Teaching Nonverbal Communication

Abstract

Lectures remain the primary method of instruction in higher education despite several limitations: Students typically lose interest during hour-long lectures, lectures lead to rote learning by some students, and lectures do not lead to development of higher-level conceptual thinking skills. As an alternative to a lecture on the topic, an active learning exercise was developed to teach students about nonverbal communication. The exercise was used with several classes, and students reported it was motivating, educational, and thought-provoking. Advantages of implementing active learning exercises in lecture courses are discussed.