Technique 15: Circulate

(Part of Chapter 3: Structuring and Delivering Your Lessons)

"Circulate" means moving around the classroom while you teach.  The author gives a few reasons why this is important in a classroom:

• Break the plane: The "plane" is the imaginary space at the front of the classroom, in front of the chalk/white board.  If you teach only from within this space, then you distance yourself from the students.  Also, if you break the plane only to move toward kid with a behavioral problem, then you are telling the rest of the class that you are out of control.
• Full access required: Make sure you can move anywhere in the classroom.  So, make sure the pathways are clear. 
• Engage when you circulate: as you move about the room (while students are doing some desk work, e.g.), you should be constantly looking at what your students are doing, and helping or encouraging.
• Move systematically: move everywhere, systematically, but unpredictably, so students don't know when you'll be near them and so they don't know when they should be working or when they could be goofing off.
• Position for power: stay facing the majority of the classroom as much as possible.

My response:

This technique mostly seems to be a technique for handling behavioral problems.  I don't have behavioral problems in my classroom -- perhaps because it is college, or perhaps because the students know not to mess with me.

However, I do still think that it is important to move about the classroom while I teach.  In FIT, where students have computers in front of them, I like to move down the center aisle and teach from the back of the classroom.  That way students know that I can see their screens and can see if they are goofing around or paying attention.  Also, I like to move because I think it helps students to pay attention.  (I see other professors sitting up at the front of the classroom lecturing to their instructor's monitor sometimes -- that looks like a recipe for putting students to sleep!)