CLASSROOM SETUP:

SEATING & APPROPRIATE

DECOR

Mike Kranick

&

Matt Frutchey

TO BEGIN

Our Objective:
Inform

you, based on research done in the field, on

the best ways to set up and decorate a classroom
across the subject areas.

What have your experiences been?

Seating

charts: Good, Bad, and/or Ugly?

Classroom decorations: Helpful? Distracting?

What are your predictions based on your

preferences?

DECORATING? WHY BOTHER?!

Unattractive rooms (2)

Discontent,

fatigue, desire to escape

Aspects of classroom (2)

Climate

Wall/Decorations

color palette
Adjustable lighting system
Seating

Select/Hang aesthetically pleasing posters (2)

Increases

visual interests in room

Influence students
Attitudes
Behaviors
Attendance
Participation
Rapport

POSTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

What the research says...TIPS (1)

Hang

posters to peak students curiosity and

motivation to learn more about science, content,
inquiry, and careers (2)
Create an atmosphere to reframe students mindsets
Physical/Mental transition from previous class
Shows teachers care of student learning engagement

Be

selective about posters, especially with respect to

the type and size of the imagery as well as the quantity
of explanatory text (3)
Most designed to communicate content in isolation
Teacher perspective=limits ability for poster instruction
Text=transferred to verbal memory, must be processed by
visual working memory=COMPETITION
Decrease extraneous cognitive load/increase germane kiad

POSTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

(CONT.)

Rotate your posters between units to keep visual aids

relevant, emphasize inter-unit connections and promote
student questions (4)
Enlivens

room
Intentional (At the Ready!)

Supports instruction with imagery

Showcase

Concept/road map

Rotate your posters within a unit to motivate student

attention and emphasize key content (5)
Cues,

linkage between concepts

signposts, segues to create content flow

Hang posters to provide on-topic targets for students

wandering minds (6)
Competition

for students limited cognitive resources

30-40% of daily-life thoughts are off-task

Great

posters attract/retain student attention

POSTER VIDEO!!!

https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AITMUJfR4H4
First

day project- Student expectations of:

Teacher
Themselves

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

What the research says

Rows

are best for on-task behavior, work quality and

quantity, and makes it inconvenient to interact with
peers.

If students are working on individual assignments, they

should be seat in an arrangement that makes interacting
with their peers inconvenient and apparent to teachers
(Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008).

Rows

vs. Groups

According to Wannarka & Ruhl (2008) they admit when

interaction is desired, moving the desks (if possible) is fine
to form groups.
Rows: Quality & Quantity Groups: Quality

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

What the research says

Rows

or a U-shaped layout (study done with tabletarm style desks) had students feel the most at ease.

Rows of Desks > Rows of Tables

Tables with chairs layout and cluster layout resulted in the
least at ease.
Personal space essential

Students may feel confined and unable to spread out their

belongings due to perceived social norms (Burgess & Kaya,
2007).

Again, cluster or group layouts did perform best with

interaction
Students faced each other, little need to physically move

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

Another way to implement and blend methods:

Secondary

Ed. Seating Arrangement

REFERENCES

Burgess, B. & Kaya, N. (2007). Gender differences in student

attitude for seating layout in college classrooms. College
Student Journal, 41(4), 940-946.
Hubentha, M., OBrien, T. (2009). Revisiting your classrooms
walls: the pedagogical power of posters. Iris Consortium,
Education and Outreach Program. University of
Binghamton,
School of education.
Wannarka, R., & Ruhl, K. (2008) Seating arrangements that
promote positive academic and behavioural outcomes: a review of
empirical research. Support for Learning, 23(2),
89-93.