We all know that communication process is very important in the classroom. However, the communication that takes place in the classroom is not only limited to verbal communication. Teachers often use nonverbal communication. But how effective are these in the mathematics classroom?
For me, there can be no subject for which non-verbal communication would be irrelevant.
We cannot "not communicate", no matter how hard we try. This is true even for maths teachers. So, since they are communicating anyway, they might as well do what any good teacher will do: Use all available means and channels of communication to support our students' learning process. Be it by expressing our own enthusiasm, joy and thrill regarding the subject matter, be it by maintaining a friendly, productive classroom atmosphere and showing an interest in the students, be it by illustrating mathematical problems spatially with the help of gestures etc. Teaching is a rhetorical activity, and "actio", i. e. the performance of a speech including the entire repertoire of non-verbal signs, is one of the keys to succesful (persuasive, infectious, electrifying) communication.
some references that might be interesting for you. The key idea is to consider communication means in a broad sense, overcoming the verbal mode.
Arzarello, Ferdinando, et al. "Gestures as semiotic resources in the mathematics classroom." Educational Studies in Mathematics 70.2 (2009): 97-109.
Maschietto, Michela, and Maria G. Bartolini Bussi. "Working with artefacts: gestures, drawings and speech in the construction of the mathematical meaning of the visual pyramid." Educational Studies in Mathematics 70.2 (2009): 143-157.
Arzarello, Ferdinando, Marianna Bosch, Josep Gascón, and Cristina Sabena. "The ostensive dimension through the lenses of two didactic approaches." ZDM 40, no. 2 (2008): 179-188.
I have observed that verbal communication is sufficient to teach mathematics. But of course, non-verbal communication can certainly uplift the level of understanding.
Until last September, I had been teaching mathematics. Thereafter, I was given a non-teaching assignment in a place more than 200 kilometers away. My earlier students are still continuing to ask me questions, over telephone. I have found that they understand quite well what I say over telephone. Hence I have surmised that verbal communication is sufficient to teach even mathematics.
Yes there are also a number of studies on embodied cognition and looking at the role of gesture in students' learning. This nonverbal communication seems to be a factor in both learning and teaching. Martha Alibali (UW Madison) has done a lot of work in this area.
Nonverbal communication is absolutely relevant in the mathematics classroom. As a student in quite a few math classes, I've found that a professor's demeanor, eye contact, hand gestures, and facial expressions can be the difference maker in how engaged you are in the class and consequently how much you get out of the lecture. The best teachers I've had know when to nod their head in attention when you're asking a question and how to encourage responses with their expression. You can tell if they actually care about their students or are just going through the motions merely through non-verbal communication.
HI Eliseo
these papers show the role of nonverbal communication in teaching math:
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/91/4/720/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732312303000038
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1014596316942#page-1
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1002168?uid=372165351&uid=3739136&uid=2&uid=3&uid=67&uid=16746344&uid=62&sid=21106194120611
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