One study found that students who sat at desks arranged in a circle were more likely to listen actively and participate in discussions, and less likely to withdraw from the group.

A heavyset, bespectacled woman in her thirties sat behind two old wooden desks arranged in an L, talking on the phone.

The Barrel adjoins the main squad room--ninety desks arranged in lengthwise rows.

Just inside his room is a desk arranged with yellowing photographs of his six sons from two marriages and the 1951 Ford pickup he used to race.

Two weeks after coming to the United States, I remember we had a class discussion and we all sat in our desks arranged in form of a circle.

Prior to the widespread adoption of cubicles, office workers often worked at desks arranged in rows in an open room, where they were exposed to the sounds and activity of those working around them.

The bank officers were there, too, just as he remembered, tucked away in desks arranged behind a low railing, its spindles and gate richly varnished.

Inside, the classrooms all looked identical, each with desks arranged in a horseshoe so that everyone was in the front row.

Showing a visitor classrooms with desks arranged in a friendly circle, Mr. Hadi said: "I'm trying to make the students more active, and not just sit and listen.

Lasater and Company was one of the most prominent of the bond daddy firms, with a downtown office where 72 salesmen worked the telephones from desks arranged in tiers around a central pit.