Running head: EFFECTS OF CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT & BEHAVIOR 1

The Effects of Physical Classroom Arrangement on Children Behavior

Kelsi Weakley

University of Memphis EDPR 7521

Summer 2017
Effects of classroom arrangement and behavior 2

The Effects of Physical Classroom Arrangement on Children Behavior

Today’s society is filled with distractions; cell phones, social media, extracurricular

events, and students fall victim to these inside the classroom as well. Students are among the

most vulnerable when it comes to distractions and this often proves to be a bigger issue if their

learning environment poses obstacles. The way the class is physically arranged or if there are

objects or equipment found in close proximity to the child adds to the disruption. Although

some students are predisposed to being easily distracted, the environment they are in can either

animate or discourage these students from being easily derailed from their tasks. In a study

performed by the University of Salford School of the Built Environment, research showed that

various factors of the physical learning environment proved to have a positive and negative

correlation to the overall impact related to successful learning (Vanhemert 2013). The purpose

of this proposed study is to explore what arrangement is most beneficial to encouraging a

successful learning environment as well as which factors should be eliminated to limit distraction

for the student.

There are several ideas regarding how a classroom should be arranged and what learning

objects are helpful for students to have access to within the classroom. In Designing Classrooms

to Maximize Student Achievement, the importance of both the physical environment including the

facilities as well as the symbolic environment such as learning objects are discussed revealing

the importance both have on student achievements. Structural elements such as lighting and

comfortability can influence students’ ability to learn effectively (Cheryan, Ziegler, Plaut, &

Meltzoff, 2014). Structural elements that can be controlled by the instructor can have a

significant impact on learning. Adequate lighting, appealing instructional material on the walls,

ergonomic tables and chairs and a comfortable temperature are some of the mentioned variables
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in the current literature of the physical environment that impact students and their learning

process (Vanhemert, 2013). Materialistic items found in the classroom should enhance the

learning process when in use but should not be a distraction when not being utilized. Students

should become comfortable with learning environments that focus on a centralized task and

directs attention towards these goals. One study suggested that for children at the kindergarten

level, age-related distractions such as their peers were common and expected due to their age,

however classrooms decorated with visuals provided an added distraction increasing the level of

difficulty for the student to focus their attention and complete a task (Hoffman, 2014). While

this study only looked at a targeted group of students, the principle applies to all students. Visual

stimuli can be supportive for certain subjects and are necessary in appropriate situations,

however, overuse of these objects can be overwhelming and hinder the student from achieving at

a higher level if distracting.

Earlier research (Alward, 1973) looked at the arrangement of the classroom in relation to

the activities such as work stations and educational assignments. This study observed children

and how they interact when placed in different activities and how their surroundings were

utilized or hindered them from completing these tasks. While one arrangement may prove

beneficial for one task, such as a circular grouping of chairs for reading, a more individualized

seating arrangement may prove more beneficial for independent tasks such as writing. This study

also looked at the access to materials and how that interfered or helped the child be more

successful and collaborative.

One survey (Patton, Snell, Knight, Gerken, 2001) investigated classroom seating

arrangements and the rationale behind them from the teachers. This study discovered that

smaller group “clusters” were preferred over a larger structured grouping among K-5th grade
Effects of classroom arrangement and behavior 4

teachers surveyed. This arrangement however, does contribute to socially facilitated learning

and can prove to be distracting for some students. The benefits of “cluster” learning include

acceptance of cultural difference among peers, collaborative learning, maturation socially, etc.

(Patton et al. 2001).

Altering the arrangement of the classroom dependent on the activity can prove more

beneficial for some students versus choosing a specific arrangement for the classroom regardless

of the activity. By altering the physical environment, inappropriate classroom behaviors are

remediated and decreased helping the overall focus of the class. One study showed that it is

possible to alter children’s behavior and obtain a more effective performance by altering the

environment to eliminate distracting objects and increase spatial awareness when arranging

students within the class (Krantz and Risley, 1972). Adequate arranging and decreasing

downtime between classroom activities can encourage more productive behaviors from students.

Previous studies suggest that smaller groupings of students are more productive due to

the elimination of crowding while still encouraging a collaborative learning situation. The

literature also mentions the proper utilization of learning objects without overly stimulating the

student directs the focus to the task at hand. Teachers should allow children to influence their

learning while maintaining structured access to classroom materials and learning objects.

Lacking from previous research studies on classroom arrangements and the effect on student

behavior is an experimental design that looks at the combination of different classroom

arrangements dependent on the classroom activity and what learning objects are beneficial

without being distracting to students.

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Research Questions and Hypotheses

The purpose of this study was to investigate which classroom arrangement promotes a

successful learning environment and which factors within the classroom should be eliminated to

limit distractions for the student. The following questions were investigated: a) Does rearranging

the desks within the classroom into smaller groupings encourage successful learning for the

student? b) Does the elimination of physical learning objects eliminate distractions among

elementary students? Based on these questions, the first hypothesis H1 was: students who

participate in a learning environment with smaller groupings are more focused and able to

perform better, as measured by a post-test, than students in a traditional classroom arrangement.

The second hypothesis H2 was: Eliminating physical learning objects within the classroom,

students are less distracted and able to perform better than students in a traditional classroom

arrangement.
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Method

Participants

The participants in this study will be 120 students in Grades 3 at three large public

elementary schools in a mid-size city in the Midwest. At the beginning of the school year, each

third-grade teacher will send home a consent form with each student soliciting participation in an

after-school program that will constitute as free after-school care and provide monitored care of

the participating children for up to two hours after regular school hours. Parents who are

interested in enrolling their child in this after-school care program, will fill out the application

including name, address, contact number, and email address and will provide a signature

consenting on behalf of their child. The application will include a brief description of the goals

of the study as well as outline the parental rights to withdraw from the study and a contact person

for any questions or concerns regarding the study. There will be 40 participants from School A,

40 from School B, and 40 from School C. These participants will range from 8-9 years old.

Instruments

This study will consist of a survey comprised of two components, a pretest and two

posttest instruments. A pretest will be utilized to test students’ knowledge prior to any treatment

to gauge the amount of information known. Each student would be given a pre-test that covers

questions appropriate for students in third grade that are pertaining to math, social studies and

reading utilizing context clues. A comparable exam would be given after the completion of each

component of the program that would serve as the posttest and would cover questions

appropriate for students in third grade that are pertaining to math, social studies and reading

utilizing context clues. Separate yet comparable exams would be used to obtain accurate results

and avoid the practice effect that might occur if students were given the exact same exam. To
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assure equally weighed questions, a test bank of 60 questions will be compiled and questions will

be randomly distributed into three 20-question tests that will serve as a pretest, and two posttests.

Procedure

Two weeks after distributing the applications and collecting the signed consent forms,

teachers will submit these to the research study representative. All applications will be complied

into one grouping for each school regardless of gender or ethnicity to equate the treatment and

control groups. Each student will be randomly assigned to the two after-school care groups.

One group (treatment) will be monitored by an assigned staff member in Teacher A’s room and

one group (control) will be monitored by an assigned staff member in Teacher B’s room.

One the first week, all participants will be administered the pretest covering information

appropriate for a third-grade level student covering the subjects of math, social studies and

reading utilizing context clues. Students will take this test in traditionally configured classrooms

with desks arranged in rows facing the front of the classroom and the presence of learning

objects such as artwork, posters, and learning aids will be present. The remainder of the time

spent in the after-school care program this week will allow students to complete homework

assigned and interact with their peers. Week two will begin experiment one where students in

Teacher A’s classroom (treatment group) with complete homework assignments in desk

configurations that are arranged in a circle facing their peers in small groups containing 5 desks.

Students in Teacher B’s classroom (control group) will continue to complete assignments in a

traditionally arranged classroom with desks arranged in 4 desks by 5 desk rows with each seat

facing the front of the classroom. Students in both groups will participate in the after-school care

program under these arrangements for 3 weeks and then will complete a posttest, comparable to

the pretest to obtain accurate results and avoid the practice effect.
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For part two of this experiment, both classes will be arranged in a traditional manner of 4

desks by 5 desk rows with each seat facing the front of the classroom, however, Teacher A’s

class (treatment group) will have all learning objects removed such as art work on the walls,

posters, learning aids, etc. while Teacher B’s class remains the same which will include artwork,

posters, and learning aids. Students will continue to attend the after-school care program for 3

weeks and another comparable yet altered version of the posttest will be completed.

Data Analysis

The posttest consists of 20 items with a score of 1 for correct answers and 0 for incorrect

answers. The highest total score possible is 20 points. The data from the surveys will be

analyzed using an ANOVA to determine if the participants in the treatment group (class arranged

in small groups for experiment one) experienced any significant improvement to success (higher

number of correct items) as compared to those in the control groups. A separate ANOVA will

also analyze if participants in the treatment group for experiment two (classroom with learning

objects removed) experience less distraction equating to improved success (higher number of

correct items) than those in the control group. The independent variables are the treatment, desk

configuration for experiment one and removal of learning objects in experiment two. The

dependent variables are level of success and distraction.

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References

Alward, K. R. (1973). Arranging the Classroom for Children. National Institution of Education.

Retrieved from

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED129452.pdf

Cheryan, S., Ziegler, S. A., Plaut, V. C., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2014), Designing Classrooms to

Maximize Student Achievement. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1 (1), 4-12

Hoffman, J. (2014), Rethinking the Colorful Kindergarten Classroom. The New York Times.

Retrieved from

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/rethinking-the-colorful-kindergarten-

classroom/

Krantz, P. J., and Risley, T. R. (1972), The Organization of Group Care Environments:

Behavioral Ecology in the Classroom, American Psychological Association. Retrieved

from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED078915.pdf

Patton, J. E., Snell, J., Knight, W. J., & Gerken, K. (2001). A Survey Study of Elementary

Classroom Seating Design. Retrieved from

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED454194.pdf

Vanhemert, K. (2013). Study Shows How Classroom Design Affects Student Learning. Co.

Design. Retrieved from

https://www.fastcodesign.com/1671627/study-shows-how-classroom-design-affects-

student-learning