INSPIRATION/DESIGN/IMPLEMENTATION/REFLECTION
I am so excited to tell you all about a new adventure in my classroom! After careful research and much contemplation, I decided to incorporate Flexible Seating into my senior classroom, hoping to increase engagement for students with various intellectual learning disabilities. While I have always had a variety of seating options in my classroom (bean bag chairs, small rugs, and sitting chairs), this idea of flexible seating is very different from what I had implemented in my classroom before.
I remember exactly where I was when I had a turning point moment that changed my thinking about flexible seating design in my classroom. I was at the local library (which has recently been rebuilt and refurbished) and, looking around, I realised that everyone seemed to be happy, engaged in their work, and relaxed. Some people chose the traditional chairs and tables while I opted for a big, comfy chair with my laptop on my lap. The quiet music, perfect lighting, and overall aesthetics of the library were favourable for a variety of learners. And if I wanted to switch up my seat during my stay, I was free to do just that. That's when I decided that my classroom in 2016 was going to look and feel different to my first year classroom of the previous year.
I'm a firm believer in keeping the focus on what's really important: the students. If student motivation and higher engagement is truly the desired outcome, then we as teachers must adapt right along with our students in our classrooms. To see that some classrooms look the same now as they did 70 years ago is shocking. The students we share our classrooms with don't know life without constant connectivity, wi-fi, and a global audience. Outside the windows of our classroom is a dynamic, fast-paced, and ever-changing world full of choices. How can we expect our students to solve problems and make choices independently if we constantly solve their problems and make their choices for them? Our classroom environments should be beneficial to open collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. This simply cannot be done when kids are sitting in rows of desks all day.
Everything I do in my classroom is based on research and best practices for kids. Redesigning my classroom was not any different. I've found that some of the immediate benefits of flexible seating include burning more calories, using up excess energy, improving metabolism, increased motivation and engagement, creating a better oxygen flow to the brain, and improving core strength and overall posture. It's no surprise that physical activity is linked to higher academic performance, better health, and improved behaviour.
When I was researching flexible seating options, I was very inspired by an article I read on a blog called ‘Teachers Education’ and realised that many of the students in my classroom could benefit from this type of seating and classroom layout. It was specifically tailored to students with special needs.
I then set out to find out what I needed to make flexible seating happen in my classroom. I searched the internet to find more teachers using this innovative setup. I found great pictures of classrooms on Pinterest.
My principal was very encouraging and fully supported my plans. I set up a meeting with my principal explaining that I needed some desks that could be easily lowered, raised, moved around the room and grouped according to the needs of the students and the type of work we are doing. He kindly obliged and jokingly told me that this might not be the end of these kinds of requests, now that I had taken the plunge (and he was right!).
Next was the fun part… Shopping!! I found exercise balls, containers for shared supplies, bean bags, coffee table, couches that could be moved together, clip boards, small individual whiteboards and floor rugs.
I rolled the seating plan out little-by-little and the students, of course, were super excited for the change in our classroom. I started with low tables with the stability disks. We took turns working in this space and the students were loving it. We used the clipboards on the rug. I then raised two desks to standing height and had the students experiment with working while standing. I added some fidget bands to the legs of the standing desks and some chairs to incorporate more opportunities for movement. I then slowly introduced the exercise balls (this was not until term three). We talked about how to use the balls appropriately. We talked about small bounces and how to safely sit on the ball without rolling out of the door! They know that these items are tools, but when the tools become toys, they will be taken away. Surprisingly, I have had very few problems with our new set-up!
I removed their name tags (apart from book tubs), and students were then told that we were sharing all of the spaces in the classroom. Some of them were a little taken aback at first, since they had gotten used to their own space, but it didn’t take long for them to take some chances and find workspaces that were better suited to their needs. Plus, it so nice to have clean and organised work areas, not desks stuffed with papers and toys/items brought from home.
Most of my direct instruction is taught on the couch space at the front of the room, with some students seated at the desks and bean bags close by. When it is time for independent work or group work, the students are dismissed and they are free to sit and work where they feel most comfortable and where they feel they can learn best. Some of the areas to choose from include: standing desks with fidget bands, laying or sitting on the floor with clipboards, sitting on exercise balls at desks, sitting in chairs with fidget bands, sitting or kneeling at low tables, sitting in bean bag chairs, or sitting at a traditional desk with a traditional chair.
I am truly amazed at how flexible seating has transformed my classroom. This group of 16 and 17 year-old's are more focused and their energy now can be channelled in a productive way. This movement is allowing them to truly focus on the content and tasks necessary in our classroom. I don’t know many adults who would want to work at a desk for six hours each day, so why should our students have to learn in this rigid way?
After six months of implementation, I will confidently say that flexible seating has been a success for my class. I can’t imagine ever going back to traditional seating. I even bought myself a yoga ball for small group instruction!