Where do YOU sit in class?

[Caribbean Character]

Our nursing classes are held in a multi-media lecture hall. The hall is video-linked to a branch classroom 45 miles away. We have 7 rows of 5 seats on the left and 6 rows of 5 seats on the right with a center aisle. The front row on the left is used by the instructors (we have 7 total) I sit in the aisle seat in the first (student) row on the left. What amazes me is that no one else sits in this row. Only three students sit in the front row on the right. It just amazes me that my fellow students would work so hard to get into our program (on average, 4-5 applicants for every freshman seat) and then sit in the back of the classroom during lecture! Where do you sit in your classroom/lecture hall and why?

[caughtbuckinoff]

Back. For what it's worth, I do very well in my classes.

Someone has to sit in the back.

[elprup, BSN, RN]

I am blind, so I gotta sit in front.

[sealford]

I sit right in the front row. Then again, I always have. I use a Livescribe pen to record lectures, and it helps a lot by sitting in the front row. Also, the teachers can tell that you are interested (some people like to sleep in the back). Of course, that is not to imply that all people who sit in the back sleep; some people just stay focused better in the back. But there's always at least that one person who nods off.

[Julesmama28]

Front row, every time! Helps me pay attention and not get distracted by other students. Yup, I'm one of the annoying ones.

[SaoirseRN]

When I was a student, I was always a back-of-the-room person. Not because I didn't pay attention, but because I work best when I don't feel like somebody is looking over my shoulder.

[RN2BE83]

In the front! I'm partially deaf in my left ear and I want to hear everything. Luckily our lectures are recorded as well so we have the ability to rewatch them, but I prefer to catch everything I can while in class.

[Amnesty]

I'm an A student, and I always sit in the back.

1. I'm paranoid. I don't like having people behind me and not knowing about any possible threats. I always position myself so that I can see everyone, and am very vigilant.

2. I'm short, and our lecture hall for nursing has 4 theatre-style rows, so the back is the highest row.

3. I am very easily distracted, and it would make me anxious to know that the professor was judging me for paying more attention to my textbook or checking my email on my phone during class. I'm still listening, but I often need to occupy my brain with distractions. Any attempt to focus solely on just one thing for hours at a time (Fundamentals lecture is 2 hours, Assessment is 3 hours) leads to my brain rebelling and jumping off to other subjects anyway, so I get that glazed over spaced out look and actually stop listening, which is bad.

4. There is much more of a sense of community in the back. The kids in the front are usually pretty anal retentive and competitive, while I find that when I sit in the back, there's discussion about the topic, and I get to know the people. Actually, most of the older/non-traditional nursing students sit in the back. It's really great to learn from their experiences. All of them are very focused students. Our nursing program is very competitive, so if they got in, 99% of the time it means that they're serious and ready to get down to business.

[melizerd, ASN, RN]

I have very small classes, 14-18 students so it's a normal sized class room and not a lecture hall. We have tables with chairs.

In one class I sit in the front row at one end, but in my other classes I tend to sit in the back row. I can hear just fine (and my ipad records just fine from there too). I hate people looking at my back while in class so it just makes me happier to sit in back. Where I sit has nothing to do with what type of student I am, though I've had a lot of people make that assumption before meeting me personally.

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

We have 64 people in my class. There are no lectures (unless it's a guest speaker), we sit at tables in groups, an we do EVERYTHING as group work (in Google Drive). It doesn't really matter where in the classroom you sit, as long as it's in your group.

[hudabelle]

4. There is much more of a sense of community in the back. The kids in the front are usually pretty anal retentive and competitive, while I find that when I sit in the back, there's discussion about the topic, and I get to know the people. Actually, most of the older/non-traditional nursing students sit in the back. It's really great to learn from their experiences. All of them are very focused students. Our nursing program is very competitive, so if they got in, 99% of the time it means that they're serious and ready to get down to business.

THIS!!! I like sitting near the back for this reason. The part about the front row "kids" is correct in most of the classes I have taken as well. In the back we will share what we think about what we have learned while the (for the most part) folks in front seem far too competetive to give you a full answer, it seems, in fear that your knowing it might set them back somehow?? Or they maybe secretly don't know but don't want you to know they don't know?? hehehe

[Everline]

I'm an A student. I have tried both sitting in the front and the back. It made no difference in my grades. But I prefer being in front.

[OfficerRNBSN]

Always in the back as nearest an exit as possible. I want to see what everyone is doing without them being able to see what I'm doing, and on top of that I won't to be the first one out and keenly of aware of who's coming and going.