Some teachers use a hand on the hip and a slight dip of the head. Some like to fold their arms and lean back, pushing their chest out. And for others, an exasperated and hyperbolic shrug does the trick, as if their body were a balloon and someone just popped it.

In truth, though, there are hundreds - if not thousands - of ways a teacher may position their body to manage behaviour. And, as pupils return to schools in larger numbers, those skills that have been rendered redundant by remote learning will have to be brought out of storage.

Will it be like riding a bike, and you will slump into the shrug as dramatically as you ever did? A more important question may be: did you have it right in the first place?

Research shows that a teacher’s posture can be a crucial aspect of successful classroom behaviour management and that, when trying to convey a message, how you put your point across can carry much more significance than the point itself.

A 2018 study, Teachers’ Strategy of Positioning in Teaching Young Learners by Novi Rahayu Restuningrum, of YARSI University in Indonesia, concludes that if you use a strong posture and confident body language, you show your students that you’re approachable, that you support their learning and that you aren’t posing a threat for them to act out against.

What’s more, the study shows that this positioning is an element that needs to be considered carefully prior to teaching, or when you plan the lesson, to be able to teach effectively in terms of time and method.

But what is a “confident” body position? And what else do you need to know about the signals that your body is giving out around behaviour management?

For a start, trying to look tough will almost certainly fail, says Esther Miltiadous, a body language expert who works with the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique. The organisation is set up by teachers to train colleagues to be more in tune with their bodies: the NHS describes the Alexander Technique as a programme of lessons to train you to be “more aware of your body” and to “improve poor posture and move more efficiently”. If you want to manage behaviour, Miltiadous says, it’s best to ditch the sergeant-major posture.

“Trying to look authoritative by having a military posture, with your chest out and shoulders back, can be really wearing on the body, and it’s also very tense and quite aggressive,” she explains.

When pupils’ challenging behaviour is persistent, she says, this approach also ultimately leads to another teacher posture faux pas: slouching.

“A military pose is quite tiring to do - people tend to end up in a downward slump,” she says. “Not only is this physically unhealthy, but it also gives off a very lethargic, non-engaged posture. It’s not very approachable.”

Another common stance adopted by teachers in class is crossed arms, which Restuningrum describes as a “weak position” that can make you appear hostile and closes you off from connecting with pupils.

“Weak posture signifies one of two things: either you’re lacking confidence and belief in your own lessons or you’re disinterested in what you’re teaching,” says Restuningrum. “Your pupils will pick up on this and are less likely to respect you as a leader.”

Less respect means more challenging behaviour: so this pose could have the opposite effect to what you had hoped. Combine it with standing behind a desk and you are in serious trouble, says Chris Caswell, an assistant head at Myton School in Warwick, who has studied and written about the use of body language in the classroom.

“It blocks you off and makes you appear unapproachable,” he explains.

He adds that shuffling papers as you speak can be just as bad as folding your arms, as can looking at your watch. Both actions suggest that you don’t really care about the child you are speaking to.

Faced with all these pitfalls if you stand up, you may be tempted to sit down. But that’s no good, either: research suggests it’s much harder to hold a pupil’s attention while seated, potentially prompting or exacerbating behaviour issues, rather than preventing them.

That’s not to say you should never sit: in some cases, sitting in front of a class can create a welcoming atmosphere. However, remaining seated throughout the class can give students the impression of a lack of interest and motivation.

So, what should you be doing if you want to get the right body language to ensure your behaviour management is on point?

Miltiadous believes that the Alexander Technique can offer some useful advice.

“We look at habits that are not really serving us, understand them, and then we bring in skills that allow that to change so that we can use our bodies in a more balanced, poised and centred way, which improves our posture, makes us feel calmer and more authoritative, and allows us to feel more present,” she says.

“If you’ve got this calm authority in your body, it allows your pupils to feel calmer and pay more attention.”

What this translates to is being mindful of your body language but ensuring that it flows naturally from an overall sense of mental calm. If you feel relaxed and approachable, even when under fire from misbehaving students, your body language will reflect that - and the students will calm themselves, too.

Well, at least in theory.

What does that look like? For each of us, it will be slightly different, but what is important is that you look more natural.

Restuningrum found that communicating confidence through body language was also key. But, again, how do you do that?

“Smiling, using animated facial expressions and being enthusiastic,” she replies. “This communicates the message that the lesson content is exciting and worth engaging with.”

Restuningrum advises getting on your feet, and mingling, too. “Circulating around the classroom will show that you’re considerate of every pupil in the class. As well as practising positive body language, it’s important to unlearn habits that will present yourself negatively to your pupils.”

Using the entire classroom also allows you to be closer to pupils; bending towards them to listen to their questions, for example, shows that you view yourself as on the same level as your students, she says.

Further, mastering good posture in front of your pupils will hopefully result in them following suit. And, if they do, this could limit the need to manage their behaviour in the first place, says Miltiadous.

She believes that posture is particularly important for older students, who often could benefit from improving their stooped stance in the classroom.

“We teach people how to be able to sit more easily and how to notice when they get tense and tight, and what they can do to look after themselves,” she says.

So, there we are: body language matters more for behaviour management than you might have thought. Even if you are suspicious of the above, surely it’s worth a try? Behaviour management is hard, so if the approaches detailed here make things a little easier, I’m sure you’ll throw your hands up and cheer (in a calm, natural way …).

Carly Page is a freelance journalist

This article originally appeared in the 26 June 2020 issue under the headline “Tes focus on body language and behaviour”