SEATING ARRANGEMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE LEARNING

By: MUHAMMAD AMJAD AKMAL.

WHY TALK ABOUT CLASS ROOM LAYOUT

Teacher is not only a facilitator of learning or dispenser of knowledge but also a manager. Stimuli leads to a response. Environment is the chief stimuli towards learning. Engaging environment engaged learners. Dull environment dull, uninterested learners. Classroom layout, apparently, is easiest to manipulate.

CONTD
Class rooms are complex, busy places. They must accommodate many people and activities each day. The physical arrangement of a class room has significant implications regarding discipline , classroom management and strongly influences learning. Different configurations provide different ways for students to participate in and the teacher to provide instruction.

TRADITIONAL
Good visibility and sound for all. Space-effective. Good for traditional teaching styles. Drawbacks Difficult to have personal contact with all pupils. You cant bend over to help someone. Restricted views for the back row.

CIRCLE
Encourages everyone to get involved. Great for debates and discussions. Lots of teacher and pupil contact. No barrier between teacher and students. Drawbacks Not easy to set up with rectangular tables! There may be a scramble for seats and momentary disorder as pupils face an unexpected seating pattern. Youll probably have to move the furniture before and after the activity.

U STYLE
Great for getting around the class and amongst your pupils. Good visibility for pupils. A standard pattern so pupils wont worry about finding seats. Traditional and business like. Drawbacks Crowdy classes will communicate with each other across the room. Not very conducive to group work. Those sat at the front ends are facing the board at an angle.

V STYLE
Great for visibility. Great for teacher / pupil contact. Less formal than the Ushape. Drawbacks Takes up loads of space best with a small group. Not ideal for group work.

CAF-STYLE
Great for group work. Informal encourages pupils to participate in discussion. Easy for the teacher to circulate. Drawbacks Some pupils will have poor visibility and may even have their backs to you. Lack of attention and chatting can be a problem harder to control behavior. Encourages pupils to sit in friendship groups, which doesnt always help create the ability or social mix that you need.

STADIUM SEATING
Enables the teacher to see what every child is doing. Gives all students a clear view of the front of the room, Leaves space in the front of the room for a rug, open area, overhead projector cart, podium, table, and so on. Drawbacks Does not work well with a large number of desks. Less effective in terms of management when more than two rows are used, Less suitable for classrooms that use cooperative learning methods.

RULES FOR CLASS MANAGEMENT

Treat each student with respect. Criticize in private and praise in public. Maintain a sense of humor. Recognize your bad moods and work on them. Never yell. Dont talk bad about students or teachers. Take care of your problems yourself. Make no judgments based on prior actions. Grades do not mean its learning that matters.

IMPACT The classroom should present a cheerful, inviting, motivating and purposeful setting for learning. Gaining and keeping students attention is an ongoing challenge for teachers. Workable seating arrangements can help make this task easier. This allows the teacher to more readily monitor the students activities and can have a significant impact on students behavior and learning.