an idea about the corrective measure in the given situation. Comparisons: Scholars have a difference of opinion regarding making comparisons of the current work with the work done by others. It should be wisely used or discarded as per the level of confidence of the students, Receiving Feedback: Despite the formal mechanism of receiving feedback ftom the students, the feedback taken by the teacher himself carries a different importance and hence should not be ignored, The following points are helpful in ree ing fruitful feedback. ‘Take initiative: The chances of students coming forward and giving you feedback are minimal; hence it becomes the responsibility of the instructor to actively seek feedback. Be explicit: The initial natural reaction of any student to feedback queries will be positive only. One ‘way to get honest feedback is to be specific and explicit in seeking feedback. You can raise certain probing questions with the help of which you can assess and relate your performance and ask the par ticipant to endorse or reject it. Attention: The common flaw during the communication process is that we listen to the things as we wish not as they are uttered, Hence, developing attentive listening habit during feedback session or even otherwise is crucial to the success of any instructor.Chapter [1: Effective Communication in Classroom Teaching 87 + Awareness: The teachers should be quite well aware of their own emotional and intellectual; verbal and nonverbal reactions during feedback session. Any effort of rejection or censorship on your part will put the pasticipants on check and their further coming up will be difficult. Even if there is a significant gap between their viewpoint and yours, listen to them as it is crucial to understand the apprehiensions of others : after all the basic purpose of seeking feedback is to emerge as a better teacher in the eyes of the self'as well the students. + Silence: Due to the above mentioned reasons, refrain from making any response. If you consider that some kind of clarification is very much needed, do it after the student has completely shared his/her opinion otherwise s/he may feel restricted, and may come into appeasing mode. MOTIVATION IN THE CLASSROOM ‘Motivation plays an important role in all walks of our life, and so is the case with teaching-leaming process. Good motivation shapes the leaning attitudes of the students, and helps them to overcome different obstacles in their career. The following suggestions may pave the path of any instructor on the road of motivation to hishher students. Love what you teach: American Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1997) opines that the teacher whose involvement, dedication and passion for his/her subject matter border the state of being crazy, influences students the most. He further says that such commitment to the subject matter becomes infectious and instills the students a similar willingness to pursue the knowledge (Domyei, 2001). Students sometimes make light fun of such teachers, but deep inside they admire that passion. ‘Keeping a good relationship: Trst, patience and acceptance are the three factors which play a crucial role in keeping the relationship stronger. When a teacher scores high on these points in students’ mind, they feel motivated to share their fear, failure and doubts with the teacher. Students also welcome criticism from such teachers, and, thereby, their chances of learning get higher, Making yourself available for students: How do you feel when someone responds immediately to your need. without any delay? You feel good, Right! And what if'you come to know that someone did this by keeping their ‘own priorities aside? Will you not feel indebted and motivated to follow him or her as and when it is required? Showing your students that you care for them is one of the most crucial things. It does motivate the students in doing better on academic as well as social fronts. + Offer concrete consistence and not mere.preaching + Show concerns with the things that are not going good + Correct manuscripts, assignments, tests etc. promptly + Be available for overtime if students need your help NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION ‘The systematic study of nonverbal communication has received serious attention of the scholars quite recently; still thete is no difference of opinion regarding its ancient existence and signilicance. Nonverbal communica- tion may be taken as exchange of messages without or beyond words. A teacher has to have command of both verbal and nonverbal communication because the former aims at cognitive learning and the latter one targets to develop liking towards the subject. The major branches of nonverbal communication, that play a significant role in classroom context, are mentioned below:88 PART: Issues in Classroom Teaching + Kinesies: all forms of body language + Proxemics: study of personal space and arrangement of personal items + Paralanguage: tone, volume, pace and pitch of speech + Chronemies: utilization of timelines Before moving further on the study of nonverbal communication, one needs to keep in mind that deciphering the same depends a lot on context and culture therefore there always remains a wide scope of misinterpreta- tion leading to misunderstanding. Context plays a major role in it (tis almost impossible for any instructor to interpret exact meaning of nonverbal cues offered by the participants. However, with 8 little observation, and prudence, we can surely assess whether they are attentive or not, whether the idea is getting across oF not, svhether they are participating or just actin to participate, whether they are trying to raise a genuine qusiy oF trying to deviate the attention of the whole group from learning, ete ‘The relevant aspects of nonverbal cues in a classroom are mentioned below Kinesies: Kinesics encompasses all the forms of body movements. The most important clues in # classroom context are mentioned below. «Posture: An erect gesture is considered to be a symptom of attentiveness and being engaged, whereas a slumped or slouched posture indicates boredom or discouraged mindset, Generally, students bend a Title forward with emergent interest in the content whereas they tend to bend backward in a mood of defiance. The latter posture is usuall) blended with the stretched legs. +) Head position: Straight head position is taken as a neutral head position and is it usually but not always, on the right hand side indicates tat the interest has taken place, Tilting the hhead backward is a symbol of disagreement whereas slight bow towards the front side indicates agreement and involve- ‘ment, Quite apparently, nods show the agreement with the idea. «Facial expression: A relaxed/smiling facial expression indicates the level of comfort and satisfaction with toth the environment ofthe class and content of the discussion. Frown or wrinkled brow may be tken as a symptom of confusion or annoyance. Yawning, quite apparently, isthe symbol of boredom or fatigue « Oculesies: Oculesics deals with the behavior of eyes. Making and maintaining eye contact is taken as 1 symbol of confidence, plainliness and interest. On the contrary, avoiding eye contact puis forth the ae nace and dishonesty. The students, as per Knapp and Hall (1992), avoid making eye contact when they do not know the answer to a question whereas Miller (2005) believes that the reason behind such see vor is dislike forthe instructor or disinterest inthe subject matte. Another reason behind such an act can be lower self-esteem or confidence. «Hand movements: The most important hand gesture to be witnessed in the class is closed arm gesture Culture and context can give varied meanings to the gesture, but the major research on body language considers it to be a gesture of defence that simply means thatthe idea is not going across. On one-on- coats there ean be numerous possibilities in meaning, but display ofthis gesture by the majority of audience should be taken as an alarming call. “The popular gesture withthe help of which students ty to influence their teachers is the evaluation gesture wherein palm touches the chin and usually index finger remains up (facing the roof). This is indeed, evalua thon gesture that indicates interest, but the genuineness of the gesture can be decoded with the help of seeing pressure of face on the palm, In case of evaluation and genuine interest, palm just touches the cheek whereas the state of putting pressure on the palm indicates that boredom has taken its roots in the listenes- “The major success of veteran teachers depends upon ther intuitiveness, whereby, they make sense of these nonverbal messages in an active and smart mannet. While tracing the negative gestures, the instructor must break those gestures (may be by asking questions) by any means as gestures and mindsets keep mutuallyChapt 1: Eifetive Communication in Classroom Teaching 89 effecting each other. Hence, positive gestures will enhance the probability of better understanding of the message. Proxemics: The study of mutual distances tan affect classroom ambience up to a great level. For example, fixed seats in the classroom lead to fixed mindsets whose inclination towards discussions remains inadequate. In order to motivate interactive environment of the class, seats should not be fixed and frequent change in seating arrangement leads to novelty of ideas and openness of mind during discussion, thereby, resulting into better attentiveness and academic performance. Paralanguage: Paralanguage encompasses the study of tone, pitch, volume and pace of speech. As an instructor, one should always use moderate level of these features but to be a perceiving listener a little more attention to the students’ paralanguage features adds value to comprehension. Being in a state of uncertainty ot low confidence, students come up with low volume and higher pace, Moreover, a prudent use of these features by the instructor avoids monotony taking place in the class. Ctassroom anp Communicarive ConFLicts Our perception is heavily influenced by the culture we have been raised in, And based on this perception we choose to receive, modify and filter the information coming from outside, Teachers and students have their own perception towards education, relationships, society, achievements, career, good vs. bad behavior ete, Its influence is well reflected in teachers’ pedagogical practices and students’ learning attitudes, as well as on their communicative behavior. There are several cultural dimensions along which communicative behavior of a society develops. Some of the dimensions are: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, mascu- linity- femininity and long-term and short-term dimension, In case there is an undue compromise on one or more dimensions, chances of what may be referred as communicative conflict become higher. These dimensions were identified by Hofstede in 1980s with reference to overall cultural diversity. However, these dimensions are equally justifiable within the walls of a classroom. These dimensions are listed as follows Power Distance: It refers to how status difference is ascribed and negotiated. In a classroom there are typically two statuses: teacher and students. Teachers are higher and more powerful in status than students. This difference is visible in their respective choice of sentences or vocabulary. While students usually act polite and take their turn in the form of making requests-upward communication, teachers on the other hand instruct, inform, advise and regulate overall classroom behavior of the students~downward ‘communication, With the changing socio-cultural environment, this gap is getting lesser and lesser. Being a teacher of the modem generation, we need to adapt to it. Living in the glorious past may be a recipe to disaster. Avoiding of uncertainty: It concems itself with how a classroom culture is dealt with in the ethos of uncer- tainty. Typical examples are: in a classroom a student talks on mobile in the presence of teacher or a teacher sings a romantic song. Overall tolerance level of the class also leads to adoption, modification or change in the communicative behavior of the classroom. The way and manner of handling such situation will be definitely context and person driven, However, every such situation demands high patience and coo! headedness. Individuatism-Collectivism: It indicates to the commitment towards self or to the classroom. No classroom discussion goes without different opinions. How do students and teacher react when confronted with the situ- ation which invites controversy or has a number of pros and cons?90 PART B: Issues in Classroom Teaching One of the efficient ways of handling such situation is to remember the concept “I am ok, you are ok” that suggests that being right is neither a prerogative of a person nor should be related to position. Everybody has a right to be ok and everybody has a limitation to be not ok. Hence, ifthe idea presented by students is ok, there should not be any hitch in accepting it, Masculinity-Femininity tells about the values like being explicit or implicit in our communicative practices. ‘A classroom for students of law or engineering will be far more explicit in nature than the one meant for the students of medical sciences such as doctors and nurses. The behavior is governed by their particular profes~ sional requirements. Being a good lawyer demands high level of articulation and oratory skills wherea’s profes- sions of doctors want them to be caring, empathetic and supportive. Long-term vs. Short-term orientations: It focuses on the here and now vs. there and then. Long-term goals refer to mastering the skills needed for professional and academic standing. In contrast, short-term goal implies for a habit of looking for immediate solution at the cost of future gains. These goals, both at the level of leaming and teaching, affect our various day-to-day classroom conversations. Students who are oriented to the long-term academic and professional achievements and skills will ask questions, will meet the deadlines, and will be polite and respectful in their communication. Bagriers To COMMUNICATION Barriers to communication refer to the noise because of which either the communicative massage gets distorted or lost, As a result instances such as miscommunication or no communication creep in between the sender and the receiver. In a classtoom scenario, barriers can be divided into three parts: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Organizational, Reasons for communication barriers + Stereotyping: unique views, opinions, habits, attitude etc. towards something especially without hav- ing enough reasons. OR evaluating an individual on the basis of the group (s)/he belongs to + Language: linguistic inappropriateness and insufficiency, communication selectiveness, speaking too {ast or too slow, poor listening skills. ete. + Inappropriate channel: noise in the communication channel, inappropriate media, information load, too many transfer nodes, ete. + Speculative messages: unclear intent, incomplete information, mixing too much information together, incongruent non-verbal mode, ete. + Emotional outburst: too much anger, fear, happiness, excitement, hatred, ete. (or any emotion at its peak) Overcoming Communication Barriers: Few tips = Remember Albert Einstein's quote “If you cannot explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”, Be simple, organized and precise. Don’t use complicated words or sentences. Don’t mix up many messages too. + If you are to communicate something important and on the record, be formal and use written media. Speak to audience if you want to discuss something in general. OR For communicating a long/formal / detailed/important data whose record keeping is crucial, one should always optChapter 11° A@fective Communication in Classroom Teaching 91 for written medium. However, oral will be more effective to give personal, informal touch to the whole conversation, + While speaking, rate of speech should be normal and your voice should clearly reach to everyone. Whereas in writing, one must write legibly, take good care of grammatical glitches. + Extra attention is needed iff you use black/marker board. Move from right (o lefi or left to right depend- ing on your position with respect to audience. Don’t end up writing anything anywhere. Make sure that even last bench audience can comfortably read you. Ask before effacing if someone is still taking the notes. + Remember that one can know a lot, but ‘a lot’ does not equal to ‘everything’. There is always some scope for learning, So, be attentive and open to answers and questions both, + Judging is good but judging too quickly is not. Being judgmental is definitely not. So, think carefully before reacting. * Good sense of humor is one of the most important tools while dealing with the crowd. Use it to avoid unwanted questions and to answer difficult questions. + Miscommunication is often a mutual fault. Hence, don’t accuse others of i ‘Humor, Communication AND CLassroom ‘Humor makes an important communicative tool. It serves variety of fumctions other than making people laugh. Most of the good public speakers effectively use it to win their audience, Teachers can effectively use humor as an instructional tool to facilitate leaning. In classroom humor ean be used for making yourself look approach- able, softening criticism, coping with the stress, increasing attemtiveness, breaking the ice, minimizing boredom and dealing with embarrassing situation. Teachers, who use humor in classroom teaching, receive more posi- tive evaluations from students (Bryant, Cominsky & Zillmann, 1979) and students show more interest to attend and participate in their classes. However, all these positives impacts of humor are subject to what may be referred to as “appropriate classroom humor”, With reference to classroom an appropriate humor deems fit to both students and teachers, failing which humor can detract the process of learning and social cooperation in the class. Therefore, it is very important for the teachers to contemplate on the type of humor they want to use in their classroom. Teachers often use related and unrelated humor, non-verbal behaviors, disparaging humor, humorous props, impersonation, and sarcasm in the classroom. Suggestions for Effective Use of Humor + Its good to link the humor to subject matter whenever possible. Humorous examples, jokes and stories may help the students with better retention. Ifa student can recall the humor, she could also recall the context of use, i.e. theory or the concept that was being illustrated in the class. ‘+ Teachers should not single out or target an individual student for cracking humor. No humor is appro priate which aims at belittling anyone. + Although use of self-disparaging or self-deprecating humor is safe as it targets no one but yourself, it could damage your own credibility. Therefore, don’t use it if you are new to your audience. Effective use of this humor make you appear less pretentious. + Understanding gender and gender distinction in the class is very crucial before jumping to beeome humorous. For example, a female participant, in male dominated classroom, is far more prone to be offended by something which otherwise may not bother her ~ it also holds true for a vice- versa state.92. PART B: Jssues tn Classroom Teaching + Being funny on issues such as race, religion, caste, color, culture, ethnicity, language, ete. may lead {0 frustration and aggression. Unless you have highly articulating expression and possess high credibility in the class itis better to avoid it. « + Realize that there is saturation point of everything. Too much humor can compromise the learning time, pace, and environment (CONCLUSION Recapitulating the above, itis maintained that effective communication in the classroom bridges up the gulf between an instructor and the audience therein, Imparting knowledge of any discipline can be of vital signifi- ‘cance if it is done with adequate and affinity-creating culture of the classroom. It does not matter much, what kind of pedagogy is adopted, the paramount significance lies in the communicative art through which the participants find themselves at home, equipped and accomplished with the subject dealt with in the classroom, Ephemeral shall be the impact on the students if communication Skills ate not according to the ethos of the ‘classroom culture. Moreover, expression echoes the personality Succersrep READING [1] Askildson, L. (2005). Effects of humor in'the language classroom: Humor as a pedagogical tool in theory and practice. Arizona Working Papers in SLAT. 12, 45-61 [2] Bain, Ken (2004) Wat the best College teachers do Cambridge: Harvard University Press [3] Brown, Sally, Seve Armstrong and Gail Thompson (1998) Motivating Students London : Taylor & Francis Group [i Bryant, J, Comisky, PW. Crane, J. 8, Zillmann, D, (1980), Relationship between college teachers’ use of humor inthe classroom and students’ evaluations oftheir teachers. 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