Having eye contact with the student lets them know that you are intersted and paying attention. It shows respect and awareness. Making sure to come into eye contact with all students is important to ensure that no student gets left out. Eye contact conveys you have control over the situation.
Eye contact is extrememly important to let the students know you are engaged with them, and that you create an environment that is a two way street. If I didn't make eye contact as I lectured, my students would think I was simply a robot giving instructions to a wall. Eye contact helps them to feel important, listened to and encourages them to be involved in the class.
Eye contact makes the student know that you are focused on the and what htey are saying is important.
There is attention and a silent message when the eyes of presenters are focused on its audience. In any form of face to face presentation we need to connect to the audience. This is often done when message is supported with eye contact. This is a way of informiing the audience that we recognize their presence and they are important to the lecture or presentation as anyone else in the room.
Making eye contact with your students shows them that you are engaged. Most of my lectures are in lab environments, and as such, the students tend to not always look up during lecture. What I have found successful is walking around the room and usually, when I am near them, they will stop and look up, at times I can pose a question to bring them back into the lecture.
Making eye contact with your audience/students shows them that you are engaged with them and that you are directing the points at them.
Maintaining eye contact with your students indirectly personalizes the students classroom experience and eye contact enforces the trust relationship between the instructor and the srudent.
Eye contact with students allow you to make a connection. Also it shows confidence in the instructor in their knowledge and ability to teach.
Hi Nicolle!
I continuously reenforce the fact that eye contact is essential to classroom learning and positive interaction between student and instructor.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Cristal!
Eye contact is one of the best tools that an instructor can use. Keeping students engaged and open to learning is a sure way to success.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Eye contact is helpful and needed in the classroom but i find it takes time to train yourself to include all the students. at first you seem to look at just a few of the students either because of where they are sitting or because they take part more often in the class. this can cause problems with students feeling left out and then they zone out of the class and start to daydream. for myself i have fourd that by moving around the classroom as i teach it helps me include every one in the class both with eye contact and with conversations about the subject at hand.
Eye contact gives the instructor more credibility, appear more honestly and upfront with the student. I think the student has more trust in the instructor and it makes the instructor more approachable. It makes the student feels like you are leveling with the student.
It tells the students that you are genuinely interested in their learning and want to keep them engaged in the discussion and topic of the lecture.
Having eye contact allows the student to know you are talking to them and you are concerned they understand what you are saying. I believe it is a connection that is extremely important between the student and the teacher.
There is great value in eye contact, my students will tell me they are fine but their eyes say otherwise. The eyes are the windows to the soul. My students often comment about other instructors who fail to make eye contact and how impersonal that class feels to them.
Hi Laurie!
I really like your use of "accepting" or "warm eyes". this is definitely the to connect with students and make them feel a valued part of the class.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 facilitator
Eye contact helps to gain trust
Eye contact with your students creates a singular relationship with each student. It makes the student feel that you are speaking specifically to him or her. Eye contact also enhances emotion in the instructor and that is also transferred to the student.
it is very important to maintain eye contact with each and every student for that brief amount of time, however, how do you handle a student that continually demands that eye contact, and holds it for a bit longer than a " normal" comfort level?
There are several purposes in eye contact and the ones you have mentioned are all very important. I would add that the confidence demonstrated by the instructor, also equates to a sense of "withitness" or awareness of what is going on within the class.
