Theme 1 – Teacher vs. Student Assigned Seating

With education, as in every facet of life, there are certain variables that can be controlled, and ones that cannot be.  Classroom management is one of the variables that can be controlled, albeit it is one that can take come work on the teacher’s part.  Luckily, classroom management can be an easy task to tackle if some planning is involved.  According to Bicard et al. (2012), “Student seating is one of the easiest, most cost-effective classroom management tactics available to teachers” (p. 407).  While this may be true, there are multiple ways a teacher can choose to tackle this.  Does a teacher assign student seating?  Does a teacher use a program/method to generate a random seating chart?  Does a teacher allow the students to choose their own seating?  All three of the aforementioned options have validity to them.  Looking at a teacher who chooses to assign seats to their students, one could speculate that the teacher is, in a way, establishing dominance over his/her pupils.  Fulton argued that, “There is a very delicate balance between the teacher communicating a sense of territory (teacher in charge) and the students feeling comfortable and at home” (as quoted by Education World, n.d.).  There are, however, opponents of letting students choose to sit where they want to. Harry Wong, world renowned educational author, is one such opponent to this idea.  In “Students Who Face the Board Learn More”, Harry (n.d.) writes, “Although inviting students to sit in a place that makes them feel comfortable may sound inviting, it’s not the best move on your part.  There is a science to arranging desks and assigning seating.”  This particular sub theme of the student seating placement versus time on task debate is anything but cut and dry. 

Theme 2 – Rows, Clusters, Horseshoes

As a teacher tries to decide how to arrange their classroom seating, there are multiple options that need be considered.  According to Haghighi and Jusan (2011), “Several literatures suggest that there are three different classroom seating arrangements – row, cluster, and horseshoe – that are influential to learning behavior of students within a classroom” (p. 288).  There is research showing the positive characteristics of each.  According to Wannarka and Ruhl, placing your students in rows has shown to double the time on task of students while reducing inappropriate behaviors (as cited in Szparagowski, 2014).  Similarly, horseshoe (semicircle) seating bears its own positive characteristics.  Research by Wannarka and Ruhl, Patterson et al., and Kaya & Burgess concluded that arranging your classroom seating in a semi-circle shape fostered a greater sense of classroom community, generated more student questions, and allowed students to interact more with each other (as cited in Szparagowski, 2014).  At the same time, clusters (group seating) can be beneficial as well.  Kregenow et al. argued that group seating helps to facilitate student interaction (as cited in Szparagowski, 2014).  As one can see, depending upon the intent of the teacher, student seating can be arranged in numerous ways. 

Theme 3 – Distance Away From Front of Room/Visuals