Classroom+Community

As a way of helping us pull together the resources and readings you are doing around the topics of classroom management, building a community of learners, and creating a safe, engaging learning environment, we are going to collaborate on a shared document. Each member of the site can contribute to the document by adding text and/or links. Use the Editor (see menu bar that appears when you begin to edit the page).

Opening prompt ---

For many of us, one of the first elements we consider as we think about our classsroom environment is how we will arrange the classroom in an inviting way that fosters meaningful student interactions and still allows the teacher to see all the students. What are the classroom arrangements that you are considering and why?

From Joy -- Additional Resources to consider as you build your plans for your Classroom Community Project.......

http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-management-relationships-strategies-tips

http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-management-barbed-wire-model Using a tangled wire metaphor to talk about classroom management.

http://www.edutopia.org/pay-prizes-reward-student-performance Using pay/incentives to motivate higher student performance.

http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/pbr.htm Kohn’s book discusses the research related to using rewards and punishments.

There are a variety of classroom seating arrangements: circle or half circle, groups, rows, or a creative arrangement that you come up with that fits the shape or size of your room. You may also be limited to the type of furniture you have in your room, too. Personally, I think that a half-circle (and half inner circle depending on space) and the group seating arrangements are the best for promoting meaningful interactions between students; these arrangements also create space which may given a more inviting feeling. The half-circle would be great for class discussions, but unless the desks could be easily moved, it may hinder group work. The group arrangement allows for group work and discussion; different groups could be created by assigned seat, counting off, interest, or by rotating stations. I've had this type of seating arrangement before, and for the most part, I liked it. It was easier to assign roles in group work based on a given seat number, and there was always a clear work area with plenty of room to work. It also helped facilitate distribution of papers or supplies. Students had more opportunities to talk through the content or share their ideas. It was also easier for me to see if a "group" was off task. If one student was causing problems, you could usually tell by the response of the other students. Either they participated in the disruption or were frustrated that they struggled to get started.

There are some drawbacks from a group arrangement. First, students are more likely to talk at inappropriate times. Secondly, students may have to turn at an awkward angle to see the board which may be an uncomfortable position to take notes for extended periods of time. These are things you should take in to account when you design your lesson. You may also need to give extra consideration to where you place students with IEPs or ENL. Try to pick seats at a group table that may minimize distractions or closer to the board.

Here are some sites that I found that also talk about seating arrangements. One breaks down the types of arrangements and the other is a blog/discussion forum where teachers share their ideas and thoughts.

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[|http://www.teach-nology.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4842]

I have a question about changing up the desk arrangements in a classroom. I know that we have discussed a lot about routines and structures in the classroom and their importance. Would it be such a bad idea to adapt the desks based on what you are working on that day? If you are doing partner work, to pair off the desks, etc. I favor this kind of idea, though it means adjusting my room frequently. My one fear in this is that students might become uneasy about never knowing how the desks will be or where to sit. Thoughts? I thought I would add some information I experienced with group seating arrangements during my high school experience at Arsenal Tech. When I originally took over the classroom students were not sitting in groups - they were in rows of 2 (because we had tables for 2 in the room). Since I was planning 2 do lots of group work I re-arranged so students were sitting in groups of 4. I decided to put students in groups based on ability (I thought it would be easier to challenge/give different assignments to the high achieving students & possible for me to spend extra time with some of the groups who were struggling with the material). This worked well (or so I thought) until I had a student stay after school for tutoring & he asked me why I put all "of the smart kids together - it made it so they couldn't help students like him who were struggling." What an eye opener - guess I didn't realize they knew what I had done (what an idiot I must have been!). Shortly after this conversation I decided to re-arrange the groups & spread the students out - putting some of the high achieving students with those who were struggling with the material. This new arrangement proved quite challenging for me, because I was no longer able to get to all of the groups who needed my help - now every group appeared needy & there just wasn't enough time! I believe arranging seats in groups is the best, and I have seen the pros/cons to the two arrangements I have tried so far; but I have no idea which is best!! Maybe it depends on the assignment - maybe it makes sense to change seating every month or so... I know we frequently changed seats in middle school to deal with discipline issues, and changing seats become frustrating to me as the teacher, and to the students. Any thoughts/suggestions - anyone try something that worked better??

Since I am going to be working in a middle school setting, I think that seating arrangements are crucial to creating a classroom conducive of learning. I think that I will allow students to sit where they please in the classroom for the first week, and once they have setteled, I will pass out a seating chart for them to fill in according the where they are sitting. I will tell them that this seating chart is not "set in stone" and can change during any part of the semester, due to behavioral issues. I think that giving the students freedom to sit where they want to is helpful because as a teacher, you are allowing them to choose where they will be for the semester. You are making the seating arrangement something that they have created. With this being said, I think that there will be some issues regarding seating arrangements because students generally tend to sit next to their friends which usually can get them in trouble. Even though the students do have the freedom to sit where they want, this freedom can always be taken away, and they can be placed in alphabetical order, or randomly. However, once seating arrangements are set, I think that it is crucial for students to be in their "assigned" seats because as we have already talked, change can cause chaos in the classroom. From what I have seen at the school before they were out for the summer, the previous teacher had the students placed in rows with two desks directly side-by-side with a column of space. I think that this is a good strategy, because the students always have someone directly next to them to ask for help if they are having trouble understanding a particular topic or subject. There is also some fear to having students right next to eachother. Because they have a buddy by them, students can easily become off task and this is something that I will have to monitor as the semester goes on, but if it works the right way, I think that it will be an effictive way to set up my future classroom.

I initially thought that I would begin the first week or so with a seating chart that organizes students alphabetically. I wanted to do this mostly to show that the teacher is in charge of the physical environment. While this is a good point to make, this arrangement doesn't lend itself very well to providing valuable information like which students already know each other, are friends, like to sit in the front, in the back, have certain needs, need to leave frequently with ENL teacher etc... I'm thinking now that I would allow students to sit where they like for the first 3 days to a week or so, so I can glean some of this information. From there I would like to have a seating chart that is randomly selected. I think students feel like they are being picked on in some way or singled out when the teacher is the only one deciding where the student sits. So to remedy this, I thought I would give the impression that students are selecting their own seat, but really it's randomly chosen by the "luck of the draw." There would be playing cards taped on desks and as students enter the room at the start of the second week or so, they would pick a card and then sit in the seat that matches their card (I plan to only teach 5, 6, or 7th grade. If there are changes that need to be made then they could be made to adjust for ENLs and IEPs etc... If this random seating produces discipline problems, then changes will be made, but until there is a problem, I'll give students the benefit of the doubt before they will have to sit somewhere else. As far as the arrangement of desks, I would like to start with students facing the front so I can see their faces and get to know them. I like the multiple semi circle arrangement, but I also want to be able to walk in the middle of the classroom and to get to all the walls in the room. I could probably modify arrangement with 3-4 curved rows on each side of the room in groups of 4-6 desks. These "crescent moons" (for lack of another visual) could easily be adjusted for small group work as well. My second choice for seating charts is 3 desks facing each other in little pods around the room. This arrangement might follow the crescent moon configuration. Students could sit with group project members from the start of this unit. I definitely want to have some space in the room with a couch and/or pillows on the floor where students can read and browse the many books and maps there. I think this would be a good situation for station work, along with the computers.  **Those of us who are science teachers will need to have a different mindset when thinking about the seating arrangements for our rooms. Often times science rooms are more limited due to lab stations and lab safety. Ideally I would like to have my students sit in small groups, in which everyone can easily see the front of the room, however it depends somewhat on what I have to work with. I'm honestly not too worried about whether the seating arrangement naturally fosters group work or not, as long as I can make adjustments easily when group collaboration is expected. My biggest concern, is that every student can easily see the board and feels a part of the class as a whole. Students can easily move their bodies to a corner of the room to work together, but if they feel left out of the class, they are less likely to pay attention and participate in discussions.

I noticed that at North Central I often "ignored" the left side of the room because my mentor teacher's desk blocked me from moving that direction if I was behind the front island to use the board. As a result I often asked students to move their chairs to the middle or right side of the room during class notes or discussions. I really don't think its a bad thing to move the kids around when necessary. They seemed to like the little change of scenery and it made me feel as though everyone had a fair chance to participate. I think the most important thing is getting to know your students quickly before you decide on anything too permanent if possible. (Lacy)**

I had written a comment earlier, but it is no longer here. I summarized the questions that had already been asked: (1) How often can we change seating arrangements, (2) What is the best way to group students/assign seats (by ability, randomly, etc). The professional book I read suggested that we put the seating chart up and instruct students to find their new seats as they come into the classroom. As the authors state,students often times complain when they have to change seats after they have already sat down. Just a thought...

My mentor teacher had students change their seats once a month. Students knew this, and I followed the same rule. The seating arrangement was all up to the draw. They might be able to change seats in the beginning of the month, but not after or without teacher's approval. We did group activities a lot in class, so students were always in groups of 4-5. I only got one trouble while one class with girls and boys completely separated in different groups. I found that girls participated well, but boys talked a lot. I had to rearrange the seats. I tried to put well-behaved students with talkative students together; aggressive students with quiet students...based on what I knew about them so far and how they behaved in class. I aslo asked my mentor about the seating arrangement because she knew better than I did what might work for them. Students would easily forget their new seats, so I showed the seating chart on the projector for the first one or two days. That class did work better after changing the seats. My classroom at both my high school and middle school settings had seating arrangements that could not be changed though. In my middle school setting, the students desks were attached to the floor in row style, as four long horizontal desks, each with six chairs each. There was no ability to arrange the desks in any way. In my high school setting, the lab stations created a very little space where seats could be set up, and thus, the chairs were placed and set and could not be moved. I think in these types of situations teachers need to be creative about their seating charts and make it a little more fun and/or change it up a bit for the students. I really like the idea of switching around their seating assignments once a month. Students then realize that if they have a less than desirable seating placement, they are not stuck there for the whole semester, and perhaps won't shut down or become a problem in the classroom. I also liked the card/matching/randomizing of the seating chart, so it doesn't appear that the teacher is purposefully placing people in a certain spot. This could be done a couple of times throughout the semester. Just a thought.

I plan to make an alphabetical seating chart before the first day of school. As I meet my students at the door, I plan show them the chart and let them know where they are sit. (Seats will be numbered.) Although I agree that there are some negatives about alphabetical seating, I feel that I need it for the first few weeks of school to get to know my students names and take attendance. I also feel that I want to set the tone: "This class will proceed in an orderly manner." In the first weeks of school, I want the students to come in and know that there is a plan in place for how the class will proceed. After a month or so, I will likely change the seating arrangements and give my students some choice. My big EXPECTATION for my classes that I plan to post is: **"We are here to learn."** As I will let my students make a choice about who they want to sit with, I will remind them that if their selection interferes with learning it will need to change. I am planning to have my students sitting in six groups of 4. I am expecting around 24 students per class. If my numbers are much different, I will need to adjust this plan. Although students will sit in groups of four, I plan to use different groupings for different activities. I am thinking that in order for the whole class to be collaborative students will need to have experience working with everyone over the year, in much the same way that each of us has had some opportunities to work with each other. I expect that students will need to get up and move for different activities; they may need to move to the lab area, move to different stations, move for peer editing with someone from another group, or go outside. Expectations for how to appropriately move around the room or through the hall to go outside will need to be stated repeatedly. From my experience, this will be more difficult with some classes than others. Although I plan to have students move often, they will begin each day in their assigned seat. Students will know that they are to have their science journal and pencil, and as they enter the classroom they should sit down and begin work on the posted engagement activity for the day

I posted my thoughts on classroom arrangement in the discussion section. As a supplement to that is my concerns for my mobility within the classroom, in part because of my size and age. At North Central there was little room for me to navigate between rows of tables. When I was assisting students with microscope work, I had to be on my knees in between rows. The students had to walk over me.

After class yesterday, I started thinking about how I want my room to be situated. I thought, " A large room with a window a separate space for labs and movable furniture would be perfect." After looking at other people's drawings I remembered that I was blessed both semesters with the largest classrooms in both schools, and that in most cases I will not have that much space. So for my best case scenario I would want my class to sit in groups of at least 2, and no more than 4. When I was in middle school we sat in twos and during some labs we would turn and work in fours. I remember this working well. During tests we would stagger and one person would sit on the end of the table while the other stayed in place. I like this because in my middle school experience I found that having 4 at a table lead to some wondering eyes. I also hope that no matter the situation that my lab area can be separate from the rest of class. It was a pain to have the students move all of their things in order to run labs. The cleanup could be just as time consuming.

I know this may not seem like a big deal to most people, but after having carpet flooring in one room and tile floor in the other I hope that the room I have has carpet. There were so many distractions created by students, intentionally and unintentionally, that were made possible because of tile flooring. Another idea that I really liked from my middle school mentor was having a space where students could borrow books. I think a reading corner would allow students to bring in books of their own that they could share with their classmates to encourage reading.

===I think it's interesting that a lot of people are willing to let their students pick their seats the first day. I think I'm going to do like my mentor teacher did in middle school and hand the students cards with a letter and a number (essentially a row letter and a column number) as they walk in. Depending on the school you are working in, a lot of the students will already know one another, so letting them be in charge of seats may or may not be the best idea. I think having a seating chart ahead of time is also a good idea, and as the students are in your class for a few days, you can assess and make changes. ===

I believe that especially after last class period and actually taking the time to reflect and plan out my classroom layout that I want to encourage as much discussion and interaction as possible. I don't know if this will be by getting rid of the desks and possibly having a bunch of tables facing each other or in a square so everyone can see everyone and interaction is sparked that way. I am still playing around with it but as a Social Studies educator, I believe this will enhance my classroom beyond just the regular style of putting the students in desks facing the board. This plan may work for certain subjects but for social studies, I feel like there is a responsibility to make sure interaction and different views are heard and arranging the classroom to allow for this is one way of doing that. I feel like too many times people are willing to use the standard rows and columns rather than use the classroom to their advantage to promote learning and the type of learning one wants to promote. I would encourage all subjects to look for ways to promote learning and one way this can be done is by seating and the general layout of the room. - Joel