Editorial
You can read Motivation: An Elusive Quality (Part 1)
Motivation: An Elusive Quality - A Critical Analysis of Classroom Presence
Feride Hekimgil, Turkey
Feride Hekimgil was born into a multicultural, multilingual family in Basingstoke in 1955. She grew up and completed her primary and secondary education in Istanbul after which she attended Boğaziçi University, an English medium university, in the same city. After graduating in 1976, having received a BA in English Literature and her teaching certificate from The Department of Education, she started teaching English as a foreign language at the School of Foreign Languages in the same university. She continues to teach at the same university. E-mail: pheridey@yahoo.com
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Introduction
The secrets revealed…
First: The Prop Room…
Curtain…
And action…
In the first part of this paper, two important components of successful classroom interaction, the leader and his team, were discussed in general terms. Here we return, once again, to the master of ceremonies, i.e. the teacher as his role in determining student attitude, receptiveness, and ultimately successful learning is paramount. The successful imparting of knowledge and the equally successful acquisition thereof is achieved by a teacher with what is described in the profession as classroom presence. Classroom presence is indeed an elusive quality and not everyone has it. Some, those who feel teachers are born not made, feel that it is innate; others feel that it can, to a certain degree, be learnt.
There is certainly a lot of truth in the view that certain members of the teaching profession are just born with that certain je ne sais quoi which makes students sit up, focus, learn and often enjoy the process while also respecting the teacher. Delving back into the recesses of our minds, I am sure we can, each and every one of us, think of at least one individual who would fit the bill. Two brilliant examples that come to mind in my case are my math’s teacher and my biology teacher. I remember the former very clearly: she used to wear grey suits, white blouses and cameo broaches. All I recall about her person is her jet black hair and her eyes; eyes that could read your mind including thoughts that hadn’t entered your consciousness yet and were due to emerge, say, next week; see what you were doing when her back was turned and much else besides. She knew the way our minds worked; she had it down to a T. The result was that we learnt. When we didn’t, she knew and rectified the problem. Result? I graduated with a first, did very well on the seriously difficult university entrance exam and have always loved maths. The latter is due to another essential feature of a brilliant teacher: passion. Passion, as you well know, his catching; enthusiasm spreads through a class like wild fire; a fire which remains for a life time. My biology teacher had the same sort of aura about her as my math’s teacher; something students of all stripes can recognize at a glance. She used to wear her auburn hair up in bun on top of her head and had these diamante glasses which did nothing to cut back on the glare from her piercing blue eyes. One obsession of hers, which I have referred to earlier, was the anatomies of creepy crawlies which we were required to draw meticulously. Precision was paramount and failure to produce a successful rendition was met with this sharp piercing gaze and a feeling that it could get VERY much worse. No one ever dared to push the boundaries and these two teachers never ever raised their voices or uttered a sharp word; they didn’t need to; they had successfully conveyed the feeling of “what if”. They had, in short, classroom presence. I remember coming across my high school biology exercise books years later with the pictures of the members of insect communities and finally deciding to throw them out. As the thought crossed my mind, I also experienced this feeling of supreme guilt – I was letting her down – and fear; fear that she would know and be displeased and… This, despite the fact that she was dead I may add; God rest her soul. Not every member of the profession is thus blessed however, and it is to how they can improve their act that we shall now turn.
There is, so I have been told, this psychologically revealing Chinese game – Wei-Chei – which, when played, gives a quite clear indication as to the sort of person you are. However, there are a group of people who do not need to contend with a game to work out what kind of a person their leader is and that group is students. Students will know within seconds of the teacher’s venturing, striding or ambling into the room, how far they can push him, whether he is experienced or inexperienced, whether he loves teaching or whether he is there under duress, whether he really cares if they – the students – are present in the full sense of the word or not and a whole lot more. They will then proceed to “play” or “manipulate” the poor unsuspecting teacher, jerk his chain, retire to their own little planet, go on auto pilot and / or occasionally listen and learn. This much should make it quite obvious that a teacher’s debut is of vital significance since teaching proper starts as the teacher is entering the door.
It is imperative that one issue be dealt with before finally going on stage: costume! Some may look aghast on reading this but it is of vital significance. Consider, if you will, all those leaders who are in the public eye: any president would rather be dead than not don his suit and tie when in office; officers, officials of all stripes, police chiefs, nurses, paramedics, firemen, those working in the private sector as a whole all have their “uniforms”. They will, in short, “dress for the occasion” as a sign of respect for their position, to imbue their presence with the correct sense of propriety and seriousness, to draw attention away from themselves as men or women, to stress their professional qualities and to clearly delineate the hierarchy. The aim of these men and women is to draw attention away from all but the matter in hand: the budget meeting, the battle, the fire, the patient to be saved and the like. Attention needs to be focused, distractions eliminated and the sense of urgency of the mission conveyed; the costume described here goes a long way towards achieving this goal. This is the rule of the business world as well where certain colors – yellow and beige for instance – are frowned upon, exposing the toes is a no-no – as I found out from my daughter who was then in human resources – and shirt sleeves unthinkable – at least in sectors where the professional is in direct contact with the all important customer. So if you thought for one moment that school uniforms remain a fixture of secondary school, think again; they return, after a brief respite, as soon as one joins the business world. I will, in fact, go as far as to say that there is far more specific attire deemed appropriate for certain professions: take the finance sector. I recall walking across the campus one morning towards our faculty when I happened upon what looked like a flock of penguins – male and female – except they were dressed in dark blue and white rather than the traditional penguin-black. I noticed they were young, about the age of our students, but the suits? I was flummoxed. It was at this point that that my glance fell upon the daughter of a family friend: Hi! She exclaimed, hurrying over to greet me. “Why are you all wearing uniforms?” I enquired with interest. “Oh this is the way we dress in A…. A…. (A reputable company, NOT Alcoholics Anonymous); we are here for a seminar” she explained cheerfully so then I knew: the dress code, like the constitution, is very, very much a fact. I have since learnt that pink is the new white for men’s shirts but I digress. This, then, is the world we live in and for better or for worse, these are the rules of the game. It is not my intention here to defend “uniforms” far from it; what needs to be emphasized is that this is the social learning that human kind grows up surrounded by; these are the associations that have been embedded in his psyche – at least in the psyche of the vast majority of the population. Could you honestly claim you would trust in the judgment of your bank manager more if he greeted you in combat trousers and a T-shirt? Alternatively, consider your supervisor, Ms. X; would you be able take her warnings concerning the pitfalls of such and such an investment seriously if she entered the board room wearing a leopard print and a miniskirt? Would you even be able to focus? The reason is that that old adage, “Clothes maketh man” is truer than it has ever been. Although there are some famous exceptions which are few and far between, there is attire that is associated with specific positions and anyone who wishes to be taken seriously, needs to play by the book. The same is true for the teaching profession despite claims to the contrary.
On the up side, the dress code, which is so very strict for many other professions, is much more lax when it comes to teaching. This doesn’t mean, however, that you can arrive in class wearing that comfy floral print which you’ve had for fifteen years or that T-shirt which has grown transparent but lovely and soft through repeated washing. Clean, tidy and well groomed is the rule of thumb. A second point to remember is that, just like your bank manager or your supervisor, you need to put your “professional self” across; not you as the attractive woman or the trendy young man. There needs to be nothing to distract attention from the substance of the lesson: students should be focusing on what the teacher is saying not her cleavage, how good she looks in leggings, what a good bust she has, how good he looks in those tight jeans or that they can see his boxers when he bends over. The teacher, like other professionals, needs to dress for the occasion; he/ she is not exempt from the all important dress code. On the plus side, as I indicated at the beginning, lee way is provided: unlike other fields, jeans and cords are fine for instance but classic cuts rather than the skin tight variety; decent pullovers rather than skimpy v-necks. It is, unfortunately, a fact that we can’t dress for the workplace – be it an office or a school – as we would for an evening on the town or for slobbing out in front of the TV. If you wish to have discipline, a responsive an attentive class and consequently some actual teaching and learning, this the attire that will give you a head start. If, on the other hand, you are satisfied with a free-for-all, mayhem and consequently lack of respect and effective learning, go in your hipsters and boob-tube by all means. As George Orwell so aptly put it: In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. This is the truth however little some people may like it.
Suitably attired, the teacher enters the room. This may sound simple but isn’t as those first steps are a dead giveaway concerning who the teacher really is, what he is capable of and also what his limitations are – remember students have mastered the art of reading body language. The first mistake one may make is fixing one’s eyes on the desk and making a bee line for it without so much as a glance in the direction of the class. The subconscious reaction of your team – for that is what they indeed are – is as follows: he doesn’t care if we are here or not; whether we listen or not just so long as we sit quietly and there is a semblance of attentive listening. This is often very far from being the intention of the novice to the profession who may be suffering from stage fright (which the students will also sense rather like hounds on the scent of that hormone the brain produces as a response to fear) and is trying to cover up, or is preoccupied and just wants to get on with it. There are those in the profession who, unfortunately, do really feel that a captive audience will suffice. Consider, if you will, this professor of law who marches into class turns up his nose at the students and tells them that they are too thick to understand anything he says anyway and with this opening remark proceeds to talk at the students for a year (true story). It should come as no surprise that success rates were very low. There are some who make it a practice to hurl abuse at students; a very counterproductive method, which breeds a hearty dislike for “the team leader”, whatever he espouses and by association, learning in general. Someone once said: when the hammer is the only tool, every problem looks like a nail but if this is the case, why, one may enquire, do such people teach? They do so because they crave a captive audience; not because they are actually concerned about imparting their knowledge to the next generation and also because they have serious narcissistic personality disorders. They are obviously not the concern of this paper as the issue at stake is effective teaching and in this regard, motivating and enthusing the students with effective team work. To return to the teacher who we deserted to his own fate in the doorway, he should walk into class looking at and addressing the students for a good leader picks up the reins immediately if he isn’t to lose his grip. There will be a rostrum or a desk of some kind but these he should avoid. A desk is where a teacher should place his books and notes not where he should sit. Whoever heard of any leader ever leading from a chair behind a desk? A leader needs to be visible and the focus of attention as he is the conductor, the master of ceremonies and the director. Skulking behind desks, barricading oneself behind computers and the like will lead the team to lose confidence in the leader and this in turn will impact the whole lesson. Teaching has nothing whatsoever to do with trench warfare; it is to do with communication and in this regard, with the communication of knowledge. Someone expressed this sentiment very aptly as follows: the single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it took place. Anything but direct confrontation and communication will be completely ineffectual in a classroom environment. We have got our teacher, suitably attired, into the correct place in the classroom but that is only the first couple of minutes; it gives him a head start but the action is only just beginning
Once the lesson is underway, the teacher must endeavor to communicate whatever it is he is trying to impart verbally and nonverbally. All leaders and public speakers are masters of the art of using body language effectively. Then there are those who are not: I recall a teacher we had for Old English whose presence in class we became aware of on sensing a light breeze as he darted past (Clark Kent eat your heart out). He would then proceed to flit round the room for a full sixty minutes like Tinkerbell on crack talking nineteen to the dozen the whole time. Although he was the most well meaning and enthusiastic teacher I had, following him was an uphill battle. There is also the reverse; another teacher we had was cursed with the most soporific tone of voice imaginable; couple that with the fact that he would waft into class rather like that professor of history who taught the goblin battles in Harry Potter and drone on and on from a sort of central position in front of the board. Following him was an uphill battle too… What to do? The thing to remember is that we do communicate with our gestures as well so if communicating knowledge is one’s chosen profession, one would do well to remember that fact. The teacher wants each and every student to sit through the lesson thinking that he is looking into his eyes and delivering the lecture. This he does by mentally dividing the class into three lengthwise and looking at each portion for twenty seconds. I remember one of our teachers who kept saying” keep your heads on swivels, keep your heads on swivels”. He had the right idea but the important thing is to get the timing right; if it is so, each and every student will feel the teacher has maintained eye contact with him personally for the duration of the lesson. The advantage of this has probably dawned on you by now: eye contact means focus and concentration; it means attention won’t waver; in short, it will mean time well spent.
How one actually speaks is also of vital significance. If one has been born with a squeak or a sleepy drone, there is very little one can do; these are problems that one can probably work round with appropriate teaching techniques but a lisp one can’t. There is one teacher I know, a very knowledgeable and decent person I might add, who has the most unfortunate lisp. His students claim he uses fourteen letters of the alphabet and substitutes “th” for anything – that sound being the joker so to speak. The first week with him is a challenge and everything takes twice as long as he has to resort to putting anything and everything on the board. Hith lithp ith made much worth by the fact that he:
talkthlikeamachinegunandeverythingsortofrunthintoeachother.
I am not really sure whether lisps can be rectified but one thing I do know is that speed can be controlled. So teachers need to master the art of classroom speed and “classroom speak” punctuated by notes on the board. This comes with time but it should be cultivated too as students need to be able to process and make notes on whatever the teacher is saying. This teaching voice and classroom style if you like is very distinctive and spills over into all walks of life. For your typical teacher, saying something once, paraphrasing the remark, asking a leading question and then making a restatement all at ninety decibels is pretty typical. Irritating for family members who interrupt with remarks like “Got you the first two times!” but not too much of a problem generally as most members of the teaching profession are pretty clannish sticking closely to their own species. Conversations just take a little longer but being long winded or vociferous goes with the territory.
Then there is the small matter of classroom pitch as well; of great significance as the primary aim of the teacher, contrary to what some think, is to communicate information. I recall a physics teacher I had in high school that used to enter the lab where we used to have our classes with his white coat flapping and his eyes firmly fixed on the Bunsen burner. He would then proceed to whisper the lesson to the test tubes; a fact we learnt to live with. Someone did venture a question once and I shall never forget the stunned silence that followed: our teacher looked up at the class – we discovered that he had blue eyes incidentally – and there was this thirty seconds of absolute, total silence and then our teacher shifted his gaze back to the test tubes and proceeded from where he had left off. We never tried it again but surprisingly, now I think back on it, we were very kind to him: there were no discipline problems either. We just sat through the lessons two parts asleep. This kind of pitch is, of course, completely unacceptable as I am sure you agree. I will go so far as to say that a pitch best compared to a fast approaching train becomes so firmly ingrained in the teacher’s psyche that normal, everyday pitch is lost forever. Teachers have this innate fear that those in the back row will not be able to hear them and that “back row” is somewhere on the horizon so “a voice that shatters glass” often becomes the order of the day. Continual admonitions by family members that there is no reason to yell are met with surprise and mild irritation but “the teaching pitch”, once fixed, will never change. Again, since most members of the profession converse in the same way, this fact causes no major problem.
The teacher enters the class, steps forward to face his team and says with a smile “You can call me Jim”. This is perfectly acceptable in some parts of the world but a most definite no-no in Turkey and the Middle east where respect for age and experience is habitually expressed through the use of certain epithets. What’s more, this includes people three or four years older than one as well. Older students in my class – I teach in the language preparatory school where there may be graduate students in class along with undergrads – are addressed as “elder brother Ertan” for instance. A middle aged lady on the streets of Istanbul may be addressed as elder sister, aunt or mother if she is older; a man of similar age is often addressed as elder brother or uncle. A young person growing up in this kind of a culture will be completely thrown by the new teacher’s opening remark. After some initial confusion, the teacher will be placed on the same rung of the ladder as classmates and any respect or decorum will be lost. As I tried to explain in the first part of this paper, it is very important for the teacher to know his team and their background in order to be able to relate to them and this is just one small example. Teachers who have lived in this part of the world for any length of time will never make the mistake discussed above and Turks will raise their eyebrows in horror at the very idea. This is a culture that thrives on rules of etiquette handed down through the generations.
There is one issue that remains to be mentioned before moving on to the content of the lessons and the action plan ( syllabus) and that is the fact that the teacher needs to keep the channels of communication open at all times. He needs, in short, to correctly read the public pulse. Drifting off into ones’ own little dream world where classrooms, students, blackboards and computers just melt away to muse lovingly on the intricacies of the present perfect with no regard for the troops, who may also have drifted off into their own little dream worlds, is unacceptable. It is also a truism yet how often it happens is beyond belief. This problem may be avoided by maintaining eye contact and not obsessing with the board – the essence of the lesson in this case involves communication, not copying from the board; it is proficient users of English that are required, not scribes. When Max Lucado said “Anyone who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd”, he didn’t mean teachers presenting the class with a continual rear view. In the case of teaching, communication needs to be face to face and the lines need to be kept open at all times. A teacher needs to learn, very quickly, how to read the first signs of confusion and respond; he needs to anticipate problems or questions and be prepared; he needs, in other words, to be on the lookout. A stitch in time saves nine and if problems are ironed out early on, more serious complications can be avoided. Although a lot of questions can be anticipated, often this needs to be done on the hop and one piece of comfort is that teachers get better at doing this in time.
The components of classroom presence here outlined can be learnt and implemented. These coupled with dedication and real passion will provide the rest so long as the teacher considers teaching as a vocation and not a job – a means of making a living. Any profession whose aim it is to serve people thus is best achieved with devotion to the task in hand and how to best accomplish it. This mentality will also provide the motivating force in designing the best action plan and strategy with which to achieve this task. What I am referring to is syllabus design and that is the subject of the third part of this paper. There is also the matter of methodology – how the information is conveyed to the class – that, however, has been dealt with in the remainder of the papers I have posted. One last point: incase there is any lingering concern about discipline problems, it must have become pretty obvious that with the approach outlined in this paper and all the others that have been posted, there is no cause for worry. It simply doesn’t happen as students are well occupied because, thanks to the teacher’s approach, they would much prefer to be occupied with the task in hand. There is, as I stated earlier, one stone left unturned and that is syllabus design while handling which I shall touch on discipline once again.
Please check the How the Motivate your Students course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Building Positive Group Dynamics course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Dealing with Difficult Learners course at Pilgrims website.
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