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.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Annotated bibliography
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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)
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)
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.
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.
Considering Students Sitting and Three Effective Classroom Seats Arrangements
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.
Thursday, November 13, 2025
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!
Friday, November 7, 2025
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.
Thursday, November 6, 2025
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?