Teaching style and classroom seating arrangements in East Tennessee middle schools

Teaching styles studied were the four identified by Joyce and Weil (1972). Seating arrangements studied were rows and files, circle, horseshoe shaped, small groups, and individual separation from the class. The frequency of the use of seating charts, the number of seating pattern changes, and the use of seating pattern changes for the reasons of personal need, discipline, and academic ability were also measured.

Teaching style was measured by the Teaching Style Questionnaire developed by Heikkinen (1977). An original instrument, the Classroom Seating Arrangement Questionnaire, was developed by the author to measure teachers' use of seating arrangements and their rationale for such use.

The sample population consisted of 30 selected East Tennessee middle schools. The principals of these schools were requested to systematically distribute the instrument to ten teachers. Of the 300 questionnaires distributed, 189 were returned.

Using frequency counts and chi square statistical procedures, it was found that:

1. Information Processing style teachers were the largest group (67), followed by Social Interaction style (54), Behavior Modification (19), and Personal Sources (2). Forty-seven teachers were not identifiable.

2. Most teachers did not change seating patterns frequently on a daily or weekly basis, but did change seating patterns on a monthly basis.

3. Most teachers used a seating chart to take roll either daily or not at all.

4. Most teachers permitted students to sit where the students preferred but 22 percent never permitted students a choice of seats.

5. Most teachers assigned seats on at least a yearly basis. Only 15 percent never assigned seats.

6. Most teachers assigned seats for the reason of personal needs, rather than for the reasons of disciplinary action or academic ability.

7. When seating arrangements were examined on a daily basis, the use of rows and files was the most common, followed by small groups, a horseshoe shape, and the circle.

8. Most of the sample rarely used one small group or individual isolation techniques.

9. Of the 13 hypotheses tested none were significant at the .05 level. However, there were a large number of Information Processing style teachers who used the seating pattern of rows and files on a daily to weekly basis. Information Processing style teachers also used seating charts more than any other group.

In summary, the actual distribution of teaching styles and the frequency of various seating arrangements were measured in a large sample of East Tennessee middle schools. The relationships between teaching style and classroom seating patterns were examined. It was found that teaching style does influence classroom seating patterns but not at the .05 level of significance.