Classroom Seating Arrangements | English Language Teaching Methodology I

CLASSROOM SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

Classroom Seating Arrangement is defined as the physical setup of chairs, tables, and presentation in a classroom that can influence learning.

Classroom Seating Arrangement can impact:

•  How instructors communicate with students.
•  How learners interact with one another.

Experience Teachers indicate that say that a classroom arrangement should allow

instructors:

•  Get around the classroom quickly and frequently
•  Check the students’ work

Variety of Classroom Seating Arrangements

•  Traditional
•  Roundtable
•  Horseshoe or Semicircle
•  Double Horseshoe
•  Pair Pods
•  Group Pods

 Traditional - The traditional lecture setup typically consists of rows of fixed seating. Students face the instructor with their backs to one another. This classroom seating arrangement is historically common in colleges and universities, minimizing student - student communication and largely supporting a “sage on the stage” learning environment. The highest communication interactions between professors and students typically occurs with students in the first row or along the middle of the classroom. Students in back rows are more likely to be less engaged.

 Roundtable - Many seminar-course room arrangements may consist of instructor and students sitting around a single large table. This seating arrangement can also be formed using individual desks. Students and instructors all face one another in this setup, which can support whole-class as well as pair-wise dialogue.

 Horseshoe or Semicircle - The horseshoe or semi-circle offers a modified roundtable setup, where all participants face each other while the instructor can move about the room. The horseshoe encourages discussion between students and with the instructor, although this setup tends to encourage more engagement between the instructor and students directly opposite, with slightly lesser amounts for students immediately adjacent to the instructor. A horseshoe setup can be particularly effective when the instructor wishes to project and discuss course-related material in the front of the class.

 Double Horseshoe - This seating arrangement involves an inner and outer horseshoe, and similar to the conventional horseshoe, invites greater discussion than the traditional format. It is more limited by the backs of students within the inner circle facing students in the outer circle. However, students may also more easily interact with those nearest to them or turn around and face students behind them for group work.

 Pods (Groups, Pairs) - The pod or pair arrangement can be designed with rectangular, circular or trapezoidal tables, or individual desks. With regards to stations, instructors can place several tables together to form student groups (e.g. 3 - 4 students), or pairs. This arrangement can be especially advantageous when students will work in groups or pairs with their classmates for a large portion of class time. More generally, this arrangement communicates a learning community where students are expected to work with one another.

Recommendations

 Book a Classroom - Instructors can consider booking spaces at Yale where the furniture setup most aligns with course goals. Specific features and pictures of Yale classrooms can be found at classrooms.yale.edu.

 Align Arrangement with Activity - Instructors can consider matching the classroom seating arrangement to the goals of instruction. For instance, classes involving group work might utilize group pods, while whole class discussion might benefit from a horseshoe. Instructors can also strategically change arrangements during class to suit shifting learning goals.

 Bolster Arrangement With Engagement - When dynamic change to seating arrangements proves difficult, instructors can bolster the physical space through intentional engagement(link is external). For example, in a typical horseshoe arrangement where students along the sides may experience less attention, an instructor may be more deliberate in their interactions with those particular learners. In a traditional classroom setup where the instructor cannot change the seating arrangements, they can maximize student engagement by implementing Think-Pair-Share or other active learning activities conducive to students working with a neighbor. They can also encourage student groups to work in other spaces of the classroom as needed (e.g. on the steps, front of the room,

etc.).

 Set Up Early - To the extent possible, an instructor can designate time for setting up the classroom and/or can ask students to help. If there is no class immediately before, this can be done prior to class, or alternatively during the first few minutes. Similar consideration should be given to resetting the room after class ends.

Factors that Influence Classroom Seating Arrangements

 Classroom Size: Your preferred classroom seating arrangement can only be applied if you have the appropriate space and school furniture.

 Distractions: It is important that your classroom seating arrangements can keep students from getting distracted.

 Student’s Age: It is not the same teaching adults than teaching teenagers and children that have disruptive behavior so your classroom seating arrangement will depend on the students that you have in your classes.

 Class Size: There are teachers who have to teach large classes so they have to be creative if they want to keep their preferred desk setting.

 Teaching Styles and Objectives: If you teach classes in which students are required to have some sort of interaction, you won’t expect to maximize speaking by having students separated from one another. Choose the classroom arrangement that support your teaching style and objectives.

Who do you want to be the focus of the class?

 Teacher-Centered Class: If your class is going to be lecture- and presentationcentric, use a configuration where all students can see you and the lectern.

 Learner-Centered Class: With these classes, student discussion and group work are paramount. Find a seating arrangement that encourages students to interact with one another.

 Both: Many educators adhere to the belief that a balanced education has a healthy mixture of both teacher-centered presentations and student-based discussions and work. Look for seating layouts that are flexible and functional.

How do you want the class to interact?

 Minimal: Interaction flows from the teacher to the student. Student-to-student discussion is scarce. Testing and individual work also dominate the class.

 Small Groups: Students interact in pairs or small groups.

 Large Groups: Students engage in group discussions and lessons with the entire class.

What are your learning objectives?

 Knowledge: Students will learn and understand the content of the coursework. Use configurations that support independent activity and emphasize focus on content.

 Skill Growth: Students develop a certain set of skills during this course. For skills that rely on cooperation, communication, teamwork, reflection, etc., layouts that encourage group work and discussion are preferred. For more independent skills like troubleshooting, analysis, listening, etc., look for configurations that support independent work and minimize distractions.

Most Common Configurations

Traditional Rows or Columns

The rows configuration (also known as the columns configuration) is the most common classroom arrangement. This type of setup complements class structures that revolve around teacher-based instruction and presentations. Students are more focused on coursework and independent assignments. They are also less likely and/or able to cheat with this layout. 

Though this seating arrangement can be used with any class size, large classes may often see uneven levels of interaction as students in the front row will participate more while those in the back may lose focus.

Horseshoe or U-Shape

This model supports both student-to-student interaction and teacher-to-student interaction. The class interacts in a large group format, though teachers have ample opportunity to work with students one on one. Courses that emphasize discussions and presentations typically function well with this configuration.

Clusters

Clustering the desks into small groups promotes student-to-student interaction. Students develop skills such as communication, problem solving, collaboration, and more in this arrangement. These clusters offer safe and comfortable environments for students to share ideas. This comfort, however, also lends itself to off-task behavior and large increase in noise level and distractions.

Alternative Configurations

For some educators, the most common classroom seating arrangements aren’t the most effective. There are infinite amounts of variations of clusters, horseshoes, and rows, and even more classroom setups that are completely new and different. 

Here is just a handful of examples of more alternative approaches.

Runway

Best used with smaller classes, this setup puts the emphasis on the educator. The teacher uses the runway between the two rows of facing desks to conduct the lessons. This layout is great for discussions and lecture based classes.

Stadium

A variation of the classic row configuration and runway, desks are grouped in clusters but all facing the same direction. Like runway, this layout is best suited teacher-centric classes.

Combination

This configuration is great for classes with students of varying learning levels, methods of learning, and behavioral issues. Mix and match any configuration to best fit your needs and your students’ abilities. For example, set up part of the room as rows for students who need to focus on individual work and another part as a mini horseshoe for students who require more discussion-based activities.