Does sitting at the front make a difference?

DeltaSigStan · #1 08-04-2002, 01:40 AM

Does sitting at the front of class make a difference in terms of focusing and what not? I know this is an INCREDIBLY stupid question since it makes so much common sense, but I have an incredibly short attention span, plus I'm kinda paranoid that the people in the back are gonna start throwing shit at me. Anyways....

Dionysus · #2 08-04-2002, 01:50 AM

Maybe just a tad, but not too much. Also, if you fall asleep or something it will more likely to be called out on you.

SoCalGirl · #3 08-04-2002, 02:10 AM

The closer you sit to the front, the higher the grade. It's been proven time and time again. I'd generally try to sit in the front half of the class. When I sat in the back I'd get distracted by other students. Especially the time the guy in front of me was playing tetris on his cell phone. I couldn't believe someone would be THAT rude. I mean it's one thing to be reading the school paper when you're in the back row of a 500 person class. But to be playing games!

Heck, when I'd go to my friends classes with them, to kill some time, I'd still at least act like I was taking notes.

Funny story actually, I was sitting w/ my friend in the third row. The class was general bio for non science majors. I had just changed my major that year from Ecology Bevhavior Evolution to Economics. I started the class taking notes but then I just quit and only paid really close attention to the teacher. He kept bringing up Star Trek in the middle of the lecture. At one point, he stops and looks at me. He asks me IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE CLASS (300 students) why I'm not taking notes! I just get a huge smile

and tell him "I'm just visiting." He's like, "Oh." And goes right back to the lecture.

And that's not even my most embarassing moment!

DeltaSigStan · #4 08-04-2002, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCalGirl
The closer you sit to the front, the higher the grade. It's been proven time and time again. I'd generally try to sit in the front half of the class. When I sat in the back I'd get distracted by other students. Especially the time the guy in front of me was playing tetris on his cell phone. I couldn't believe someone would be THAT rude. I mean it's one thing to be reading the school paper when you're in the back row of a 500 person class. But to be playing games! Heck, when I'd go to my friends classes with them, to kill some time, I'd still at least act like I was taking notes.

Well my Pre-Calculus class last fall was the worst. 8 AM, our professor was this monotoned German, and was filled with a bunch of typies (being Filipino, this is really annoying) who obviously were just out of high school.

WHat made it worse was this little chinese girl would always sit with her cell phone mobiling messages to her friends god knows where. At first it was just before class, then during the ENTIRE HOUR AND 15 MINUTE LECTURE she would just there tapping the keys on her phone, not even looking at it because she knew what to dial. Add to the her buttons made these LOUD clicking noises, and our prof never said anything! I swear I was SO close to taking it from her and shoving it down on the ground.

Lisa Fishman · #5 08-04-2002, 09:25 AM

I found that sitting in front really does help. It helped me focus and pay attention better.

SilverTurtle · #6 08-04-2002, 10:29 AM

One of my college profs told our class once that he had read several studies about education and learning processes. He said not only that sitting in the front 2 rows generally results in better grades, but that the people who sit in the BACK RIGHT hand corner (if you're the teacher facing the class, your right) are most likely to fail. (Of course I was sitting right there that day!

)

And it's eerily true... I thought back through some of my high school and even jr. high classes, and those kids were ALWAYS the ones who seemed to get straight D's. What bothers me about this is that usually in jr. & sr. high school, seating is alphabetical. So just because of your name you can get the failing seats!

Don't get me wrong, the student has the responsibility to pay attention, etc. but it is pretty strange!

carnation · #7 08-04-2002, 11:48 AM

When I was in elementary and high school, I always got stuck in the back because I was at the end alphabetically. I made okay grades but couldn't wait to sit in front when I got to college! I truly believe that sitting in the front raises grades. At the very least, it's hard to fall asleep directly in front of a professor!

And as a professor, let me say that I can't believe that professors would allow those kids to "follow their own agenda" in class! If someone had a cell phone or whatever in my class, he/she would be so out of there!

My colleagues would do likewise!! I have never, in all my years as a student or professor, seen anyone with the nerve to just blatantly tune out a professor like that!

Senusret I · #8 08-04-2002, 12:51 PM

1) In terms of focus, I have been known to fall asleep in the front row of class with my head in a holy book, so no, I don't think where you sit makes a difference in terms of focus. If you are tired from studying all night, working, partying, or having a class right after a big lunch, it will be hard to focus no matter where you sit.

2) If you get better grades from sitting in the front, then your professors aren't grading fairly. You can sit in the back and participate in the discussion just as much as the people sitting in the front, who may not be there because they are sucking up, but probably because they can't see the blackboards and overheads.

lovelyivy84 · #9 08-04-2002, 12:59 PM

Sitting in the front helps. Why?

Because TEACHERS PLAY FAVORITES!

Just look like you are one of the "good" kids who sits in front and pays attention and you have won half the battle. THey think you actually care about whatever it is they are teaching.

DeltaSigStan · #10 08-04-2002, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dardenr

2) If you get better grades from sitting in the front, then your professors aren't grading fairly. You can sit in the back and participate in the discussion just as much as the people sitting in the front, who may not be there because they are sucking up, but probably because they can't see the blackboards and overheads.

Oh she was paying attention to the lecture. I couldn't believe how she could just click away with one hand and write down notes with the other. Either way it was annoying, even annoyed the other typies in the class.

Tom Earp · #11 08-04-2002, 02:19 PM

YES< YES!

sairose · #12 08-04-2002, 03:09 PM

I have always sat on the front row in all my classes, and I think it helps quite a bit! If I sit in the back, I feel like the teacher can't see me as well, so I can just let my mind wander. When I sit in the front I feel like the professor is watching me and it makes me want to pay more attention. Stupid, but it works.

SilverTurtle · #13 08-04-2002, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dardenr
1) In terms of focus, I have been known to fall asleep in the front row of class with my head in a holy book, so no, I don't think where you sit makes a difference in terms of focus. If you are tired from studying all night, working, partying, or having a class right after a big lunch, it will be hard to focus no matter where you sit.

2) If you get better grades from sitting in the front, then your professors aren't grading fairly. You can sit in the back and participate in the discussion just as much as the people sitting in the front, who may not be there because they are sucking up, but probably because they can't see the blackboards and overheads.

IMO it's a combination of prof and student responsibilty. I didn't read those studies I mentioned, but I do know this prof quite well and respect him as an educator. From my understanding, the studies didn't show that the profs graded better if you sit in the front, rather that if you sit in the back you're less likely to pay attention. There ARE more distractions, it's easier to look out the window and let your mind wander etc.

I think the reason that the back right side of the room is the *worst* place to sit is partially because most of your profs are right-handed. This means when they are lecturing, especially if they are simultaneously writing on the board, they are facing slightly to their left. Which makes them less likely to notice what's going on on the other side of the room.

Ultimately, if you're taking a class, then you are responsible for paying attention and participating. I've sat in the back of a class and done quite well, although I usually preferred the middle, just slightly off to the side.

James · #14 08-04-2002, 05:09 PM

LOL . . .

Did anyone stop to think that higher achievers tend to gravitate to the fron of the classroom?

What came first the chicken or the egg?

DeltAlum · #15 08-04-2002, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by James
LOL . . .
Did anyone stop to think that higher achievers tend to gravitate to the fron of the classroom?

What came first the chicken or the egg?

Well, I think that absolutely true! As memory serves, the brightest kids did sit in front. The rest of us slackers didn't want to be noticed.

I knew one young lady (graduated with honors), who sat in the front of a speech class I was in.

She always sat in the front row and one day was wearing a very short yellow dress. I had to give a presentation that day, noticed the young lady and waited for her after class and took her to dinner.

We've been married for thirty-two years.

Some would argue that sitting up front was good for her. Others who know me might disagree.