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Where to sit

Our classroom doesn’t have assigned seats, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with finding a place that’s comfortable. A few things to think about:

  • Sitting near the front. Academic research and personal experience suggest that sitting near the front improves grades. When you are hiding at the back, it’s too tempting to zone out or to waste time playing on your phone. You don’t feel as if you are part of the class process when you are all the way back there. (And if you have difficulties seeing or hearing, the front of the room is the place to be.)
  • Sitting near annoying people. Every classroom has one or two distracting people who like to whisper comments or show you pictures on their phones. You don’t have to sit next to them. The next time around, just find a different place. (NOTE: If it’s really bad, I have no objection to you moving in the middle of a class session!)
  • Sitting in my line of sight. Our classroom arrangement doesn’t give me much freedom to move around the room, and I need to stick fairly close to the computer. I don’t want to block anyone’s view of the screen, either. This means that I’m restricted to a fairly small area. If you don’t want to be in my direct line of vision, don’t sit in front of me. There are a lot of other places to sit.
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