Three essential elements of teaching: movement patterns, body language and dramaturgy

Thoughtful dramaturgy and the teacher as performer 

For many years, the author and consultant John Steinberg emphasise the importance of body language in teacher leadership. He also points out that dramaturgy is a central element of pedagogical planning. Teaching is not just about conveying information. It’s also about creating an experience, he says.

  - There are several questions teachers need to ask themselves when planning lessons. For example, how can I engage students? What does it take for them to understand? When should I use humour? What do I need to do to connect with their world and reality?
 

The teaching profession is much tougher today than it was just a few decades ago. In the past, students listened to the teacher because of their respected title and position. It’s not that simple anymore, says John Steinberg. Now teachers have to work more actively to get students’ attention.  

  - It’s said that 80% of all human communication depends on body language, while 20% depends on what we say and how we say it. So teachers need to think about this. How did I move? Have I captured the whole classroom? Have I made eye contact with everyone?

This is something that teacher training needs to pay time and attention to, adds John Steinberg. There is a lot of talk about creating a meaningful lesson structure, while the value of thoughtful dramaturgy and the role of the teacher as a performer is usually left out.

  - Students should feel that the teacher is someone they want to listen to, who wants them well and with whom they feel comfortable. There are tried and tested methods that teachers can use to achieve this. I’m an introvert myself, but I’ve learned what it takes to be a professional presenter. Arousing interest and getting others to listen to you does not depend on innate qualities or abilities. It’s an art, and you can learn to master it.

Sensors measure the teacher’s movement in the classroom

Are there ways to use the possibilities of digitalisation to facilitate this part of the teacher’s work? One sub-projects in the Triple Helix project IoT-hubb Skola, which RISE is running together with its school partners and Stockholm University and Atea, is about this.

IoT, or the Internet of Things, connects everyday objects and physical spaces to the Internet using sensors, microphones, cameras and other electronics. It makes it possible to measure, control, and regulate administrative and other activities. By analysing the data collected and stored by the connected objects, it is also possible to understand the nature of different processes.

The latter is of interest in the sub-project “Teachers’ movement”, says Patrik Hernwall, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University.

  - We use body-worn sensors that record the teacher’s movement patterns in the classroom. They give us partly new possibilities to help teachers reflect on their movement patterns in the classroom and how it affects the interaction with the students. We have been running a pilot at a primary school in Lidingö since last spring. We have a few sets that we will send out to different primary schools in the municipality in the coming weeks.

Using the connected sensors, teachers can see their movement patterns over a longer time span. They can compare with what it looks like in different classes, and so on. Perhaps the classroom needs to be organised and furnished differently to reach and connect with all pupils quickly? If there are parts of the classroom where the teacher rarely goes, the system can alert that it’s time to move there, says Patrik Hernwall.

  - There are many ways to use the data collected by the sensors. One way could be to link it to students’ grades: which students does the teacher interact with the most? Are there correlations with grades? We could also combine the body-worn sensors with sensors that measure the air quality in the classroom. Does the teacher move less when the oxygen level drops? All this data is vital for the teacher, but it can also be used in other contexts, such as collaborations with architects. For example, they want to know more about how different facilities are used and what classrooms and other learning environments should look like to maximise teaching effectiveness.

Fia Juréen, Operations Manager of Komtek at the City of Lidingö, handles the practical work that needs to be done in the various sub-projects of the IoT Hubb Skola in which the city takes part. She will make sure that all the hardware is in place and that everything works. In “Teachers’ movement” this includes the installation of anchors in the classroom corners, which register and collect position data from the sensor worn by the teacher.

  - This assumes that there are electrical outlets in every corner - and a computer. I’ve spoken to the caretaker, who arranged everything that needs to be done. My role is to act as a mediator, making sure all the practical pieces of the puzzle fall into place. As technology develops and becomes more easily installed, that role is likely to disappear. But as things stand, there is still a lot to do.

IoT is changing teaching

When Christian Svedenkrans, a maths and technology teacher at Högsätraskolan in Lidingö, started using the sensor, it triggered his thoughts about how he moves and how it affects his students. Does he stand in front of the blackboard a lot? Does he turn his nose to the board more than he should?

The presence of IoT in the classroom is changing the way I teach, he says.

  - Wearing the sensor around my neck makes me more aware of what I’m doing and how I’m moving. It adds an extra spice to the lessons. When I can see my movement patterns on a heat map, it affects my teaching behaviour for the better. It’s a bit like when a colleague is observing the lesson: I sharpen up and try to do my best.

Measuring and analysing teachers’ movement patterns is, of course, important, says Christian Svedenkrans. It is also necessary to remember that students need to move from time to time. He realised this when he had used the sensor for a while.

  - Sitting still on a chair and staring straight ahead for the whole lesson doesn’t make it any easier to pay attention. Students need to get their oxygen going so they have more energy and mental strength. I started thinking about this when I had used the sensor for a while. Now we have common breaks in every lesson to help students stay focused.

The teacher captures the students’ interest to a great extent by clearly being physically present in the classroom. For example, pupils pay attention when the teacher walks past their desk; it attracts their attention. That’s why it’s crucial to analyse how I move around in the classroom, says Christian Svedenkrans. I should be in contact with everyone in the classroom and not forget anyone.

  - Right now, I am being coached by Patrik Hernwall and his colleague Robert Ramberg. We go through the logs from the sensor together, and they ask me questions that trigger my reflections and thoughts. These conversations set a new direction for my thinking.

Christian Svedenkrans will also try coaching and being coached by another teacher at Högsätraskolan. They both use the same classroom, have the same class, but teach different subjects. Christian Svedenkrans believes that a collegial dialogue where they analyse and reason about each other’s movement patterns in the classroom can have interesting effects.

  - We have this kind of conversation otherwise, but I think it’s different when we have factual data. The technology can thus act as developmental support for the collegial dialogue, making it easier to discover things that can improve teaching.

The next step in ‘Teachers’ Movement’ will be to listen to students’ thoughts and ideas about IoT in the classroom, says Fia Juréen.

  - I will run a workshop with Christian Svedenkrans, where both secondary and high school students can participate. The students will brainstorm about what can and needs to be connected in the classroom of the future. We will also think about how the classroom would be designed if the students had their say. I think we can get a lot of thoughts and ideas here that will lead us forward.

Technology leads to discussions about pedagogy and the school’s mission

Perhaps it’s not about analysing movements but rather about looking at how distinct patterns of interaction look, Patrik Hernwall believes.

  - Any input that makes us think about how we interact with students is valuable. When digital technology enters the school, the discussion ends up being about pedagogy and what the school’s mission is. If it’s about fostering students’ individual development, a broader idea of classrooms and teacher-student interaction is highly essential.

In the long run, it is also essential to include pupils’ voices here: to let them rate the extent to which their questions are answered, whether they feel they are visible in the classroom, and so on.

The Corona pandemic is turning many things in society upside down and making both challenges and opportunities more visible," adds Patrik Hernwall.

  - Many distance learners are more at ease and feel they have more control over their time when they don’t have to commute to school. Some students feel isolated and can’t concentrate on their schoolwork. We also have those students who previously did not get breakfast at home but got it at school. How are those pupils doing now? What can we do to support them? There are other structural social problems behind this, but they become visible at school, and we must not forget them.

It is also important to remember that we live in a complex society characterised by globalisation, increased mobility and a faster pace, says Patrik Hernwall. All this calls for new ways of teaching that enable students to develop the skills and abilities that are becoming increasingly important.

  - Much of what we used to think was permanent and almost eternal is now slipping through our fingers. But what we see as normal and self-evident has only been around for between 50 and 70 years. The question is how fast and how far the change will go this time. How long do we need to have corona to accept distance learning? Will it take hold, or is it too short a time? Which will be the first secondary school that dares to say that students might as well stay at home and study? There is much to ponder and be vigilant about in the future.

Teaching is something more than just passing on information

One important thing is to ensure that all students have an ergonomically appropriate connected study environment at home. The crucial question is, of course, how best to manage this in society. But it’s essential to remember that not all students have access to this today, says John Steinberg. Many other things make teaching online tricky, not least from a teacher’s perspective.

  - It’s harder to do what excellent teachers do in the classroom via the screen. It’s important to understand that to address the problem. One option is to be more intense and perhaps show your hands in the picture or stand up. It is also vital to break up the lesson so that it is not just a lot of chatter. For example, the teacher could split the screen and show a Powerpoint, interview someone in the class, or show brief film clips.

Web-based teaching is based on different conditions than classroom teaching and requires a different dramaturgy. News presenters on tv work a lot with mini-pauses and intonation up and down to emphasise something, and they look into the camera. They have long training and are often very skilled. Teachers have a lot to learn from them, says John Steinberg.

  - There are many more pieces of the puzzle to consider when teaching online. It would be good to put together a handbook or a site explaining what teachers and students need to know. For the teacher, it’s valuable to get tips on drama and examples of what can be done to make the lesson go faster. Often it takes five or ten minutes for all students to get online, and that’s valuable time. For students, it’s important to get tips on preparing and taking notes during the lesson.

The golden rule has always been: you have to make an impression, says John Steinberg. If you don’t understand this, you put the responsibility entirely on the students. You can’t do that.

  - Simply put, it’s 50-50. The teacher has to do his part, and the students have to do theirs. How can the teacher ensure that the content of a lesson touches, influences, and stays in the students’ minds? Which details matter? What demands does it place on the dramaturgy of teaching?