SLANT is an acronym for 5 common visual indicators of student engagement. The indicators are:
- Sit up
- Lean forward
- Ask questions about the topic
- Nod your head
- Track the teacher with your eyes
Generally speaking, students who exhibit even one of these 5 indicators during a lesson are engaged in the topic. This can also be generalized to any speaking situation with participants.
This sounds like a good thing to put up on the wall of my classroom.
Daniel Smith's Personal Blog 
Interesting!
SLANT is miserable for some kids on the autistic spectrum and with certain neurological issues. Requiring SLANT also makes it more difficult for teacher to engage the students’ GENUINE level of engagement.
I recommend that any adult who is thinking of pushing SLANT in their classroom try SLANTing all day, without fail, at a conference, professional development day, etc.
You make some good points. I think it’s more useful as an observation tool for presenters and teachers to gauge attention rather than an actual teaching method. At least, that’s how I’ve used it.
I’ve never seen a description of SLANT that requires students to spend all day in that position. It is about engaged listening. Every professional I’ve ever met engages in listening in this manner. I’ve spent 30 years doing it as a professional software developer and manager before becoming a teacher. Most teaching these days involves a relatively small portion of class time spent lecturing to students, so expecting students to be in a general posture of active listening during that phase of class seems quite reasonable. As long as the rules are interpreted in the way one would expect a professional to behave, it all strikes me as quite reasonable and a good lesson on life as well.