Observation for a Biology 331 Class - Report Example

Observation for Biol 331 I attended a Biology 331 for this research project. This research aimed at defining the characteristics that distinguish communication in a lecture from other forms of informal communications. The project sought to investigate the various verbal and non verbal ways through which a good lecture can be delivered. Moreover, it investigated the real physical settings in which the lecture was being delivered as well as the social identity and the dress code of the participants. The project also sought to establish the various non verbal forms of communication that are used in lecture and their effectiveness in the process of lecturing. Such non verbal forms of communications under investigation included the body movement, use of gestures, stance and position among others. The study focused on the verbal behavior of the participants such as opening and closing and turn taking as well. The project put into consideration the level of concentration of the lecture on the subject topic and the extent to which the lecture deviates from this topic. The study finally seeks to establish the signs that denote the end of a lecture. The study noted various characteristics of a lecture that distinguished it from other forms of communications such informal communications and lab meetings. To begin with, the lecture was characterized by Lecturer-student type of interaction. This was an informative type of communication in which the lecturer was the main source of information. He, however, allowed the students to be part of the process by asking them questions from time to time and allowing them to contribute to the subject topic. Unlike the interactions in informal communication which is not organized, this type of interaction was highly organized and structured. This is because the students only contributed after being given a chance by the lecturer in charge. This is contrary to other forms of communications where there is no order to the manner in which the people involved contribute to the subject topic of discussion. It is however important to clarify that the lecturer was the main speaker and others only contributed whenever he allowed them to do so. Moreover, the students were allowed practical problem solving sessions in which they grouped themselves into smaller groups and attempted to solve various questions and challenges given to them by the lecturer. This allowed the student to reason and discuss among themselves in order to come up with viable solutions to the question. This is contrary to other forms of communications like lab meetings and other informal communication. The lectures under this study were conducted in a designate lecture hall. There were thirty seven students that attended the lectures. The lecturer was a professor in micro biology and therefore was well informed in this field. In all the lectures under this study, the lecturer came dressed in official wear. The student had varied codes of dressing. The lecture hall was clean and with a maker board. In some instances the lecture used power point presentation in the course of delivering the lecture. There were loudspeakers and microphones, but the lecture chose not to use them due to the small number of students involved. In the process of presenting the lecture and ensuring that the students understand, the lecturer made use of various non verbal forms of communications. This was achieved using tone variations, intonation, various body postures, gestures and facial expressions. This helped a great deal in improving the efficiency of massage delivery to his students. The non verbal cues he used conveyed the massage to the students in a manner that they could visualize and understand better. At some instance, the lecture nodded his heard to signify that he was in agreement with the answer that a student had given in response to his question. Other signs were used to emphasize a point as well as clarify a given issue. This seemed to persuade the learners more and made them understand better. Furthermore, the use of gestures made the lectures more lively and attractive. Other gestures were aimed at backing up, emphasizing or confirming the intentions of the lecturer. Body movement of the lecturer also formed part of the lecture. The lecture moved freely from one point to the other. He was noted to move towards the center of the class whenever he wanted to explain important points to the students. Moreover, there were moments when he moved and mingled with the students. Such gestures introduced moments of informality in the class. All these non verbal forms of communications helped the lecturer to explain important points to the students. They also ensured that the students were able to remember the important points presented in the lecture. Various verbal behaviors were also noted in the course of the lecture. Such behaviors include turn taking in the course of the lectures. As I have already noted, the lectures were very interactive and allowed for participation between the students and the lecturer. This interaction and participation was, however, structured in such a way that there was turn taking. The professor was in control of the communication and determined the person to speak at every instance. The professor was always the main speaker. He, however, gave chances to the students to contribute and ask questions while he listed to them. He also took his turn to respond to them while they listened. Moreover, the professor’s opening and closing remarks were also notable. The professor always began with greetings followed by some light moments with the students. This included jokes, stories about the weather and other things. The final statements at the end of the lecture were characterized by concluding terms such as “finally”, “in conclusion” among other. These characteristic opening and closing statements served to either introduce the students to the lecture or denote the end of the lecture. The lecturer in this study exhibited more exiting characteristics. He had a since of humor and often created light moments during the lecture. This way, he sometimes deviated from the topic of the lecture and spoke about other things. He, however, ensured that the deviation did not take. These deviations interrupted the monotony of the lecture and helped to reduce boredom. All the communication techniques employed in these lecture, when viewed as a whole, helped a great deal in enhancing the effectiveness of the lectures. A good combination of both verbal and non verbal forms communication ensured that the students understand the important points. All these non verbal forms of communications helped the lecturer to explain important points to the students. They also ensured that the students were able to remember the important points presented in the lecture by the verbal forms of communication (Lester 90). In conclusion, the study was able to bring out the various characteristics of a lecture that distinguished lectures from other forms of communications such informal communications and lab meetings. Important aspects of lectures were clearly brought out. For instance, he lecture was characterized by Lecturer-student type of interaction. This was an informative type of communication in which the lecturer was the main source of information. He, however, allowed the students to be part of the process by asking them questions from time to time and allowing them to contribute to the subject topic. Unlike the interactions in informal communication which is not, this type of interaction was highly organized and structured. This is because the students only contributed after being given a chance by the lecturer in charge. This is contrary to other forms of communications where there is no order to the manner in which the people involved contribute to the subject topic of discussion. It is however important to clarify that the lecturer was the main speaker and others only contributed whenever he allowed them to do so. The use of non verbal cues was observed to be useful tools of communication in the cause of the lecture (Lester 90). In the process of presenting the lecture and ensuring that the students understand, the lecturer made use of various non verbal forms of communications. This was achieved using tone variations, intonation, various body postures, gestures and facial expressions. This helped a great deal in improving the efficiency of massage delivery to his students. The non verbal cues he used conveyed the massage to the students in a manner that they could visualize and understand better. Works Cited Lester, Ronald. The dynamics of communication. Chicago: Johns Hopkins, 2008. Print. Read More