ABSTRACT
The third chapter explores the teacher’s use of the physical space in the classroom through the introduction of the notion of ‘spatial pedagogy’. The chapter discusses how the positioning and movement of the teacher in the classroom are fundamental to the pedagogical process. Specific spaces in the classroom take on certain meanings because of the nature of pedagogic discourse that occurs on the site and the positioning and distance of the site relative to the students and the teaching resources. In this light, spatial pedagogy is realised through the patterns of positioning and the directionality of movement, as well as the intersemiotic correspondences in the use of space with other semiotic resources, such as language and gestures. Examples from a study of how two teachers navigate the space in the classroom differently despite teaching the same topic in the lesson is used to highlight their different spatial choices in embodied teaching.
