Student Choice in Classroom Organization

Being in the thick of transitioning to a workshop model can be overwhelming and tiring.

My students have been working hard (often quietly and independently) and I have been working to conference with at least two students a day (who was I kidding to think I could reach upwards of five in one block?). We were settling into a routine and that terrible Specter of Perceived Rigor started looming again.

So I decided to change things up.

Twitter has been a great forum to gain ideas from other educators, and so many have been championing and sharing their stories of student voice and choice (such as @CRCarter313 at the elementary level). I acknowledge that I have been hanging onto control for a while (including desks in rows and silent workshop time), which is why I began the move to workshop to begin with: it’s about my students, not me.

THE SHAKE-UP

Last Friday, I tasked each of my classes to rearrange the room in a way that worked best for them.

I have two sections of Honors English 9 (with a Gifted Support co-teacher three days a week) and one section of Academic/Regular/College-Prep English 10 (with a Special Education co-teacher every day). Students knew our procedures (15 minutes of independent choice reading, 20 minutes of a teacher-led mini-lesson, and 45 minutes of workshop where we can conference, trouble-shoot, and reteach). We reminded them of our procedures, told them the teacher desks and bookshelves had to stay where they were (for outlet/power/phone access and weight concerns, respectively), but everything else (most notably the individual student desks) could be moved as necessary.

My co-teachers and I stepped back and watched.

The process of who led, who spoke, who was okay with any arrangement, and who made requests was fascinating (and we did a minor debrief on this afterwards). Below are our three designs.

ANOTHER NEW ROUTINE

Now, as students walk in to begin independent reading, they work together to rearrange the desks to fit their class design, get settled, and jump into reading. This allows some movement and socialization at the start of the class, and I hope it helps students feel at home in their classroom.

Today (Monday) marks only the first full day (after the process of figuring out the arrangement on Friday).

Each class leaves their arrangement and the incoming block moves the desks from the previous block’s arrangement to their design. If we need to make changes as we move forward, we will (whether I get a brainstorm or the students want a change).

I also allowed students to select their own seats, which was a huge risk (I felt) on my part.

Of course, students generally gravitated toward friends, but after one day, the friendly chatter and banter does not seem to be negatively impacting work.

NOISE DURING WORKSHOP

This new arrangement has allowed for a bit more student talk during workshop. However, I was shocked to hear my students discussing their independent assignments with one another, sharing Greek myths before they present (9^th graders) or discussing government surveillance as presented in our Document-Based Questions (10^th graders).

I am open to allowing students to talk and feel at home and (hopefully) collaborate (rather than meander off on tangents). I hope this will build community and a sense of belonging and comfort, which will increase student motivation and interest.

SEATING AND WORKSHOP

I like that I waited seven weeks before asking students to rearrange the seats. They know our classroom policies, routines, procedures, and work. Although they may now be choosing to sit near friends, they also know what is expected of them in class to improve their reading and writing skills. In this regard, asking them to rearrange the room becomes an extension of their current work in class.

I fear that if I would have done this from Day 1, students may not know what to expect in terms of who they could or should sit by. Some students like choosing a single desk, or a small group, or putting a couple seats between themselves and others. One student having a bad day chose to move over a few seats to just have some alone time. Our established routines hopefully will encourage students to use our seating to their benefit and focus (and we’re always there to make suggestions and swoop in when necessary).

Thank you to those educators who champion student voice and choice—I’m honored and excited to be learning from you!