Where there used to be 23 desks in STA math teacher Jeanella Clark’s classroom, there now sits 11 tables.
When Clark moved from Donnelly Hall to the M&A Building at the beginning of the school year, she recognized an opportunity to incorporate her teaching philosophy into her classroom.
‘Having rows of desks in the classroom makes it hard for students to collaborate,’Â Clark said. ‘My philosophy is that you learn from me, but you also learn from your peers. I wanted the environment in my room to support my philosophy.’Â
When Clark moved from her old room to what used to be the language lab that is filled with tables, not desks, she said she could easily incorporate her beliefs into the classroom.
‘When I moved classrooms, the tables were already here,’Â Clark said. ‘It was kind of my philosophy, but it also kind of just happened.’Â
Clark’s transition to group work mirrors a trend–math classrooms are increasingly using group work according to an article published for “The British Educational Research Journal” in 2003. The article states that the isolated nature of math classes limits students’ opportunities for collaboration. When groups were introduced to more collaborative approaches, students’ negativity toward math decreased dramatically.
Now that Clark’s room facilitates group learning, she realizes an improvement in students’ participation.
‘With the tables, the girls are less intimidated to talk with a group because it’s not in front of the whole class,’Â Clark said. ‘When they realize the entire group has the same answer as they do, they are less inhibited about telling the answer to the whole class.’Â
Freshmen Laura Dobens, who is in Clark’s geometry class, also felt more comfortable with the tables.
‘Having table groups increases participation because I get to know people and we check our answers as a group so I feel more confident about giving answers,’Â Dobens said.
Dobens expected desks in her math class like she has had in all of her previous math classes, but was surprised to find tables in Clark’s classroom.
‘Math classes are typically in desks because teachers want to see what we can do individually,’Â Dobens said. ‘But with the tables, we can work more as a team and work in groups. We can also talk better between ourselves about answers.’Â
