The Impact of Using Physical Proximity

Step 1: Teacher Jonathan is reading a book aloud to his class. He notices out of the corner of his eye that Penny and Larisa are whispering back and forth to one another while he is reading.

Step 2: Jonathan does not want to stop reading to address this issue and risk losing the attention of the rest of his class. Instead, Jonathan walks over to where Penny and Larisa are sitting and continues to read without changing his tone or facial expressions.

Step 4: Jonathan can continue reading. The rest of the class stays engaged in the story. Penny and Larisa receive an indirect but clear signal of what they are doing wrong and how to correct it.

Step 3: Penny and Larisa notice Jonathan has moved closer to them and take this as a sign they must stop whispering. They stop whispering, but the behaviour has not been verbally or directly addressed.