A Contextual Approach to Investigating Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors.

This investigation utilized a recent concept developed by researchers and theoreticians studying nonverbal behavior--the contextual framework. Instruments of demonstrated reliability were employed to record simultaneous verbal and nonverbal data within the selected contextual framework of student-initiated questions. Data was collected at the University of Northern Iowa; Malcolm Price Laboratory School. The study sample included 15 teachers from grades one through twelve and 60 pupils. Pupils were placed in categories by their teachers: (1) accepting; (2) concerned; (3) indifferent; and (4) rejecting. Objectives of the investigation included: (1) to investigate physical proximity as a quantifiable dimension of nonverbal behavior; (2) to continue the exploration of the situational frame contextual approach to the study of nonverbal behavior; (3) to attempt to simultaneously record verbal and nonverbal behaviors using trained observers; (4) to validate the pupil categories that are currently being employed in investigations of teacher behavior; and (5) to examine the relationships between observed verbal and nonverbal teacher behaviors and the pupil category system developed by Silberman (1969) and used by Willis and Brophy (1974). Significant aspects of the study are that: (1) it presented an expanded view of observable teacher behavior; (2) it quantified the verbal and nonverbal behavior of teachers within the context of student-initiated questions; and (3) it appeared to validate; with additional data; the pupil category system. Six tables illustrate the data. (MM)