Use This 1 Simple Method To Help Your Student Thrive
Students are born with natural curiosity and a desire to learn about the world around them. For various reasons, some lose eagerness to soak up knowledge over time. This is the reason it’s essential for educators and parents to intentionally cultivate soft skills like curiosity, growth mindset, and grit. One strategy worth mastering on this journey involves proximity.
Understanding Proximity
Proximity (also known as “proximity method,” “proximity control,” or “proximity technique”) is a term used in education that refers to facilitator closeness to a student. Resources like Parent Support and Study Log help facilitate closeness to students as it relates to boosting academic achievement.
Research indicates one simple method that helps keep students on track and focused is reducing space between students and the facilitator - a parent, an educator. According to recent findings, “[s]patial proximity may affect the interpersonal relationship between the teacher and the students, as well as the latter’s classroom engagement…The closer a student is to the teacher, the more interactions between the student and the teacher, and the stronger the student’s participation, concentration, and interest in learning.”
Using The Proximity Method
Immediate awareness of concerning and unsatisfactory behaviors is an opportunity to address unproductivity before it hinders learning.
In-person observation: Consistently scanning the room as students work quietly is an opportunity to determine how proximity may be used to enhance learning.
Online observation: Closely monitoring students’ facial expressions and body language for non-verbal clues lends insight into how personalization may enhance learning (e.g., adjusting visuals and volume, scaffolding).
A mixture of predictable and unpredictable "movement" keeps learners mindful of your presence, proximity, and expectations.
In-person movement: Periodically making your way around the room towards students keeps them alert and aware of your presence.
Online movement: Randomly calling students by name to share progress updates like item number and word count similarly keeps learners alert and aware of your presence.
Encouraging students to join the conversation by exchanging opinions about content is another great way to keep students focused in person and online; it’s also a meaningful way to keep distractions at bay.
The proximity method is useful beyond the classroom and often helpful at home. Sitting with students at the kitchen table or near designated study areas can be effective proximity approaches. For some, staying close feels like support. Proximity is comforting, so presence keeps students on task.
Another example of the proximity method is speaking at eye level with learners. We want to avoid making students feel intimidated during communication. This kind of co-regulation creates a sense of safety and security, which helps students Maslow so they can Bloom.
Pros and Cons of The Proximity Method
There are several benefits of using the proximity method. Proximity may be used to:
Demonstrate Empathy: Actively engaging with her and getting on his level shows students that you care about them and how they feel. When students feel they are being heard and cared for, behavior challenges tend to fade.
Develop Communication: Quietly show support for your student using nonverbal communication. We can use presence to effectively manage student feelings of inadequacy or uncertainty without sacrificing the accountability and encouragement that learners deserve.
Increase Engagement: When a teacher, tutor, or parent is in close proximity to a student during independent work and study periods, students are more likely to engage in conversation and ask assignment-related questions - yet another opportunity to connect.
Despite its benefits, studies reveal adverse effects of using the proximity method. The upside is that familiarity with these makes them avoidable.
Embarrassment - If you are practicing the proximity method, yet constantly moving near certain students or stopping to assist the same students, it becomes evident which students need the most assistance. The perception of needing more help than their peers may embarrass students. One remedy involves connecting with all students to either provide remediation or encourage acceleration. In this way, proximity isn’t associated with lack of ability. It’s also worth noting that students requiring a teacher’s aide experience additional challenges. Studies and surveys by educators acknowledge that students may view peers with teacher’s aides as a “package deal”, which stifles development of friendships.
Helplessness - The main idea of the proximity technique and offering assistance to students is to help them gain skills to thrive. However, offering too much assistance or hovering can leave students feeling as if they have no control, no agency. When students begin to interpret proximity as lack of belief in their ability, the brain nearly instinctively initiates the pathology of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Uncomfortability - Some children are survivors of abuse and abandonment or suffer from sensory issues. Both lead to unintentional outcomes of the proximity method. Getting close to traumatized learners, gentle pats on the shoulder, and even congratulatory high-fives can be grueling.
The proximity method is a valuable tool to have in your toolbox. More importantly, we must consider students’ individual needs as we explore the best ways to use proximity with learners.
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