First day of class
What are your thoughts about assigning seats for students prior to their first day of the class?
I totally agree with that because many times the syudents have formed a support group of other students around them that they study with. I only move or assign students to seats if I have a problem with talking in the class, or if the students sit really far apart from each other. I normally encourage them to try different sitting in the room before doing this.
Mark,
It is important to set a tone of support and comfort for students the first day of class. By letting them get settled in and doing an introductory ice breaker you establish a level of acceptance that shows your students you care about them and their future.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have been teaching for some time and I feel that a student will feel more comfortable with friends around them, your teaching strength should be to keep them on track and learning/ when or if this situation does not work, then intervention and assigning seats must happen for you to teach
Mike,
The results will be well worth the effort in setting the stage for a successful course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This sounds like an amazing thing to do in an effort to build new relationships. There is a lot a person can learn in these kinds of environments.
Brian,
I think this is a very smart thing to do based upon the results you are getting. We all need to learn to work with others because that is going to be the case out in the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm an instructor with students from many different backgrounds and nations. Using the students' own biographies, we use these distinctions and purposefully assign seating so students from the same nation, agency or corporation aren't sitting together. The level of student-to-student interaction increases dramatically as they learn from others with dissimilar backgrounds.
William,
It all depends on how you conduct the class. I don't assign seats before the first class meeting and sometimes I don't assign them for the course. Other times depending on the behavior of the students and how I use small groups I will assign seats. The reason I don't assign seats before the first class is that I like to let the students "float" in and take their seats. This way I get a read on cliques, cohorts and the general dynamics of the class. I go from there in how I am going to locate the students throughout the class for the duration of the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
