The Impact of Not Using Physical Proximity

The Impact of Not Using Physical Proximity

Step 1: Teacher Jonathan is reading a book 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. The rest of Jonathan’s students are highly engaged in the story that he is reading.

Step 2: Jonathan feels he needs to address this behaviour so he stops reading and can verbally redirect Penny and Larisa. He proceeds with his reading and walks to another place in the classroom.

Step 3: Jonathan continues reading but notices Penny and Larisa have started whispering again. Once again, Jonathan interrupts the reading to verbally redirect the two students. This time, he notices that more of his students are becoming disengaged in the story and he has lost their attention.

Step 4: Jonathan tries to continue reading but has now lost his place in the story and needs to take more time to try and find his spot again. He looks at the clock; it is time to move on to the next subject. The reading was interrupted mid-story and Jonathan did not have time for an after-reading activity that he had planned. This is because too much time was spent dealing with the misbehaviour.