Standing, sitting, rocking or pacing ...

Do you ever look at your teacher and wonder if they were to stand somewhere else in the classroom would you learn more? Is where they stand in the classroom important? Is how they stand important? If they sit in front of you, behind you, behind a large desk or they give the class their back and you can't see their face? Do these factors affect how the student learns?

Don't get me wrong, if a teacher is a "bad" teacher, i don't think they'll become a good teacher by standing in a different corner of the room, but I do think we've all had the type of teacher that sits behind a desk, with an open book in front of them and essentially lectures the class. An English teacher, teaching students using a communicative approach to teaching, needs to facilitate learning and a lecture style class just doesn't work.

Some teachers have so much energy they hop around a class room, this energy can be contagious and students get completely drawn in. Nice. Although I'm sure some students find it annoying, particularly students that feel the class is moving too fast or students new to that level.

I know a (very good) teacher that, once he has set up a speaking activity, sits in his chair, his back to the class and just takes notes on what he hears. He does this because he found that when students are speaking to each other, they will often be very conscious that a teacher is listening and will periodically stop mid-sentence and look at the teacher to check if the sentence was correct. This wasn't helping their fluency. By sitting this way, he avoided eye contact with the students and he found that they were more likely to speak fluently. He'd note down most of the mistakes they made and tackle them after the speaking task had been completed.

Then there's the teacher who circulates around the students, checks their written work, looking over their shoulders, paying a lot of attention to every student. Sounds good? Maybe not, a lot of cultures don't like you in their personal space. They are not used to it and it makes them uncomfortable.

I strongly believe that if I were to look through a window into a classroom, it should be difficult to differentiate a teacher from a student. If a student feels that the teacher is at their level, they'll be more comfortable. If students are comfortable, they are more likely to learn.

So, what's best? Casually pacing around the class? A mix of all the above? I think it depends on what you are comfortable with (and your level of fitness). If you have a well thought out class, with clear outcomes and objectives, you are relaxed and can put the students at ease, then it probably doesn't matter.

Just as long as you're not sitting behind a desk.