Lesson 2: The Benefits of Flexible Seating
Objectives
- The participant will explain the benefits of flexible seating
- The participant will evaluate the benefits of flexible seating
- The participant will reflect on whether or not they think flexible seating will help students in their own classroom
Pre Assessment
- What was happening in the classroom?
- What were the students doing?
- What was the teacher doing?
- Did the students appear to be more engaged in the lesson or less engaged in the lesson?
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Benefits of Flexible Seating
1. Students often feel empower when they have some control over their environment. Students have control to where they sit and often times the option to more their location throughout the day keeping kids excited for activities. Students centered learning creates a very supportive classroom setting.
2. Children are constantly moving and need to be moving. Flexible seating lets them more, wobble, bounce, rock, stand or whatever their hearts desire to get their energy out. Moving keeps minds more alert and focused allowing for students to stay engaged better.
3. Flexible seating gets kids to be more comfortable not only in their seats but in your classroom as well.
4. Collaboration with partners and small groups becomes much easier since they are always moving around.
5. Opens up a line of classroom management and communication with your students allowing them to use flexible seating in a fair and non-disruptive manner.
6. Flexible seating stimulates students sense of touch helping students focus and process information. Especially helpful for students with ADHD and ADD.
Who benefits the most from flexible seating?
- Students who have ADHD and ADD
Students who have ADHD and ADD tend to move around in their seats a lot and have trouble focusing while in school. Flexible seating allows students to move freely in their seats helping them better process information.
- Gifted students
Flexible seating allows students who are often considered gifted to be more focused. Sitting in one spot to work in school limits the amount that these students can focus. Allowing for flexible seating allows for students to have the ability to move and focus on their work enhancing their learning.
- Everyone!
Who doesn't benefit from being able to move around a little bit! Students feel empowered by having some choice in where they get to sit and what they are sitting on. It encourages students to take turns in different locations and problem solve.
Think & Reflect
- Now that you have seen flexible seating and heard a little bit from teachers do you think that the pros of flexible seating can out weigh the odds?
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Extended Resources
Top 10 Benefits of a Flexible-Seating Classroom. (2019, November 13). Retrieved December 07, 2020, from https://smithsystem.com/smithfiles/2019/05/21/top-10-benefits-flexible-seating-classroom/