Children do a lot of 'group work' these days, when I was working as a classroom assistant the sessions started with the children all together on the mat at the front of the class while the teacher explained what we were going to do that day, then went into their groups, which tended to be ability groups.  I would sit with a group that needed more help, while the teacher moved round to different groups helping as necessary.  A lot of work is 'finding out' by experimenting, such as using blocks for counting and sorting - this is a lot easier on tables than individual desks.  Also we would play games - I worked as a numeracy assistant, so would prepare games for the children to help with the theme we were working on, and the children would play in their groups.  This wouldn't be possible using desks smiley: smile.  We had trays for individual work and pots for pens etc.
Carolyn x