Habits of space

In this article, I will discuss what I call habits of space: using positive reinforcement techniques to communicate intentionally within a given space. What follows is my personal experience as a classroom teacher. It explains the methods I used in working towards my goal to increase effective communication by promoting behaviour for learning through embodying teaching styles together with location habits within my classroom space. My interest in this experiment stemmed from my experience as an animal trainer, my MA thesis topic on behaviour for learning and my ten years’ experience as a classroom teacher at a grammar school for boys in England.

Picture a traditional classroom and you will picture the same thing as almost every other human on this planet. Students facing a teacher who is firmly planted at the front of the room. It might strike you as obvious that a classroom is oriented towards the teacher. Information must be delivered from one to many. It is a natural conf