Visual and non verbal communication

Salvatore Arrigo, Alessandro Arrigo, ISMERC, Termini Imerese

The project "Animated Debate" intends to strengthen the hypothesis that successful scholastic result can be obtained by disadvantaged students through the use of ITC and from their improved artistic skills.
In the Italian experience it was possible to verify this hypothesis through divers intervention levels.
The interventions were focused not only on technical / information levels and also on the artistic skills of the students that were involved in the project, but it was also taken into consideration the possibility of intervening on the area social / relationship of the students involved.

The objectives of the last Italian experience were as follow:

Create efficient team work
Support communication abilities of the students under the profile of listening and interrelationship
Sustain individual and group motivation
An efficient work group having the knowledge that each component of the group to obtain his / her objective has to depend one on the other and that the individual component of the group has to be sane.
The strategy used was based on the following elements normally present in the evolution of the more efficient work group:
The shared capacity in utilizing advanced technique through relating with the instructors hence giving a positive group work atmosphere.
It was also important to count on the ability of evaluation by the trainers in the project and the collaborative behaviour of the single student.
Group rivalry was handled using the logic of "no winner no looser" which gave room to the stabilization of shared procedures. Moreover it pointed to the creativity of these students.

Work group

The three sicilian work groups involved in the AD, worked together in a climate of constant collaboration.
The knowledge that each component of the group had to depend one on the other to sharing their respective objectives led to the development and recognition of specified roles under the guidance of a leader. This resulted in effective communication and the development of the whole group.

A condition of work group evolution that was discovered was the great collaboration amongst the various components in such a way that the students were able to share the reciprocal needs and also to respond to the individual request.

The most important discovery was that group collaboration facilitated a negotiation mechanism which permitted the passage from an individual point of view to that of a collective point of view.

Method

The method followed had a double meaning to the group: on one side, establishing the principle criteria and rules that guided the group's activity, on the other hand it fixed the formation of organizing and structuring their activity.

Role

Every member in the group was assigned a role recognizing their abilities and skills, this also set limits expected from all the components in the group.

Fundamental interest that was formed in the "role" gave room to qualitative communication within the group thus showing that proper communication can lead to major productivity and involvement.

Leadership

The aspect in the project in regards to leadership were the most problematic:
Leadership within the group is of a fundamental characteristic type that defines its objectives, its methods and roles combining communication constitutes a basic element which characterizes the life of the group.
The leadership approach encountered in the Italian experience could be defined as a professional relation approach, even though strictly speaking, the concept "good leader" only for antonomasia does not exist, rather leader should be defined as someone who effectuate command an as a specific negotiation role.
It is also important that leadership should be as much as possible circulatory (rotational) and its function is diffused in various occasions relating to its tasks and its objectives. This means that also in the AD working groups there have been leaders without any formal attribution and role authority and, thanks to them , the objectives of the group were followed.
However it was difficult to verify during the project a complete assumption of responsibility on the part of the students who from time to time had this function.
The process of leadership during the Italian AD experience was never completed. Often leadership was confused and sometimes not shared. Unfortunately this all too often command deficit was over whelming which was not caused by the students initiative, but it was by the very work of the trainers involved.

Communication

Communication was the key that permitted a sufficient efficiency within the work environment, it consented too the exchange of information and the capitalization of results obtained.

The communication technique followed proposed three levels:

One conversation, finalized to have an emotive impact on the structural relation of the group.
One information that refers to the exchange of knowledge and materials
Another that concerns the transformation of individual changes and attitudes that could affect changes in the group's behaviour.

This proof in communication becomes the place to verify the language of the group and definition of the code. On the bases of this setting the three groups realized an experience in communication efficiency: the groups worked listening to their sentiments. The unavoidable conflicts were faced using the method of "no winner no loser" but to realize together their very need.
Thus the groups made important experience growth and group work based on mutual respect, empathy, acceptation and sincerity. At the same time the groups experience the importance of an open and loyal confrontation in the social relationships. The groups were pressed to express their diversities and divergences. The differences often became grounds for the strength of the group.
The process of communication was moreover made easy by the choice to communicate through non verbal code based principally on produced artistic materials ( storyboard ,sketches, design, plasticine products) On the basis of these materials there developed internal exchange an these exchange was also developed between the Italian and the polish group . This way an intercultural communication nature was founded.

Climate

The climate consist in a comprehensive view of elements, opinions, perceptions of single members in regard to the environmental quality and atmosphere within. One has a good perceptions of the climate when there is a correct support creating harmony amongst the group members. A good work climate allow that in the group the individual roles are recognized and evaluated, that communication is open and clear giving an acceptable reaction on the behaviours of people and the realize results.
A participating leader and objectives properly adapted to the group skill are factors influencing the climate above all. During the project this assumptions have been sufficiently realized.

Development

This variable identifies the construction "establishment" of the work group competence system and makes the growing of individual skills in a parallel way. These two features should produce on one side the development of the single and on the other side that of the group creating a shared knowledge, skills in working efficiently in a group.
Unfortunately the time limits imposed on the AD group did not allow the proceedings that was started to be fully completed.
Often the different progress within the group permitted group supports by the more advanced students because they helped the weaker students., even though it slowed the process.
Objectives
Each work group cannot be efficient if its objectives are not clear and are not shred by its members. The objectives are to be defined in terms of result, built on examinable data and disposable resources clearly expressed and measured.
An explicitly clear objective offers the possibility to strengthen the cohesion and the affiliation sense of the group and in the same time to define in a clear way the relationship within the organization and the climate within.
The principle objective perceived by the three Italian groups was the realizations of two cartoons; And the second thing was that every member of the group perceived that he was having a useful experience in his life.

Atmosphere (positive climate in the team)

There were three students group. Trough a learning method based on the concept of empathy, acceptance and adequacy, the instructors could sustain an active and positive working climate taking in account the sentiments and conditions of the students.
The social / economic factor was one of the greatest problem; the targets were not used to assuming responsibilities and so more than 10 boys of the first group in Termini Imerese left the project and the group was reduced to 8 members.
The second group in Trabia resulted no loss of members because it was adopted within the school (La Masa) during school hours.
The climate of this group has been supported by the help the students gave one to another, as for them the cartoon on Proserpine and Hercules was a challenge to be accepted without giving up. The structure of the group was formed by the following: teachers and counsellors advisers 9 instructors with technical relationship knowledge.
The name of the instructors are as follow:

Rivalry within the group
This is a problematic aspect to be handled with particular care. It was manifested in many ways:

The extreme "excessive" exuberance and protagonism of some students.
The parting and the separation from some of the girls
Authoritarianism in many cases
Intolerance
Drop out

It has been possible to handle these aspects asserting respect of rules shared within their work; but unfortunately these rules are not always being imposed, most especially when egoistic and individualism was placed within the environmental culture.
The interpersonal group development plan was set as follow:
This was carried out in two phases: In the first phase the following attributes of communication were individualized :

Silent
Non verbal com
Easy sign language
Open questions
Feadback
I message
Overcoming resistence

In the second phase , the student were called to apply these attributes during the working relations.
The consequent results was undoubtedly a greater maturation in the group. Even though it was necessary to recognize that there were no real verification that the proposed techniques was acquired.
However an important insight was made , this was constituted in the direct knowledge of the tight
Relationship between non verbal communication and visual communication intercultural which the Italian students experimented with their polish counter part .
In design, expressions , prossemic , the students gained experience on the importance of visual communication as well as non verbal communication in human relationship.

Methodological issues (shared procedures)

Integration between normal and formal education: the economical aspects and social problems of the target can be identified. It is important that the instructional institution changes and assume the integrate rule of educational subject. It is necessary to identify a new model of education tending to a target particularly based for disadvantaged students using the principle of andragogy (Malcom Knowels).

The learner has to be involved in the planning and evaluation of his instruction.
experiences, including mistakes, provides the bases for active learning
there is more interest in learning aspects that has immediate relevance to his personal life of work
learning is problem centred rather than content oriented.
Orienting the educational process towards quality and appropriateness of the educational intervention are based on experimental acquisition that as link to the contest and individualized.
The method assume for the group a double meaning: on one side it establishes the principles, the criterions and the norms that direct the activity of the group, from the other one it recalls the formalities of organization and effective structuring of the same activity.

Planning aids

The Italian activity referring to help relationship had following methodology:

First phase: analysis of situation. In this phase reasons for identifying and choosing the problem has been indicated. From the analysis of the target it has been noted that none of the members had sufficient experience of group work and that the skills or work on the computer was insignificant, nevertheless even if the students involved in project did not have enough specific experiences, other studies and researches have shown that this type of target does not preclude the personal ability in finding out an orientation and an opening to ITC, artistic skills and group work.
If there is a lack of opening, it is possible to think that this depended to a large extent from external limits due to the instructional system organisation. This analysis has underlined the relevance of the problem, its reality and a sufficient social demand for a solution.
Before the planning phase, the problem was analyzed from the point of view how to reach the target and that of the resources and bonds: To reach the target through a cooperation with local partners in Termini imerese and Trabia was the best strategy. The balance between resources and bonds gave us the possibility to identify a team previous experience on the theme of intervention, the interest of the target in subjects linked to its work, its expectations and its life.

Phase 2: Definition of specific objectives.
The planning team n this phase listed specific objectives with particular attention to the following criteria:
Clearness in the formulation of specific objective
Unambiguousness
Measurability through at least an indicator for each objective.
Practicability and pertinence.
In the formulation of specific objectives hazy words such as to appreciate, to be conscious, to be sensible, to learn, have been avoided; the favourite words were verbs of action such as to evaluate, to build, to compare, to create, to describe, to list, to organize, which are linked to visible actions.

Phase 3: Planning of the evaluation. The planning team considered as important not only the application of the evaluation criteria of the activity but also their planning though indicators and standards.
The indicators were:
Process indicators
Efficiency indicators
Indicators of effectiveness.
The distinctive features (characteristic) of these indicators have been pointed out in their pertinence, sensibility and specificity. The use of these indicators has been simplified only to the essential activities of the project.

Phase 4: Definition of operative program;
To plan means to define objective in order to solve problems, to establish ways and times for the realization and evaluation of results.
The operative Program of the project was intended as a sequence of actions and events to be realized in order to achieve the aims of the project. It represented the last phase of the planning activity, but the experience confirmed that the operative program is only a part of the project. The operative program of a project is important, but it cannot be evaluated if it is not linked to the other three phases, and for this it could not be funded.
In any case, the drawing up of the program paid a great attention to who, how, when what and how much;

Phase 5:Realizaions of the intervention.
The actions of the intervention has been monitored by the project's coordinator.

Phase 6:evaluation of the result.
The result has been evaluated through effective demand of the efficiency indicator.

Creativity in the work

1)Progress in the artistic job, in the use of colours, also in the use of imaging.
The artistic sense of the group of students participating in the project(except Natalie who has a particular artistic sense with regards to the others) falls within a group target of student between 10 and 16 years; the colours used were oriented to the most utilized general colours and tonality; the imagination type has been focused towards tied up concrete forms to the application type. The continuous elaboration of sketches, the varied compositions the geometric disposition and the operated spatial changes(e.g. the movements of the human figure)has surely increased the perceptive artistic of imagination( under the perceptive possibility); and use of the most precise colour, but also more varied especially in the discovery of the tonal range of colours( but also in the use of the different materials used, pencils, chalks, paintbrushes, wax)

2)Advanced steps in animation:
in comparison to the normal production of sketches, the process of animation invite one to consider the time aspect of the building up of depicted productions which operates cuts of higher cognitive and perceptive conceptual type.

3)Advanced steps in the knowledge of computer, film, photography, animation
Some students had a general knowledge of the use of computer that has subsequently been widened, consequently their creative and artistic were greatly enhanced, thanks to the possibility which this powerful tool offers and to the relative use of software in the manipulation of images(flash, adobe photo shop, paint).

4)Changes observed in creativeness and imaginativeness
It has been noticed that the exercise derived from the continuous elaboration of sketches, use of different materials has increased compositions a greater imaginary ability; in a certain sense

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