Abstract
Understanding how students interact and learn within the lecture theatre environment is central to successful learning outcomes. Previous studies into the use of the lecture theatre teaching space have found that students sit in specific locations due to a range of factors; these include being noticed, addressing anxiety or an ability to focus. This study further explores the personal and social factors at play within students’ lecture theatre seating choice and the resulting effects on attainment. Student responses on seating preferences detailing why they chose a given location were mapped at a seat‐specific level and correlated against attainment. In parallel, staff perceptions of student attainment in relation to their seating choice were obtained. No direct correlation between student location and attainment was found, contrary to staff perceptions. Interestingly, it was found that students physically locate into friendship groups clusters and that these clusters obtained similar levels of attainment in problem‐solving tasks, with pockets of both high‐ and low‐performing students being observed. It was also noted that isolated students performed less well. These data would indicate that peer group formation exerts a strong impact on attainment and engagement. Outcomes from this study will enable academic staff to better understand the student body and inform the way in which teaching sessions are performed within a lecture theatre.
Highlights
Understanding how students interact and learn within the lecture theatre environment is central to successful learning outcomes
Perkins and Wieman (2005) open their investigations into student location and attainment with the statement, ‘Every physics instructor knows that the most engaged and successful students tend to sit at the front of the class and the weakest students tend to sit at the back’ [6]
The lecturers’ comments showed a more complex view of those sitting at the front, with multiple lecturers believing students who are struggling to understand the module sit on the front row
Summary
Understanding how students interact and learn within the lecture theatre environment is central to successful learning outcomes. Friendship groups and lecture theatre interactions better in examinations, whereas location on a specific row had no effect on grades This is supported by Marshall and Losonczy-Marshal [4] who upon completion of one of the longest running studies spanning 15 years and collecting data from over 70 classes found students in a central location attended lectures more often and performed better in projects and examinations. It is, worth noting that these finding are not ubiquitous, as Kalinowski and Taper [5] using similar methods to that of Perkins and Wieman [6] found seating location had no effect on the student’s grades or attitudes
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