I have been teaching HS a long time and it's rare that I have a class that doesn't need assigned seating. I always do assigned seats at the beginning of the year. It sets the tone that I am in charge, not them. I know the argument that we want them to feel comfortable, etc, but in my experience a lot of problems are created when they are too comfortable.
The major problem with that is that my school doesn't finalize schedules until like a month into the school year. By the time I've arranged seating, students have been removed from the class, added, changed to different blocks, etc. So going into the spring semester, maybe I'll start.
Seating is one of the proactive things a teacher has control over. It can be done before students show up. Consider: Given the choice, will students sit in the best possible place that optimizes cooperation and time on task, the teacher’s agenda, or will they sit in the best place that optimizes their agenda which is social? Fact is some students, given the choice, will actually sit where they can work without disruption. But not all. Some will sit with friends so they can goof off. And, yes, with assigned seating one never knows for sure, since it’s random, whether the right combinations are in place on the first day. This is why many teachers make it clear when teaching class rules and procedures that the teacher may move any student at any time.
...by alphabetical order. I do this on the first day of school. This way the kids can't say I have some ulterior motive by where I seat them I tell them that I do it because I need to be able to take roll in the morning quickly, by the empty seat, and that when I'm teaching, it doesn't matter where they sit because they are supposed to be focused on the lesson and taking good notes (accounting, of course, for kids who need to sit in the front row for some reason.) But when I let them start homework, or work on a project, etc, they can move desks together and sit where they want, in groups no bigger than three (unless the project I assign needs more than three) as long as they are working, and working quietly. I adjust where some of them sit when necessary if they show that they can't handle working together productively and without disturbing others or me.
Would it be more effective to utilize randomized seating for a class? In my experience, alphabetical seating tends to keep certain students together that may be more predisposed to socializing with each other. Granted, the same thing can happen with a random arrangement, but alphabetical increases the chance in my opinion.
it depends on the type of classroom teaching you want to encourage. When I attended high school, I rarely had assigned seating in my classes. I was in half AP classes and half regular.
The math classes usually had assigned seating because there wasn't a lot of discourse, but history and language arts rarely did. I think it was because the classroom culture was more focused on discussion and students are more likely to have open discussions about topics if they feel comfortable.
As a high schooler, there was NO WAY you were going to get me to share well with the person next to me if we weren't friendly. Too much potential for looking stupid or judgement or looking too eager and whatever else teenagers thought was uncool.
So if you want to have a classroom where discussion is encouraged, I would think about not having assigned seats. If you want more independent work focused and no talking during your class, I would go with assigned seats.
As a high school teacher, I have come to the realization that even if you have assigned seats, the students will find a way to converse in class regardless if they are next to their friend or two rows away. Therefore, I think that as long as they are completing their assignments and not being overly disrupting, let them sit where they are comfortable.
and I never used a seating chart. I had one group I taught that was magnet and extremely high-performing and they always sat wherever, although most people found a seat that they sat in all year.
In classes that aren't that mature, I never wrote a seating chart to start the year. I let them show ME who they couldn't sit with, then after a week or so I could make a chart. If you start the year with one, you generally don't start with a very good one because you don't know the kids.
And you end up having to re-do it quite a few times if the class is really challenging.
I'm surprised that a high school class would assign seating. I haven't ever taught HS so I really don't know what I'm talking about but it surprises me, at least after freshman year.
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01-03-2020, 11:58 AM
I tell them that I do it because I need to be able to take roll in the morning quickly, by the empty seat, and that when I'm teaching, it doesn't matter where they sit because they are supposed to be focused on the lesson and taking good notes (accounting, of course, for kids who need to sit in the front row for some reason.) But when I let them start homework, or work on a project, etc, they can move desks together and sit where they want, in groups no bigger than three (unless the project I assign needs more than three) as long as they are working, and working quietly. I adjust where some of them sit when necessary if they show that they can't handle working together productively and without disturbing others or me.
