When teaching adult learners, classroom management is all about creating the best environment for learning. Once you've done all you can to make sure your room is comfortable (lighting and temperature) and you have everything you need (electricity, internet, equipment and supplies, etc.), it's worth it to take the time to look at the classroom setup. There are certainly times when we don't have many choices in how the room is arranged, but it's still useful to know the pros and cons of different types of configurations. How your classroom is set up can have a big affect on attention and participation. In the days when I was working in a classroom full-time, I liked to move around a lot to keep people's attention on me and make sure everyone was on task. I also liked to incorporate activities that required students to work in pairs or small groups. Later when I was providing training on job sites, I had to work with the setup that was available. That could mean everything from the employee lunchroom to a boardroom to a gymnasium. I had rotating video components, lecture/demonstration components and a skill practice sessions to present all in the same room. Once I had to move the skill practices out into a stairwell because the training room was filled with a giant board table. The noisiest class I ever organized was on the main floor of an NBA arena. We played the video component on the giant screen above the scoreboard. Flexibility and good planning is the name of the game.
If you are a presenter at a PTG annual Technical Institute, you'll usually have a choice of the first two styles described below.
Theater style - Rows of chairs are arranged for viewing a lecture or visual presentation. You can accommodate the largest number of people with this arrangement, but it is not very useful for student participation and those in the back of the room may be at a disadvantage when it comes to seeing or hearing everything. Try arranging the rows in a wide V or chevron shape to increase visibility.
Traditional classroom style - This is one of the most common patterns, but not always the best for interaction. Students sit in groups behind small tables facing the front of the room. It lends itself well to small group activities.
Horseshoe shape - This works well for a small group of 10-15. Students can easily interact, plus you'll have a space at the front for visuals or a presenter. This would be a good setup for doing a demonstration, too. The U-shaped arrangement is similar, but with tables in the middle. The tables may restrict participation among the group as a whole.
Cabaret style - Students sit at round tables facing a presenter or visuals. This is learner-centered and works well with small group activities.The presenter may have less control and less eye contact among students.
Boardroom style - Everyone is grouped around a large table or group of tables put together in the middle of the room. This works well for roundtable discussions and decision-making, but is not too useful for small group work.
Combination - Different teaching strategies used during the class may work better if you can have more than one seating arrangement. Space may be an issue, though, and it takes time to transition students from one area to another.
When deciding what arrangement to use, ask yourself:
How many participants do you need to accommodate?
Do participants need a writing surface?
Will participants be working in small groups?
Do you have visuals or a speaker that everyone needs to see and hear?
Is it important that everyone be able to see each other?
Will you be using a variety of teaching strategies that require different room arrangements?