The ABCs of Room Arrangements
Furniture
Make sure the chairs are comfortable and in good repair. You don't want your students falling out of their chairs during a safety training session. How would that look! Make sure you place a table in the "front" of the room for your supplies and equipment. Don't allow too much space between the instructor table and the front participant row. Reducing the amount of space between you and the learners will help you "connect" with your students and they will also be able to see, hear and follow you better. You may also want to consider positioning a table for refreshments in the back of the room.
Positioning Student Tables
Small group arrangement is great for small classes. This arrangement encourages interaction. The trainer will be able to connect with students very easily.
A classroom setup allows 10-150 participants to take notes and works best for lecture, presentation, or demonstration. This arrangement requires a lot of space per participant.
Boardroom arrangement is used often, but not well suited for training because many students are located far from the trainer and all students must turn to watch the instructor. You may be "stuck" with this setup, so try to make the best of it by limiting the number of students and, if possible, separating the table into sections.
A group horseshoe arrangement facilitates breakout sessions for group interaction when there is only one room for plenary and small group discussion sessions. Seats may be placed all around the table or only around the half facing the stage to make switching between presentation and group discussion easier.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-4. Which training room arrangement is used often, but not well suited for training because many students are located far from the trainer?
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