Visual profiling and first impressions play an important role in education settings. Teachers and students will often make quick judgments of one another based on appearance and initial interactions. However, developing relationships and getting to know individuals helps overcome stereotypes. Discourse and communication style also influence how people are perceived. Creating a welcoming environment through tolerance and acceptance can help address any negative aspects of visual profiling.

1. First Impressions - Visual
Profiling and Discourse
Analysis
Catherine Bosco-Walker
EDUC 7718

2. Discussion Prompt #1
How operational and meaningful is visual
profiling in education settings? Please consider
this personally from your own experience, but
include commentary about the way it plays out
among adults as well as among learners. Is
there anything you could or should do to
change any negative aspect of this?

3. Visual Profiling…
Visual profiling is somewhat of a “necessary evil”
among educators, parents, and students from
diverse backgrounds. Instant judgements based on
appearance, discourse and actions set the stage for
learning communities.
Through experiences with the community, it is
impossible to not create initial judgements. Being
able to work through these stereotypes is how you
show growth and professionalism as an educator.

4. Professionally speaking...
● Teachers, administrators, staff and students
are all judged primarily through initial visual
encounters.
● Dress codes for teachers help
create/maintain a professional environment
within each school.
● Levels of professionalism correlate to how an
individual “presents” to the public.

5. As a Classroom Teacher...
● As teachers, students are judged based on
how they present themselves daily (mood,
dress, hair, how they keep their notebooks).
● Our presentation (physical appearance and
discourse) influences the students’
perception, behavior, and/or level of respect.
● Comfort levels of students dependent on
how “visually accepting” a teacher is (relaxed
or formal environment).

6. As a Student...
As a learning community, especially adolescents,
students will judge teachers by their appearance.
Unfortunately, few students have developed an
intuitiveness about how his or her teacher’s
effectiveness plays into their role as becoming
successful learners.
Attitude, tone and the physical environment are all
indicators of initial judgements students may make
on teachers.

7. Personal Commentary...
● My belief is that we all make judgements on initial
meetings (seeing and speaking). We can create
relationships with people (virtually or over the phone)
where we develop connections. Is this an advantage?
● Do parents make eye contact or answer the phone
abruptly? At times, we don’t get to meet parents in
person, but develop relationships with them via email
and over the phone. These three different types of
communication (verbal, written and physical) create
experiences in which one can not help but build
judgements and profiling and are all equally important.
● Can avatars take away the implications of visual
profiling? I think there needs to be a balance.
● Creating a positive school climate is the responsibility of
all.

8. Influence of Discourse...
First impressions are not just based on how
teachers present “visually.” Conversations
between colleagues and staff are hugely
impactful with profiling within a professional
setting.
For example, the administrator who is
visually acceptable (appearance and dress),
however, is short and dismissive with responses
may be viewed as unapproachable, uncaring or
untrustworthy.

9. Influence of Discourse (con’t)...
● Colleagues that use a less formal “in” ending
than “ing” on words may be viewed as
“unpolished.”
● Using formal and informal variations aids in
solidarity and bonding among speakers (Gee,
114).
● Teacher/Student discourse creates a certain
classroom environment (stage set by teacher).
● Reading Workshop videos are representative of
different styles of discourse/visual profiling and
student response/environment.

10. Influence of Discourse (con’t)...
● Discourse, according to Gee, means
“stretches of language which “hang together”
so as to make sense to some community of
people.” (p.112)
● Videos of Reader’s workshop have two
varying degrees of instructors which may
create differences in discourse and comfort
levels of visual acceptance.
● Levels of comfort within student population
correlates with teacher effectiveness.

11. Video Reflection…
The two video clips were examples of different teaching styles/environments,
but gave explicit information on the same topic. It was apparent that the class
atmosphere was a reflection of the teaching style.
Rick
● casual
● animated
● students shared
more freely
● comfortable
working through
thought process
Dana:
● formal
● monotone
● students more
selective with
responses
● more scripted

12. Changing the negatives of
visual profiling...
Teaching (as part of our daily practice):
● tolerance
● diversity
● acceptance
● big ideas
Society plays an influential part on how we view and
accept others. Parents, as well as teachers, need to be
open-minded to who the students are and be fair and
accepting of various teaching styles.

13. Discussion Prompt #2
Many people say that one important purpose of
public schooling in this country is to
enculturate children into what it means to be
American. What does it mean to be American?

14. What Does it Mean to be an
American Citizen?
This clip from History.com shares the
perspective of what it means to be an American
citizen through the eyes of those who have
worked to be a part of this country.
http://www.history.com/videos/what-does-it-
mean-to-be-an-american-citizen

15. In our schools…
This answer is from students who created a brief video asking the question of
students, teachers and administrators.

16. My answer…
This was a difficult question, that amazingly
enough, I did not feel comfortable answering on
my own. What being an American means to me
may have nothing to do with what it means to
my student who just entered America from
India. It also may mean something completely
different for the girl from the Congo who was
adopted and brought to America three years
ago.

17. What being American means to me...
● Pledge of Allegiance
● Maintaining
freedoms
○ speech
○ religion
○ petition
○ assembly
○ of the press
● Diversity
● Choice
● Respect
● Compassion
● Hard work
● Tolerance

18. My Medium...
I chose this medium for two specific reasons.
The first is because I needed to familiarize
myself with Google Presentations for an
upcoming workshop I am providing at the
Connecticut Reading Association Conference in
October. Secondly, I lost my voice this week,
and creating any type of media which included
a voice-over was not in the cards.

19. Google Presentations...
I feel as if this type of presentation worked well for
the task presented. Formatting my responses in
brief points was not as easy as being able to post
my reactions in a traditional blog post. Creating
responses outside of our comfort zone is one of the
challenges of this course that I appreciate. I ask
teachers to do things that are uncomfortable all the
time. It is refreshing to be in that position. It is the
only way I truly “learn.”

20. Resources
Gee, James Paul. Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses. Abingdon,
Oxon: Routledge, 2012. Print.
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-reading-workshop-lesson
http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=2200
http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=2200