The Back Row...
What do you do to keep the students in the back row as engaged as the students in the front?
Thanks for sharing your experiences with "back row" students. It is sometimes difficult to know what to do with students who are adults, but who appear to be acting as if they were still in high school. I do not assign seats, but I will on some class days "surprise" the students by asking them to sit next to someone they have never sat next to before, or ask the students to rotate rows--back comes to the front, etc. This tends to shake things up a bit and gets students out of their immediate "comfort zone," even if only for one class period. I will definitely incorporate some of your strategies in the future.
Hi Bert,
I understand you have to work with what you have. I teach in a shared room as well so I work around the arrangements so I can teach in a style that is supportive of my students and their learning preferences. Not ideal but works in the setting in which I teach. Being flexible is the key when it comes to teaching.
Gary
Hi Bert,
You are keeping your students aware of where you are at in the classroom with this method. This will keep them focused on the content of the course and not what they are "finding" on their screens.
Gary
I share my classroom with other instructors from different departments though Gary and by taking the time to do that would use 10-15 mins of my 50 min class time. Plus other instructors may not care for the arrangement.
I like to lecture from the back of the room. Students are allowed to bring laptops into the class and many use them to take notes on during lecture. However, there are those that like to do other things while class is going so I lecture from the back and move to the front when I share a personal experience or want to make a point or use the board. The students know me for this and therefore do not "surf" the web while in my class. I have been known to check a computer or two and see what has been minimized in the task bar....sneaky me.
Sometimes it makes sense to walk around a bit. If you can, give the lecture from the back row.
I have organised the students into groups in the classroom to work on an in-class assignment, requiring the back-row students to move forward. Then after the assignment is done, keep them in place.
I am a big fan of the horse shoe approach. it allows everyone to have some line of sight and encourages engagement of all.
Hi Loren,
Tricky! It shows the students that you are aware of how and where they are positioning themselves. The use of the board room style is something I like as well. It keeps everyone up front and involved.
Gary
On day one I let the students sit wherever they like. What they don't know is that I have the room set up backwards. The back row is actually the front. When I arrive in the classroom I have them all turn their chairs around and face what they thought was the back of the room.
After day one I go with a board room style U shaped seating arrangement, that way there is no back row and everyone understands that there is no hiding in the back to avoid being part of the class.
I always try to keep a central aisle-way open so when I am lecturing, I can walk up and down to make eye contact with every student.
Hi Ralph,
All good points about the positive parts of moving around the classroom. I would add one additional one. When students move their gaze from one place to another their brains take a mini-break. This mini-break enables them to reset their thinking and even though it is only for a second or two it is enough for them to refresh and be ready for the next point the instructor is going to make. With a constant gaze to the front of the room their eyes and heads never move and their brains slip into neutral.
Gary
By walking around in the classroom as you instruct you eliminate the back row. It also keeps your students attention focused on you as you walk. Students have a problem staying focused, looking straight ahead for the length of the class. It's boring. Walking through the room also allows you to ensure they are not texting on there phones, sleeping, or are engaged in non course activities.
Bob, I like the idea of having students move their chairs so they can see you at the back of the room.
Sometimes I ask the student in the back row to move forward. I might put the students in group projects or call on the student during a presentation. Walking around the classroom also helps to keep the student engaged.
Yes, always moving around really negates the "back row" hiding places.
Hi Bob,
I put my chairs in a horseshoe shape to get maximum eye contact plus put everyone on the front row. You expressed it well in terms of how to use seating as point of interaction and cooperation. I use group work a lot so I am moving the students which requires they move their chairs into their groups. This creates new dynamics of interaction so seating is not a real issue as you say.
Gary
I am not concerned with where people sit but am with who they sit by. The back row is not always the shy, retiring student row. It just may be students that like the back row. I stand in the middle of the class at times and talk while turning slow circles, I might change the order of seats, I might ask them to sit with someone they don't know, or to just stand at the back of the class, have them move their chairs to the other side of the table and the back becomes the front. Don't make an issue where one need not exist. I am more flexible than the students for movement and involvement.
I like that idea...reassign on the second day depending on the terrain...
