One of the most important decisions that teachers make at the start of the school year—and continue to consider throughout the year—is the classroom layout and seating arrangements. Where each student sits can affect how they focus and learn, and the layout of the classroom can contribute to the overall learning environment.
Some educators assign seats at the start of the year to help them learn students’ names; while others wait to see student dynamics and then intentionally move seats around. While keeping students’ desks in lined-up rows may help minimize distraction, it doesn’t always allow for natural collaboration. Instead, some educators implement flexible seating models.
Flexible classrooms include areas with multiple seats for groups and areas for sitting alone, as well as a variety of chairs with different heights. Some classrooms also have exercise balls, wobble stools, and wooden T stools as seating options. By allowing this adaptable learning environment, students can start to make decisions about how and where they learn best, giving them agency over their educational space, advocates argue.
However, some education leaders have said flexible seating can be disruptive and argue that there is no research to back the claim that flexible seating is helpful for student learning. “While flexible seating may have become more popular in schools, it may not be for everyone,” the National Education Association said in a statement. “But some elementary school teachers have noticed that it increases student engagement and reduces behavioral issues.”
In a recent social media post, Education Week asked: What’s your strategy for assigning seats? Sixty percent of respondents said behavioral pairing, while 25% voted for random student choice, and 7% said alphabetical order. (The rest said they do something else.)
Respondents expanded on their polling responses in the comments. The following responses have been edited lightly for length and clarity.
Some students benefit from assigned seating
I let them sit wherever, so I see who is trouble, then adjust after enough time has passed. I’ll see the friend groups and those that are struggling but are afraid to sit in a more conducive learning area. It’s never solid. It’s constant adjusting.
I let students choose their own seats for the first two weeks. It shows who works well together and who needs separation.
I sort the students into lists of students that need to be separated and then spread them out around the room. Also, I make a list of students that can sit anywhere and not be distracted and spread them out, too.
Other students benefit from choosing their classroom seat
I have done behavioral pairing, but I have also used other strategies. For instance, my 7th grade math class is absolutely wonderful, so we used a white elephant technique to pick their seats. They loved that they had options.
One of my son’s teachers did things related and connected to social justice, and students got to choose who they wanted to be that day (for example, the activist table). And they got to choose and re-choose every so often.
Students need choice, and there are some who may not comply with the choice! At that point, it is necessary to change their choice!
