Redesigns to Reignite Efficient Learning

I have a bad habit when it comes to my classroom that involves multiple rearrangements throughout the school year. My poor students walk into my room, let out a sigh, and ask if I really moved desks around again. I am constantly trying to find the most efficient and practical setup that allows me to transition seamlessly between whole group and small group while trying to create a space that feels open without feeling distant.

The image above is how my classroom was set up the majority of last year. With this arrangement, I was able to make sure all students were able to view the board without having to turn and twist their bodies while also making it easy to turn to their neighbor for discussions. For larger groups, some pairs would turn their chairs to partner up with the group behind them to make a foursome. The main drawback, however, was the lack of space that I had to move around. My classes have anywhere between 20 and 25 students, so trying to fit every desk in an organized fashion meant that I had to limit the space between them. I also found that the desks would shift towards the end of the day after having multiple classes come through, so there was a constant need to realign them throughout the day. There was a time where I laid down some tape to mark where the desks should go in order to make it easier to move them back to their original location, but that tape was quickly tattered and useless. The placement of my teacher desk was also an issue. Whenever I was at my desk, there was no way to easily see what everyone was doing, especially if we were on chromebooks.

When I was thinking about how to redesign the space, which can be seen above, my main focus was to retain the group aspects I currently had or improve it while trying to remedy the issues I had with spacing. I did not want my groups to be over four students; I feel anything over that creates too much of a distraction and can make it more likely for side conversations to occur. An issue with groups of four, however, is that one section of the group has to constantly turn their entire self around during whole group instruction so they can see the board. To try and combat this, I angled the groups in a way where each group member has to turn no more than 90 degrees to view the board. This allows everyone in the group a chance to see the board easily while still keeping the desk in front of them for easy note taking. Additionally, the larger desk clusters make it more difficult for the desks to shift throughout the day and create more space between groups for me to float around and provide support when needed. Lastly, I moved my teacher desk to the back corner of the room, creating the feel of a more inclusive environment compared to when my desk was on the side of the room making it seem separate from the class.

Looking forward to the next school year, I am excited to try this out and see how my students respond to it. This greater focus on grouping should let me better implement constructivist techniques during class with a focus in social learning, collaboration, and varying between both individual and group assessments. My hopes are to take a bigger step towards implementing a math workshop model in my instruction, and this new design should make that shift feel more natural and purposeful.