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Seating arrangements that promote positive academic and behavioural outcomes: A review of empirical research
Abstract
Seating arrangements are important classroom setting events because they have the potential to help prevent problem behaviours that decrease student attention and diminish available instructional time. The purpose of this synthesis of empirical literature is to determine which arrangements of desks best facilitate positive academic and behavioural outcomes for primary through secondary high school students with a range of characteristics. Eight studies that investigated at least two of three common arrangements (i.e., rows, groups or semi-circles) were considered. Results indicate that teachers should let the nature of the task dictate seating arrangements. Evidence supports the idea that students display higher levels of appropriate behaviour during individual tasks when they are seated in rows, with disruptive students benefiting the most.
... Where students sit in their elementary school classroom has the potential to influence with whom they interact and their risk for negative peer interactions (Gremmen et al., 2016;Van den Berg et al., 2012). Teachers' decisions about classroom seating are based on several factors (e.g., class roster, physical space, academic concerns, behavior management) including, at times, a goal of promoting positive peer relationships among students in the class (Gremmen et al., 2016;Van den Berg & Stoltz, 2018;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Research on teachers' use of peerfocused changes in classroom seating is limited, but it appears teachers vary in the degree to which they consider the quality of students' peer interactions (Gest et al., 2006;Pearl et al., 2007) or the goal of promoting positive peer relationships when making seating changes (Gest & Rodkin, 2011;Gest et al., 2014;Van den Berg & Cillessen, 2015). ...
... These findings are particularly relevant for teachers concerned about social exclusion and the adjustment of students who are rejected or bullied by classmates (Gregus et al., 2020). Unlike formal, skill-based interventions, changes to classroom seating have the advantage of being universally accessible, low-cost, and more directly under teachers' control (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). By making changes in where and with whom students sit, teachers can function as social gatekeepers, granting or limiting students' access to carefully selected classmates (Gremmen et al., 2016;Troop-Gordon & Ladd, 2015;Van den Berg & Cillessen, 2015). ...
... Children's physical proximity to peers in the classroom can influence with whom they interact and the quality of those interactions (Gremmen et al., 2016). Teachers make classroom seating decisions based on several factors, including academic, behavioral, and peer-focused concerns (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Borrowing from Gest and Rodkin (2011), we reasoned that network-related teachers might use classroom seating to improve children's peer relationships. ...
The extent to which teachers make changes in classroom seating reflects, in part, the degree to which they value promoting positive peer relationships in the classroom. We assessed the frequency with which teachers made both minor (i.e., involving only 2–3 students) and major (involving half or more students in the class) changes in classroom seating. We tested whether the frequency of seating changes was linked to teachers' beliefs about promoting positive peer relationships, their attunement to child‐ or peer‐reports of peer victimization, and their concern about bullying at the school. Participants were 37 fourth‐grade teachers and their students ( N = 677). The frequency of major seating changes was negatively associated with teachers' peer‐focused classroom seating (PFCS) beliefs and to their attunement to student peer victimization. Minor seating changes were positively associated with PFCS beliefs for teachers with low or average attunement to peer victimization; however, teachers highly attuned to peer victimization made fewer minor seating changes regardless of their PFCS beliefs. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
... There are several explanations for the choice of desk arrangement. Desks arranged in rows especially encourage individual work (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008), while U-shaped or cluster arrangements encourage social interaction and cooperation (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008;Farmer et al., 2011;Gest and Rodkin, 2011). However, desk arrangement is rarely changed during the year, and classrooms are not routinely rearranged for a particular teaching activity. ...
... There are several explanations for the choice of desk arrangement. Desks arranged in rows especially encourage individual work (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008), while U-shaped or cluster arrangements encourage social interaction and cooperation (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008;Farmer et al., 2011;Gest and Rodkin, 2011). However, desk arrangement is rarely changed during the year, and classrooms are not routinely rearranged for a particular teaching activity. ...
... Flexible furniture is also designed so that classrooms can be modified easily. Teachers can therefore rearrange their classroom to suit the teaching activity and the type of behavior expected (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008;Havig, 2017;Carignan, 2018;Erz, 2018;Keymeulen et al., 2020), including group work, pair work, or individual work. From this perspective, this type of classroom arrangement allows for implementing teaching practices that can be described as "flexible, " that is, studentcentered, differentiated, and collaborative (Barrett et al., 2015(Barrett et al., , 2017Delzer, 2015;Dornfeld, 2016;Havig, 2017;Erz, 2018;Keymeulen et al., 2020). ...
While traditional seating (also known as fixed seating or fixed classroom ) remains the preferred classroom seating arrangement for teachers, a new type of seating arrangement is becoming more common in schools: the flexible classroom (also known as flexible seating ). The purpose of this type of arrangement is to meet the needs of students by providing a wide variety of furniture and workspaces, to put students at the center of learning, and to allow them to make choices based on their preferences and the objectives of the task at hand. This study aimed to examine the influence of flexible seating on the wellbeing and mental health of elementary school students. This article presents the results of exploratory research conducted in Quebec among Grade 5 and 6 students comparing the wellbeing and mental health of students in fixed and flexible classrooms. The study was conducted with 107 students in three Grade 5 and 6 flexible classrooms ( n = 51) and three Grade 5 and 6 fixed classrooms ( n = 56). It is based on a quasi-experimental, quantitative design with post-test only and a control group. The groups were matched based on natural conditions (i.e., from a convenience sample). Furthermore, the study included a gender-differentiated analysis for each group. The results showed that flexible classroom seating had a positive influence on the girls’ wellbeing and mental health. In contrast, for the boys, fixed classroom seating was most conducive to their wellbeing and mental health. However, our study has some limitations that are discussed in the article.
... There are studies to theorize the relation between the classroom arrangement, environment, and education (Downer et al., 2007;Martin, 2006), performance (Kalinowski & Taper, 2007), and behavioral patterns (Van den Berg & Cillessen, 2015;Wilkerson et al., 2015). The studies have addressed the horizontal and vertical, raw-column, and raw long-table arrangement to support different purposes (Hue & Shing, 2008) with adaptation to the tests-exam (Bonus & Riordan, 1998), to reduce inappropriate behaviors (Fernandes et al., 2011;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). ...
... The study theorized that seating arrangement is an essential part of facilitating the educational objectives than just furniture (Cinar, 2010). The seating arrangements support specific purposes in the classroom, for instance, the raw-column for the formal education system (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008) and top-down authority (Salkind, 2008). The joined table addressed increasing the level of peer to peer learning (Callahan, 2004) and positive influence of peers on the personality of the students (Burke & Sass, 2013) to reduce the aggressive behaviors (Van den Berg & Cillessen, 2015) with a background in mid of 20 th century (Gump, 1987;Steinzor, 1950). ...
... The behavioral aspects were discussed widely including the sitting on the front than the rear (Ayikwei, 2016), interaction between students (Dunn & Dunn, 1979), more asking questions (Marx et al., 2000), high interaction between students and peer group in the semi-circular (Fernandes et al., 2011), increasing of relationship in the cluster form (Van den Berg & Cillessen, 2015), and the personality and the seating position (Hemyari et al., 2013). Another group studied the influences of the disruptive behavioral patterns in the classroom (Salend & Sylvestre, 2005), positive behavior in the classrooms (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008), changing environment of the classroom through rearrangement of seats (Guardino & Fullerton, 2010), and supporting process of leaning (Gest & Rodkin, 2011). ...
Both seating arrangement and position have been one the problematic topic in educational studies, particularly in higher education. There is a large body of studies on the seating arrangement; however, an architectural design studio is specialized in different activities and interaction that challenges the classical form of arrangement. For this reason, the students arrange, rearrange, and disarrange the seating arrangement and position in the studio. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the viewpoints of the students with seating arrangement positions to find out the students’ preferences to select seating positions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to analyze data. The Likert questionnaire with fifteen criteria analyzed variables through chi-square, mode, and the graphical analysis illustrated important aspects of the seating arrangements in the department of architecture, the University of Rwanda. The findings addressed that students preferred to use a U-shaped classroom and studio and five statistical criteria supported the association between the viewpoint of students and seating arrangement including the trend to personalize the position, to teamwork activity, to sit close lecturers, to enhance their position. Although other criteria statistically did not associate with the seating arrangement, the cross-tabulation table address that the rear seats in the studio were more preferable for students due to the visual corridor to the front, monitoring, and eye contact.
... The effect of seating arrangement on the behavior and interaction of students in a group has been a traditional theme in education research (Bonus & Riordan, 1998;Marx et al.,1999;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Results of contemporary research suggest that, if the goal of a lesson is interaction between students and teachers, it is better to arrange the session in a U-shape or in a circle (Hastings & Schwieso, 1995;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). ...
... The effect of seating arrangement on the behavior and interaction of students in a group has been a traditional theme in education research (Bonus & Riordan, 1998;Marx et al.,1999;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Results of contemporary research suggest that, if the goal of a lesson is interaction between students and teachers, it is better to arrange the session in a U-shape or in a circle (Hastings & Schwieso, 1995;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). However, despite the fact that the paradigm of reflective practice has been an integral part of the education of future teachers for more than 30 years (cf. ...
... Group interaction, seating arrangement and field of study Brown and Pruis (1958) consider seating arrangement as one of the important factors influencing group participation at university. The traditional arrangement in columns and rows allows for less participation of students compared to the u-shaped/circular/semicircular arrangement (Fassinger, 1995;Fritschner, 2000;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Gump (1987) presents the hypothesis that students sitting around a table can establish communication much more easily than in rows. ...
In the conducted field experiment, we explore the intensity of university students' interaction related to the seating arrangement (circle or rows) in pre-service teachers' groups during the reflective practice. We also probe the differences across the various fields of study and evaluate the facilitator's influence on the interaction. We use wearable electronic Sociometric badges 2.0 to measure the interaction intensity (assessed by speech rate and average speaking segment length). We performed a total of 153 repeated measurements on 58 students in 4 different fields of study (Mathematics, Physics, Music, and Civic Education) using a counterbalanced design with a total of four measurements (two in circle and two in rows) in each group. Results of the multilevel modeling analysis indicate more intensive interaction in rows than in circles. However, the findings also indicate significant moderation by the field of study and partially by the extent of facilitator involvement.
... Considering the seating arrangement, the results revealed that the lecturers employed a traditional seating arrangement. Wannarka and Ruhl (2008) assert that it is far better if the seating arrangement in a classroom is not traditional with students seated facing the board, as this practice might restrict students from interacting with one another. Research has established that a semi-circle formation is recommended so that the students can work together as a community and ask questions while interacting with one another and the lecturer (Wannarka and Ruhl 2008). ...
... Wannarka and Ruhl (2008) assert that it is far better if the seating arrangement in a classroom is not traditional with students seated facing the board, as this practice might restrict students from interacting with one another. Research has established that a semi-circle formation is recommended so that the students can work together as a community and ask questions while interacting with one another and the lecturer (Wannarka and Ruhl 2008). Kregenow, Rogers, and Price (2011) assert that a semi-circle arrangement helps lecturers to facilitate students' interaction. ...
Concerns are increasing about the pedagogies employed by technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, particularly regarding the teaching of mathematics, exacerbated by the perception that TVET colleges are inferior to other types of educational institutions. Regardless of TVET colleges’ need to produce skilled workers, the concerns increasingly impede accessibility and students’ preparedness with sufficient workplace skills. While there has been a call to address several of the aforementioned concerns, one that has thus far attracted limited attention despite its importance is the pedagogical practices TVET colleges employ, particularly in mathematics. Guided by social constructivism, the study upon which this article is based explored the pedagogical practices employed by current TVET college lecturers in the mathematics classroom and the limited number of students enrolled in mathematics-based disciplines in TVET. Through a purposive sampling technique, ten (10) mathematics lecturers from a single TVET college in Gauteng were selected to participate in the study. The thematic analysis of the data revealed that these lecturers relied heavily on traditional approaches to teaching ‒ the banking zone was the only approach used extensively ‒ and only allowed for students’ passive involvement with the use of resources limited to whiteboards and textbooks. The routine approach of reviewing homework followed by classwork was dominant and there was a lack of real-life examples. A key recommendation that emerged from the study was further training in various pedagogies and the use of resources in teaching, particularly in mathematics lessons and re-training in advanced pedagogical practices.
... Four decades ago, seating arrangement has become focus of research (Bennett & Blundell, 1983;MCroskey & MvVetta, 1978;Puckeridge, 1992;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Seating arrangement still little studies has been explored (Haghighi & Jusan, 2012) but seating arrangement has been researched continuously become continued research (Adedokun, Henke, Parker, & Burgess, 2017). ...
... It is like by according to Rustandi and Mubarak (2017) statement that "when students are placed in rows it is convened that students should be passive learners". Rual and Wannarka (2008) also added that if students are working on independent or individual assignments, they should be seating in an arrangement that would create less interaction with their peers, such as row seating. And cluster seating is active only with friend proximity, and suitable for group discussion and the student found that cluster seating had a positive effect on social interaction and that more students were actively participating during class discussions. ...
This study aims to identify students' choice for seating arrangement in speaking class.The researcher uses qualitative design. As a result this study focuses on students’ preference on seating arrangement in speaking class. The researcher conducted a case study involving 19 participants of the third semester at the English Education Study Program in IAIN Kendari and gathered data from observation, students’ reflection and questionnaire.The finding show that 72% buzz group seating, 10% horseshoe seating, 5% traditional seating, 5% pair seating, and 8% cluster seating. This study implies that seating arrangement help the students’ focus and interest in learning process, participating and engaged in cooperative learning. Therefore, improve their language skills to interact with each other in a more fluent way. Keywords: Seating arrangement, Speaking Class
... This organization was established as a stable set; that can fit in different sizes, forms, or functions [35]. It helps the learners to concentrate, and it is most probably used in formal educational systems [40]. ...
... The chosen activities on grid seating arrangement focus on the students' attention, concentration, and one-way interaction [44]. Grid arrangement allows the students to concentrate, and it is usually used in formal educational systems [40]. ...
... When positive behavior change can be achieved through simple manipulations of contextual environmental variables (e.g., staff positioning, seating arrangements, schedule changes), barriers to implementing other behavioral interventions can be decreased or avoided altogether. In their empirical review of literature on environmental manipulations as setting events, Davis and Fox (1999) outlined four types of contextual factors that could serve as setting events: (a) social events (e.g., interactions with peers, teachers); (b) programmatic events (e.g., sequencing of activities and work, choice of task, group vs. individual instruction); (c) biological events (e.g., sleep schedule [see Kennedy & Itkonen, 1993], food deprivation, medications, seizures); and, of particular value to the current study, (d) physical events (e.g., size of classroom, arrangement of furniture [see Bicard, Ervin, Bicard, & Baylot-Casey, 2012;Rosenfield, Lambert, & Black, 1985;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008], temperature, lighting, materials available [see Doke & Risley, 1972]). ...
... Furniture rearrangements can be simple interventions that have robust outcomes, as Melin and Götestam (1981) demonstrated enhanced social interaction among older residents in a hospital for individuals with dementia and schizophrenia by simply arranging the furniture in a small coffee room instead of along the wall of the ward corridor. Other studies have examined the effects of student-selected versus teacher-selected seating arrangements for various student populations resulting in mixed outcomes related to student achievement, on-task behavior, and preference (e.g., Bicard et al., 2012;Rosenfield et al., 1985;Schmidt, Stewart, & McLaughlin, 1987;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). ...
The ecological validity of interventions can be enhanced when we first consider the environment in which our students participate. Antecedent interventions such as environmental manipulations can be easily and effectively implemented to enhance student engagement and decrease challenging behaviors in classrooms. The current study explored the use of a measurement system developed for widespread use within a school for students with autism spectrum disorder that helped to inform a classroom-wide environmental manipulation in the form of classroom arrangements. Baseline data across three classrooms suggested high, variable rates of challenging behavior and low rates of engagement with staff and materials. After the introduction of the antecedent intervention, engagement increased and challenging behavior decreased. Helping practitioners develop environmental and systems changes may help to complement individual behavior intervention plans.
... Research also found that students seated in the front of the classroom have higher participation, asking and receiving more questions from the teacher (Kaya & Burgess, 2007;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008;Perkins & Wieman, 2005) while small groups offer more equal learning opportunities among students (Lotan, 2006 ...
... This study suggests that the characteristics of questioning that pre-service teachers developed in small group teaching in terms of the number and kinds of questions asked and the relationship of position and gender represent the questioning practices by in-service teachers in classrooms found in literature (e.g., Gall, 1970;Kaya & Burgess, 2007;Khan & Inamullah, 2011;Mesa, 2010;Perkins & Wieman, 2005;Sadker & Sadker, 1994;Tofade, Elsnerm & Haines, 2013;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). The results of the study indicate that there may be a great chance that teacher questioning does not change over the years of teaching, and unequal learning opportunities may persistent over years in a mathematics classroom as a result. ...
... According to a study performed by Wannarka and Ruhl, desk arrangement can have a substantial effect on students' behavior and overall performance in a course. They explain that factors that influence communication such as orientation and proximity reveal themselves in desk formations, and consequently contribute to the quality and extent of student interaction [5]. Depending on how much interaction is desired throughout a course, this configuration is something that teachers must take into account. ...
... For example, 99.14% of the images that were predicted to be of an empty classroom were correctly identified as empty. However, only 92.73% of the images classified as groups were actually groups and 2.08% and 4.50% of the images classified as groups were actually empty 5 EAI Endorsed Transactions on Creative Technologies 07 2022 -11 2022 | Volume 9 | Issue 3 | e1 and lecture formations respectively with a final 0.69% classified as round. This is because some of the images that are identified to show a class doing group work portray a few students who had only turned their heads to the side rather than having rotated their entire desks, which leads to features that are much harder to detect. ...
INTRODUCTION: The study of how classroom layout and activities affect learning outcomes of students with different demographics is difficult because it is hard to gather accurate information on the minute by minute progression of every class in a course. Furthermore, the process of data gathering must produce an abundance of data to work with and hence must be automated. OBJECTIVES: A machine learning model trained on images of a classroom and thus capable of accurately labeling the classroom layout and activity of many thousands of images much faster and cheaper than employing a human. METHODS: Transfer learning can allow for preexisting computer vision models to be retrained on a smaller, more specific dataset in order to still achieve a highly accurate result. RESULTS: In the case of the classroom layout, the final model achieved an accuracy of 97% on a four category classification. And for detecting the classroom activity, after experimentation with several different versions that could work on a very small sample sizes, the best model achieved an accuracy of 86.17%. CONCLUSION: In addition to showing that using computer vision to determine human activities is possible albeit more difficult than layouts of inanimate objects such as classroom desks, the study shows the differences between the use of self-supervised learning techniques and data augmentation techniques in order to overcome the problem of small training data-sets.
... As to the second question, on classroom characteristics, it has been shown that when plants are present in the environment, student performance improves [38][39][40] and that the arrangement of furniture in classrooms influences teachers' behaviors [41], in-class teaching methodologies [42,43], and how students interact [43][44][45]. However, the central theme has been the influence of the built space on student learning. ...
... As to the second question, on classroom characteristics, it has been shown that when plants are present in the environment, student performance improves [38][39][40] and that the arrangement of furniture in classrooms influences teachers' behaviors [41], in-class teaching methodologies [42,43], and how students interact [43][44][45]. However, the central theme has been the influence of the built space on student learning. ...
A fundamental problem in the design of a classroom is to identify what characteristics it should have in order to optimize learning. This is a complex problem because learning is a construct related to several cognitive processes. The aim of this study is to maximize learning, represented by the processes of attention, memory, and preference, depending on six classroom parameters: height, width, color hue, color saturation, color temperature, and illuminance. Multi-objective integer linear programming with three objective functions and 56 binary variables was used to solve this optimization problem. Virtual reality tools were used to gather the data; novel software was used to create variations of virtual classrooms for a sample of 112 students. Using an interactive method, more than 4700 integer linear programming problems were optimally solved to obtain 13 efficient solutions to the multi-objective problem, which allowed the decision maker to analyze all the information and make a final choice. The results showed that achieving the best cognitive processing performance involves using different classroom configurations. The use of a multi-objective interactive approach is interesting because in human behavioral studies, it is important to consider the judgement of an expert in order to make decisions.
... 785). Conscientious and professional teachers organise and manage the spatial structure of their classrooms for students with SEBD such that it becomes a predictable and comfortable environment which facilitates positive relationships with peers and adults (Schloss & Smith, 1998;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). ...
... Given the emergent sub-themes, we came to an understanding of the importance of teacher strategies in minimising problematic behaviours. We also understood, as emphasised by Schloss and Smith (1998), and Wannarka and Ruhl (2008) that conducive classroom environments need clear rules, routines and positive relationships if they are to minimise children's unacceptable behaviours. Furthermore, as advocated by Devecchi and Rouse (2010), we recognised that close teacher-LSE collaboration benefits children. ...
In this sixth volume, a committed set of authors explore the Psychology field, therefore contributing to reach the frontiers of knowledge. Success depends on the participation of those who wish to find creative solutions and believe in their potential to change the world, altogether, to increase public engagement and cooperation from communities. Part of our mission is to serve society with these initiatives and promote knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary the strengthening of research efforts in all fields and cooperation between the most assorted studies and backgrounds. In particular, this book explores five major areas (divided into five sections) within the broad context of Psychology: Social Psychology, Cognitive and Experimental Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Legal Psychology and Educational Psychology. Each section comprises chapters that have emerged from extended and peer reviewed selected papers originally published in the proceedings of the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT 2020) conference series (http://www.inpact-psychologyconference.org/). This conference occurs annually with successful outcomes. Original papers have been selected and its authors were invited to extend them significantly to once again undergo an evaluation process, afterwards the authors of the accepted chapters were requested to make corrections and improve the final submitted chapters. This process has resulted in the final publication of 33 high quality chapters.
... For example, each reading task presented to students was first approached by skim reading and scan reading in pairs. While Pescamora does highlight the risks around inclusivity of low prior attainers in group activities (2018), we understand that seating arrangements have the potential to be a useful tool for inclusive classrooms (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008) and thus seating plans here aimed to minimise the impact of discrepancy in confidence and ability. For example, students 20 and 24 are sat alongside one another, as I know that student 20 learns well when asking questions, which student 24, as an HPA, is likely to be able to answer. ...
This research examines the potential of collaboration as a means of finding and implementing strategies that ensure improvements in students’ self-reported independence and confidence in literacy, whether in reading or writing, within the MFL classroom. Drawing on evidence from collaborative discussions with colleagues, as well as wider literature, the study demonstrates that a scaffolded approach to reading has a tangible positive impact on student motivation and engagement. A mixed method of data collection is utilised to demonstrate students’ affective and effective outcomes both before and after the intervention. The research shows a positive correlation between both types of outcome and the implementation of a scaffolded reading strategy, evident in student appropriation of the strategy and student outcomes in reading exercises.
... al., 2011;Gest and Rodkin, 2011;Kutnick and Kington, 2005;Van den Berg et. al., 2012;Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008). Encouraging individual excellence, development of students' science and technical literacy, facilitating the acquisition of learning skills in students, and the development of cooperation among students are important goals in SCI. ...
To achieve the goals of modern science and technology teaching, it is vital to organize student-centred instruction (SCI). The organization of SCI requires the teacher’s ability to organize cognitively challenging teaching in a stimulating environment. The fundamental purpose of the study was to determine whether the teacher’s organization of SCI was related to factors at the school level (organizational context) and factors at the individual level (individual context). We designed a model comprising four sets of factors. The results show a statistically significant correlation between SCI and all four sets of factors.
... So, it is a good idea to arrange the student seat. The classroom seating arrangement has the potential to affect the level of classroom management and the rate of disruptive classroom behavior (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). This is an important consideration because by choosing seating arrangement in the classroom, the teacher can create the positive environment to reach teaching-learning process successfully. ...
This research is aimed to discover about students’ behaviors problem that teacher faced in language classroom that may occur in language teaching and learning process at primary schools. The objectives of the research are to find out how to manage students’ behaviors problem at primary schools, especially in EFL classroom. This research used a descriptive qualitative research design. This research took ten English teachers in primary school as the participants of the research which were been taken through purposive sampling. The data of this research was collected by interview and audio recorder. The research findings show seven category of managing students behavior problem applied by the teachers in the English classroom , they are: positive relationships are developed and maintained between teacher and students, seating arrangement, encourage active learning, encourage experience-based learning, applying ICT in learning, support and strategy, the last is giving punishment. The ability of teachers to organise and manage classroom behaviours of their students is critical to achieving the learning objectives. Although behavioural management does not guarantee effective teaching, it makes improvement possible.
... It has been noted that the arrangement of chairs and tables influences the students' participation and sense of control in a classroom [40]. Although it may depend on the characteristics of each student (e.g., personality, gender, age, etc.) studies revealed that different classroom setups may be suitable for different learning goals [41]. The traditional classroom layout is to have tables displayed in rows, with a maximum of two students per table facing the instructor. ...
This paper describes a case study of a novel teaching method where the “Teaching with Industry” (TWI) model–industry practitioners incorporated as co-instructors in a semester-long classroom setting–is enhanced by using new videoconferencing technologies such as Zoom and Meeting Owl Pro, and innovative classroom setups. This enhanced model was developed with the intent to bridge the gap between information acquired in the classroom and the skills and competencies required in the industry. The different teaching platforms not only facilitated the teaching when industry practitioners were/are not able to be physically present in the classroom, but also led to efficient organization of the different activities carried out in class. Results obtained from end-course surveys showed that students had a positive experience using Zoom and Meeting Owl Pro welcoming the opportunity to engage with industry practitioners and gain better understanding of the practical usefulness of the course.
... A row seating arrangement has been found to be associated with more on-task time during individual task work (Hastings & Schwieso, 1995), students ask more questions when seated in a semi-circle than in rows (Marx, Fuhrer, & Hartig, 1999), and the quantity but not the quality of student work is higher in rows than in groups (Bennett & Blundell, 1983). In addition, a review by Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008 showed that students displayed more desired behavior with respect to learning when seated in rows. Finally, an ethnographic study by Zhang (2019) showed that Chinese teachers impose a hierarchy on classroom seats (e.g., students who do not show a good academic attitude are seated in the corner by themselves), which suggests that teachers around the world may perceive and use their classroom seating arrangement in different ways. ...
Teachers can use seating arrangements to effectively manage classroom dynamics. However, what do teachers aim for and how are they trying to achieve this when creating seating arrangements? We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 upper elementary school teachers. Teachers expressed to have both academic and social-emotional goals addressing the group and individual students. Although their goals were quite similar, teachers employed different, sometimes even opposite strategies to achieve them. Moreover, they adapted goals and strategies to specific group or individual student needs. Our findings add to the growing body of knowledge regarding teachers’ practices in managing classroom social dynamics.
... Before implementing the curriculum reforms, however, some arrangements are required to make the learning environment, in particular the placement of classroom furniture, compatible with the newly developed curriculum. Studies (e.g., Armstrong & Chang, 2007;Correa, Lara, Pino & Vera, 2017;Stapp, 2018;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008) pointing out the connection between classroom seating arrangements and student performance also point to this requirement. As Stapp (2018) emphasized, there has been a tendency to harmonize the layout of furniture in classrooms with a student-centered approach lately, but traditional outlooks have still remained untouched in many classrooms. ...
Seating arrangement in classrooms plays a crucial role for the effectiveness of curriculum implementation. This multi-case pattern intertwined case study aimed to investigate the ongoing seating arrangements in language classrooms of middle schools with a focus on stakeholders (students, teachers, principals and janitors) perspectives. Two types of data were collected in this process. The data for the physical appearances of classrooms were collected through observation form and analyzed via descriptive analysis technique. The interview data gathered through semi-structured interview forms were analyzed through the content analysis technique. Findings revealed that language branch classrooms were not available and that classrooms had classic-row layout with cumbersome desks and deficient free space. Some curricular objectives and communicative activities were at odds with the ongoing seating arrangement, and therefore, skipped by teachers. Cluster and horseshoe layouts, cherished by students, were practiced to align the layout with the curricular objectives, though some reactions emerged.
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... Along the same line of reasoning, several other scholars and practitioners (Bachman, 2010;Halstead and Martin, 2002;Kyprianidou, Demetriadis, Tsiatsos and Pombortsis, 2012;Miller and Polito, 1999;Sudzina, 1993) (Lotfy, 2012;Rosenfield, Lambert and Black, 1985;Wheldall and Bradd, 2010) and increase their interactions with one another (Hasting and Schweiso, 1995;Rogers, 2020). There is also evidence to suggest that it affects students' learning outcomes (for reviews of research on this topic, see Haghihhi and Jusan, 2012;Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008). Therefore, the teacher should think carefully about how students will be physically arranged in groups. ...
Teaching is a complex profession; and therefore, micro-teaching is needed to scale down its complexity to train pre-service teachers for future real teaching. However, micro-teaching experiences without reflection are insufficient for building or developing professional teaching skills. Therefore, this book aims at building and developing essential teaching skills through reflective micro-teaching in which teacher trainees, individually and collectively, reflect on their own micro-teaching practices with the assistance of reflection forms in controlled teaching environments. The book consists of three chapters. The first chapter covers the conceptual and theoretical framework of reflective micro-teaching. The second chapter deals with video-mediated microteaching as a stimulus for reflection. The third chapter includes the conceptual and theoretical framework of the core teaching skills and provides reflection forms that help teacher trainees to reflect on their own and one another's micro-teaching practices, for building and developing these core skills. The book contains eight tables and a list of 256 references.
... For instance, a pupil who is usually off task or avoids turning in home-work, the pupils should first be threaten by the teacher and to make the treat real, the pupil has to be banished to "Siberia" that is temporarily removed from the usual place of sitting with his friends. Wannarka & Ruhl, (2008), in their research on seating arrangements suggested that pupils behave more appropriately when they sit individually. In this strategy, the pupil involved is moved over to a remote place for few weeks. ...
Keywords
: Gender role, Family, Media, Environment, Early years
... For instance, a pupil who is usually off task or avoids turning in home-work, the pupils should first be threaten by the teacher and to make the treat real, the pupil has to be banished to "Siberia" that is temporarily removed from the usual place of sitting with his friends. Wannarka & Ruhl, (2008), in their research on seating arrangements suggested that pupils behave more appropriately when they sit individually. In this strategy, the pupil involved is moved over to a remote place for few weeks. ...
... Second, as the Uncanny Valley effect explains [152], more human-like avatars are not always conducive to making virtual avatars palatable to users. Lastly, where learners sit in the classroom also matters, as it affects learner motivation and learning outcomes [153]. When learners are immersed in such IVR classrooms with different configurations, their behavior is what we are interested in. ...
Virtual reality (VR) is not a new technology but has been in development for decades, driven by advances in computer technology. Currently, VR technology is increasingly being used in applications to enable immersive, yet controlled research settings. Education and entertainment are two important application areas, where VR has been considered a key enabler of immersive experiences and their further advancement. At the same time, the study of human behavior in such innovative environments is expected to contribute to a better design of VR applications. Therefore, modern VR devices are consistently equipped with eye-tracking technology, enabling thus further studies of human behavior through the collection of process data. In particular, eye-tracking technology in combination with machine learning techniques and explainable models can provide new insights for a deeper understanding of human behavior during immersion in virtual environments. In this work, a systematic computational framework based on eye-tracking and behavioral user data and state-of-the-art machine learning approaches is proposed to understand human behavior and individual differences in VR contexts. This computational framework is then employed in three user studies across two different domains. In the educational domain, two different immersive VR classrooms were created where students can learn and teachers can train. In terms of VR entertainment, eye movements open a new avenue to evaluate VR locomotion techniques from the perspective of user cognitive load and user experience. This work paves the way for assessing human behavior in VR scenarios and provides profound insights into the way of designing, evaluating, and improving interactive VR systems. In particular, more effective and customizable virtual environments can be created to provide users with tailored experiences.
... Seating options. Not long into the semester Ms. Chavez provided Jayson with a visual menu of seating options so that he could make an effective choice about sitting through a large group lesson (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). This menu included sitting close to the teacher, being able to lean on a shelf or table nearby, standing at the back of the rug, or choosing a chair. ...
... Seating options. Not long into the semester Ms. Chavez provided Jayson with a visual menu of seating options so that he could make an effective choice about sitting through a large group lesson (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). This menu included sitting close to the teacher, being able to lean on a shelf or table nearby, standing at the back of the rug, or choosing a chair. ...
... Reconceptualizing Educational Research Methodology 2022, 13(3), Special Issue of the most popular instructional texts for new teachers explicitly reference classroom seating and its use in minimizing disruptive behavior (see Jones, 2007;Wong & Wong, 2005). Educational researchers have also explored how seating might maximize instruction and increase desired academic and behavioral outcomes (see, Cheryan et al., 2014;Meeks et al., 2013;Rogers, 2020;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). The research connecting seating to behavior considers itself to be proactive in nature, functioning to reduce the possibility of disorder before disorder emerges. ...
In response to the call for this special issue, we draw upon Erin Manning’s (2013, 2016) theorizing of technique and technicity to reconsider schooling and inquiry practices through the chair. The chair is often taken for granted and narrowly conceived through the lens of neurotypicality. By beginning with technique and technicity, this work foregrounds affect, relation and process, rather than object, form and method, so as to dislodge the chair from the sedimented practices of schooling and inquiry. In the emergent fashion of research-creation, this article makes use of genealogy, narrative and theory to explore how the interplay of technique and technicity might engender different modes of chair-ing, and how these modes might speak to concerns of neurodiverse schooling and research methods.
... Research has shown that in classrooms, seating arrangements most directly impact proximity (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008) and when children who did not like each other were sat close together for several weeks, their likeability ratings increased (van den Berg et al., 2012). In the present study, it was the children with low levels of identification who focused on seating arrangements as a way of feeling close to friends. ...
Affective engagement relates to the emotional aspects of engaging with school, involving a sense of belonging and valuing school. It is a construct that has been associated with a range of positive outcomes, including academic achievement, school completion and improved mental health. Affective engagement plays a crucial role in creating inclusive learning environments; yet there is a lack of research in this area involving children with special educational needs (CSEN), especially those attending small, rural schools. Using Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological systems framework, this study explores how both SEN status and gender are associated with affective engagement. It also investigates how contextual factors influence the development of affective engagement for CSEN. A sequential, mixed method design involving three phases was used. Firstly, self-report measures were used to compare the affective engagement of 110 children both with and without SEN, in Years 5 and 6, from three mainstream primary schools in rural settings. Semi-structured interviews with senior leaders then provided an understanding of the wider systemic influences on affective engagement. Finally, semi-structured interviews with 10 CSEN, explored factors that influence the development of affective school engagement. The findings demonstrated that there was no significant effect of SEN status or gender on affective engagement. However, CSEN were more likely than their non-SEN peers to report feeling unsafe in school, that the school rules were unfair, and that school was a waste of time. Thematic analysis revealed the importance of the teacher-student relationship, where key characteristics included teachers being proactive and using positive praise when working with CSEN. Further themes related to how CSEN value school, friendships and a safe environment. The results provide an understanding of how CSEN perceive and feel affectively engaged in their schools. Implications are discussed in relation to how schools, policy makers and Educational Psychologists can enhance the affective engagement and wider inclusion of CSEN.
... Teacher attunement refers to the extent to which the teacher's knowledge of the peer ecology is accurate and matches the students' perceptions (e.g., Hamm, Farmer, Dadisman, Gravelle, & Murray, 2011;Norwalk, Hamm, Farmer, & Barnes, 2016). Seating arrangements refer to both the physical layout of the room in terms of placement of desks and chairs (e.g., Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008) and to where individual students are seated (e.g., van den Berg et al., 2012). ...
An important part of children’s social experiences takes place in the context of school. For a substantial number of years in the first decade or so of their lives (i.e., “elementary school” years), young children spend a considerable number of hours each day in the presence of classroom peers, guided by teachers. This chapter focuses on these two important socializing agents of influence on children’s normative social and academic development, and well-being, in the classroom context. We present a conceptual framework to distinguish four levels at which the socializing influence of peers and teachers can be examined: children’s individual characteristics, interaction or social-interactive behaviors, dyadic relationships, and groups and group processes. This chapter reviews the relevant theory and empirical findings for each level in this framework, along with recommendations for future research.
... Teacher can utilize seating arrangement to control the students' behavior, amount of communication, learning, interaction and activeness. Wannarka and Ruhl (2008) argues that physical arrangement of the classroom (i.e., seating arrangement) has the possibility to promote preferred behavior and contribute to students' misbehavior. Furthermore, students' attentiveness increases if the seating arrangement of the classroom support the teacher's aim based on several researchers (Haghighi & Jusan, 2012). ...
The current problem focused on seating arrangement. The data were collected through observation, video recording, and interview. Data were analyzed by using Interactive Data Analysis. After the observation done, there were differences on students’ responses in U-shape and Cluster seating arrangements. When U-shape seating arrangement implemented, the students become hesitated in participating in the classroom activities. Meanwhile Cluster seating arrangement promoted more students’ participations. It was suggested to decide what types of response the teacher want their students give to the lesson before implementing those seating arrangements.
... The next model is orderly row seating model found in Denton (1992), Harmer (1998), McLeod et al. (2003, Ruhl and Wannarka (2008), and Simmons et al. (2015). In this model, teachers sit a desk placed before the blackboard or projector screen. ...
Classroom management is an essential element of the teaching and learning process which determines the quality of instruction. This research aims to investigate the elements of classroom management which can be effectively applied in EFL classrooms. This study is a review research study, where the data were collected from 43 previously published materials, restricted to books, dissertations, and articles published in academic journal. The data were analysed using data condensation, data display and conclusion drawing. The results of this study show that there are three elements of classroom management, i.e. seating arrangements, engagement, and participation. The seating arrangement has three effective components including u-shaped, sitting in a group, and orderly row. Further, student engagement consists of cognitive, behavioural, academic, emotional, social, intellectual, physiological, affective and relational engagement approaches. Meanwhile, participation includes classroom talk, teacher talk, collaborative talk, exploratory talk, disputational talk, and learner-managed talk. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers utilize effective classroom management components based on the results of this study to improve the quality of instruction.
... Additionally, connectivity analysis reinforces that there were changes in the transfer of information from centro-parietal to frontal electrodes. These features were found mostly in the theta and alpha frequency bands (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). The EEG features that reached the statistical significance level, and their distributions, were different between each of the design conditions vs. the neutral condition. ...
This study investigated the neural dynamics associated with short-term exposure to different virtual
classroom designs with different window placement and room dimension. Participants engaged in five
brief cognitive tasks in each design condition including the Stroop Test, the Digit Span Test, the Benton
Test, a Visual Memory Test, and an Arithmetic Test. Performance on the cognitive tests and
Electroencephalogram (EEG) data were analyzed by contrasting various classroom design conditions. The
cognitive-test-performance results showed no significant differences related to the architectural design
features studied. We computed frequency band-power and connectivity EEG features to identify neural
patterns associated to environmental conditions. A leave-one-out machine-learning classification scheme
was implemented to assess the robustness of the EEG features, with the classification accuracy evaluation
of the trained model repeatedly performed against an unseen participant’s data. The classification results
located consistent differences in the EEG features across participants in the different classroom design
conditions, with a predictive power (test-set accuracy: 51.5%-61.3%) that was significantly higher
compared to a baseline classification learning outcome using scrambled data. These findings were most
robust during the Visual Memory Test, and were not found during the Stroop Test and the Arithmetic
Test. The most discriminative EEG features were observed in bilateral occipital, parietal, and frontal
regions in the theta (4-8 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) frequency bands. Connectivity analysis reinforced these
findings by showing that there were changes in the transfer of information from centro-parietal to frontal
electrodes in the different classroom conditions. While the implications of these findings for student
learning are yet to be determined, this study provides rigorous evidence that brain activity features during
cognitive tasks are affected by the design elements of window placement and room dimensions. The
ongoing development of this EEG-based approach has the potential to strengthen evidence-based design
through the use of solid neurophysiological evidence.
... Prior research on the role of classroom design on student learning outcomes has primarily focused on physical features of the learning space (e.g., seating arrangements), and ambient characteristics of the facility (e.g., light, temperature, acoustic noise) Evans, 2006;Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). For example, prior research found that children are often taught in suboptimal acoustic environments, which can be detrimental for learning as increased noise and reverberation compounds the difficulty of processing oral instruction (see Erickson & Newman, 2017;Klatte, Hellbrück, Seidel, & Leistner, 2009 for review). ...
Prior laboratory research suggests the visual environment can be a source of distraction for children, reducing attention to instructional tasks and learning outcomes. However, systematic research examining how the visual environment relates to attention in genuine classrooms is rare. In addition, it is unknown what specific aspects of the environment pose a challenge for attention regulation. This observational study aims to (1) provide a nuanced examination of specific elements of the classroom visual environment (e.g., visual noise, display quantity, color variability) by analyzing panoramic classroom photographs (N = 58) and (2) investigate whether specific visual environment elements are related to children's rates of on‐task behavior. Results indicate on‐task behavior was lower in classrooms containing greater quantities of visual noise and color variability, and in classrooms with either relatively small or large amounts of displays (controlling for observation session, school type, student gender, grade‐level, and instructional format). Implications for creating more optimal visual learning environments are discussed. Laboratory studies suggest that highly decorated environments reduce attention to instructional activities and learning outcomes. It is unknown whether these findings extend to genuine classrooms. This observational study investigated whether specific aspects of the visual environment are related to rates of on‐task behavior in 58 elementary school classrooms in the United States. On‐task behavior was lower in classrooms containing greater visual noise and color variability and in classrooms with relatively small or large amounts of displays.
... A seating arrangement in rows compared to that one in groups can instigate such positive academic behaviors (e.g., hand-raising for assistance and complying with requests). Rows can especially support students' on-task behavior during independent work but seating arrangements in small groups can facilitate interaction between students due to proximity and close positions between peers (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). During Civic Education lessons, only 5% of students reported having the opportunity for seating arrangements in the small groups' circle or at a round table (Figure 2). ...
The paper highlights evaluative findings of quantitative and qualitative analysis of Civic Education curriculum implementation in the secondary school curriculum in Ukraine.
The study reveals contemporary determinants of civic education improvement, identifies relevant benefits and problem issues focuses on a comprehensive assessment of CE curriculum implementation with regard to specific criteria, and emphasizes the importance of its positive impact for challenging modern Ukrainian society integration issues.
... Practically, not only the class syllabus should be given in advance, but seat arrangement and clear instructions also will be essential elements for the students with selfdisciplined dispositions. Therefore, have learners to fix their seats in the classroom will be more helpful than free seating as well as arrange their learning partners (Wannarka and Ruhl, 2008). ...
The present study aims to develop a model illuminating the relationship between student personality traits and motivation towards learning Mandarin as a foreign language. A model framework consisting of five exogenous variables and one endogenous variable of motivation are examined in the present study. Sample of 260 undergraduates taking Mandarin language at public university in East Malaysia was used as respondents for the present work. The path analysis revealed that the big five personality traits significantly influence and explained 52% of the variance in students' motivation. The analysis further indicates that extraversion and conscientiousness produce the strongest correlation with students' motivation. The results inferred that students who enjoy social visibility and self-discipline are also who will be motivated to learn the Mandarin language. Findings also demonstrated that agreeableness positively influence motivation, and neuroticism, as expected, produce negative direct relations with motivation towards learning Mandarin as a foreign language. On the contrary, the present study did not find any correlation between openness and motivation. The implications of this study are also discussed and interpreted within the context of what educators could do to encourage students' motivation. Keywords: Big five, Extraversion, Mandarin language, Neuroticism, Personality traits.
... The spatial structure of the classroom, which involves patterns of student seating, the physical proximity of students to teachers, routes of physical circulation, and the overall sense of atmosphere and order, can have a significant effect on student engagement (MacAuley 1990;Rinehart 1991;Shores, Gunter, and Jack 1993;Walker and Walker 1991;Walker, Colvin and Ramsey 1995;Wolfgang 1996;Stewart and Evans 1997;Bettenhausen 1998;Quinn et al. 2000;Wannarka and Ruhl 2008). ...
A brief survey of evidence based, classroom strategies for dealing with SEMH issues in classrooms.
Current educational research and practice urge the reconceptualization of learning spaces' design, development, and usage. However, only some research studies address the formation of innovative learning spaces in higher education. This systematic mapping review (Grant & Booth. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26, 91-108, 2009) focuses on identifying research trends and themes around innovative learning spaces in higher education and defining the innovative learning space as a concept. The analysis of 58 selected articles provides an overview of current literature with the identification of four themes such as 1) the design of the innovative learning spaces, 2) pedagogies employed in the innovative learning spaces, 3) students’ experiences in the innovative learning spaces, and 4) change management approaches towards the campus innovative learning space. The types of learning spaces influenced by the trends in pedagogy (towards constructivist approaches, such as active learning spaces) and technology (towards less physicality, such as hybrid learning spaces) are explored in this study. The analysis finalizes the challenges and recommendations for innovative learning space integration into campus teaching and learning experiences. It sets a foundation for further thematic analysis of innovative learning spaces literature.
Background:
High school students are at an increased risk of developing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) due to significant pressure to achieve academic success.
Aim:
Although it is known that a school's physical learning environment can influence students' GAD, there is limited research examining this relationship. To fill this knowledge gap, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 230 students from two high schools in China.
Methods:
A survey questionnaire captured students' GAD self-evaluations (dependent variables), perceptions/preferences of their school physical environment (independent variables), and social and personal conditions (confounding variables). Bivariate analysis showed that students' GAD scores were associated with multiple factors related to the learning environment, physical activities, and personal characteristics. The multivariate analysis examined the relationship between GAD scores and physical learning environment variables while controlling for confounding variables.
Results:
The results indicated that adequate lighting (B = -0.154, p = .029) and perceived effectiveness of using self-service cafeterias in reducing anxiety (B = -0.138, p = .044) were significantly associated with GAD scores.
Conclusions:
These findings provide evidence for the importance of designing high schools with students' mental health in mind. Specifically, school administrators and designers should consider how to improve the physical learning environment by incorporating natural light, a self-service cafeteria, and spaces for physical activities to promote students' mental well-being.
The present research article examined how the learning space correlated with students' collaboration and educational outcomes: in science students. The study investigated the foundation of psychological, social, and physical mediators that impress on students' scholarship, collaboration, and interest. The study had a sample size of 548 science students randomly selected from eleven secondary schools from a population of 985 science students in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The research design that was used in study was a cross-sectional observational type of survey. A questionnaire named Learning Space and Students Outcome Questionnaire (LPSOQ) was the tool employed in the study. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part A sought for student's demographic variable like age and gender. Part B had variables like physical space (seating arrangement and acoustic), psychological (self-efficacy and extrinsic motivation) and students' outcome (academic grade, collaboration and students' interest). LPSOQ reliability results ranged from 0.79 to 0.89 for Cronbach alpha and 0.81 for Kuder Richardson's formula-20. Data collected were analyzed by employing regression statistics, percentages, and mean. The regression statistics showed that the t values of seating arrangement, for academic grade (t = 5.311, p
Questions of power and ethics were implicitly present in the previous chapters. In this chapter, I deal with them in more detail, examining the power strugglesPower struggles in the classroom in terms of the relationship between the student and the lecturer as well as that between students. I also discuss ways out of the struggle, including a reflective attitude, classroom practices and considerations of spatial arrangements. Further, recognitionRecognition, generosityGenerosity and care are suggested as possible ways to overcome the difficult ethical situationsSituation in learning and teaching philosophy. In this context, I discuss the Oslo Summer SchoolSummer school, where care ethicsCareethics was used as the theoretical point of departure.
[PRE-PRINT] Nudges, deliberate tweaks to choice environments that predictably steer decision-making, have recently found their way into classrooms. The chapter focuses on whether nudges should be used to facilitate one aspect of moral education, namely school discipline. I argue that the normative approach to school-discipline nudges ought to be attuned to the broad age-related differences of children at various stages of their development. Because children at an earlier school age cannot appreciate reasons regarding the importance of school discipline, or its role in moral education more broadly, there is little controversy in exposing them to nudges and may be helpful for forming good habits. Middle and late adolescents, I argue, require a more sensitive approach. Because of the duty to support adolescents’ developing autonomy, their possible resentment to being nudged, and the interests of classroom trust, educators should utilize nudges carefully and conservatively, and refrain from it altogether when they can.
Objective:
This study aimed to explore students' perceptions of flipped classroom (FC) compared to live demonstration (LD) in transferring skills of fabricating orthodontic wire components for orthodontic removable appliances.
Methods:
Forty third-year undergraduate dental students were randomly assigned to two groups: FC (n = 20) and LD (n = 20). Students in group FC attended FC, while students in group LD attended LD. Both groups underwent a series of standardized teaching sessions to acquire skills in fabricating six types of orthodontic wire components. Eight students (four high achievers and four low achievers) from each group were randomly selected to attend separate focus group discussion (FGD) sessions. Students' perceptions on the strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions for improvement on each teaching method were explored. Audio and video recordings of FGD were transcribed and thematically analyzed using NVivo version 12 software.
Results:
Promoting personalized learning, improvement in teaching efficacy, inaccuracy of three-dimensional demonstration from online video, and lack of standardization among instructors and video demonstration were among the themes identified. Similarly, lack of standardization among instructors was one of the themes identified for LD, in addition to other themes such as enabling immediate clarification and vantage point affected by seating arrangement and class size.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, FC outperformed LD in fostering personalized learning and improving the efficacy of physical class time. LD was more advantageous than FC in allowing immediate question and answer. However, seating arrangement and class size affected LD in contrast to FC.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of learning environment (traditional and non-traditional classroom seating) and course experience on the learning effectiveness of undergraduates. This study also examined the effects of both variables on adaptability, creativity, and motivation; consequently, contribute to learning effectiveness. Overall, 483 undergraduates from a university in Taiwan participated in the survey. Findings evinced that the learning environment and course experience had significant positive influences on learning effectiveness. The relationship between the learning environment and learning effectiveness was partially mediated by adaptability; while creativity partially mediated the adaptability and learning effectiveness relationship. Furthermore, motivation was found to be partially mediated the course experience and learning effectiveness relationship; while, creativity partially mediated the motivation and learning effectiveness relationship. Results suggested that non-traditional classroom seating was promoting adaptability, creativity, and learning effectiveness of students. A good course experience can motivate students, promote creativity, and learning effectiveness.
L’aménagement physique de la classe n’est pas une préoccupation nouvelle, quoiqu’il fasse l’objet d’un intérêt grandissant depuis quelques années. Pourtant, encore relativement peu d’études scientifiques portent sur le sujet. Quelques recherches sur la classe flexible commencent à émerger, mais elles occultent souvent des dimensions de l’apprentissage des élèves qui dépassent leurs résultats scolaires ou les aspects pédagogiques. Ainsi, nous avons cherché à dégager les influences que la classe flexible peut avoir sur les pratiques pédagogiques d’enseignantes du primaire au Québec, de même que sur l’apprentissage de leurs élèves, en considérant la satisfaction de certains de leurs besoins et des dimensions de leur bienêtre. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé des analyses secondaires sur les données d’un sondage en ligne (n=27) et d’entretiens semi-dirigés (n=5) qui ont tous deux été administrés en 2019. Plus spécifiquement, une analyse par codage thématique a été réalisée sur les perceptions des enseignantes au sujet des retombées de la classe flexible pour leurs élèves et pour elles-mêmes. Les résultats indiquent que la classe flexible contribuerait notamment à la satisfaction de plusieurs besoins chez les élèves, de même qu’à certaines dimensions et composantes de leur bienêtre. De plus, elle faciliterait la mise en œuvre de diverses compétences professionnelles pour les enseignantes.
Immersive virtual reality (IVR) provides great potential to experimentally investigate effects of peers on student learning in class and to strategically deploy virtual peer learners to improve learning. The present study examined how three social-related classroom configurations (i.e., students' position in the classroom, visualization style of virtual avatars, and virtual classmates' performance-related behavior) affect students' visual attention toward information presented in the IVR classroom using a large-scale eye-tracking data set of N = 274 sixth graders. ANOVA results showed that the IVR configurations were systematically associated with differences in learners' visual attention on classmates or the instructional content and their overall gaze distribution in the IVR classroom (Cohen's d ranging from 0.28 to 2.04 for different IVR configurations and gaze features). Gaze-based attention on classmates was negatively related to students' interest in the IVR lesson (d = 0.28); specifically, the more boys were among the observed peers, the lower students' situational self-concept (d = 0.24). In turn, gaze-based attention on the instructional content was positively related to students' performance after the IVR lesson (d = 0.26). Implications for the future use of IVR classrooms in educational research and practice are discussed.
To investigate how high school students engaged in blended STEM courses, this study developed a new digital observation protocol, Classroom Observation Protocol for Interactive Engagement in STEM (COPIE-STEM) to observe patterns of behaviors between teachers and students. We also distinguished the data according to two common types of STEM programs (i.e., mainly lecture versus mainly hands-on). In the present study, a case study design was used to validate this COPIE-STEM. It was able to code 8 teacher behaviors classified into three categories: Student-Centered, Teacher-Centered, and Transitional activities; and 26 student behaviors of Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive engagement based on the ICAP framework (Chi, 2009). Interrater reliability was satisfactory. Observational data collected from 25 classes showed that students were most engaged in Active activities and less in Constructive and Interactive activities. When students engaged in Interactive, Constructive and Active activities, teachers' activities were mostly Student-Centered. In contrast, when students showed Passive Engagement behaviors, teachers were mostly engaged in Teacher-Centered educational activities. Using social network analysis to process each student's data, we created graphs of student-teacher associations and found four types of student-teacher behavior associations: Constructive with Extensive Interaction (C-EI), Constructive with Few Interactions (C-FI), Constructive Engagement (CE) and Active Engagement (AE). In hands-on courses, there were more C-EI patterns, while in lecture courses, CE and C-FI patterns dominated. The results of social network analysis showed there was more and diverse co-occurrence of teacher-student behaviors in the C-EI patterns, and students' behavioral nodes were more closely related to teachers' behavioral nodes in the C-EI patterns in both hands-on and lecture courses. Finally, student interaction was limited and constrained in the lecture courses, whereas in the hands-on courses, student interaction was more frequent and less constrained by seating arrangement. The findings suggest that high school teachers should design tasks that allow students to stay engaged in deeper learning.
Using data on primary school children and their teachers, we show that teachers who hold prejudicial attitudes towards an ethnic group create socially and spatially segregated classrooms. Leveraging a natural experiment where newly arrived refugee children are randomly assigned to teachers within schools, we find that teachers’ ethnic prejudice, measured by an implicit association test, significantly lowers the prevalence of inter-ethnic social links, increases homophilic ties among host children, and puts refugee children at a higher risk of peer violence. Our results highlight the role of teachers in achieving integrated schools in a world of increasing ethnic diversity.
17 underachieving 6th graders were observed under 4 conditions: sitting at tables, sitting in rows, sitting at tables again, sitting in rows again. The dependent variable was study behavior. There were 6 observation periods, for which interrater agreement was 92% or higher. The results show that study behavior was more frequent in the row arrangement. A 2nd study involved 32 adequate achievers in the 7th grade. Talk-outs was the dependent variable. The students were observed sitting at tables, in rows, and at tables again. There was less talk-out behavior under the row condition than under either table condition. It is concluded that the row arrangement reduces number of distractions, thereby increasing study behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Observed 8 Ss in each of 2 5th-grade, 2 5th–6th grade, and 2 6th-grade classrooms, using a time-sampling method, to determine the effect of desk arrangements. One classroom at each grade level experienced all 3 desk arrangements (rows, clusters, circle), while the other classroom was assigned to 1 of the 3 arrangements. Ss observed were males and females of high and low ability and high and low classroom interaction. Results confirm the hypotheses that Ss seated in circles engage in significantly more on-task behavior than those in rows and that Ss seated in clusters engage in more on-task behavior than those in rows but less than those in circles. Ss' behavior varied significantly across student types, as was expected. (9 ref)
The inattentive and/or hyperactive—impulsive behaviors that typify attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been associated with increased stress in parents of children who are so diagnosed and are known to adversely affect the quality of parent—child interactions. Far less is known, however, about the effects of ADHD on interactions between students with the disorder and their teachers and on levels of teacher stress. Using the Index of Teaching Stress, an instrument assessing a teacher's subjective level of stress and frustration in response to teaching and interacting with a particular student, we found that general education elementary school teachers rated students with ADHD as significantly more stressful to teach than their classmates withoutADHD. However, we found that the stress reported by teachers was highly individualized.Students with ADHD who evidenced oppositional/aggressive behavior or severe social impairment were rated as significantly more stressful to teach than students with ADHD who did not evidence these associated difficulties.
The aim of this study is to present an overview of communication patterns between students during ordinary lessons in a compulsory school system. The results, based on observations of 70 lessons, reveal that every lesson is filled with internal communication between students. Even if this interaction is mostly out of teachers’ conscious control, it is not random. The results do not provide any evidence to support an assumption that chatter between peers will increase in larger classes. The students’ participation in private interaction may to some extent depend on their position in the classroom. However, some factors of greater importance and highly relevant to peer interaction are the age of students (school level) and the form of work. The study demonstrates both the intensity of students’ private communication during ordinary lessons and also the relationship to some contextual factors. These contextual factors can be seen as educational means which teachers can use or misuse in their pupils’ ‘identity‐seeking process’. When teachers place children at different desks, and when they choose a special form of work, they are creating interactive arenas for their students. These arenas are important elements in the developmental setting which the school offers each individual child.
The effect of different seating positions on the frequency with which pupils were addressed questions by the teacher was examined in two primary school classes. Baseline observations identified areas in both classes to which a disproportionately high and low number of questions were directed. Utilising a multiple baseline design six pupils in both classes were systematically moved in and out of these areas. Results indicate that location within the classroom is in itself a causal factor in the question distribution pattern. Concomitant measures of teacher location and pupil on‐task levels indicate that changes in these features of the behavioural ecology of the classes did not confound the location effects. Data are discussed illustrating the value of obtaining observational measures on behaviours concomitant with the dependent variable both in order to monitor uncontrolled variables which it is anticipated may confound the experimental effects, and to assist in the identification of other potentially significant ecological setting events within the classroom.
The effect of different seating arrangements on the quantity and quality of work produced in reading, language and mathematics among two classes of 10and 11‐year‐old children was examined. In both classes matched for size, and age and sex distribution, the pupils spent the first two weeks in their normal classroom groups. The second two‐week period was spent in rows before moving back into groups. The findings indicate that quantity of work completed generally increases when children are sat in rows whilst quality of work is maintained.
This paper reviews research on the impact of classroom environments on student behavior, attitudes, and achievement. The first section examines studies of six environmental variables: seating position, classroom design, density, privacy, noise, and the presence or absence of windows. In the second part of the paper, research conducted from an “ecological” perspective is considered. A third section focuses on the effects of open space school designs. Finally, some future directions for research are discussed, and the advantages and limitations of various research designs are summarized.
Large‐scale research programmes in primary schools have frequently identified a mismatch between classroom seating arrangements and the nature of pupils’ tasks. While children are typically seated in groups, their assigned tasks are generally individual. Intervention studies have consistently found that seating in rows for individual task work improves time spent on‐task. However, one weakness of these studies is that novelty could account for all or part of the improvement rather than the seating arrangements per se. In the first study reported here, an attempt was made to test the novelty hypothesis. Two primary classes, neither of which normally sat in groups or rows for individual task work, took part. In parallel ABA designs, one class moved from rows to groups to rows and the other from groups to rows to groups. In both classes, on‐task behaviour was higher in the rows arrangement, with the effect being most marked for children who were least on‐task when seated in groups. A second study, designed to increase the time on‐task of three individually disruptive pupils and employing seating in rows for individual task work, produced a similar pattern of outcomes: class mean time on‐task increased substantially, while the time on‐task of the three target pupils increased dramatically. The implications of these findings are discussed.
The effect of different classroom seating arrangements on children's on‐task behaviour was examined by observations of two top junior classes of ten‐ to eleven‐year‐old children. In both classes mean on‐task behaviour was lower for the first two weeks in which children sat around tables compared with the second two‐week period spent in rows, and declined again when the children returned to tables for the final two weeks. An analysis of the data broken down into groups of children with low, average and high initial on‐task behaviour showed that the rows condition had its most powerful effect on children with low initial on‐task behaviour. There was little difference between conditions for the children with high initial on‐task behaviour. The results for the average groups of children were similar to those for the classes as a whole. Rising baselines during the first tables condition confused the effect but there was clear evidence for declines in on‐task behaviour in the final tables condition.
Summary Seating arrangements in which children sat in rows and around tables were compared experimentally in three classes in a special school for behaviourally troublesome children with moderate learning difficulties. Children were observed daily in four two week phases: seated around tables, then in rows, again around tables, and finally again in rows. Percentage on‐task behaviour was recorded along with rate of pupil disruption and rates of teacher approval and disapproval. In all three classes on‐task behaviour doubled from around 35% to 70% as the conditions changed from tables to rows. Moreover, rate of disruption was three times higher in tables conditions. Teacher behaviour was also affected; positive comments increasing during rows whilst negative comments decreased. It is argued that these studies support the results of previous studies regarding the importance of ecological variables, such as seating, on classroom behaviour.
Observed 8 Ss in each of 2 5th-grade, 2 5th–6th grade, and 2 6th-grade classrooms, using a time-sampling method, to determine the effect of desk arrangements. One classroom at each grade level experienced all 3 desk arrangements (rows, clusters, circle), while the other classroom was assigned to 1 of the 3 arrangements. Ss observed were males and females of high and low ability and high and low classroom interaction. Results confirm the hypotheses that Ss seated in circles engage in significantly more on-task behavior than those in rows and that Ss seated in clusters engage in more on-task behavior than those in rows but less than those in circles. Ss' behavior varied significantly across student types, as was expected. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study investigated the relationship between classroom seating arrangements and the question-asking of fourth-graders.
Data were collected during 53 lessons spread over 8 weeks. Children were assigned to sit in a semicircle and then in a row-and-column
seating arrangement for 2 weeks each. This rotation was repeated. Both children's questions and the teacher's verbal reactions
were recorded using an observational system based on Kearsley's question taxonomy. The results showed that children asked
more questions in the semicircle than in the row-and-column arrangement, and that the pattern of question characteristics
was stable over time. The findings also revealed that, within the row-and-column arrangement, there was an action-zone in
which children asked more questions per lesson. The results are interpreted in terms of Steinzor's postulation that social
interaction is encouraged when individuals are able to establish face-to-face contact.
. The constituent parts of a five component behavioural intervention package are described and the effect of the intervention on the on-task behaviour of two “disruptive” secondary school classes reported. It is claimed that levels of pupil on-task behaviour were significantly increased in both classes. Concomitant changes in teacher behaviour were also reported and it is suggested that increased levels of pupil on-task behaviour may have elicited higher levels of positive verbal behaviour from the teachers.
This study investigates the behavioral and emotional problems of children with learning disabilities (LD), serious emotional disturbance (SED), and LD/SED, using the Teacher Report Form (TRF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The sample consisted of 217 students with LD, 72 with SED, and 68 with SED/LD, ages 6 to 18 (mean age = 11.5). The students with SED were rated more impaired than the students with LD on all TRF scales except Attention Problems, and on three of the eight CBCL syndrome scales. The children with LD differed from those with SED mainly in terms of severity of problems, not with respect to type of problem. It is concluded that students with co-morbid LD and SED are underidentified and underserved in special education systems.
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