Class Calm

There was a memorable incident for me in the 2018-2019 school year. About three minutes into first period I heard a commotion out in the hall. Upon opening the door I saw two tenth graders in a fist fight. Fortunately the dean had already arrived and was beginning to gain control. Later, I gently inquired with the teacher and learned that the two students had a disagreement over a particular desk. I asked if her if she used a seating chart and the answer was no.

Although I didn’t say anything, her answer confirmed for me that a seating chart is necessary. This is confirmed by research. A 2012 study looked at the issue of teacher selected seating versus student selected seating. If you scroll down to the results section, you will find that there were markedly fewer discipline problems when there was a seating chart as opposed to students selecting their own seats. This held for both individual seating formats and group seating. Although this study was conducted on fifth grade students, I cannot imagine why things would be much different at the high school level.

Finally, there is ongoing debate about group seating (‘clusters’) versus individual seating, typically in rows. There are pros and cons for each option. And of course, there are other popular arrangements such as the semi-circle. A study summarized here says that the seating chart can be partly determined by the task but again notes that using rows leads to fewer discipline problems than group arrangements. In a science or art class the classroom is often furnished with a set of tables so rows are not an option. The first linked study in this post points out that some students perform better in group seating. So, at times there might be a tradeoff between better discipline and performance. Regardless, either way you are assigning seats and you end up with fewer problems.

In my experience most schools leave it up to the teacher as to whether or not to implement a seating chart. If so, do not be afraid to impose authority in your class through a seating chart or any other legal means. You are not running a democracy. Done with a calm and assured tone of voice, your decisions will be respected and you will have fewer discipline problems on your hands.