Teachers can arrange the classroom seating in a manner that encourages free movement and that allows them to clearly monitor every student. Arranging the classroom in a circle or horseshoe style enhances student focus because every one of them can clearly see the teacher and the board, unlike in traditional rows. Such seating arrangements also improve on classroom discipline because every student is clearly visible to the teacher and there is little or no opportunity for dozing off, passing notes or any other undesirable classroom behavior. In any case, proper seating arrangement also facilitates free movement for both the teacher and the students within the classroom.
The teacher can enhance learning and promote positive student attitudes and behavior through the classroom seating arrangement and groupings. A teacher can maintain student enthusiasm and engagement in class using creative seating arrangements and groupings that vary depending on the nature and content of classroom discussion. For example, arranging desks in a circular manner encourages debate while placing them in clusters encourages collaborative learning in small groups. The teacher does not have to maintain the same arrangement or groupings throughout but can change them to introduce variety into classroom instruction.
Organizing students into groups and arranging the seating in a way that encourages discussion greatly improves participation in the classroom. Students have varying personalities, attitudes and abilities, and teachers can encourage better performance through more interactive classroom participation. Arranging the desks in a circle or horseshoe encourages participation because students have greater interaction with the teacher and each other and do not have an opportunity to hide behind other students as may be the case with a traditional row design.
Classroom arrangement and groupings have a positive impact on cooperative learning, which is a situation where students work together in structured groups toward a common goal. Teachers may organize students into groups depending on their attitudes, performance or competencies so they can learn from each other. For example, the teacher can place students with varying abilities such as shy students with extroverted ones or high performers with average ones in the same group to encourage them to learn from each other and to develop their individual skills. Group work is an essential part of learning because it encourages students to learn how to work together and to value each other’s contribution in performing classroom tasks and assignments. Arranging the classroom seating in a horseshoe or clusters enables students to quickly form into their groups to execute the group work.