INFLUENCE OF PEDAGOGICAL EXPERTISE AND FEEDBACK ON ASSESSING STUDENT COMPREHENSION FROM NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR

In 3 related studies, expert and nonexpert teachers were tested for th eir ability to judge student comprehension of instruction from visual, nonverbal behavior. When sufficient background and contextual informa tion was present, expert teachers were more accurate in their judgment s, especially when feedback about their performance was combined with discussion of judgments before the second test occasion. The experts w ere also more confident of their judgments after receiving feedback. N onexpert teachers seemed to benefit from feedback only when they were not being influenced by more experienced teachers. Expert teachers wer e more likely to use objective information, prior knowledge, and class room context when interpreting nonverbal cues, whereas nonexpert teach ers relied upon other subjective experiences to interpret classroom be havior. Results are discussed in terms of the cognitive differences be tween the expert and nonexpert pedagogue, in which the experts demonst rate a more complex, well-integrated informational schemata about teac hing and the classroom setting.