Several institutions have redesigned traditional learning spaces to better realize the potential of active, experiential learning. We compare student performance in traditional and active learning classrooms in a large, introductory biology course using the same syllabus, course goals, exams, and instructor. Using ACT scores as predictive, we…

This study found no evidence that seat location affects student achievement even in very large classes where students sitting in the back are a considerable distance from the instructor. Rather, the differences in performance observed were consistent with the idea that highly motivated students are more likely to sit in the front, resulting in an…

The authors present results from an experiment that tested the effect of seat location on student performance and attitudes in an undergraduate biology class. The seat assignments were randomly assigned on the first day of class. The authors did not find that students sitting in the front did any better than students sitting in the back. (Contains…