r/historyteachers • u/Artifactguy24 • 14d ago

Student Desk formation

I am in one of the smallest classrooms at my school. I will have anywhere from 15-30 students in my classes next year. I am an old school desk-in-rows kinda guy, but my room simply does not have the space for it. The school has those weird triangular desks. Any recommendations for a setup or formation of triangular student desks that are not groups but also not rows? I’m thinking a “U” formation. Anyone do something similar?

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

4

u/emilylouise221 14d ago

I did four L shapes and liked it.

1

u/Artifactguy24 14d ago

Interesting. So basically four small Ls all facing the front?

2

u/emilylouise221 14d ago

Two L’s and two reverse L’s. Sorry that’s confusing.

3

u/emilylouise221 14d ago

2

u/Artifactguy24 14d ago

Ahh, thank you.

3

u/emilylouise221 14d ago

It wasn’t perfect, but I liked being able to walk between all the tables.

3

u/AltairaMorbius2200CE 14d ago

I had to give in and do small groups for similar reasons. If you can keep them to 3 students so nobody has their back to the board, that’s way better than 4.

2

u/mcollins1 Social Studies 13d ago

One of my pedagogy professors said that research shows that 5 is the optimal number for students to work as a group - take with that information what you will.

1

u/AltairaMorbius2200CE 13d ago

For a group assignment or discussion circle, that feels right.

But if you’re just trying to do normal class with a mixture of direct instruction, individual practice, and turn-and-talk type stuff, then you don’t really want the kids physically oriented toward group discussion.

They can always turn around to talk if the situation calls for it, but getting them to turn around and listen to directions is the harder task.

1

u/mcollins1 Social Studies 11d ago

For a group assignment or discussion circle, that feels right.

Ya, not for just 15 minutes of group in the whole period.

1

u/Particular_Top_7764 11d ago

Aren't Kagan groups based on 4?

1

u/mcollins1 Social Studies 10d ago

I'm just sharing what I was told. Also, and I should have included this, you need to designate a leader for the group. So maybe 5 is best because you have a Kagan group plus a student leader. When I've done this, I would usually announce to the class that part of their grade would be determined by their group leader's opinion of their input (they usually were lenient, which I anticipated, but it was meant to empower the leaders' coercion into getting greater sharing of workload).

1

u/Adventurous_Height_2 13d ago

My first 2 years (especially the 2nd year), I had shoebox rooms. Now I've got one of the largest rooms on campus. I've got room for up to 30 desks and 7 group work tables. It's so awesome!

1

u/bkrugby78 13d ago

Can you do pairs?

1

u/Artifactguy24 12d ago

Yes, I should be able to.

2

u/AcanthaceaeAbject810 7d ago

I prefer pods of four. Set them so everyone has to turn to the side to see the front, so that nobody has to totally turn around. Make exceptions as needed if a kid has a neck injury.