I agree. It makes them feel included
Eye contact is important because it makes them feel a bigger part of the class
Hello Jay,
I think it is important to maintain eye contact for a few reasons. When you have eye contact it shows you care about the students, you are checking in with them to make sure they understand the material and it shows confidence. I try to maintain eye contact to make sure students feel connected.
I also feel this is an opportunity to check in with students.
Thanks,
Nick
When I make eye contact with my students I get a sense of how they are receiving the information. If I see a confused face, I know i need to try another approach with the lecture or topic being discussed. It also keeps the students engaged.
Eye contact is important for a number of reasons. It helps in creating a connection between the student and teacher. It also helps with making the material/lecture more personal. I’ve also found, from personal experience, that students seemed to be more engaged in lectures when there was a fair amount of eye contact used.
It lets the student know that you are acknowleding them and lets you assess their level of understanding to a certain extent
It tells me they are focus perhaps on you and hopefully comperhending. Not day dreaming in some other world.
It includes the student in the learning process as well as letting them know that you are aware of your classroom dynamics. It also makes the student realize that the class is not just going on around them but that they are just as important and included as their classmates.
Eye contact is a very important tool in the classroom. It makes students feel that they are a real person in the classroom and just not a number. It also helps to "see" if the student is actually getting the information or is looking perplexed.
I feel it is to keep the student in the loop and let them also know that you are talking to them.
Keeping eye contact with the students will maintain their attention with you at all times. if you have a large class, screening with your eyes helps to locate the ones who are really understanding you from the ones who are lost. If you can pick up facial expressions while maintaining eye contact it can tell you alot about your classroom
By maintaining eye contact, I can obtain visual clues as to the comprehension of the subject matter. Eye contact can create an active "dialog" between students and instructors.
it is a great way to know how the students feel about the information you have just given them.
I believe eye contact is vital to concentrating on the student question/situation. But, it is important as well to know the culture of your students. If you have a class with international students, it may be part of their culture to not have direct eye contact.
Maintaining eye contact with students helps them feel noticed and acknowledged. It allows you to partially assess the student's interest and attention.
Eye contact is important because it relays to the student(s) that you're "IN" to what is going on.
My students are much more invovled in a lecture that has good eye contact.
The students know that the instructor has a clue and is not just reading the information out of a book. It also makes the student feel like they are an important part of the class and that the instructor does care about whether or not they learn the material.
The proper use of eye contact makes each student feel that he/she is a respected part of the learning environment. It also allows the instructor to evaluate the learning process. Good eye contact can also cut down on disciplinary problems because each student will know that you are aware of his/her contribution to the class.
Eye contact allows me to "read" my students -- are they interested and engaged? are they lost and confused? are they bored and uninterested?
It also allows me to "connect" with my students -- they feel acknowledged and noticed.
Hi Kathy!
The following article leads us in several directions, but I think it certainly applies to some of our classroom challenges.
http://www.4faculty.org/includes/108r2.jsp
Happy reading and keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
