David,
Yes the main rule in theatre is that movement captures attention. Applying that to the classroom environment means that I can keep the students better engaged with my movement.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Kimberly,
This is a great point. I also find that it seems to help reinforce the concept that the whole classroom is a learning environment & helps engage the students with learning even more.
Dr. Ryan Meers
The primary reason it is good to move around the classroom is to retain student focus. When I was in school, I had a professor who refused to get up from behind his desk during lectures. Many of the students would talk about it after class periods. If a student presented a question that required any sort of physical interaction, the teacher would claim to answer the question in the next lecutre. They never did.
Moving around the entire learning environment makes the students feel that you are available to them. If you stay away from certain areas, they may develop a sense of distance. By involving all areas, you are showing them that everyone is involved and you are present and available.
Tracey ,
These are some great strategies for all of us to take note of in engaging our students & keeping the class moving forward.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I move around the classroom not only to keep students attention, but to allow them to see things that may be presented on the board in the front of the classroom, and on the projector screen, shifting their attention back and forth between the board and my lecture. I sometimes pass around a training aid, and loosely follow it around as I lecture, to get an idea of which students are interested, and which are not. Those who show lack of interest will be easily identifiable, and I can throw a question their way, or maybe make a change of states to try to keep them engaged.
It is important to monitor student progress and engage with all students. This helps the instructor catch problems early and resolve them. It is also a tool for the teacher to maintain order in the classroom. Students may feel more encouraged to ask questions. It displays a caring attitude towards the whole class.
Timothy,
Very true & actually with my speech students I recommend that they don't even start this habit to begin with as it can develop into a hard to break habit. I suggest they find eyes to look into & often they realize that generally the responses back are open, welcoming & supportive.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Kelli,
Yes, often that podium is our security blanket & we don't want to leave it or our notes, etc. The more prepared we are, the more confident we will feel to move away from the podium.
Dr. Ryan Meers
It is very important that an instructor moves around so that they can keep the attention of the students. As mentioned in my previous entry, the teacher who stared up at the back cornor has no idea if he was getting through to the students and gave the impression that all he wanted to do was get the lecture over with. Unfortunately you find this more with the older instructors as well as the newer ones who have not found their style yet. The old addage about staring at the back wall to help get over the jitters does help but in the long run it hinders the instructor. If this stye does not change, it becomes a learned process that is hard to break.
This is still a work in progress for me. I love my podium. Moving around the room has helped to prevent the daydreamers from drifting off. Making eye contact as one moves around the room keeps the students engaged on the topic and less likely to wander off.
Joseph,
These are all great reasons for moving around the classroom. I have often found that it helps me to look at the notes they are taking as this can help me know if they are understanding the material or not.
Dr. Ryan Meers
phillip,
When our students know that we move around it keeps them engaged & will reduce these other undesirable behaviors as they never know when we will be moving their direction.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Thomas,
For all of the reasons you have stated, eye contact is so vital for us in the classroom. It really is a great way to engage those "back benchers" as you say.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Thomas,
I too like to move around. It not only keeps the students' attention but also helps me stay more alert & focused on what I'm discussing.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I certainly agree with the other instructors that there are many good reasons to move around the class room. It can reduce chatting and texting which is disruptive. Making eye contact makes the student feel like their receiving more personal attention. I like to watch the student’s reaction to my presentation; I use this reaction as a tool. I may go over a point again if they look confused or I may stop a little early before a scheduled break to let them digest the information.
I find that when you move around the class room ,students tend to stay more focused and there are less problems with students doing unauthorised things,like using cell phones.
For me number one reason is I can have eye contact with all the students, and monitor them .
Numer two is that all students feel that they are being cared of especially back benchers in big classes.
Thirdly it is a relaxation for meduring my lecture
It is important to move around the classroom because by moving from one area to the other while keeping a positive tone and engaging the students they will follow you with their eye contact thus keeping engaged in the discussion and very interested at the same time.
It is always a good style to move around the class room to control our voice, to have eye contactwith all and sometimes relaxing for me
