next »

[fiona]

I have many opinions, all of them contradictory.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Is-It-Better-to-Sit-or-Stand/26710/

The Fiona

[octoprof]

I can't imagine sitting on top of a desk to lecture. Ick. How uncomfortable!

I stand when working problems (using a tablet PC on a cart at the right height - podium height, projected to the screen), and when lecturing I tend to walk around.

I have never stood behind a podium to lecture. Wouldn't the student just doze off if I stood there talking but  never moving?

[systeme_d_]

The article was a complete waste of space.

One sits, or stands, or walks, as the classroom, the class, and the subject warrants.  I've never let what I was wearing dictate my teaching style.  On the contrary, I've dressed to accommodate what I need to do in the classroom.

In small seminars, I sit, unless it would be helpful to write something on the board, at which point I walk over to it and write.  Shocking, right?  Didn't even need to be said.

In huge classes, I stand at the podium, and also walk around.  Because sitting would look stupid, and would be ineffective.  Obviously.  Didn't need to be said.

[macaroon]

Depends what I'm teaching.

If it's a lab, I walk around the room and sometimes sit on a stool if I need to use sensitive equipment.

If it's a graduate / upper level undergrad seminar, I sit with them around the table.

If it's a larger lecture, I stand until we do group work.  Then I walk around the room.

[smokeythebear]

Now now, calling it a waste of space might be a little too mean. Think about all the banner ad space it provided, certainly that nets some value.

Though, I'd probably would have preferred Lorem ipsum dolor instead...

[southerntransplant]

I stand and walk back and forth in front of the board.

One of my student evals stated that I "prowled in front of the board, like a big cat."

I like that.

ST, in yur klassrm, feeedin yu nawlege.

[fiona]

I think we convey a lot with our body language, often inadvertently.

For young women new to teaching, standing is essential for authority.

The Fiona

[egilson]

In my browser, the only part of this topic visible from the main view is, "Do you sit or stand...." Needless to say, I'm relieved.

[hipgeek]

I think we convey a lot with our body language, often inadvertently.

For young women new to teaching, standing is essential for authority.

The Fiona

I'm young and I sit for the majority of the time, unless I'm using the board.  I think I claim plenty of authority. But maybe I'm not as young as I think.

Sitting on the desk would just make me feel on display.

[voxprincipalis]

I can't imagine sitting on top of a desk to lecture. Ick. How uncomfortable!

For most of my academic (i.e., non-studio/applied) classes, I am doing some combination of standing to write on the board and then running across the room to stand or sit at the piano. This semester, for the first time in several years, I have an interdisciplinary class that is much more discussion-oriented. I used to teach a lot of classes like that, and it was my habit to sit on the desk.

There is no desk suitable for sitting on in my current classroom. I cannot tell you how much this bothers me. Nor is there a table, which would do.

I have never stood behind a podium to lecture. Wouldn't the student just doze off if I stood there talking but  never moving?

When I was a student (both undergrad and grad), I had some excellent and very interesting classes in which the professor lectured from the podium. I do not remember any of them being boring -- but that may be because I was very interested in the subject matter and the professors were just fountains of information.

I have no podium in my classroom, either, come to think of it. This is really no-win.

VP

[grasshopper]

In small seminars, I sit, unless it would be helpful to write something on the board, at which point I walk over to it and write.  Shocking, right?  Didn't even need to be said.

Yes, but Systeme D, you are clearly a wild card. You have to remember that not everyone has your laissez-faire, stand up when needed, sit down when you want to, devil may care confidence!

These are things that need to be thought through. Planned. From classroom entrance to final curtain.

For my part, I like desk sitting. You get to kick your feet around that way.

[systeme_d_]

Yes, Grassy, what a crazy nut I am!

I occasionally get assigned this particular classroom that has a desk on a raised platform in front of the class.   I call it my "Judge Judy" classroom.  I introduce myself on the first day as Judge Judy when I get that class. 

See, this is my teaching style: amuse myself, whether sitting or standing.

[peppergal]

I sat on the desk once for six weeks of the semester.  Mostly because I was on crutches (broken leg), and standing for an 80 minute class period was just not going to happen.  But if I sat in the chair, I couldn't see all the students, nor could all of them see me.  Also, it was easier to hop off the desk and hobble over to the board when I needed to write something than it was to extricate myself from behind the desk.

As soon as I was able to stand again, I went back to my normal style, which is to stand, and occasionally perch/lean against the desk.

[lost_angeleno]

I used to stand and walk.  It was fun and the students stayed pretty alert and involved.
Now I must sit, and the students are less responsive.  Seems like a pretty obvious cause/effect thing.
Any hints as to how a sitter can, legally, get students to be more responsive?

[terpsichore]

I think we convey a lot with our body language, often inadvertently.

For young women new to teaching, standing is essential for authority.

The Fiona

Yes. All inexperienced instructors need to learn how to convey authority with their body language. Standing and walking around a bit is a good way to do so, for those who can.