Psychological Effects on Perimeter Seating in the Classroom
A classroom seating arrangement in which all of the seats are arranged around the perimeter of the classroom is called a "perimeter" seating arrangement. This seating arrangement is also known as "horseshoe" or "semi-circle" seating and has a number of interesting psychological effects on the students in the classroom.
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Interaction
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With the desks arranged around the perimeter of the room, every student is given a view of the instructor and a view of his fellow students. This shifts the focus of the class from strictly teacher-student interaction to a teacher-student and student-student interaction. This type of layout is ideal for courses that wish to facilitate student-student interaction, but may cause undesired student-student interaction during times when teacher-student interaction is desired.
Participation Frequency
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In Robert Sommer's study "Personal Space," he found that students who sit in the front and center rows of a classroom participate more than other students. He extended this study to perimeter-style seating arrangements and found that "students sitting directly across from the teacher were the most frequent participants." Students who sat to the left and right of the teacher were less likely to participate in the classroom activities, regardless of their previous participation patterns.
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Student Preference/Class Enjoyment
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A study by James McCorskey and Rod McVetta found that student desk arrangement preferences vary depending on the type of course being taken. They found that students preferred "the more interaction-restricting, traditional seating arrangement for required courses" and "the more interaction enhancing horseshoe ... arrangements for elective courses." It can be inferred, then, that a student who is placed in her preferred desk arrangement will enjoy the class more and, inversely, a student placed in the less preferred seating arrangement will enjoy the class less.
Teacher Control
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With the desks arranged around the perimeter of the classroom, all eyes are on the teacher and the teacher can clearly see each and every student. Making the teacher the center of the classroom's focus, exposing every student to his gaze and giving the teacher the ability to move easily throughout the room establishes the teacher's authority. While working in this "exposed" seating arrangement, students are less likely to slack off for fear of their instructor's catching them.
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