Flexible Seating: What, Why, and How!

Flexible seating is about providing opportunities to move while learning, and not as a separate activity from learning.

School Environment May 6, 2019

Our students’ brains love and need a multitude of elements in the learning process, including music, art, imagination, relevance, love, change, frequent breaks, review, story time, trial-and-error experiences, positive social experiences, and movement. Out of all these strategies, the one thing that the brain appreciates the most is movement.

So how does flexible seating fit in? Flexible seating is about providing opportunities to move while learning, and not as a separate activity from learning. As Ostroff states, “Rather than trying to get children to sit still and stop fidgeting, we must design learning spaces that embrace children’s movement and action as necessary prerequisites for developing attention.”

Students need to be in many postures throughout the day: standing, kneeling, walking, bouncing, laying down, rocking, tummy touching the ground, back touching the ground, sitting, sitting with feet up, and more. Flexible seating is not about sitting comfortably. We want students to move, because movement is the best way for students to learn better according to a wide variety of brain research. In addition to physical benefits, you will see social and cognitive benefits when you allow more movement.

So, how do you get started? Decide on the items you would like to have, then go about getting them. Funding can seem intimidating, but doesn’t need to. Creativity and enthusiasm are free! Make frequent trips to your local thrift store. Check Amazon. Consider publishing a list of the items you need and why or create a GoFundMe account. This allows your school and church community to jump right in to help. Here are some ideas to include:

  • Tall table so students can stand while working
  • Low table with cushions around it
  • Couch
  • Bean bags
  • Stools
  • Use the floor as much as possible – you already have it and students love it!
  • Mats
  • Tent or reading nook
  • Scoop chairs
  • Rocking chairs
  • Pillows to set on a rug by the library
  • Mats to work on tummy or back
  • Balance balls – it is best if they have a back support, but any ball will help
  • Wobble chairs -these are expensive, so you might want to obtain other things first

Be sure to provide options for various postures and balancing options with and without back support. In addition to the furniture, consider the lighting, music, colors, sounds, smells, and temperature in your classroom. Allow for variation and student choice.

One of the great things about having a flexible environment is that you can set it up according to you and your students’ needs. It will be a trial and error experience. Try new things. If they don’t work, try something else until your classroom becomes functional. Remember that classroom spaces affect how we think, feel, and behave in a myriad of ways. Spaces can and should inspire curiosity. In classroom design, as in architecture, form should follow function. Vary, change, and play with your furniture. Be ready to endure the mess, as this is when inquiry based learning happens. You need flexible spaces, so students can find opportunities to move all day long.

Read the author’s full article in CIRCLE for more details on setting up your classroom, as well as her personal experience in structuring the school day in the learning spaces she and her students created. Also check out her blog, Let’s Celebrate Learning, where you can find books supporting flexible seating, links to seating options, and much more!

Ostroff, W.L. (2016). Cultivating Curiosity in K–12 Classrooms: How to Promote and Sustain Deep Learning. ASCD.

Author

Yanina Jimenez

Yanina is an SDA multigrade teacher in Illinois, Ph.D. Student at Andrews University, and author of the book Brain-friendly Teacher https://bit.ly/BrainFriendlyTeacherBook.

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