Had a hard day? Sit down and put up your feet.
Want to stretch out on the floor? You can do that too.
Feel like letting loose? Try sitting on a ball.
It’s known as flexible seating–which allows students freedom to choose where and how they sit.
“I was looking for a way to help with classroom management, too, as far as people being engaged during lessons. So I just wanted to give it a try. So far I really like it,” says Hagan Elementary third grade teacher, Jenna Mangel.
The students like it too.
“I do not like being in the same place for a long time,” says third grader, Brayden Egerman.
“It makes me feel free to sit anywhere,” agrees fellow third grader, Grayden Bowles.
“”The desk is low and I like the stools because they’re high,” says third grader Kamdyn Higgs.
The idea behind flexible seating? Students decide what enhances their individual learning experience.
Like Egerman, who prefers the floor to a chair.
“Usually not a lot of people sit on the floor. So I can get my work done,” says Egerman.
As with most new things…however…there’s a learning curve.
“You mess around on the balls sometimes and it can distract you from what you’re doing,” says Bowles.
While students are allowed the freedom to choose whatever seating they want, they’re still expected to follow classroom rules
“The exercise balls-we had to really focus on that it is a chair. Not bouncing or anything like that,” says Mangel.
Enter the contract.
Each student signs off on the rules…and if they disobey…privileges are suspended.
“They learned pretty quickly, they wanted to use it, they were going to make a good choice with it,” says Mangel.
These students are learning flexibility comes with responsibility.
And by keeping them on the go…educators hope their studies keep progressing.
