The classroom X-factor: John white and John Gardner

1. Gestures

2. When you are speaking
gestures are particularly
useful as they help you to
organize spatial and motor
information into packages
appropriate for speaking.
Gesture: confers a
cognitive benefit on the
speaker

3. Your X-factor and information
processing
Gestures are important because they allow us to
present information in a multidimensional manner.
For example: Wiggling fingers
convey a multitude of
information in terms of time,
trajectory, space, form and as a
result this one image can
present multi-dimensional
meaning.

4. Gestures can be used to supplement words. This is especially true when we
are trying to convey a mental image or a cognitive concept.
The use of gesture to accompany the
spoken word increased the informational
value of the message by approximately
60%.
Embodied
Cognition
Our mental processes are shaped by
our bodies. Our thoughts are shaped
by the types of perceptual and motor
experiences we have as we interact
each day with the world.

5. Types of Gestures
1. Deictic gesture: Involves pointing and it is often used by children.
2. Iconic gesture: When we use a gesture which closely resembles a concrete
object or event.
3. Metaphoric gesture: When a gesture is used to present an abstract
concept.
4. Emblems: Use of gesture to communicate a message typically recognized
by the community.

6. Gestures and beats
• Beats give a clue as to the
inner workings of the mind of
the speaker.

7. The use of gesture in classrooms
o A number of studies have found that lessons which
are characterized by the use of gestures are more
effective than the same lessons without their usage.
o Learners who gesture spontaneously on a task are
more likely to retain what they have learned about
the task than learners who do not gesture.
oTeaching which includes gesture has been found to
facilitate learning.

8. Teachers tend to use
gesture more frequently in
Math than in other
lessons.
Math teachers used
from five to seven
unspoken
representations of
mathematical ideas
per minute.

9. GESTURES can vary
according to culture!
The type of culture you live
has a great impact on your
degree of gesturing.

10. Vocal
Expression

11. The way we use our voice often gives away the true
meaning of what we want to say.
• The voice is a leakier channel than the face, it is
not so well controlled and is more likely to reveal
true feelings.
Pitch It has to do with the number of vocal
vibrations of the vocal folds.

12. The sound of your voice changes as the rate of
vibrations varies.
• As the number of vibrations per second
INCREASES, so does the pitch meaning the voice
would sound higher.
• For example, Joy and Elation can be associated
with raised pitch and pitch variability. Depression
can be associated with raised pitch, breathy quality
and longer more silent pauses.

13. Voice intonation and the classroom
X-factor
• Vocal variety is the factor which students associate
most positively with learning.
• Students associate vocal monotone as the
behavior most negatively associated with learning.

14. Steps for teachers:
1. Ensure there is a
proper quality of
projection.
2. Monitor the rate at
which you speak.
3. Vary the kinds of
intonation you use.

15. Your V-factor and Gender
• Men tend to have louder and lower pitcher voices.
• Women tend to smile more while they speak, the
voice quality gains a higher pitched sound. Women
make more use of voice intonation and of specific
voice intonation patterns.

16. Vocal fluency and persuasiveness
• Big difference in gender Fluency.
• Men are less fluent than women, making more
speech errors in general.
RATE OF SPEECH AND ITS VOLUME
Connected to persuasiveness

17. Other factors connected to
persuasiveness
• Facial pleasantness and activity.
• Less direct shoulder orientation.
The faster the rate
of speech, the
lower the
estimation of
dominance.

18. Kinds of pause
• Silent pause:
Users of silent pauses can be interpreted as angry,
contemptuous or anxious.
• Filled pauses:
Users of filled pauses were interpreted as anxious or
bored.

19. Extroverted people
• They are more fluent, allow for shorter pauses in
conversation turn taking, have shorter pauses in
their own speech, fewer hesitation and speak
faster.
In order to appear confident, it is
better to allow yourself small periods
of silence between your words when
you are thinking rather than filling
the gaps with “ums” and “ers”

20. Prosody
It is used to describe the use of vocal
variations to change the meaning of what is
being said.
The obvious “habitat” for prosody rests
in our use of questioning.
Teachers ask about two questions
per minute.
A pupil asks one question
per month.

21. Personality and your V-factor
•

22. • For men, greater affection is associated when the
average pitch level is low.
• Women are perceived as more affectionate when
their average pitch is high.
Dominant individuals tend to
have voices which are louder
than less dominant individuals.
The V-factor and attractive voices

23. Your voice and breathing
• Feelings of severe strain reveal themselves in a
hoarse and strained voice as tension in the neck
and throat muscles affect our vocal resonance.
• When we are anxious, we can also produce more
speech errors, especially in the early stages of
interaction.
Dysfluencies

24. Your V-factor and your accent
• One’s accent Extralinguistics
• Accent powerful catalyst for prejudice.
• Emotion dialects: your accent and how you
express your emotions.
They relate to the manner in which your cultural identity
affects the way you express emotions nonverbally.