Presentation reflection

 Through this presentation, I learned that seating plans have a huge impact on shaping student engagement, behaviour, and even their thinking processes. My practicum didn’t give me the flexibility to test different seating plans, but it did leave me with a lot of “what-ifs” about how the classroom environment influences learning. As I dug deeper into this inquiry, I also realized that not all students experience the same seating layout in the same way. Personality, comfort level, and social dynamics all play a role. Doing the activity today helped me see how people physically feel the differences between layouts, instead of just hearing about them theoretically. In the end, we concluded that there isn’t a single best seating plan; it depends on the subject, classroom size, student needs, and the nature of the activity. For Inquiry 2, I would like to explore how the overall classroom setup affects learning, including wall scaffolding,  posters that are subject-related, and even visual supports like equations.

Presentation slides

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jw3EO6pPN2Acj3GIESrXXw4IrfgMLgPtzniYTmm4yY8/edit?usp=sharing

Nov 20th project update

During my practicum, I observed a lot of different classroom seating setups, and it became clear how much the layout can impact student learning. I saw the classic rows with students sitting in pairs, which encouraged quiet collaboration and kept things structured. I also visited a drama class where students could sit wherever they wanted, and the engagement was very high while the teacher still had great classroom management. My own practicum room had fixed lab tables, so flexibility was low and the seating naturally shaped how students interacted. Talking with students and teachers confirmed what I was seeing: It really all depends on what the class is doing that day. And, most importantly, we don't always get to have the best setup due to physical limitations. From these experiences, I think that seating plans have a major effect on students, but the “best” layout really depends on the subject, the task, and what the class needs.

Annotated bibliography

 

1. Does Where A Student Sits Really Matter? - The Impact of Seating Locations on Student Classroom Learning 

https://research.ebsco.com/c/2ovacj/search/details/qqznldewhj?db=eue

Why: This scholarly article examines the impact of seating plans on student learning, a topic directly related to our discussion. 

How: The topics discussed include how it could impact student learning motivation, student-student and student-teacher relationships, the nature of different tasks and activities, student classroom participation, and attendance and grades. 

2. Exploring Students Behavior on Seating Arrangements in Learning Environment: A Review

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042812004995

Why: Chose this article because it focuses on student behaviour and summarizes that there are three seating arrangements (row, cluster, horseshoe). Also because it mentions how cultural background impacts a student’s preference for seating.

How: Discusses the use of Means-End Chain (MEC) to link a student’s cultural background to their preferred seating arrangement

3. Individual and Group-wise Classroom Seating Experience: Effects on Student Engagement in Different Courses 

https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3550335

Why: This article involves research on how seating location in the classroom can affect student engagement, attention, and academic performance by providing better visibility, improved movement, and participation in discussions. 

How: It investigates how individual and group-wise classroom seating could impact student performance using a physiological sensor. This study is done with 23 students in 10 courses over four weeks.

4. Classroom Management Seating Arrangements

https://youtu.be/WFeUlYEQooY?si=AnV8aXzfjWPPqayR

Why: This video discusses the different classroom seating strategies

How: It discusses seating plans like rows, full circles, half circles, and groups. It then listed the pros and cons of each and emphasized that each seating plan has its own time and place.

5. Classroom Seating Arrangements

https://youtu.be/5kOh1VYCsRs?si=_rdzl2LbZue-jOWp

Why: Another video on classroom seating strategies.

How: It discusses how different seating plans can affect whether the class is student-focused or teacher-focused. It also mentioned how some seating plans might put quiet students in uncomfortable situations.

6. How Flexible Seating Can Boost Classroom Engagement

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/how-flexible-seating-can-boost-classroom-engagement

Why: An article about two high school teachers experimenting with different seating plans. 

How: It discusses a real-life scenario where the teachers tried different seating plans and shared their experience on the pros and cons of the different options, on how some could increase engagement, but worsen behaviour.

7. Teachers’ goals and strategies for classroom seating arrangements: A qualitative study

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X23000045

Why: Article discusses network related teaching and the social-emotional and academic goals

How: Make your goals for classroom seating explicit to students. Seating plans impact peer interaction (friendships and conflicts)

8. 19 Classroom seating arrangements fit for your teaching

https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2019/12/19-classroom-seating-arrangements-fit-for-your-teaching

Why: Chose this because it included 19 different arrangements. 

How: Went through the pros and cons of each seating arrangement. Showed us a general pattern in seating arrangements. Brainstormed which course each seating arrangement would be appropriate for (e.g. business , English, etc)

9. Classroom Seating Considerations for 21st Century Students and Faculty

https://libjournal.uncg.edu/jls/article/view/578

Why: Discusses the furniture used in a class and how that impacts the class in general

How: teachers don’t have a lot of control on the furniture, for example is hating a classroom and funding or course structure (e.g a science class with the benches that are immovable)

10. The influence of classroom seating arrangement on children’s cognitive processes in primary school: the role of individual variables

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7602767/

Why: This paper studies the influence of classroom seating. They investigate how the seating plan could affect students’ logical reasoning, creativity, and theory of mind.

How: This study involves 77 participants and has them placed in different seating. A score was then given to students after evaluating their performance.

11. The Pros and Cons of 3 Common Classroom Seating Arrangements

https://www.teachforamerica.org/stories/classroom-seating-pros-cons

Why:  This article breaks down the three most common classroom seating setups in a super straightforward way, which is exactly what I need for looking at how physical layout impacts learning.

How: It covers the general pros and cons of these seating plans so that I can use it to compare how different setups change interaction, engagement, and classroom flow.

12. Considering Students Sitting and Three Effective Classroom Seats Arrangements

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abiodun-Ibiloye/publication/353279124_Considering_Students_Seating_and_Three_Effective_Classroom_Seats_Arrangements/links/6126d0b516a18371926d919d/Considering-Students-Seating-and-Three-Effective-Classroom-Seats-Arrangements.pdf

Why:  This paper digs way deeper into how different seating layouts affect student behaviour, engagement, and classroom control. Way more detailed than the surface-level articles.

How: It discusses the bigger picture behind classroom setup, especially how specific layouts support or mess with learning, collaboration, and teacher movement. It will be usefull for backing up my points on how the physical setup shapes learning.

Exit slip Nov 13

 Today, we did more research on our inquiry topic on how classroom seating plans can affect student performance in terms of engagement and focus. We now have 12 sources to work with, which is ideal. Hopefully, we can get it done by next week!

Exit slip Nov6

Today, I looked up resources for my inquiry topic on the classroom seating plan and its impact on teaching. Damanjit and I will be working on this project together. The subtopics we discussed include how the seating would affect classroom management, which can affect how we circulate the class and keep track of students' learning progress while monitoring student behaviour. We also talked about how it could affect collaboration and group work, on how well students can turn to each other and talk or share material. 

Inquiry project idea

 Question: How can we optimize classroom management, engagement, and motivation through modifying the seating plan?

Concepts:

Management: How well we can circulate the class, and keep track of the learning progress. And monitoring classroom behaviour.

Engagement: How can we encourage collaboration and group work? How a seating plan can affect student focus during a lecture.

Movement: How well can I, as a teacher, walk around the classroom and provide support to students in need?