Classroom Seating Research Articles

Effects of Classroom Seating Arrangement on the Academic Performance in Mathematics of Students in Public Day Schools in Musanze District, Rwanda

Effects of Classroom Seating Arrangement on the Academic Performance in Mathematics of Students in Public Day Schools in Musanze District, Rwanda

Classroom Seating Management In Indonesian Middle School: English Teacher And Students’ Perspective

This study aims to know the perspectives of the teacher and student in using classroom seating management in learning English at MTsN 2 Kota Palangka Raya. This study involved two classes that use different seating layouts, as follows pairs and table rows. Three students in each class would be picked up, so there would be 6 students, 2 homeroom teachers, and 2 English teachers to be interviewed. This study uses qualitative research with a case study method. A purposive sampling technique was used, where the research instruments included observation, interviews, and documentation studies are applied in this study. The result found that both of teacher's and students' perspectives show the same answer which agree the pair seating layout is more comfortable and effective to be used in the classroom in learning English than the table row seating layout. The students express that the pairs is fulfill their comfort during the teaching learning process in the classroom as the theory said. The teachers also confirm that the students is lack of active participation because of keep distracting by other students who start the chit-chat during the learning process on the table rows.

The Correlation Between Classroom Seating Position and Speaking Ability of a 9th Grader

The Correlation Between Classroom Seating Position and Speaking Ability of a 9th Grader

Mapping 3-D classroom seats based on partial object point cloud completion

ABSTRACT 3-D classroom seating information is of great significance in a host of planning contexts including indoor navigation and facility management. Mapping classroom 3-D seats based on a single-view LiDAR scan is challenging because of occlusions and viewpoint limitations. In essence, one is left with incomplete point clouds, making object recognition difficult. The aim of this paper is to acquire complete point clouds for objects in a room based on a single-view LiDAR scan, focusing in particular on chairs in indoor spaces such as classrooms, lecture halls, theaters, concert venues, and sports arenas. A spatial optimization enabled framework is proposed for 3-D classroom seat mapping from a single-view LiDAR scan. A two-step clustering method is proposed to segment each individual chair object in the LiDAR scan. A chair model is extracted and used to complete other chair point clouds via registration. Notably, a parameter estimation method is devised based on spatial priors and integrated in an iterative closest point optimization approach to refine registration. Applications to multiple classroom scans demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed methodology. The developed segmentation-registration framework harnesses spatial knowledge to complete a single-view LiDAR scan with many identical objects. The resultant object point cloud is critical for navigation, route guidance, facility management, pandemic response and planning, indoor mapping and venue utilization, among others, which require precise and complete spatial information.

Effect of Class Size on the Academic Performance of Students in Mathematics in Public Day Schools in Musanze District

This paper explored the effect of class size effects and students’ academic performance in Mathematics subject in public day Schools in Rwanda” A case of Musanze district’’. Specifically, the study attempted to determine the effect of class attendance on academic performance of mathematics subject in public day schools in Rwanda, to analyze the effect of classroom seating arrangement on academic performance of mathematics subject in public day schools in Rwanda and to establish the effect of classroom learning environment on academic performance of mathematics subject in public day schools in Rwanda. This study adopted a descriptive research design using a mixed methods research design; a combination of both quantitative and qualitative forms of research. The target population for this study was the educational practitioners in the district who includes Students, teachers, head teachers and Sector Education officer in the district. Thus the total population was 1600 participants. Sample random technique was used to sample 320 respondents taken as a sample size. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. Analysis of data was aided by statistical packages for social science (SPSS) version 21 and output exported to micro soft word in form of pie charts and tables for the purpose of reporting. From the findings, the study revealed the Pearson correlation analysis showed that class attendance (r=0.814, p=0.000) is positively and significantly related to students’ academic performance. The correlation was deemed to be statistically significant since the p-value was less than 5%. Similarly, the Pearson correlation for classroom seating arrangement (r=0.715, p=0.000) is also positively and significantly related to the supply chain performance. The correlation was also statistically significant since the p-value was less than 5%. Lastly, the Pearson correlation for classroom learning environment (r=0.794, p=0.000) is positively and significantly related to the students’ academic performance. The correlation was also statistically significant since the p-value was less than 5%. Finally, the study recommended that to ensure a more meaningful academic performance among the students, small class sizes are needed to improve the interaction between teachers and students. It is therefore pertinent that the management of the schools studied pay attention to the class sizes as pertained in their schools to ensure good academic performance. Keywords: Class size, community, class attendance, classroom seating, academic performance

Learning environment and course experience vs adaptability, motivation, and creativity: Their contribution to learning effectiveness

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.

Teachers’ goals and strategies for classroom seating arrangements: A qualitative study

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.

Student Webcam Behaviors and Beliefs: Emergent Norms, Student Performance, and Cultural Differences

This study presents findings from a survey of 2298 university students from three countries (South Korea, Turkey, United States) focused on their use of and beliefs about webcams to support synchronous learning, including behaviors such as turning cameras on and multitasking. Additionally, it explores differences due to national culture, school achievement, and classroom seating preferences. As expected, findings show synchronous learning use increased during the pandemic. Student preferences for passive viewing behaviors are strong, along with preferences for keeping cameras off. Differences based on classroom seating preferences suggest that students who sit at the front are more likely than their peers to make decisions about webcam use based on involvement, attention, and preparedness. Cultural differences suggest different pedagogical expectations. Multitasking proved to be a complex behavior and is not always linked to poor achievement outcomes. This study has implications both for future research directions on synchronous learning, student webcam practices, and achievement and for how instructors design synchronous classes.

Individual and Group-wise Classroom Seating Experience

Seating location in the classroom can affect student engagement, attention and academic performance by providing better visibility, improved movement, and participation in discussions. Existing studies typically explore how traditional seating arrangements (e.g. grouped tables or traditional rows) influence students' perceived engagement, without considering group seating behaviours under more flexible seating arrangements. Furthermore, survey-based measures of student engagement are prone to subjectivity and various response bias. Therefore, in this research, we investigate how individual and group-wise classroom seating experiences affect student engagement using wearable physiological sensors. We conducted a field study at a high school and collected survey and wearable data from 23 students in 10 courses over four weeks. We aim to answer the following research questions: 1. How does the seating proximity between students relate to their perceived learning engagement? 2. How do students' group seating behaviours relate to their physiologically-based measures of engagement (i.e. physiological arousal and physiological synchrony)? Experiment results indicate that the individual and group-wise classroom seating experience is associated with perceived student engagement and physiologically-based engagement measured from electrodermal activity. We also find that students who sit close together are more likely to have similar learning engagement and tend to have high physiological synchrony. This research opens up opportunities to explore the implications of flexible seating arrangements and has great potential to maximize student engagement by suggesting intelligent seating choices in the future.

Network‐related teaching and changes in classroom seating

AbstractThe 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.

GIS-based classroom management system to support COVID-19 social distance planning

Schools across the United States and around the world canceled in-person classes beginning in March 2020 to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, a public health emergency. Many empirical pieces of research have demonstrated that educational institutions aid students’ overall growth and studies have stressed the importance of prioritizing in-person learning to cultivate social values through education. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers and school administrators have been making plans to reopen schools. However, few scientific studies had been done to support planning classroom seating while complying with the social distancing policy. To ensure a safe return to campus, we designed a ‘community-safe’ method for classroom management that incorporates social distancing and computes seating capacity. In this paper, we present custom GIS tools developed for two types of classroom settings – classrooms with fixed seating and classrooms with movable seating. The fixed model tool is based on an optimized backtracking algorithm. Our flexible model tool can consider various classroom dimensions, fixtures, and a safe social distance. The tool is built on a python script that can be executed to calculate revised seating capacity to maintain a safe social distance for any defined space. We present a real-world implementation of the system at Eastern Michigan University, United States, where it was used to support campus reopening planning in 2020. Our proposed GIS-based technique could be applicable for seating planning in other indoor and outdoor settings.

Influence of Flexible Classroom Seating on the Wellbeing and Mental Health of Upper Elementary School Students: A Gender Analysis.

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.

Rationales for Classroom Seating Arrangements: An EFL Teacher’s Voice

This article aims to present a case study of an EFL teacher’s rationales in implementing certain seating arrangements in his classrooms. Using thematic analysis, the analyzed transcript of semi-structured interview indicates that the teacher’s rationales behind a certain seating arrangement in his class are various. The teacher reveals that traditional seating is considered suitable for explaining the lesson and also catching the students’ attention whenever they do not seem to be ready to study. Meanwhile, the U-shape seating is used when he wants to help and engage the students in activities which could foster their active participation. Pair seating becomes the teacher’s choice when he wants to encourage the shy students to speak. The teacher believes that group seating is of importance to help building the students’ confidence to speak. This study implies that the seating arrangement aspect in EFL classroom management should be well considered.Keywords: EFL classroom; group seating; pair seating; seating arrangement; traditional seating; U-shape seating

Classroom Seat Proximity Predicts Friendship Formation.

The present study tests the hypothesis that friendships form on the basis of classroom seating proximity. Participants included 235 students (129 boys, 106 girls) in grades 3–5 (ages 8–11) who nominated friends at two time points (13–14 weeks apart). Teachers described seating arrangements. Concurrent analyses indicated that students sitting next to or nearby one another were more likely to receive friend nominations and be involved in reciprocated friendships than students seated elsewhere in the classroom. Longitudinal analyses indicated that classroom seating proximity was associated with the formation of new friendships. Most results for randomly selected outgoing friend nominations and randomly selected reciprocated friend dyads were replicated in analyses that included all friend nominations and all friend dyads.

Academic discipline as a moderating variable between seating location and academic performance: implications for teaching

ABSTRACT Previous research on university students’ academic performance indicates that students’ seating locations can be an indicator of their academic performance. However, previous research on the relationship between university students’ seating locations and their academic performance is mixed, and there is a lack of research about whether students’ academic discipline moderates this relationship. This study addresses this gap in the literature through a study of 182 university students in Hong Kong. Biglan categorization was used to classify disciplines into soft (a low degree of consensus) and hard fields (a high degree of consensus). The results revealed that students from soft fields who sat at the front of a class performed better than their counterparts who sat at the back, while the performance of students from hard fields was not significantly influenced by their seating location. This article’s findings suggest that classroom seating arrangements should be tailored to academic disciplines to maximize their efficacy and that universities should redesign classroom layouts to extend the experience of sitting at the front of a class to all students.

Creating an ethos for learning: classroom seating and pedagogical use of space at a Chinese suburban middle school

ABSTRACT The classroom is a crucial, everyday element of children's geographies with important socio-spatial characteristics that demand scholarly attention. This study ethnographically investigates the production of meanings in the classroom space through seating. Building on the conceptual framework of spatial dialectic (Lefebvre, H. 1991. The Production of Space. Translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith. Oxford: Blackwell), it theorizes that classroom space is a fluid process that shapes and is shaped by the everyday spatial practices of teachers and students. Specifically it draws on the fieldwork conducted at a suburban middle school in China's underdeveloped northwest region, exploring the process by which the hierarchical seating arrangements are used as a pedagogical tool for creating a charged space conducive for learning at the classroom level. The study reveals that the built space in the classroom has been transformed into a space imbued with moral terms, in and through which students are expected to commit themselves to schoolwork.

Students’ preferences for seating arrangements and their engagement in cooperative learning activities in college English blended learning classrooms in higher education

ABSTRACT Previous research has documented that seating arrangements have great impact on student's active engagement within classrooms. However, insufficient attention has been given to students’ preferences for classroom seating arrangements and their engagement in college English language blended learning classrooms in higher education. Employing questionnaire surveys and a case study method with a sample of 94 first-year college students, the present research examined how students’ preferences for seating arrangements affected their engagement in cooperative learning (CL) activities in English as a foreign language (EFL) blended learning classrooms in higher education. The analysis through a two-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) indicated that a semicircular seating arrangement was better for integrating students into the CL activities than a rows-and-columns seating arrangement in terms of communication affordance, concentration maintenance, and classroom environment. An analysis with a Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that students’ preference for the former seating type remained the same; that is, they preferred semicircular seating both before and after they had experienced both kinds of seating types because it promoted a better classroom experience. Implications for how to utilize seating arrangements to enhance student engagement in EFL blended learning classrooms in higher education are discussed.

Stability Balls and Student on-Task Behavior

Stability balls have become a common option for alternative seating in classrooms. While the social validity of stability ball classroom seating remains high among students and teachers, findings on the effectiveness of this alternative seating method are mixed. This is particularly true when the intent of the intervention is to increase student on-task behavior. This study examined the effects of stability ball seating on students’ on-task behavior in a general education setting, using a within-subjects repeated measures design. Researchers observed twenty-four third-grade students in a public-school classroom across three conditions: all chairs, all balls, or choice. Across observation days, the study controlled for time of day, teacher, and classroom environment. Results indicate students are on-task less frequently when sitting on a stability ball. Student reports on social validity replicated prior findings; students found the stability ball to be desirable and easy to use.

The impact of classroom seating location and computer use on student academic performance.

A student’s ability to learn effectively in a classroom setting is subject to many factors. While some factors are difficult to regulate, this study explores two factors that a student, or instructor, has full control over, namely 1) seating position, and 2) computer usage. Both factors have been studied considerably with regard to their effects on student performance, and the results indicate that sitting further from the instructor, or using a computer in the classroom, are related to a decline in grade performance. However, it is unclear if the choice of where to sit and whether or not to use a computer in class are mediated by the same cognitive process. If they are the same, then we would expect to see an interaction between the factors, such that, for example, computer usage would most negatively impact the grades of students who sit near the back of a class. This study aims to answer this question by looking at the individual and combined effects of seating position and computer usage on classroom performance. We sampled 1364 students, collecting nearly 3000 total responses across 5 different introductory psychology courses with 4 different instructors on 3 separate occasions. In agreement with previous research, we found that sitting further from the instructor negatively impacted students' grades (0.75 percentage points/row), and using a computer in class negatively impacted grades (by 3.88 percentage points). Our novel finding is that these deleterious effects combined in an additive manner, such that using a computer had the same harmful effect on grade performance regardless of whether the student sat at the front or back of the classroom.

Statistical Analysis of Students’ Behavioral and Attendance Habits in Engineering Education

This study aims at quantifying the relationship between the marks of students and their seating position in the classroom. The study is cross-sectional, quantitative, observational, and correlational. It analyzed data collected throughout two academic years about the students’ marks (in different terms, courses, and degrees) and about their daily seating position (so, every change was recorded) for both theory and practice lessons. The quantitative data collected in the study was statistically analyzed. The main result is that the seating position is significantly correlated with the marks in the studied context (engineering schools with classrooms with 5-66 students). Other side results show a positive influence on marks of working alone with respect to sharing the computer with a classmate; indicate where do students who give up the course usually sit, and when in the academic term do, they give up. This article provides empirical data with regards to the relation between classroom seating and academic performance in engineering schools. The results obtained quantify this relation, but they cannot determine whether it is causal, consequential, or both. This study complements other studies that correlated motivation with seating preferences.