Ditch the Seating Plan: The Benefits of “Free Choice” Seats
In the days leading up to the first days of school, I am printing labels for hallway hooks and birthday pencils, writing names on candles for our birthday display, and writing names on the front of student notebooks. The one thing you won’t find me doing is creating name tags for the desks. I don’t have seating plans.
Of course, I used to have seating plans. Every class I’d ever had as a student had assigned seating. Even in university, some professors used seating charts. I have worked with other teachers who use seating plans. All these experiences made it seem necessary.
Having one for the first day of school is the easiest: stick the names on the desk in alphabetical order. Then, adjusting became progressively more complicated as I would try to position the students in the best possible place for learning. I even thought I was giving the kids agency by submitting to me who they wanted to sit next to and one person they would rather not sit next to. It was eye-opening to the relationships in the class but still made figuring out the seating chart a time-consuming endeavor and took away from my precious prep time.
The way I see it, the kids in my class spend a lot of time with me, but they spend more time with each other. They have specialists and recess. They have birthday parties outside of school. In some cases, they have been together since kindergarten (sometimes even earlier). They know each other. They have their own dynamic, and no matter how much time I spend observing and talking to them, I will not be able to tap into that. Honestly, that’s the way it should be.
We frequently talk about giving students agency through choice. What better way to provide that agency than by allowing them to choose their classroom neighbors?
So, if you feel like you have too many balls in the air, this might be one you can stop trying to juggle. You may have heard about Nora Roberts’s Glass Ball Theory. You can view a new seating plan as a plastic ball, or you could just take the ball out of play. I promise with a bit of setup, you can allow your kids to sit where they want and still keep learners focused while freeing up some planning time for the 1,001 other tasks a teacher needs to complete.
I should clarify that I am not talking about flexible seating. The seating options in my class are limited aside from the carpet and a couple of bean bags. The kids might choose to work in either of those spots for certain tasks, but they usually work at the tables and chairs. I have never worked in a classroom with a lot of alternative seating. Having offered “free choice” seats for a while now, I could happily move to flexible seating.
So how do I make this work?
Things to Consider
Where will students keep supplies if they don’t have a set desk? I have tables and chairs in my classroom and have had them at most of my schools. My students keep their supplies in a central location and only bring what they need to their desks. Currently, my students have folders, but, depending on the size of my room, I have cubbies and Ikea bins. I have also known teachers to organize everything into class piles and have a student distribute notebooks. The key is to find a system that works for you so you can establish routines for getting and returning supplies.
During social-distancing requirements, this looked different: kids kept their supplies with them (no sharing), and the students had to stay in one spot for the day. It was weird, but I still let them choose where that was each day as the custodians disinfected our desks each night.
Allow yourself some flexibility to accommodate students who might need set habits to feel ready to learn. Some might need to sit in the same spot every day. I have provided “spots” for children who needed them, though the other kids mostly seem to respect this without any intervention from me.
Setting expectations
The first time I decided to try “free choice” seating, it was not at the beginning of the year. No matter the time of year, though, the conversation will be similar.
During our morning meeting on the carpet, I explain that we are going to change how we sit in the classroom. We review the purpose of coming to school and the class agreements. Then I will ask the kids to think about what they need to be able to learn and do their best. Some questions I have them consider: Do they need quiet? Do they work better when they are sitting with their friends? Does this change depending on what they are doing? Is sitting next to your best friend going to help you follow our class agreements better or worse?
Once the kids have shared some ideas, I let them know they will be able to sit where they want. If they choose to sit where they are distracting others or are frequently off-task, I can ask them to switch seats.
Of course, at the beginning of the year, the students will sit next to their friends and maybe make poor choices in this regard. On the first day of school, I let this slide. If I notice any issues as the school year progresses, I talk to those kids separately. When necessary, I will assist in trading places with another student to provide space for students who need to move. Honestly, though, I rarely have to move a student.
Cons
At the start of the school year, it can take a little longer to learn the kids’ names. Without a seating plan to refer to, I don’t have a cheat sheet. One way I have solved this is to have the kids make their own name tags that can move with them. During the morning meeting, I have also made it a game where I have to remember all the kids' names going around the circle. When I finally get all of them by maybe the third or fourth day, they are very excited.
Pros
I often create student pairs using my random reporter sticks. The kids pair off and find a place to work. No one is upset that someone else is sitting in their spot. Kids aren’t trying to get things from their desks while another kid sits at them. Everyone can just find a place to work.
I can rearrange math and word-work groups easily. Since they are already used to moving about the class, there is little fuss about having to move tables. I don’t have to waste brainpower figuring out the secret recipe for who needs to sit where. Most of the time, things work out on their own. I can address any problems on an individual basis.
Giving students the freedom to choose their seat scaffolds student responsibility for their learning. I have had students work with different kids for different subjects, choose to move away from friends, and solve interpersonal problems independently. Making mistakes in a safe place with a grownup around who can help them resolve their conflicts if needed is how students learn to navigate the world.
It’s one less label I need to print, cut, laminate, and cut again. This might seem small, but it’s nice to have one less thing on my to-do list at the beginning of the year.
Finally, having no seating chart builds trust between my students and me because I am telling them that I trust them to make good choices, that I believe they are good learners and want to be here.
The great thing is, that you can try it at any point. If you dread having to redo the seating plan, why not try having the kids choose their own seats? You can always reinstate the seating plan if problems arise.