How Important Is Classroom Layout?

    Over the past few months at my Jr. High Dyad placement, I have made a point of popping into every classroom in the school.  Visiting every room is a wonderful way to get comfortable with the layout of the school and introduce yourself to faculty.  I also enjoy seeing the many different ways that teachers set up their classrooms.  The layout of a classroom is so important.  This is the space in which our students spend the majority of their day and where they sit and who they sit next to can have a huge impact upon their learning.

    I love seeing the different teacher desk and student desk arrangements and asking the teacher to explain the reason behind their choice in classroom layout.  I found it interesting that about half of the teachers I asked had chosen their classroom design for a specific reason and the other half said that they hadn't given it much thought or they just kept the same arraignment that was already established in the room when it became their classroom.   Those teachers who purposefully set up their classrooms in a certain manner, shared the following rational for their choice of layout.

 

1. Individual desks, separated from others, facing forward (the most common arrangement) 

    - This allows students space from others, helps keep negative behaviors at bay, and promotes

      independent work.

 

2. Desks grouped in pairs, facing toward the center of the room (so half the room faces the other half)

    - (Least common arrangement -My dyad teacher is the only teacher to arranged their desks in this  

       way) This set up promotes partner work and whole class discussions.

 

3.  Desks grouped in pairs, facing forward (2nd most common arraignment)  

    - This set up makes "pair sharing" and partner work easier. Several teachers matched one male

     student with a female student) 

 

4.  Desks arranged in groups of four. (only a few classrooms used this arrangement)

      - This set up promotes group collaboration

 

  Once I had visited all of the classrooms and had heard from each teacher about the reason behind their classroom layout, I wanted to get the student perspective.   The 7th and 8th grade students that I asked in our first and fifth period classes were more than happy to inform me of their favorite layout.  By far, the majority of the students I asked (about 50 total) said that they liked sitting in pairs the best.  They said that they enjoyed partner work much more than working independently or even in groups of three or more.  Only a hand full of students said they preferred sitting alone at a single desk. The few students who liked sitting by themselves said that they preferred to work independently or they didn't like pair or group work.  As a future educator, I found it very interesting to hear both the teacher and student perspective on classroom layout, and it will no doubt come in handy when I am preparing to set up my own classroom in the future.  

 

What are your thoughts on this topic? I would love to hear other opinions on the variety and importance of classroom layout. 

                                                                        

~ Christy