Does where you sit in class matter?

Where you sit can say a lot about you.

Students often choose to sit in different areas of a classroom, but what does it say about the individual and which area helps most academically ? There are lots of different places someone can sit when they first enter the classroom.

Getting a good view, hearing instructions better, and making eye contact with the professor is easier if a student chooses to sit in the front.

A study conducted by the First-Year Transition Services  at Penn State University Altoona found students who sit in the front center of the classroom “tend to achieve average exam scores.

“Studies show that students who sit in the front and center of the classroom tend to achieve higher average exam scores.”

Test scores can be linked to how far away someone is from the front of the class. Those who sit in the front normally receive higher scores than those in the back. This was proven when students were told to switch seats with someone in a different part of the room and correlation between test scores and seating still seemed to be the same.

Of course there are some exceptions such as Deborah Ricker, dean of Athletics Services at York college Pennsylvania is quoted in an article saying “Teaching and Learning is less about where the student sits and more about how the student thinks work and behaves…. I have personally had some very talented students sit in the middle and back of the classroom near the door”  

Even though it is known that those who sit in the front of the class have an advantage there are reasons as to why people do sit in the back of the class. An article called The “Personality Dynamics of Sitting” gives good insight on what kinds of people could reside in a classroom.

Some study better at home so they do not feel the need to pay as attention in class as those who sit in the front.  Many like to be observers and look at the whole class learn from a safe place up against the wall. Others may just be oppositional or rebellious.

Classrooms are not just made up of the front and back of a class but also include the sides and middle of the room. Those that sit by the door could give the impression that they are in a hurry and like a quick way out of the situation.

People that sit near the window’s are most likely daydreamers and like to have a view. Lastly those who sit in the middle of the classroom might want to have a moderate amount of attention from the teacher and want to assimilate with the class better.

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