One way that you can arrange desks within a classroom is to create pairs of desks throughout the room. One of the advantages of this setup is that it encourages students to work together on an assignment or to check each other's work. For best results, try to pair stronger students who often work independently with a student whose work habits are still improving. This will help the latter of the students improve even faster and may encourage the stronger student to help out others in the future.
The circle is a frequently used arrangement for desks in a classroom because it allows all of the students to see each other and interact. Dividing groups into small circles can help them work together on a group project and will create a feeling of equality within the group. However, this can cause some students to have their backs to the chalkboard, which can make it hard for them to see what is going on in the front of the room. If this is a problem, smaller semi-circles or horseshoe shapes can also be used.
If your students are studying different shapes in geometry, one way that you can vary the lesson is to have them arrange their desks into various shapes, such as a rectangle, parallelogram or trapezoid. This will give them the opportunity to think about the rules governing each shape and also forces them to work together. After the students have arranged their own group's desks, they can take turns guessing the shapes other groups have created and evaluate the success of the arrangement.
When arranging desks for group work, try to avoid having too many students with their backs to the front of the room when teaching from that position. If you need to work with the groups or give them instructions, go to each group individually or work in the middle of the room. You should also make sure that there are clear paths for students to move around within the room and to get to the exit.