Part 3: Understanding Theory and Issues in the Field Reflection on an Action Research Paper: Rows vs.

Semicircular Seating Arrangements My Action Research Plan Proposal (ARPP) was developed in AL 6961: Practicum I during the spring semester of 2012. As part of the coursework, I was permitted to observe teachers and training videos that would prepare me for future teaching experiences. I attended several classes at HPU, ELS, the Bridge Program, and watched teaching training videos in the Meader Library. At the time, I was interested in seating arrangements. The idea for my ARPP came after completing an observation task called the Learning Environment. In the task I considered how physical factors in the classroom affected the students and the teachers mood. The classroom was very large with 28 desks. However, there were only 11 students, and they were spread far apart from each other. Neglecting attention to the seating arrangements could have a negative affect on the classroom communication, which is very important in a language class. This observation made me realize how important seating arrangements are in terms of students participation. Consequently, the focus of this proposal was to explore how different types of seating arrangements can affect the students participation in class. The literature review helped me narrow my research question down: Do students engage more in independent activities when they are seated individually in rows, or when they are in a circle?

At the time, I was not that confident about my academic writing. The course instructor marked some of the words I used to express myself as weak. Among them were interesting, made, really. For instance, I had to shorten and re-phrase this sentence It has been really interesting seeing many different types of seating arrangements, and the different situations teachers use them in. Furthermore, for some of my sources I failed to review the reasons for their findings or results. Unfortunately, the database ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) where I retrieved some of my sources, and the only database containing them, has disabled the access to these sources, so I could not add this information when revising the paper. I believe the strengths of this paper lie in the intention behind it. After completing the observation task the Learning Environment I observed how neglecting seating arrangements could have a negative affect on the classroom communication. I realized the importance of seating arrangements, a classroom management aspect not to be neglected by the teacher. Furthermore, through the literature review I discovered a lack of agreement on whether students engage more in independent activities when they are seated individually in rows or in circles. In conclusion, writing this ARPP taught me how to investigate issues related to classroom management. Before this paper I had not given seating arrangements much attention, and I was unaware how teachers can use it as a tool to increase students participation. The ARPP has also given me the confidence as to how I can do my own observation research in the future.