How To Tell If Your Students Are Ready To Learn Through Body Language

Body language is an area of study that is vast and could help us to address so many areas related to our students. For the purposes of this blog we are going to try and keep our discussion of body language to recognizing when students are able to attend or recognizing that they are not attending. By being able to identify these two areas, you can implement an intervention whenever you see an issue. Some excellent resources to assist in learning more about body language are Paul Ekman's Microexpressions and his book Emotions Revealed, Joe Navarro’s The Dictionary of Body Language and What Every Body is Saying, Janine Drivers You Can't Lie to Me, Mark Goulston’s book Just Listen, Amy Cuddy's Presence, Mac Fulfer's The Power of Face Reading, Gavin DeBecker’s The Gift of Fear, and Sandra McCarthy's Body Language just to name a few.

I'm sure you have all had the experience I'm about to describe. Evan was a student I met as a junior in high school. He was barely passing classes and had many technology violations. One in particular that involved the police and resulted in him being on probation. He was a very bright and engaging student. He loved feedback and to be the center of attention. Many times in classes he would be focused on his Chromebook as the other students were but, you could tell that he was even more focused, he would be sitting on the edge of his desk, his hands would be behind the Chromebook ready to move if an adult happened to be walking past, and he would shift his eye gaze periodically off the page determining where adults were within that vicinity. He was hypervigilant about this. The day I interviewed him at his house, he was not impressed. He lounged on the largest chair, taking up the entire chair and a large portion of the room with his body splay and was uninterested in my questions. Also, trying to prove to his mother who had the authority in this situation, at one point he got up, got a pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food (one of my favorites also) and proceeded to eat the entire container stating he couldn't answer questions until he was done. He was a pro at giving all the body gestures that indicated he would be the one in authority. Despite our rocky start, he is a student we have remained in contact with, he completed high school (it did take some effort from the entire team) and he is attending courses online.

Charles Darwin started some of the early work on body language, and was able to identify six basic human emotions, as outlined in The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals, published in 1872. Paul Ekman's ground-breaking work verified Darwin's work that certain basic facial expressions of human emotion are recognized around the world - and that the use and recognition of these expressions is genetically inherited rather than socially conditioned or learned.

While there have been found to be minor variations and differences among obscurely isolated tribes-people, the following basic human emotions are generally used, recognized, and part of humankind's genetic character:

These emotional face expressions are:

• Anger

• Happiness

• Sadness

• Surprise

• Disgust

• Fear

(Ekman, 2003)

As you are reviewing the lists below, I want you to ask yourself, Are there additional external or internal factors? Although these signs commonly mean the things listed here, this is not definite, as it is typically easier to interpret a sign when body language is paired with another factor that would reinforce the inference. It is also critical to have the person’s baseline as they may have some factors that are their presentation that do not indicate the information below.  Any presentation of body language outside of a person's norm would warrant more evaluation. It is also important to note that there are cultural differences where the information below may be inaccurate.

                                                                            Eyes

• White showing above the iris - stressed to the point of possible violence

• White is showing all the way around the iris - mental disconnect, could be in a state of shock

• White is showing below the iris - mental stress, this person needs to feel safe

• Bottom lid of eye is flat - can indicate wariness or anger that is being repressed

• Rubbing brow - doubt or worry

• Eyebrow raising - acknowledgement

• Tapping or pressing between eyebrows - trying to remember information

• Downward left eye gaze - internal thought, remembering

• Right eye gaze - creating, imagining

• Upward and right - visual imaging, this could also indicate a false statement

• Downward right - accessing feelings

• Removing glasses - wish to speak

• Upward left - truthful

• Pupils dilated - attraction

• Frequent blinking - excitement, agitation, or a boo-boo in the eye

                                                                       Lips/mouth

• Upper lip does not show - fearful of criticism, hiding personal information

• Gums showing when smiling - questions self and lovability

• Lips stretched tight while smiling - false sincerity, hidden agenda

• Lips stretched tight - repressed desire to speak

• Lips together while smiling - wants space

• Smile with one side higher than the other - feels contempt

• Pursed lips - tension, frustration, can indicate withholding truth

• Biting lip - thinking, a sign of anxiety

• Tongue poke - disapproval

• Hiding bottom lip - not going to share what one is thinking

• Covering mouth while listening - doubt

• Covering mouth while talking - fear of speaking, wanting to hide emotional reaction

• Pulling on the lips - greed

• Smile with head tilt - joke

• Gum chewing - suppression

• Pencil chewing, pen cap, etc. - self comfort

                                                                           Cheeks

• Blush/tighten - embarrassment

                                                                      Jaws/Chin

• Ripples in the jaw - repressed anger

• Tightened tendon in jaw - stressed

• Ripples in chin - obstinate

• Raised up chin - unyielding position

• Holding the chin - trying to project more authority

• Teeth held together - tension

• Chin resting on thumb or index finger - evaluating

                                                                          Nose

• Touching nose - negates what just said, or has an itchy nose

• Squeezing bridge of nose - negative judgment

• Picking nose - socially disconnected, or there is a lot of stuff in the nose

                                                                              Ears

• Rubbing behind the ears - feels misunderstood

• Ear tugging - self comfort

• Hands over ears - rejection

                                                                           Hands

                          (lots of nerve connections to the brain so they can tell a story!!)

• Hiding the left hand - hiding something personal

• Hiding the right hand - hiding something external

• Steepling (angling with the fingers up) - wanting to appear in control

• Holding thumbs - Anxiety, feeling threatened

• Hand over heart - Belief

• Hand supporting face or chin - evaluation or tired

• Cracking knuckles - self comfort or attention seeking

• Stiff thumb or hand - wants to dominate, won't budge on position

• Hands touch temples - mental saturation

• Thumbs angled up - conveys confidence

• Fingers laced together - anxious

• Nail biting - suppression

• Hands in pockets - disinterest

• Palms pressing down - attempts to control

• Palms lifted up - honest, submissive

• Palms up gesturing up and down - command for decision

• Finger holding - insecurity

• Using the hand as an anchor around person or object - territorial

• Fingers in with thumb - threatened

• Holding items while making statement - insecurity

• Using middle finger to scratch/rub - disrespect

• Fingers rubbing palm - anxiety

• Fingers interlaced rubbing together - stress

• Tapping side of leg with fingers/hand - impatient

• Cleaning nails/picking lint - contemptuous

• Hands or fingers pushing on heart - anxiety

• Hands playing with zipper/sweatshirt strings - self comfort

                                                                             Head

• Touching top of head - confusion

• Top of head leans to right - conveys intellectual

• Top of head leans to left - conveys empathy

• Triple nod of head - person is going to mirror/label, attempt to connect

• Fast head nod - hurry up

• Head tilted down towards the person - reprimand

• Head down - disinterested, internal event

• Head down while doing a task - tired

                                                                       Throat/Neck

• Pulling on the skin of throat - concerns about expressing oneself

• Pulling on side of neck - insecurity in connecting

• Rubbing back of neck - suppressing thoughts

• Covering suprasternal notch - can indicate doesn't feel safe

• Playing with necklace/shirt collar - self comfort

• Ventilating the neck - frustration

• Fist in front of neck - defensiveness

• Hard swallow - fear

• Adam's apple moves up - vulnerable

• Stiff neck - hypervigilant

                                                                              Body

• Splayed across items - claiming territory, attempts to dominate

• Arms folded across the body - self-protection, or is cold

• Hands covering lower abdomen - self-protection

• Drooping shoulders - too much responsibility

• Shoulders ahead of hips - anxiety

• Arms behind back - hiding something or could be confident - look also at stance

• One arm across body clasping other arm (more common in females) - nervous

• Hips/shoulders angled away from person - need for communication to end

• Chest pop - trying to intimidate

• Arm splay - trying to restrain anger

• Crossed arms and crossed legs - probably defensive

• Crossed arms and crossed legs and frowning with or without clenched fists - defensive, and probably angry

• Gripping upper arms - insecure

• Barrier across body (book, phone, etc.) - nervous

• Frequent body adjustments - nervous

• One shoulder raised - doubt

• Shoulders raised - lack of confidence

• Quick shoulder raise - insecurity

• Shoulder widening - authority

• Arms against body hands flexed - excitement

• Arms across stomach - dislike

• Arms splayed hands on desk - authority/dominating

• Stiff arm push away - disagree

• Putting object between self and other person - disconnect

• Restrained body movements - mistruth/doubt

• Crossing of the legs - disinterest... or comfort

• 4 leg cross - stubborn

• Open legs (taking up more than hip width of space) - arrogance

• Ankles interlocked - defensive

• Splayed leg stance - aggression

• Legs crossed while standing - submission

• Foot forward while standing - will be pointed at person who is dominant

• Lead person moving in a group - dominant person

• Rigid sitting - fear

• Hip wiggling - high emotions/boredom

• Hip rubbing - stress

• Hip rocking - stress/self-comfort

• Genital touching - self-comfort

• Angling - open to other/diffuses negativity

• Knee clasped leaning back - stress

• Knee clasped leaning forward - ready to leave

• Ankle scratching - high stress

• Knee flexing - high frustration, may precede a meltdown

• Foot withdrawal - avoidance

• Pigeon toe - emotional need