FUENTES DE CAPITAL INICIAL

TEACHERS AND A PARENT ABOUT ACADEMIC SUPPORT FOR A FEMALE STUDENT

Proxemics. The proxemic behavior during the interaction is a balance of social and personal distances. I maintain a social distance between myself and the parent and

teachers on the SST team. This is done with the aid of the large table and is done to communicate my formality and relative objectivity in the exchange. I am somewhat distant, but not so much that I am removed and aloof. However, when I start to tell my book idea, I close this personal distance to bring more intimacy to the meeting. This balance is helped by the close, personal distance I share with the teacher to my right. She is also seated there because she has critical data about the student that I may need to reference –even though I do not need it during this interaction. The teachers on the other side of the table have a closer, personal distance with each other and with the parent. The homeroom teacher is seated next to the parent in order to communicate the close caring nature of their partnership. She is also seated closest to the parent so the parent can hear her information more easily. I am seated directly across from the parent to establish a close bond in the formal setting. From my perspective, we are both the prime authority figures in the room, even in the collaborative setting.

Posture. I maintain an upward posture throughout the interaction; it is relatively open to the audience (even though, for the parent, I believe that my torso is blocked by my laptop). I begin by leaning back in my chair as I listen to the parent, my arms bent slightly, open, and aligned with the surface of the table. I believe that this shows the parent that I am open and relaxed (non-judgmental) about her comment. As I start to tell my book idea to reciprocate with the parent, my arms bend and lift up slightly to the table, my hands come together in front of my face, and I lean forward. The change in posture increases the intimacy with the parent and with the teachers on the other side of the table; I do this so they can feel my sincerity. My arms bending upward into a triangular form with my hands in front of my face could be misconstrued as closed but I

use it to communicate an intense yet warm thoughtfulness; my gaze pattern also helps to open up this posture.

Gestures. I keep my hands on my laptop at the beginning of the interaction, but then bring them up, touch my palms together and extend my fingers when I start to tell the book narrative about my son. I then bring my fingers together so they interlock, wipe them back and forth slightly, and then clasp my hands together when I say we “both read it”. These iconic gestures bring the narrative to life for the audience. I am sharing a personal example that I care deeply about in which my son and I are coming together – thus, my hands are coming together. As I discuss the “different times” of the experience, my hands fly apart. This is both an iconic and a beat gesture: iconic because it shows the different times and beat because they are short, quick and mimic the topic. Next, I bring my hands back together in an iconic gesture on the word “agreement” and then launch into an imagined conversation with Parker for the audience. I throw my right arm and extended thumb outward to the right with “Hey, Parker” to signal the beginning of the conversation and then bring my hands together and raise my index finger to accentuate “page 10.” The extended thumb and index finger can be seen as deictic gestures pointing to people (Parker) and objects (page 10) in the past. When I believe that the parent may understand my story, I point my finger at her to signal that I believe that she gets it. This is an iconic gesture that also closes the personal distance between me and the parent. Finally, I bring my hands together in another iconic gesture when I say, “I want you at page 10.” The hands are together (as Parker and I are in the scenario) and the finger is extended towards the parent. This brings together my narrative and her.

Head Movement. I begin with my head downward towards my laptop because I am recording the conversation. When I start the narrative, I am still looking down, but then I raise my head as a display that the focus of the conversation has changed. I maintain my head in this position to facilitate my gaze towards the parent. When I discuss the details of the reading agreement, I raise and turn my head slightly and use an upward eyebrow flash to facilitate gaze and add emphasis. When I begin the imagined conversation, (“Hey, Parker”), I use a rotational head movement to add a tone of

displeasure in the agreement. I did this to further the perceived bond between myself and the parent --to signal that I’ve got to work with my kid too so I understand what you’re going through. When I extend my index finger to the parent, I also tilt my head

downward in a slight sagittal movement while maintaining my gaze with her. This emphasizes the perceived agreement (“yes, you get it”) and further closes our personal distance.

Gaze. At the beginning of the interaction, my gaze is fixed on the embodied print on my laptop –even as the parent finishes her comment. Then, when I begin to tell the book idea, I maintain my gaze downwards but because I am thinking and piecing together the idea. This also increases the audience’s perception that I am careful in my thoughts. When I talk about checking out a book from the library, I shift my gaze to the parent – perhaps because the example involves a setting with which she can directly relate and go to later to exact the same idea. This is, thus, a purposeful, structured gaze. When I talk about the specifics of the idea (the different times and the agreement), my gaze shifts back and forth between the parent and the teachers, so everyone can understand the details of the idea. However, when I get to the imagined quote in the narrative, I shift my

gaze back to the parent only. I did this because she nodded, which gave me the impression that she was familiar with the language.

Print. I am engaged with both embodied and disembodied print during the

interaction. The embodied print, which is the meeting Student Support Team form, exists on my laptop. I had been actively taking notes while the teacher and parent were talking. During this interaction, I do not type while I talk except for during the second frame on the first row –when I am checking to make sure the document has been saved. However, after I talk, I go back and retype my comments. I also use the embodied print on the laptop to remind myself about previously discussed topics. In terms of disembodied print, I have the student’s grades, assessment results, attendance, and other notes to the right of my laptop. While I do not use them during this interaction, I have them

available, so I can make informed points to the group. Finally, during the fictional narrative, I make reference to “page ten”, which is a disembodied print –even though it never actually existed.

Layout. I am sitting at a large rectangular wooden table that is fixed in the middle of the room. The table is being used by the participants to support their papers, laptops, water bottles, and the small woven basket filled with pens. It was shined before the meeting to present a clean, orderly environment. The walls of the rectangular room are painted white cinderblock, helping to communicate a serious, almost sterile setting. The walls are bare except for two scenic portraits. The chair in which I am seated is made of a cushioned synthetic leather; it can roll on the carpeted surface. The teachers and the parent are seated in similar chairs at the same table. During the interaction, we engage with our chairs and the table surface primarily. While a dark credenza and two dark

bookshelves are also in the room (which add both formality and familiarity to the

setting), the only other piece of equipment in the layout that pertains to the meeting is the Activboard, which is off during the interaction.

Figure 4

MULTIMODAL DENSITY CIRCLE: FACILITATING A CONVERSATION WITH A GROUP OF FEMALE TEACHERS AND A PARENT ABOUT ACADEMIC SUPPORT FOR A FEMALE STUDENT

This graphic representation illustrates how the different communicative modes overlap and connect within the same interaction. The various sizes of the circles show each mode’s particular strength or intensity in the interaction (Norris, 2004); in addition, these circles also have dashed lines, which illustrates that the modes are not fixed or “bounded units” (Norris, 2004, p. 106). In other words, these chains of varying sizes and intensities link to create the “higher-level action,” which is represented graphically by the outer, blank circle and described in all capital letters above the circle.

For this interaction, the two most prominent modes are gaze and gesture. It is through my direct gaze with the parent –and with the teachers briefly—that I am able to create and maintain a connection while I tell the story about the reading strategy. I

GAZE