Three Student Seating Arrangements - Why These Appeals and One Optimal Seating Choice for a Positive Classroom Environment

 

Three Student Seating Arrangements - Why These Appeals and One Optimal Seating Choice for a Positive Classroom Environment

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

Abstract

Seating arrangement in the classroom plays a crucial role in bringing positive learning outcomes. The most oldest and common form of seating arrangement that we can see even today is the traditional seating arrangement in which students usually face their teacher seated in rows in fixed seating. Students sitting in the back rows are often neglected because teachers mostly are engaged in communication with students who are in the front rows. Such types of seating arrangements reduce the communication between students because a teacher is a “sage on the stage” trying to promote a learning environment (Yale, 2021). The row system does not enable the class to have conducive cooperative learning, and students face lots of problems with the tasks (Davies, 2021). Apart from the teacher being able to have ample eye contact with the students, it limits students from having a comfortable classroom discussion that would result in having less expectation from the student’s side.

The success of class activity depends on how we arrange the class, then enable students for easy discussions and fulfillment of student's and teacher’s expectations. According to Fernandes, Huang & Rinaldo (2011), sometimes in-person type classroom seating arrangements have an adverse effect on motivating students to learn and take part and often have a negative impact on relationship building in the classroom. Thus, proper decisions to come up with proper seating plans for the classroom are important that support student and teacher expectations (Tomlinson, & Imbeau 2010). However, the type of seating arrangement in the classroom depends on the type of activity a teacher is going to have based on the type of lesson that he/she has designed. The question such as who would sit with whom in the same group? Often is a matter of concern for a teacher because the decision-making in such a case can be challenging. Davies (2021) stated that the teacher can always opt for a flexible seating option, and it depends on how a teacher thinks and adopts it to come up with a quality learning process in the classroom because there is not even a single response that describes the best seating arrangement. Thus, this write-up discusses the three most common classroom seating arrangements that are used commonly by most teachers and the ideal seating choice for a positive classroom environment among those three types of arrangements.

Three Common Student Seating Arrangements

In the words of Behan (2019), a teacher should be more concerned about creating a culture in the classroom than the classroom itself. His concern about the importance of seating arrangement is widely whispered by all. The different teacher uses different arrangement types to best suit their teaching to make their teaching ideal, and it varies from person to person. Thus, the three student seating arrangements that appeal to me are:

·         Paired Seating,

·         Table Grouped Seating, and

·         Horseshoe or Semicircle Seating.

Paired Seating:

It is the common seating that most classrooms use, in which students either work in pairs or individually at a single trapezoid desk. During the pair activity, students can join two desks to form a pair. The reason this type of seating is appealing is that such an arrangement can make the teacher form any type of group based on their desired activity, and it enables them to form a column group, horseshoe group, table group, or any other group. The teacher can easily move around to monitor the class during the pair activity in this type of arrangement (Renard, 2019). Such type of arrangement also uses minimal floor space, making the teacher’s work easier.

The very advantage of such an arrangement type is that the classroom works under controlled situations during the pair activity and the teacher can easily form the pair based on the ability of individual students (Davies, 2021). This will ensure quality learning through the indirect mentorship process by pairing up students based on their mixed abilities for meaningful discussions. In contrast, sometimes students may not feel good when they are separated from their partners which may make them feel isolated. On the other hand, while sitting with their partners, they may distract the flow of the lesson with their casual talk. Sometimes, classroom adjustment becomes difficult in a class with an odd number count of students. In a nutshell, although this type of arrangement is thought to be one of the best ways of engaging students, the preference is always given to the table group seating because it invites collective ideas for decision-making and the learning becomes vital. More than table groups, horseshoe grouping can be another possible means to avoid disruptive action in the class.

Based on past experience, it was felt that such an arrangement type works well during the teaching and learning processes because of its space for a comfortable monitoring system and the possibility of paying attention to every individual. However, it also consumed time forming the pair due to the students’ choice to sit with partners and the presentation for the activity took more than the intended time extending the teaching periods.

Table Groups (Groups of 4 or 5 students)

This arrangement is most common in the 21st-century pedagogy classroom, where students are kept in groups of four for either pair work with the shoulder partner or group discussion. The arrangement depends on the number of students in the classroom. This type of arrangement can be the best means to start the year. If the students in the classroom are many, we can go for a group of five to save classroom space. Mostly, students are engaged in doing the assignment such as group discussion, writing, presentation making, etc. Students can also be involved in analyzing a question individually and then ask them to share it with friends in the group for further discussion (Renard, 2019). The grouping can be changed every month for more socialization to be fostered in the classroom so that students learn to be social through strong bonding. The reason this type of seating is appealing is that such an arrangement can save time because we don’t waste time forming the group because they are already seated in the group, not like in the case of a paired setting whereby we spend time in setting the group.

Table group arrangement has its own advantages, as it is more advantageous for the class to have any group activities. Its very essence is that it promotes cooperative learning through collaboration, critical thinking, and creative thinking. Students are engaged in decision-making collaboratively. Not only that but any kind of group competition can also be conducted in the classroom which can promote interest in learning among students. Moreover, students learn to socialize through the decision-making process during the activities and learn to appreciate and value others’ views. As they are staying with friends in a group mostly, they also can understand one another better and can make strong friendship bonds. The most important thing is that the classroom space is also saved, creating more space for teachers to move around and monitor the class. As per Davies (2021), the teacher can be able to build the strength of students based on the behavior management plan designed. However, despite the advantages, it also carries some disadvantages. Students can sometimes be involved in a personal talk during the course of the activity, diverting their minds from the actual activity. It can also invite disruptive behavior because they will be facing their partners closely. In a nutshell, although this grouping is thought to be one of the best ways of engaging students before pair grouping, the best would be the horseshoe grouping because of the disadvantages that table grouping has.

Based on past experience, it was felt that such an arrangement type gave successful completion of any given task with a more insightful response as students try to do their best in the class. The possibility to pay attention to every group becomes easy, and students learn by themselves through the exchange of ideas. The learning outcomes too boosted with better results at the end. However, some disciplinary problems were the issue faced. Moreover, only the active students in the group were seen participating during the task and the silent and shy students were found left out.  

Horseshoe or Semicircle Seating

This arrangement is the most successful setting used by many teachers to cater to the needs of their students. This setup is similar to a table group setup where students work in groups, but students are kept in a semicircle manner whereby all students in the group will be facing towards the front. Students’ attention will be purely focused on the center of the classroom (Advancementcources.com, 2018). This type of seating is appealing because such an arrangement can save time as they will be already sitting in a group, and it mainly encourages smaller group discussion activities or demonstrations to derive the solutions to the given tasks (Renard, 2019). Collaboration through cooperative learning is the main essence of this type of setting. This type of arrangement can be the best means during the middle of the year.

One of the most important advantages of such a setting is that students can see one another easily which makes the discussion activity meaningful because they are engaged within the parameter of the nature of the seating setup (Advancementcources.com, 2018). On the contrary, unlike table group setup, this type of setup covers more space in the class, which sometimes will not be possible if the classroom size is small. The intergroup discussion will not be taken easily due to the nature of its setup, making communication a hindrance in the classroom. There are ample chances for students to cheat when they are engaged in the class test or any assignments due to a rise in the visual range as they will be staying near other groups. On the other hand, even the communication among them in the group can be noisy due to the space created while forming a semicircle. There are chances that the other group gets disturbed, and the whole class becomes a noisy class.

Based on my past experience, it was felt that such an arrangement type, despite some disadvantages, gave successful results in terms of the learning process and the student's achievements, But, some disciplinary issues were seen where some students just stayed idle without participating during the activity, and they were traced engaged in talking with friends from other groups.

Comparing and Contrasting Three Seating Arrangements

To compare all three types of arrangements as discussed above, they all carry the same goal of involving students meaningfully through cooperative and collaborative processes in the classroom. In all cases, creative and critical thinking through collaborations are highly considered for better learning output. Moreover, teachers in all cases can easily access students’ activities for better monitoring and class management systems. However, they are different in the way they are managed because classroom size plays a vital role in bringing successful conduct of any activities and behavioral management. In the case of the paired grouping, although it is thought to be one of the best ways of engaging students, it promotes only the pair discussion whereby collective ideas to derive are limited to two. More heads can always invite more ideas to construct concrete solutions through vigorous debate, discussion, and solution findings. Therefore, the preference is given to the table group seating for collective ideas for better decision-making and learning. By saying that, it’s not that table group seating can be always the best because it can be a better start for the year, not throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, if a table group is introduced, it helps in socialization, which can lead to a rise in disruptive behavior later. Once the socialization in the classroom is achieved, it is always best to switch the setting to a horseshoe setting. Owing to its disadvantages to a larger extent, a horseshoe group can be the possible means to avoid disruptive action in the class for successful learning, and it invites most classroom participation from students in the classroom that would ultimately bring better results even during the test (Rogers, 2020).

One Student Seating Arrangement that is the optimal seating choice for a Positive Classroom Environment

According to the research conducted by Rogers (2020), his findings states that the horseshoe layout was the most preferred one by most students and for the best result as it has the highest rate of classroom participation from the student’s side and promotes learning through the interview, analysis, discussion, collaboration, etc. making the classroom the most engaging classroom. To meet the 21st-century goals of education, intensive student engagement through learning by doing is most important. Horseshoe setting fulfills all its goals because the equidistant between the students and the center point is well maintained, which promotes a direct focus on what is to be discussed and learned. The most important thing in this type of setting is that the teacher can maintain eye contact with students easily and the monitoring of the class becomes perfect leading to a positive classroom environment.

 

Reference

Advancementcources.com. (2018). Maximizing Learning through Effective Classroom Seating Arrangements. Retrieved September 25, 2021 from https://blog.advancementcourses.com/articles/maximizing-learning-through-effective-classroom-seating-arrangements/

Behan, K. (2019). Create a Culture, Not a Classroom: Why Seating Charts Matter for Student Success. Retrieved September 25, 2021 from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-08-17-create-a-culture-not-a-classroom-why-seating-charts-matter-for-student-success

Davies, R. (2021). The secret to classroom seating arrangements – How to decide what’s right for you. Retrieved September 25, 2021 from https://www.differentiatedteaching.com/classroom-seating-arrangements/

Fernandez, AC, Huang, J, and Rinaldo, V. (2011). Does Where a Student Sits Really Matter?–The Impact on Seating Locations on Student Classroom Learning. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 10(1).

Renard, L. (2019). 19 Classroom seating arrangements fit for your teaching. Retrieved September 25, 2021 from https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2019/12/19-classroom-seating-arrangements-fit-for-your-teaching

Rogers, K. (2020). The Effects of Classroom Seating Layouts on Participation and Assessment Performance in a Fourth Grade Classroom. Retrieved September 25, 2021 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1253903.pdf

Tomlinson, C.A., & Imbeau, M.B. (2010). Leading and managing a differentiated classroom. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, pp 92-98.