Team Maker - Chirag Mehta : chir.ag. Wheel Decide. Online Stopwatch. Teaching Secrets: Get to Know Students Through Seating Challenges. Published Online: June 27, 2012 By Sandy Merz Where do I sit? It's the universal first question, at the top of students' minds as they cross the threshold of my room on the first day of class. Many teachers start the semester with students seated alphabetically: It's easy and aids in learning names. Others may wait to make a seating chart until they get to know their students. I've tried both of these approaches with my 8th graders. However, these practices don't demand anything from students. I've found that by engaging students in seating challenges, I set a positive collaborative tone from the first day.
On the first five days of class, my students determine where they sit based on team problem-solving activities. In return, students learn to expect me to be prepared, organized, and supportive—as opposed to being authoritative and having all the answers. Here's how the approach works in my middle school classroom, which seats 32 students around five large tables.
Day 3 is different.
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