Spark
a guide to redefining classroom participation
Seat Strategically
Materials required
Implementation procedure
Strategy in practice
None
Sitting in the middle of the classroom places a student at the center of humanity. Having peers on each side of the student can limit privacy and heighten the potential for distraction. Placing students who need low amounts of external stimuli (e.g. kids who are easily distracted) on the periphery of the room or in the back of the classroom can offer a helpful modicum of extra private space and reduce unnecessary stimuli (Baldasaro 2012).
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We recommend that you check in with the student regularly to make sure the seating location works for them.
Jordan, a third grade student, has a last name that starts with “M.” At the start of the year, his social studies teacher had seated everyone alphabetically, and his “M” placed him in the center of the classroom. Jordan hated his seat. In front of him were two best friends who always whispered to each other. To his left was a classmate with asthma who often breathed heavily. To his right was one of his friends, but this friend had a habit of tapping his leg up and down when he was thinking. And toward his back was a student who, intentionally or not, constantly moved his desk.
Description
The choice of where to sit in the classroom may seem limited (a seat is a seat), but the choice of whether to seat a student on the periphery or in the middle may affect how well they perform.
At the end of September, Jordan found it so difficult to concentrate that he requested to speak privately with his teacher, Kara. He told her how distracted he was in his area and requested a different seat “a little less in the middle.”
Kara used their discussion as cause to change assigned seats; she was planning to do so anyway and just hadn’t gotten to it yet. She placed Jordan on the left side of the class in the back row to reduce the number of kids surrounding him. She felt comfortable with this choice, as she had asked Jordan if he would mind sitting in the back before assigning him to this area. She tries to check in with Jordan at least once every two weeks to make sure the environment is working for him.
References:
- Baldasaro, T. (2012). Embracing introversion: Ways to stimulate reserved students in the classroom. Retrieved December 11, 2016, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/introverted-students-in-classroom-tony-baldasaro