Sunteți pe pagina 1din 9

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher-Student Relationships Andria Barberi EDG 685 Grand Valley State University

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

New teachers are constantly looking for the magic bullet to cure the problem of classroom management. There are many techniques to conquer first year classroom management blues, but, like any good cure, they all take time to master. Wouldnt the perfect seating chart simply do the work for us? Sadly, the answer is no, but there is plenty of research on what different seating charts can do for our students. Seating charts can affect our students academically and behaviorally, they can affect their motivation and participation, and they can even work for or against student relationships with one another and with their teachers. After four months in my mentor teachers classroom, I found a few problems I thought I could address with a new seating chart. The first problem was behavior. Though I appreciated the group seating already established in my classroom, I had observed that students had trouble breaking from their conversations to focus on the teacher when direct instruction was necessary. I also noticed that, when given a choice, many of my low achieving students chose to sit in the back of the classroom. I wondered if a seat in the front of the room, closer to the teacher and the instructions on the board might make a difference in their achievement. I also wondered if placing students in seats that faced the teacher would have an impact on the teacher-student relationship in a positive way. I had big goals for this short study. Much research has been done on the effects of seating charts on student behavior and achievement. Because the physical environment of a classroom can encourage positive behavioral traits in an unobtrusive way, teachers can look to seating charts as a way to avoid misbehavior before it begins. Wannarka and Ruhl (2008) point out that unlike other factors that also impact on behavior (e.g. individual student characteristics, social dynamics), seating

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

arrangement is one factor that is typically under teacher control. Seating arrangements additionally have the possibility to influence movement within the classroom, and studies have shown that student location within the classroom can have an influence on the amount of nonacademic activity students engage in (Fernandes et al., 2011). Where students choose to sit may also be telling. A study conducted by Burda and Brooks (1996) found that students who sat near the front of the class had much higher achievement scores, may have had a greater amount of self-assurance, and often seek a clearer line of communication with their instructor (Fernandes et al., 2011). Those who opt for the back of the room show passive learning traits, while their location nearly guarantees less interaction with the teacher. Seating location can also affect question-asking, participation, and relationships within the classroom. When students are meant to be working on individual work, row and column seating arrangements are ideal because they limit social interaction. When the desired behavior is interactive, however, like brainstorming or question-asking, seating arrangements such as semi-circles or clustered desks should be utilized because they facilitate interactions by proximity and position (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008). In group seating students feel less pressure when asking questions or responding to questions. Small groups can be distinguished from mere audiences by the greater chance of continued verbal communication between the group members and the teacher (Marx et al., 1999). Just as clustered desk or semi-circle seating can increase socialization and improve learner relationships, seating arrangements can impact teacher-student relationships as well. Sztejnberg and Finch (2006) found that seating arrangements and the use of classroom space by teachers pass on specific nonverbal meaning

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

to students. A seating arrangement can indicate formality, informality, and intensity of interaction between teacher and students and among learners. The goal of my action research project was to study the effect of two distinct seating charts with four of my eighth grade English classes. The study covered a two week period in which my students made the abrupt transition from a student-based clustered desk arrangement to a teacher-based row and column seating arrangement. Though the study period was only formally conducted over two weeks, I had the background knowledge of my students from the past four months while I was either student assisting or student teaching. I also noted changes after the seating arrangement reverted to its original set-up. Data was gathered via observation, and three survey collections. The first survey was administered on the first day of the seating transition. The second survey was taken on the fifth day of the seating change, and the final survey was taken on the last day of the row and column seating arrangement. Each survey was written, and students were given the option of giving their feedback anonymously. Once survey responses were turned in, I entered the data in Excel spreadsheets organized by the hour. I totaled the responses for each question, to find a majority. I also noted written responses in comments or in the spreadsheet itself. I typed the word Neither when students demonstrated a lack of preference for a given question, and these responses were not included in the sum totals. For final visual evaluation I created both pie and column charts based on my data. On the first day of the row and column seating chart, I observed student reaction as they entered the room and found their assigned seats. Students were surprised, confused, and

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

some were upset. A row seating arrangement seemed to imply a lack of freedom, and many students, mainly the male students, were unhappy about the change immediately. Along with the seating arrangement change I also reorganized some of the space and materials in the room. My goal was to optimize the room for students by limiting space that was taken up by seldom used teacher furniture. I also created a space where students could find all of their resources (pencils, paper, erasers, tissue), so they could become more self sufficient. My goal was to redirect their perception of my purpose in the classroom, a purpose to instruct rather than provide them with materials, and to subliminally demonstrate my authority. The students were informed of the length of their new seating arrangement, and were informed they would still have opportunities for partner and group work. Once students were seated, I passed out the first survey. The survey consisted of seven questions. The first five questions were related to row or group seating, and the final two questions were related to location in the front, middle, or back of the room. When asked for their seating arrangement preference, students overwhelmingly chose group seating. In fact, out of the five categories (preference, productivity, understanding, collaboration, and relaxation) the only area in which the majority of students selected row seating as optimal was in the category of understanding. When given a choice between sitting in the front, middle, or back of the room most students chose either the middle or the back as their preferred seating location. I immediately noticed a difference in student attention during instruction in this period of time. In the original seating arrangement only four desks were facing the front of the

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

classroom, meaning all other students had to turn to look at the teacher during direct instruction at the front of the room via white board or document camera. Once all students were poised to the front of the room, there was a marked difference in the number of times I had to ask a student to turn around or look at me while I was speaking. I also noticed an increase in student reliance on me as the teacher. Students asked less questions about the coordinating teacher, and seemed at greater ease with me as the main instructor during this time period. At the end of the first week of the row seating, I again asked for student feedback. This time I asked students to tell me one way in which the new seating chart either helped or hindered their learning. I read many responses that stated students were able to focus better because they were less tempted to talk with other students. I also found that the row seating helped students see the board more clearly. I purposely moved my lower achieving students or those with more discipline problems to the front of the room, and moved my high achievers to the back of the room, and their responses were interesting. A number of the students I moved to the front expressed that they felt they could focus better, with one stating it was calming. Three of my high achieving students expressed dissatisfaction with their placement in the back of the classroom, and asked to be moved closer to the front. The greatest amount of unhappiness or perceived hindrance from the switch came from students who felt they worked better with friends, or from those who were uncomfortable with the limited amount of space between the rows. Three out of the four classes responded with a majority of students stating the row seating arrangement was a help to their learning.

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

On the final day of the two week study period I asked students to answer three questions. The questions were: Where are you most likely to ask questions?, Where do you have more interaction with your teacher?, and Where are you most likely to participate in class?. The choices for all three questions were either row or group. The overwhelming majority for all three questions was group seating. After observing my students before, during, and after the study period I have to agree with their assessment. I found that students were more likely to ask questions when they were seated in clustered desks. I also found that students were more likely to participate in class in their groups. Finally, though I had reveled in the first few days of seeing all of my students looking directly at me when I spoke to them, I found that I was greatly inhibited in one-on-one interaction with my students by the row arrangement. Though I had great access to those students in the front row, it was very difficult to get around to students further back in the room. My students have now returned to their clustered desk seating arrangement, and they are certainly more relaxed and happy in this layout. I now have to work harder to make sure all eyes are on me when instructing the class, but I utilize proximity and I am quick to move desks, or students, when necessary to get the desired results. In the end, I came to the same conclusion that countless studies have shown: seating arrangement should match the focus of the lesson. The hard truth in my classroom is that rearranging the room to match the learning objective is easier said than done. It took me an hour to rearrange the room for this study to make sure every desk fit. In my small classroom I must fit thirty desks with chairs attached. There is a very limited number of seating arrangements possible with these restrictions, and it would be inefficient to change the seating arrangement on a regular basis.

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

Future areas of research should focus on a long term study of student location in a classroom. With my students I could see great value in assessing their work over time while they are seated in different areas of the room. I would also appreciate a study on comprehension over time with row seating during instruction and individual work time. Seeing the effects of varied seating based on the focus of the lesson over a longer period of time would add increased understanding of the effects of seating arrangment and student achievement. The ideal set-up for my future classroom would be table seating with moveable chairs. Tables can quickly be shifted from row seating to group or semi-circle seating. Moveable chairs would allow a class to forgo tables altogether, when the focus of the lesson is a discussion or performance with audience. The old style tablet-arm chair desk belongs just where it was found, in the past. With greater focus on Project Based Learning, Inquiry Based Learning, and Collaborative Learning these individualized desks have no place in the classroom. Yet, with the knowledge I now have about the impact of seating arrangements on so many facets of student understanding, achievement, and relationship building I can spare an hour or two every now and then to make a difference in my students educational experience.

RUNNING HEAD: The Effects of Seating Arrangement on Behavior, Participation, and Teacher Student Relationships.

References Fernandes, A.C., Huang, J., & Rinaldo, V. (Apr.2011). Does where a student sits really matter?-the impact of seating locations on student classroom learning. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 10.1, p66. Marx, A., Fuhrer, U., & Hartig, T. (1999). Effects of classroom seating arrangements on children's question-asking. Learning Environments Research, 2(3), 249-263. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1009901922191 Sztejnberg, A., & Finch, E. F. (2006). Adaptive use patterns of secondary school classroom environments. Facilities, 24(13), 490-509. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02632770610705275 Wannarka, R., & Ruhl, K. (2008). Seating arrangements that promote positive academic and behavioral outcomes: a review of empirical research. Support for Learning, 23(2), 89-93. doi:10.111/j.1467-9604.2008.00375.x

S-ar putea să vă placă și