Classroom arrangement

This section outlines how the participants described their Vietnamese and Australian classrooms and the way they were arranged to support students’ learning. It presents the descriptions of typical classrooms in which students studied, how such kinds of classrooms were physically organised with regard to designs and equipment like desks, chairs and boards, and how this arrangement related to teaching and learning.

The Vietnamese classrooms experienced by all of the participants were lecture halls and “traditional” classrooms. The term “traditional” refers to those classrooms that accommodate about 50-150 students, with rows of desks in a fixed line and with the teacher sitting at the front on a platform 30-40 cm higher than the class floor. Such

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classrooms were also quite difficult to physically reorganise because of heavy and closely positioned furniture. Only one participant who graduated relatively recently (in 2010) pointed out that “there were a few fast-track or modern classrooms” in his University where “tables and chairs were arranged in a U shape and lecturer’s position was in the centre with a small number of students” (Tri, Int.1). Although the participants mentioned the existence of different classroom types, all of them reported that most of the time they studied in classrooms which were physically arranged in this traditional way. Typical descriptions are presented below:

Most of the time students studied in classrooms arranged in a traditional way like those in high schools, namely the desks and chairs were arranged in rows. (Lan, Int.1)

Each class contained about 50 students, with lecturers’ desk placed in front of students’ tables and on a platform 30-40 cm higher than the class floor... the tables and chairs were very heavy, arranged next to one another and difficult to move. (Khanh, Int.1)

Classrooms were often large ones for about 150 students. Tables and chairs were arranged like in high schools, lecturers often presented without microphones so it was difficult to hear; especially for students sitting at the back of class…. I studied some subjects in a small classroom for about 50 students but the arrangement was also similar to other large classrooms. (Thu, Int.1)

Seven of the participants agreed that this traditional classroom arrangement was consistent with a particular style of students’ learning. For instance, Khanh indicated that the arrangements supported a hierarchical relationship between lecturers and students, and provided little possibility for students’ interactions with their lecturers:

When looking at that lay-out, we can see students on one side and lecturers on the other side, which reveals a clear separation. Besides, the position of the lecturers is significantly higher than students, making us feel that lecturers are placed higher than students. That arrangement creates obstacles for the interactions between teachers and students. (Khanh, Int.1)

As commented by Tri, this classroom arrangement emphasised distance between lecturers and students. It reinforced the students’ feeling that there was a lack of

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attention paid by lecturers to students, especially those who sat at the back of the class. Consequently, “students were easily distracted and did not pay much attention to the lectures” (Tri, Int.1). In addition, the students who studied in such large classes with a traditional high school classroom setup recognized the limited opportunity for interactive learning activities (Ha, Thu, Lan & Truong, Int. 1). Characteristic comments are presented below:

The arrangement hindered students’ view of other students. It also made sharing and exchanging among students in class pretty difficult. (Ha, Int.1)

In my opinion, the arrangement of a traditional classroom does not provide multi-dimensional interaction in learning activities. (Thu, Int.1)

All of the participants felt the way that the regular classrooms were arranged reinforced the teaching style of “one-way information transmission from lecturers to students” (Khanh & Phung, Int.1). While it helped lecturers “provide knowledge to a number of students at the same time” (Huyen, Int.1), such an arrangement made it hard for lecturers to observe the whole class or to organise group learning activities to encourage students’ involvement in study by exchanging their views (Lan & Truong, Int. 1).

The Australian University learning environment used lecture halls and tutorial classrooms. The arrangement of the lecture halls was described as similar to those in

Vietnam. The variation of classroom arrangement that the participants all

acknowledged belonged to tutorial classrooms which they attended after lectures. This type of classroom was different to the rooms they regularly attended in Vietnam where there were no tutorial classrooms; students either studied in lecture halls or regular classrooms. The tutorial classrooms were regarded as not being as crowded as the rooms in Vietnam. These classrooms were usually organised for about 10-20 students (Thu & Truong, Int.2). The tables and chairs were also different. All the classrooms were equipped with portable chairs and tables (Toan & Ha, Int.2).

All the participants agreed that the tutorial classroom arrangement was convenient for study. This was because the portable chairs and tables could be “arranged flexibly

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depending on different learning activities to make students feel comfortable with their study” (Thu, Int.2). Normally, the chairs and tables were arranged in a “U shape”. For example, Ha (Int. 2) said in these classes, “students sit in U form, and tutors stand in the middle to organize and encourage students to participate in learning activities”.

This kind of arrangement was believed to bring a number of advantages to students’ learning. For example, Tri commented that in the U-shaped class, the lecturer’s table was located in the middle, so “the distance among students to the lecturer was similar and quite close….students did not feel hidden in the class” (Tri, Int.2). The arrangement, therefore, “could help students easily observe the lecturer’s and other students’ activities” (Toan, Int.2). It also “helped students understand the learning content and exchange ideas with the lecturer and other students” (Thu, Int.2).

The classroom arrangement and the small number of students in the class were seen by the participants as advantageous for lecturers in organising learning activities and managing their students. For example, it was observed that the class environment could easily be adapted so that lecturers could organise different learning activities to attract students in exchanging and sharing experiences (Khanh, Lan, Phung & Toan, Int.2). In this class, lecturers could also observe students’ activities and control them better than in a large class with chairs and tables arranged in rows as in Vietnam (Toan & Tri, Int.2).