Seating Arrangements

Seating arrangements of the classes tell us about approaches and activites that can be used in classes. Ignoring the effect of seating arrangement may cause  boring lessons. Do you think that is there a best arrangement for classes? As a teacher, I always change the seating arrangement according to activites and materials. Each pattern has advantages and disadvantages. For instance;

Students and teachers have a clear view of each other.

Enabling the teacher making eye contact with people.

The teacher working with the whole class.

Some activites are especially suitable for this organisation such as explaining grammar rules, watching videos or powepoint presentations. However,  some students in the back can make noise.  In this pattern, it is not easy to create a good class dynamic. Teachers have to keep these students involve the lesson.

There is more interaction between students and teachers.  Teacher can walk in the classroom and may deal with all kids more fairly.  Classrooms are more intimate place for students to share feelings.

In that setting, teachers walk around, check students and promote  them. It is quite suitable for groupwork. Separate table seating is especially useful in mixed ability classes. Different groups of students can benefit from concentrating on different tasks. Separate tables are more difficult to teach in whole group activities.

Of all these different arrangements, we should choose the best for our task. Using different arrangements in classes will make our lessons more dynamic and enjoyable