1.1 Different classroom layouts

I always work in the same room with the same layout. It feels a little boring. I wonder if a shake-up would wake my class up a little.

Aim

To experiment with different arrangements of seats and tables/desks.

Introduction

The way your classroom is arranged has a direct impact on what you can do and how you do it. The traditional classroom layout with rows of fixed desks all facing the front may be appropriate for teacher-fronted explanations, board work and quiet individual work, but is arguably less suitable for communicative or task-based work.

A teacher needs to keep in mind the possibility of occasionally changing the seating arrangements. Sometimes this will happen because you need to do so for a specific activity. At other times, change for its own sake may be justification enough. From the learners’ perspective, having a new view, new eye contact, and new people next to them may, in a small way, help to keep their interest alive and motivation higher.

Some classrooms have furniture that is fixed to the floor, and, in such cases, one can only play around with how that is used. However, many rooms have seats and desks that can be moved – though it might seem noisy or troublesome to do so. (See 1.3 Avoiding chaos when rearranging the room for ideas on how to avoid such disruption.)