Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Thanks
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I Creating a good environment for language learning
- II Being effective in the classroom
- III Teaching large classes
- IV Teaching language skills and systems
- V Teaching language without textbooks
- VI Teaching language with textbooks
- VII Helping students achieve their potential
- VIII Linking the school to the outside world
- IX Supporting yourself and others
- Glossary
- Index
9 - Managing the seating arrangements
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Thanks
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I Creating a good environment for language learning
- II Being effective in the classroom
- III Teaching large classes
- IV Teaching language skills and systems
- V Teaching language without textbooks
- VI Teaching language with textbooks
- VII Helping students achieve their potential
- VIII Linking the school to the outside world
- IX Supporting yourself and others
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
A good seating arrangement is one which facilitates specific learning tasks and activities and communicates a teacher's beliefs about learning and teaching.
Hue Ming-Tak and Li Wai-ShingThe short version
1 Classroom seating arrangement has a big impact on how you teach, and therefore on how learning takes place.
2 Many of the assumptions about the advantages of fixed-desk classrooms are untrue.
3 In situations where the desks and seating are fixed and cannot be moved, there are still many things which you can do to improve learning experiences and outcomes.
4 If you are able to change the seating layout, there are many advantages to doing so. What you can do depends on the size of your class, and the existing infrastructure.
5 Remember: even if the desks and benches are not mobile, your students are!
Introduction
1 What are the seating arrangements in the classroom(s) which you teach in? Are you satisfied with the arrangements? Why / why not?
2 Do you have a seating plan for your students, or can they sit where they want?
3 The names of six possible classrom layouts are given below. Draw a diagram of what you think each would look like.
The link between seating arrangement and teaching approach
The seating plan in a classroom says a lot about the pedagogy and methodology which is used. Typically, in a classroom without any furniture (e.g. just mats on the floor), the learning includes more activities and is more learner-centred, and students interact more effectively and with more of their classmates. In fixed-desk classrooms, a ‘chalk and talk’ or ‘sit and listen’ approach is commonly used. This leads to students working more by themselves, being less active, and talking to the same people much of the time.
Robert Sommer said that we should not talk about a single ‘classroom environment’, but rather several ‘classroom environments’. Within one room, there can be huge differences in terms of comfort, atmosphere, temperature, lighting and sightlines (i.e. the view of the board). Just one of these factors could negatively impact the students. A combination of these factors would likely be very significant.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Teaching in Challenging Circumstances , pp. 57 - 62Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021