As a classroom we were encouraged to ask about things we were interested in. We have talked about Ebola, prayer, and physicians killing people. More recently, we have been talking more and more about talking in class. Andrew made a joke at the start of this problem way back. It was noted that the noise was mostly coming from the right side of the room. This made me think, why would it always be over there? Finally, I became curious after all this time, does where an individual sit it say something about them?
USA today wrote an article about the seating of students. It is reported by the Western New England University that there is a better chance at a relationship with a professor for a student who sits in the front of the class; however, this does not always help produce better grades. It is noted that students in the front will be more likely to make eye contact and feel obligated to pay attention. The sizing of classes seems to impact this theory as well. This article admits “Although there has been a lot of research done on seat placement in classes, Hakala says the data is hard to interpret because it relies on correlation.” Researchers find it hard to rule out reverse correlation here. Good students may prefer to sit up front or students sit up front because they are good students. Third variables include friend’s seat choices, eyesight, or (possibly something we are all familiar with) lateness limiting available seats. The Dean of Academic Services at York College of Pennsylvania says seating choice has “little to no impact” on her perception of students’ work ethic. There are always those students who perform well and go against the thinking that front row students are “better.”
In the end, I agree with the director of the Center for Academic Achievement at Susquehanna University when he says, “You have to realize that where you sit communicates something to the professor and affects your engagement in the classroom, but it’s not more important than learning the material and studying.” If you are doing well, why change your seat? It may be a confidence barrier, or just a comfort zone holding you back. However, your class time is what you make of it.
Here is additional research done from Penn State Altoona: https://www.altoona.psu.edu/fts/docs/SeatingPositionGrades.pdf
Personally, I know that I never sit in the front row of a class unless I am certain I completely understand the material. I can see how I would feel more forced to pay attention if I were in the front row seeing as I would be more focused on upsetting the professor if I were right in front of him/her. It is also interesting to me that you brought up the talking issue in class today. It is possible that people who like to talk sit on the right side because they know thats where other talkers sit. Or maybe, the talking starts because they are already stereotyped as the talkers and assume it can’t get any worse.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that people like to sit with their friends. Evereytime Andrew has stopped class to address people who are talking I’ve noticed that it always tends to be people who are sitting with a large group of friends. People feel obligated to talk to their friends when they sit next to them but fail to see how a classroom is not the ideal place to have a discussion. I also believe peer pressure contributes to this issue, perhaps some people in the group do not want to talk but they are afraid their friends will think they are rude if they do not respond.