TEFL Helena Georgia

Seating arrangements in a classroom can be vital to receptivity of the students. Placing students too close to one another can lead to distractions and disruptive behaviors, while placing students too far away from one another can give out an isolated feeling and lead to a strict teaching environment. This being said, the way in which a teacher arranges their students seating can have a large impact over not only the feel of the classroom environment but also how well the students learn. Many things need to be taken into consideration when arranging a room in order to efficiently place the students to ensure a maximum learning opportunity. Things such as space, seats and students available will also play into the decision. There are several options for seating arrangements all of which have their advantages and disadvantages. The first option of seating arrangement in a classroom is orderly rows. This option for seating arrangements has been a traditional form for many years. It provides the teacher with a clear view of all students while all students can see the teacher (Unit 5). The clear view between the teacher and students has several benefits. First of all, orderly rows allow the teacher to maintain eye contact between the students, as there will be no backs to the teacher. Second, it makes lecturing easy because you can easily stand at the front of the classroom and project to all students. Third, orderly rows can reduce discipline problems in the classroom because the students will have less of an opportunity to talk to one another while in rows, the teacher can also quickly see who is talking and will be able to effectively stop the disruption. Fourth, the teacher has the ability to move about the classroom freely which makes answering questions quick and easy. Overall, this option is very organized and optimal for larger class sizes (Unit 5). A second option of seating arrangements is circles and horseshoes. This arrangement is often used for smaller classes. The teacher is situated at the front of the classroom, which gives the students all a clear view of the front and teacher. This can help to curb disruptive problems because the students are situated to face the teacher. This arrangement is used for more of a laid back feeling as the student's position is not as set in stone and isolated. Although this arrangement gives the students the ability to focus more easily, it also gives them the ability to work in pairs more easily. It also gives the students more opportunity to talk to the entire class freely because the other students can easily shift their attention from the teacher to a student. Overall, this seating arrangement is used for class sizes of less students as outputs a feeling of a more laid back learning environment (Unit 5). Lastly, separate tables are another option for seating arrangements. This arrangement allows the classroom to become even more laid back as four or five students are situated at one table. This arrangement gives the students more opportunity to talk with one another and discuss issues that may arise, which takes attention off of the teacher. This allows the teacher to move freely from table to table and help groups of students while the others continue to work. This can be beneficial because the teacher can work with students without taking any time of other students. Even though this arrangement is more laid back, it can also being about discipline problems as the students may talk with one another often. It's important for the teacher to stress the importance of paying attention. Overall, this arrangement gives a feel of an informal cohesive learning environment (Unit 5). Although there are several different seating arrangement styles, it's important to gauge which particular arrangement is best in a particular classroom. What works in one classroom may not fit in the other. It's important for the teacher to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each arrangement in relation to the students and their abilities.