Proximity and Mobility
Description of the Concept:
Proximity refers to the teacher using his/her body to be close to students to decrease the probability of misbehaviors. Mobility is the process by which the teacher will accomplish this for all students as much as possible. By moving around constantly and changing the zones of proximity, a teacher will be close to many students during a short period of time. This is an effective way to manage the classroom and to disrupt students’ impulses to be disruptive.
Significance of the Concept:
"Student participation and positive student attitudes decline as the distance between the teacher and student increases” (Savage, 2010, p. 74). This is because if there is no monitoring and constant mobility of the teacher around the students, students will lack immediate feedback that they need to increase their understanding. Students tend to stay more on task and focused when the teacher is near them, thus why teacher proximity is important.
Practical Example:
A practical example of using proximity and mobility in the classroom is that a teacher needs to be mobile around the room as students are working on a group project. By using proximity to remain close to students if they are misbehaving, they can be prompted to stop and get back on focus without the teacher even having to tell them anything.
Integral Components:
Jones presents the integral components of proximity and mobility (2007, p. 31):
Crowd Control: Crowd control gets most of the students doing what they need to be doing most of the time. This allows for fewer distractions and misbehaviors from the students.
Working the Crowd: This is the most basic technique of crowd control. “Natural teachers instinctively work the crowd. They have a sense of being ‘in contact’ with the students. They use proximity of their bodies as an instrument of management” (Jones, 2007, p. 30). This really means that the teachers move around the classroom, use proximity, and make eye contact with the students.
Psychological Distance: Zones of Proximity: Jones explains that there are three zones of proximity that surround the teacher’s body, where the colors red, yellow, and green are used to represent each zone (2007, p. 31). The red zone is where very few problems occur because the students are right in front of the teacher in a circular area that is about eight feet. The yellow zone is outside of the red zone, and this means “caution.” In this zone, the students act like the students in the red zone as long as the teacher is facing them. The green zone is the zone after the yellow zone, which signifies “go” in a stop light. The students in this zone are more likely to goof off because they are farther away from the teacher and out of his/her view.
Proximity refers to the teacher using his/her body to be close to students to decrease the probability of misbehaviors. Mobility is the process by which the teacher will accomplish this for all students as much as possible. By moving around constantly and changing the zones of proximity, a teacher will be close to many students during a short period of time. This is an effective way to manage the classroom and to disrupt students’ impulses to be disruptive.
Significance of the Concept:
"Student participation and positive student attitudes decline as the distance between the teacher and student increases” (Savage, 2010, p. 74). This is because if there is no monitoring and constant mobility of the teacher around the students, students will lack immediate feedback that they need to increase their understanding. Students tend to stay more on task and focused when the teacher is near them, thus why teacher proximity is important.
Practical Example:
A practical example of using proximity and mobility in the classroom is that a teacher needs to be mobile around the room as students are working on a group project. By using proximity to remain close to students if they are misbehaving, they can be prompted to stop and get back on focus without the teacher even having to tell them anything.
Integral Components:
Jones presents the integral components of proximity and mobility (2007, p. 31):
Crowd Control: Crowd control gets most of the students doing what they need to be doing most of the time. This allows for fewer distractions and misbehaviors from the students.
Working the Crowd: This is the most basic technique of crowd control. “Natural teachers instinctively work the crowd. They have a sense of being ‘in contact’ with the students. They use proximity of their bodies as an instrument of management” (Jones, 2007, p. 30). This really means that the teachers move around the classroom, use proximity, and make eye contact with the students.
Psychological Distance: Zones of Proximity: Jones explains that there are three zones of proximity that surround the teacher’s body, where the colors red, yellow, and green are used to represent each zone (2007, p. 31). The red zone is where very few problems occur because the students are right in front of the teacher in a circular area that is about eight feet. The yellow zone is outside of the red zone, and this means “caution.” In this zone, the students act like the students in the red zone as long as the teacher is facing them. The green zone is the zone after the yellow zone, which signifies “go” in a stop light. The students in this zone are more likely to goof off because they are farther away from the teacher and out of his/her view.
It is important to be mobile and use proximity to keep students in the red zone as many times as possible. “As effective teachers work the crowd, they constantly cause the zones to change” (Jones, 2007, p. 32), and therefore disrupt the disruptions of the students that may be occurring or prevent disruptions from occurring. Three rules of movement that Jones provide are:
1. Constantly change the zones of proximity so that no one is in the green zone for very long.
2. Stimulate the brain to attend by constantly changing everyone’s visual field.
3. Use movement as camouflage for dealing with disruptive students.
1. Constantly change the zones of proximity so that no one is in the green zone for very long.
2. Stimulate the brain to attend by constantly changing everyone’s visual field.
3. Use movement as camouflage for dealing with disruptive students.
Individualization:
I will use proximity and mobility in the classroom to manage the students during formal instruction and during their independent or group activities.
Relevant Scripture:
Psalm 66:7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him.
A teacher must watch over her students in the same way that God watches over all of the nations. In the same way that God does not want the rebellious to rise up against Him, neither does the teacher. With the teachers constant movements around the students, many problems may be avoided.
I will use proximity and mobility in the classroom to manage the students during formal instruction and during their independent or group activities.
Relevant Scripture:
Psalm 66:7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him.
A teacher must watch over her students in the same way that God watches over all of the nations. In the same way that God does not want the rebellious to rise up against Him, neither does the teacher. With the teachers constant movements around the students, many problems may be avoided.