Having a well-organized classroom does not necessarily mean that good behavior is guaranteed, but having a poorly-organized classroom guarantees student misbehavior.
When arranging my classroom, it is important to take into account the floor space, the walls, and the storage space and supplies. Floor space encompasses the students' desks, the teacher's desk, the learning center(s), the computer workstations, and the bookcase. Wall organization includes all bulletin boards, posters, and displays. Storage space and supplies deals with the textbooks, student work, and other miscellaneous supplies. There are three main options for how to arrange the students' desks in the classroom, which are rows, clusters, and U-shapes. Rows are great for the first day and for tests as it gives students their own space, it keeps them facing the teacher instruction, it allows for a higher percentage of on-task behavior, and it is convenient for ESOL and ESE students. However, rows tend to be boring, uncreative, highly structured, and traditional while allowing for minimal student interaction and giving most attention to the front seats. Clusters are great for group work, activities, social interaction, and cooperative learning promotion. However, clusters are harder to control and give less space for the students. And finally, U-Shapes are great for demonstration, showcasing, discussion activities, and guest speakers. However, traffic around the U-shapes is not the greatest.
Each teacher has their own preference as to how they want to arrange the students' desks. Personally, I prefer cluster seating because it allows for the most student interaction. In my K-5 internship, which was set in a fourth grade general education classroom, my cooperating teacher had her students in cluster formations. In my 6-12 internship, however, my cooperating teacher had her students in rows. This internship was set in a middle school intensive reading classroom.