To be effective, the students must perceive that the teacher really knows what is going on in the gymnasium. If students are off-task and fooling around, the teacher needs to send a clear message that communicates to the students that the teacher sees that they are not working and they need to get started. Withitness can be improved with practice, such as learning how to effectively use systematic techniques to scan the class. The effectiveness of withitness is increased when the teacher can correctly identify the student who is the instigator of the incident. When several incidences of misbehavior occur at the same time, it is important that teachers deal with the most serious incidence first.
Timing is another aspect of withitness.
Teachers should intervene early and quickly in dealing with misbehavior. Failure to do so allows the misbehavior to spread. Overlapping is attending to two or more events at the same time. For example, the teacher can give a student individual feedback at one station and, at the same time, offer a quick word of encouragement to students who are working at another station. Or, a teacher can deal effectively with an interruption while keeping an eye on the happenings across the gym.