Maintaining short periods of eye contact with each student ties the student in to you and the subject matter being taught,it encourages them and makes them feel important in the class that they are a part of the process within the class.
I think it works at several levels. The students feel that the teacher is addressing in a more direct way, and it helps to establish a more personal relationship during the learning process. It also keeps students more attentive.
Very difficult for me, so I look at the students fore head.
Maintaining eye contact signifies that the teacher acknowledges the presence of individual learners in the classroom. Appropriate eye contact intensifies the connection between the teacher and students such that students maintain focused on the concept or skill being conveyed or demonstrated by the teacher. It may also be said that teachers can "feel it" when students understand or not understand what is needed to learn by looking into their eyes.
I Started to noticed how many students would speak to me by name even if they were not in my particular classes. Just by taking a couple of seconds to smile and say hello has made a huge difference over the past year. Face it, we all need a smile a day to get us through the day. Students really do notice when a faculty or staff member just smiles and says hi. It has actually become a fun game especially when you see a student who looks a little down or discouraged.
One of the subjects I teach is human relations. I teach my students about how eye contact helps to establish a relationship with who ever you are talking to and lets them know you are listening. It also lets you know if they are listening. If you are talking to someone and they are looking off into space or having shifty eye movement it can tell you a number of things about the way the conversation is going. Eye contact is invaluable.
Greetings to each of you who made post about maintaining eye contact.
You all gave very good comments about eye contact. One of the examples about being a child not wanting to be called on, then as an adult who lacked confidence made a perfect point about how that eye contact can help students build self esteem. How facilitators/instructors impact the future of students is an awesome responsibility.
Another comment made about the instructor who never looked students in the eye and how unapproachable she was. This just indicated to me that she was comfortable in her own skin and had not made the effort to conquer that OR she didn't have the classroom role-modeling that she needed.
What would you say is the most significant outcome for a student who has an instructor who does maintain eye contact?
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Eye contact helps engage the instructor with the students. As a young child I did not like eye contact as I feared I would be called on to answer a question I did not know the answer to. As an adult, frequently I am the one who the instructor or trainer looks at during their pause between concepts. Now, exchanging a smile and nod feels powerful. It helps me stay engaged in the presentation. I feel this helps me when working with learners as I can recognize more shy individuals and help them to build confidence.
Hi Joseph!
You are absolutely correct! It about staying in touch with students and helping them feel like they are the most important student in the class. They then know that you are genuinely interested in their learning outcomes.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
It adds personalization to the classroom
I had an instructor in college who never made direct eye contact. She always looked at the back wall of the room or over your head if you were having a one-on-one conversation with her. I always found her hard to approach.
Eye contact not only maintains a personal relationship it also helps me understand how my students are comprehending my lectures. I can usually tell by their facial expressions if they understand the materials or not.
It lets them know that you are engaged with them individually and it adds a personal touch for your lecture.
My students seem to appreciate the amout of personality when I have larger classes. This gives them some one on one time. It gives them the apperance of them being the only student in the class.
It makes them feel you, as the instructor, are inviting and including them personally into the learning process.
Hi Frank!
Absolutely! Why do you think most students respond well to eye contact with the instructor?
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
to keep the students engauged
I find that maintaining eye contact with your students make them fill like they are part of the class. Some times it catches students off guard when they look up and I am looking into their eyes. So I find that making eye contact with each of my student keeps them involved in my class they never know when I am going to look at them.
When making eye contact with your students, you are engaging them on what is being lectured. I try to maintain good eye contact to ensure that everyone is atleast pretending to be interested!
Utilizing my "20 second" classroom glance, I often find students who are looking for that eye contact to get up the nerve to ask a question. If I don't catch them, they may never get the chance to let me know they have a concern or confusion with my topic of the day.
