The rows and columns classroom is a very traditional layout that was near universal up until the mid-20th Century. In that case, the conference classroom arrangement is a possibility. However, when I had 32 students, this arrangement was virtually impossible because of space. This is another one of my favorites if you have a wide room. Be conscious of space. Aim to stand in the front, middle only when seeking students attention. If your class is brand-new to you, these are things youll find out as the school year progresses dont be afraid to change up your seating arrangement! Some kids will have to shift to see the whiteboard, If you need to social distance students, pods just dont work. But, if you want to change your pedagogy then paying attention to they layout should be a part of that change. Everything will be spread out on those desks in the middle. Use this basic lesson plan template with a whiteboard below. With all students facing one another, it is easy to facilitate discussions in this space. This seating arrangement just makes it a bit more social. Explicitly model group work strategies to your students so they have a clear understanding of behavior expectations. A child who has a hearing disability, for example, might be required to sit nearer the teacher to be able to hear whats being said, while a child who is easily distracted might need a spot out of the line of sight of the classroom door. For example, a (digital) crossword riddle, a quiz, a video with questions, a whiteboard exercise, All the assignments complete each other. Twitter: @helpfulprof. So how do you choose? When working with groups of four students get to sit with others all the time. However, this format also allows students to work with one peer to discuss their ideas and share resources. Obviously, there are a number of factors that will influence the seating arrangement that will work in your classroom. The Double-U method is best for a teacher-centered passive learning classrooms. The teacher can also stand in the middle of the circle and very easily move from student-to-student or give science demonstrations. The teacher will be available to give more guidance when needed as well. Customize and create your own teaching resources and display materials. Seekprofessional input on your specific circumstances. This kind of seating arrangement is an absolute classroom change. Take your class on an educational adventure over multiple lessons. Here, you can also easily divide your classroom into three columns of pairs. Desk arrangements are important in organizing and managing your classroom. How will your classroom seating arrangements affect student learning, and what the heck do you do when a new kid (or kids) moves in and changes the number of kids in your room? I wouldnt recommend this seating arrangement in your classroom all the time. This makes them ideal for group work and project-based learning. The U-shape or the horseshoe. Students in the back might feel a bit left out as well. This layout also allows for a little flexibility in that if you have particular students that really need to face the whiteboard you can make sure they are facing the front of the classroom. Make sure you have flexible and movable furniture such as desks on rolling wheels for this layout. This classroom is popular amongst behaviorist teachers who prefer teacher-centered environments. I also liked this set up for flow and movability. In other words, classroom layouts should send a message and work with your pedagogical strategy. An exam situation is the most common situation in which this layout is used.
Every classroom is different. Let your students work individually, yet they sit together. Consider the needs of children with mobility issues and physical disabilities when designing this space. Again, a con to this set-up would be you will have some students not facing the whiteboard and others that are facing the whiteboard, however, may have other students heads in the way of their viewing of the whiteboard. This discussion format is great for democratic style engaged learning spaces where there is no one person at the head of the discussion. Some teachers may want ask students to be silent and work along, mimicking a rows and columns format (see above). As always, pick what works for you and tweak what doesnt. This is the setup that I used the most. In other words, if you think changing your tables is going to solve your problems, youre probably not going to see results. A bit like flexible seating, students can move around to the desk configuration that is going to work for them for different subject areas. When youre working on a big project or teaching a comprehensive topic with different aspects or themes, this seating arrangement will do just fine. There are few opportunities for students to be distracted by other computer screens aside from those to their direct left and right. To create groups of four, have students turn around and work with the pair behind them. The stadium method pivots all student desks so theyre directly facing the action zone in the front middle of the class. If you struggle controlling the flow and behavior of your students, consider using another table layout until you can trust your class to move into this more free flowing classroom layout. As you know, seating arrangements in the classroom are about a lot more than picking a style that looks aesthetically pleasing or even picking one that works with the size of your class list and the size of your classroom. Subscribe to our curated library of teacher-designed resources and tools for Any of the other classroom seating arrangements work with portable devices like laptops, chromebooks or tablets.
Or maybe youre looking to rearrange student seats after a few months of all the kids in one place. It is also possible to use this layout for computer-connected classrooms. Have one different flexible seating option available and see if its something your students will be able to cope with and will improve their learning environment. BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive The double-U variation of the horseshoe layout includes two rows in a horseshoe table layout. When I have used this method, Ive had to ask all students to turn their monitors off and turn to face the rest of the class during the modeled instruction at the start of the lesson. Browse by curriculum code or learning area. The perpendicular runway classroom has two rows of students facing one another. Let the groups work on bigger projects like organizing an event, putting together a play, setting up their own company, keep a political meeting with different representatives,etc. They cant talk to each other or let their eyes wander on someone elses paper. Obviously, this layout doesnt cater very well to small group/collaborative learning. For example, its harder for the teacher to go around in the classroom. Social learning. There is not much open space for students to engage in active learning on the floor of the classroom. When you have more students or a smaller classroom, you can choose for the double U-shape arrangement. This layout can also be excellent for sharing resources. Print classroom crate labels to let students know where to find all the things they need! There are many teaching methods for your lesson topics, so why not change your classroom interior based on your lesson? Students generally dont get a permanent personal workspace in workstation environments. Ensure all computer cables are tucked under the desks to prevent hazards. The long rows both look out over a runway of free, open space for presentations. Its more fun with two but still gives you a nice overview. There arent too many other options. An add-on to this format is the butterfly layout, where additional desks are placed in the open space in the middle of the classroom if you need to fit more students in. Sign up to get fresh ideas, content updates, and freebies! Grab thesegrouping posters for the classroom to name your groups and keep track of group points! 12. Students are all looking away from each other. The props can be passed down the line of the horseshoes. Have students face one another, chat, and share resources at the conference table. It works well for group or team work. You can let them work on an assignment. Curriculum-aligned resources to engage and inspire your class. However, if you have space in your classroom, you may be able to set up a variety of other group work areas in the classroom and save the desks for individual work. Presentations. Double-U classrooms layouts retain some of the benefits of horseshoe models. Some students who desire personal private space will struggle in this environment. Theoretical Connection: Socio-Cultural / Social Constructivist Theory. Its best to use this arrangement when giving a presentation or when teaching in front of the classroom. You can also use it to split up students with the same learning level. This layout is a textbook example of a behaviorist approach, whereby the teacher delivers truths to students and the students practice what is taught in isolation. That way, you can speed up the classical work. This one is probably new to you. Hey, Laurel! Zig-zag down the rows asking each student to present a thought defending their side of the debate.
Free floor space. The research on classroom layouts is quite clear that its not so much the layout that matters, but the teachers pedagogy. Workstation classroom layouts are very flexible, loose, free-flowing environments, but have the in-built design intention for students to be working at different tasks depending on the station they are working at. This may minimize the limitation of this layout, which is lack of ability to use group work. Make the most of pairing up students to encourage engaged learning. If students need to look at the board at the front of the class, Students at the far end of one row will find it, When the teacher needs students attention, the. Likewise, there may be students who really should not be seated near one another, whether its because theyre too likely to talk or simply do not get along.
Again, this layout makes it easier for the teacher to get around and help out individual students. Weve taken a look at some of the science behind seating arrangements plus considered the rules and regulations around preferential seating to ensure your students with IEPs are being best served by their spot in the classroom. 
This middle of the butterfly serves as a place where students go for extra instructions or a new assignment. Mobility. This layout also uses less floor space and, as we know, some classrooms are very, very small. This layout is designed to separate all students as much as possible so they cannot see or communicate with one another. Mobility. The obvious con of this arrangement is that students may not like to be sitting in a different configuration from their peers. Nonetheless, this format is one of the most popular contemporary class layouts and is commonly seen across age groups, including in college seminar classes. They get to know each other better and make friends. In this way, students can get their heads together when needed. Make sure to move around your student desks from time to time so you have the perfect classroom seating arrangement for your lesson. Use the think-pair-share method when trying to get students to socially interact. Student-centered or teacher-centered learning. In this post, Ill show you 19 possible classroom seating arrangements. This desk arrangement concept was another one of my favorite layouts for the classroom. This classroom seating layout caters well to whole-class discussions and enables students the ability to easily see their classmates and interact with them during discussions. Sociocultural learning theory highlights that social interaction is integral for learning development. This method became very common when computer rooms were introduced into schools in the late 1990s. It also helps save space if you dont have a large room. An oldy but a goodie. This classroom seating layout again makes it easier for the teacher to see if all students are on task as the desks are angled to one point in the classroom. One corner where students get more instructions, the other has expansion exercises, one corner has noise-canceling headphones so students can concentrate, etc. Similarly, if youve decided that your students are excessively misbehaving, you might want to go to rows while you work on getting your classs behavior back on track. This classroom arrangement encourages discussion and makes it easy for the teacher to observe students and give one-on-one help. These seating arrangements for kids with IEPs arent just suggestions. It had the benefits of easily managing small group work without students being squashed together and meant they had a bit more personal space. Will moving little Johnny or little Shantes seats be a good thing for their academic success? But, alone, desks are just desks: you need to actually create lessons and class rules that work with and alongside the classroom layout that you have settled on.
A child with glasses, for example, may not have an official plan, but you may realize they really need a seat closer to the front of the classroom. As there arent rows of tables, students also cannot see too many other students computer screens in this format which may minimize distractions and lead to more effective learning. They are closely associated with the open learning spaces trend that has taken hold in the past decade. Sometimes smaller children find it hard to communicate across large desks. Students are constantly wanting access to the middle area, requiring a desk to be pulled away to provide access. The way you should set up your desk arrangements and classroom layouts matters. Interactive hands-on lessons. Another classroom management technique using this desk configuration is to not have set desks. Teachers either love this concept or they dont. Active learning. In contrast to the double u-shape arrangement, this u-shape for in a large classroom doesnt really cast students out. Its also wise to consider the needs of students who do not have IEPs when planning your seating. Think-pair-share activities. It was also easy for group work. Teacher support. Use this just like mentioned above. Theres no separate U in the front, which makes it more open to the students in the back. All students in this desk layout will face the board, and it lends itself to easily moving the desks to cater to test conditions if required. Students will be able to collaborate with one another through messaging software. The pivot of the desks gives all students a good view of the front of the class. Students each face their computer and away from others to help them to remain focused on the content. Here are some pros and cons to eight different classroom desk arrangement ideas that have been tried and tested by teachers in the know. Make addition fun in the classroom, or even at home, with these creative, easy, and effective hands-on activities. 
Does anyone in your class have stipulations about where they should be seated for the best learning environment? This may be more teacher-directed than student-directed. I often find it hard to free up room for free floor space in this layout. Group involvement. It can reflect an amphitheater model where everyone is looking at one focal action point at the front middle of the classroom. This layout is very flexible for educators. Weve put together some seating arrangements to consider in your classroom from pods to the increasingly popular flexible seating along with how they might work (or not) for you. Students are all facing one another, enabling discussion across the classroom. This interesting student desk arrangement serves two purposes. Wall-Facing Desks (Computer Room Style), Pros and Cons of the Horseshoe Desk Layout, Pros and Cons of the Double-U Horseshoe Variation, Pros and Cons of a Class Conference Desk Layout, Pros and Cons of the Rows and Columns Layout, Pros and Cons of the Perpendicular Runway, Pros and Cons of the Wall-Facing Computer Room Style, Socio-Cultural / Social Constructivist Theory. Guest speakers giving a lecture would be able to use this layout to talk to students and, potentially, keep the attention and eyes of all students.
The most important thing is that students feel confident and trust the classroom environment. Use the stickers I created to set up your own classroom layout for your teaching purpose. This type of classroom setup is specifically designed to discourage social learning. Theoretical Connection: One-to-many Method. Small classrooms. exercise templates (quizzes, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, ), Use small groups of four when you want your students to put their heads together. This sort of table is very common in professional workplaces where groups of board members get together to discuss big picture issues.