From the forrest to the trees-
I remember wondering why a good two sections of one of my classroom management texts was devoted to seating. It had charts, diagrams, and even explanations and summaries of various forms of seating arrangements. Many or most of us will remember the standard, always repeated, classroom where the bell would ring and we would all shuffle up the isles, distinct rows, all facing forward, before plopping down and starting. Bell rings, shuffle in, seat, and repeat; for the whole year. Every classroom I have ever had from middle school up into college (with the exception of early grad classes at UCLA and then grad school at USD), has had this arrangement.
A whole half chapter on just seating? Wow? Ya, wow... Truth is, it probably could have been longer.
This semester I have had the opportunity to student teach in a class where the co-operating teacher puts some good thought into the seating arrangements of the students. To my count we have switched up seating over ten times so far (and this isn't taking into considerations for minor adjustments after the new chart has been put into place). Into consideration is taken the class subject material, the lesson and lesson plans, projects to be worked on, grades, behavior, friendships (and students who do not get along), etc.... It has been a musical chairs of movement aimed at increasing productivity and engagement while removing distractions and distracting situations (and the students seem, usually, to enjoy the change). Quite a balance when you figure in all of the variables.
Each student is unique, a very obvious fact that has more implications that can be imagined (and one I intend to reflect on as well down the line here), in terms of temperament, 'distractibility', levels of intrinsic and extrinsic (rather the ability for this to be fostered) motivation, academic ability, personality... etc. etc.. So saying a well done seating chart truly is a work of art. In one of my own classes (one focusing on teaching english learners) a great discussion arose about how best to situate students in the classroom. The consensus was to pair one strong speaker with an ELL. The consensus was also to pair one weak speaker with another weak speaker. A another final consensus was to put one strong and two weak. Another....well, you get my point; there is probably no one right answer for every situation. Should I put an easily distracted student in a stronger group of students in the hopes they will keep him or her in check or will that end up distracting the motivated students? One actual case in our class was with a VERY distractible student who had an IEP for a learning disability who could barley get anything done. He was paired with a friend of his who seemed to be able to push him to get his work finished. Things seemed to be going well but as I worked with them more, and over time, I began to notice that while friend was assisting he was starting to become frustrated at this task. On top of that, because he was partially taking on the role of helping his friend, his own work was getting behind a bit. It was a tough one since one of our students was improving but the other was becoming more frustrated. In ending to this, when the next change came about, the two were no longer a separated couple.
In conclusion, it has been valuable to not only read about all of the positives and negatives a seating arrangement can bring (not to mention the physical seating desk arrangement) but to see this thought process and results of it in real time action. It has really shown me that I, most certainly, have to consider this carefully in my own classrooms. Small but mighty little principle.
I remember wondering why a good two sections of one of my classroom management texts was devoted to seating. It had charts, diagrams, and even explanations and summaries of various forms of seating arrangements. Many or most of us will remember the standard, always repeated, classroom where the bell would ring and we would all shuffle up the isles, distinct rows, all facing forward, before plopping down and starting. Bell rings, shuffle in, seat, and repeat; for the whole year. Every classroom I have ever had from middle school up into college (with the exception of early grad classes at UCLA and then grad school at USD), has had this arrangement.
A whole half chapter on just seating? Wow? Ya, wow... Truth is, it probably could have been longer.
This semester I have had the opportunity to student teach in a class where the co-operating teacher puts some good thought into the seating arrangements of the students. To my count we have switched up seating over ten times so far (and this isn't taking into considerations for minor adjustments after the new chart has been put into place). Into consideration is taken the class subject material, the lesson and lesson plans, projects to be worked on, grades, behavior, friendships (and students who do not get along), etc.... It has been a musical chairs of movement aimed at increasing productivity and engagement while removing distractions and distracting situations (and the students seem, usually, to enjoy the change). Quite a balance when you figure in all of the variables.
Each student is unique, a very obvious fact that has more implications that can be imagined (and one I intend to reflect on as well down the line here), in terms of temperament, 'distractibility', levels of intrinsic and extrinsic (rather the ability for this to be fostered) motivation, academic ability, personality... etc. etc.. So saying a well done seating chart truly is a work of art. In one of my own classes (one focusing on teaching english learners) a great discussion arose about how best to situate students in the classroom. The consensus was to pair one strong speaker with an ELL. The consensus was also to pair one weak speaker with another weak speaker. A another final consensus was to put one strong and two weak. Another....well, you get my point; there is probably no one right answer for every situation. Should I put an easily distracted student in a stronger group of students in the hopes they will keep him or her in check or will that end up distracting the motivated students? One actual case in our class was with a VERY distractible student who had an IEP for a learning disability who could barley get anything done. He was paired with a friend of his who seemed to be able to push him to get his work finished. Things seemed to be going well but as I worked with them more, and over time, I began to notice that while friend was assisting he was starting to become frustrated at this task. On top of that, because he was partially taking on the role of helping his friend, his own work was getting behind a bit. It was a tough one since one of our students was improving but the other was becoming more frustrated. In ending to this, when the next change came about, the two were no longer a separated couple.
In conclusion, it has been valuable to not only read about all of the positives and negatives a seating arrangement can bring (not to mention the physical seating desk arrangement) but to see this thought process and results of it in real time action. It has really shown me that I, most certainly, have to consider this carefully in my own classrooms. Small but mighty little principle.