One of the things that our Logistics teacher emphasizes more is the layout of the classroom – as well as our group layouts. So trying to find which layout would be the best, I have found that there is no a perfect layout, because each of them are useful for different situations, and its election depend on what do you want to transmit and on how do you want to do it.
Traditional classroom (Medium group involvement)
In a tradional class all the desks are facing the chalkboard and teachers desk. The layout is suitable for teacher centered classes such as lectures.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Good view of the front of the room | Hard for instructor to move into the audience |
| Allows the instructor a great deal of control over the students | Loss of attention in the last rows |
| Provides space for writting or using a computer |
U-shaped (High group involvement)
For smaller classes that want more interaction between the student and educator, a U-Shaped layout is a better option.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Easy to see and hear everyone in the group | Requires a lot of space |
| Encourages unity and participation | Can only be applied in small groups |
Circle arrangements (High group involvement)
Desks or chairs arranged in a circle or half circle promote community and encourage all students to participate.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| People are unobstructed and can speak directly to each other | Can only be applied in small groups |
| Creates equality among the group, with no designated “leader” position | Not conducive to visual aids or digital presentations |
If you want to know more about this and find variations of the presented layout do not hesitate to visit the source:
http://blog.ampli.com/2014/03/classroom-layouts-seating-arrangements-for-effective-learning.html
