Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Flexible Seating: What I Have Learned So Far

Earlier this year I was presented with the opportunity to join our school’s Innovation team.  We started by reading a book called The Innovator’s Mindset. This book is amazing and has so many ideas for giving students choice in our classrooms. One of the challenges that I decided to jump into head first was flexible seating.

Implementation:

I already had a few different seating options like beanbags and rugs in my classroom, but there were very specific times that these could be used by students and I wanted to be more fluid with my seating throughout the day. I was lucky enough to have a group of really flexible kiddos this year, so we worked together to create a system that works smoothly.

My end goal was to have no assigned spots in the classroom and really allow students to choose their seats at all times. The first step was to find space for everybody’s supplies. I decided to use their book boxes for notebooks and folders. Then I bought drawers which is where students keep the books they are reading, pencils, math supplies, and other odds and ends.  They have a shelf for their pencil cases and small buckets for their coloring utensils.  My kiddos have really adapted to this well. Some of them like to carry their drawers around with them throughout the day and others like to take what they need and leave the drawer there.

The next step was introducing some new seating options for my students to choose from. I added a few bumpy seats, yoga balls, and some tables for standing in addition to my rugs and beanbags. It was important to me that everyone understood how to use each new seat. We talked about where they were to be kept when they weren’t in use, what the appropriate way to use each seat was, and how they could choose them. It was also understood that I was able to move anyone for any reason at any time.

Some bumps along the way:
Who got there first: Some students were having trouble understanding when a seat was already chosen by another student. We decided to implemented a new routine to our day. Each option for seating during all mini lessons now has a piece of velcro on it and each student has a number that they can put down to reserve their spot. This alleviated most disagreements over whether or not a seat had already been taken.

Rushing to get a seat: At first there were a few students who were rushing in the halls to get to a seat before others. We now always meet on the carpet when we come in in the morning or when we get back from recess. When we get back from specials they stay by their hook after they are done changing their gym shoes or taking off their art shirts.  I dismiss them from these locations by choosing students who are following expectations. This has also helped with some of my chatty kids as they now enter quietly which sets a calmer tone all around. Also, none of my kiddos forget to change their gym shoes before recess. Bonus!

Arguments over seating: Although their are things in place to prevent most arguments at this point, there are still a few times there are arguments. When this happens, the two arguing over the spot both lose the privilege and the spot opens up for someone else.

Too much movement: The yoga balls were new to me as a teacher. At first I didn’t know what to expect when I had my kids used them during instruction. There were two issues when I first started using them; they were distracting because students were bouncing, and some students rolled off of them (no one got hurt, but it was a disruption every time). To help with these issues we now have a no bouncing rule and both feet need to be on the floor. These rules have helped tremendously and the kids have adapted well.


Overall Feelings:
Overall, I love this change to my classroom. It was a slow process that is still being fine tuned, but the kids are more engaged in their learning and are much more focused during work time and instruction. They love having the choice of where they sit.

One big concern that I had when starting was that they would choose to sit by their friends. I was worried that this would create a situation where they would talk when they shouldn’t and they wouldn’t necessarily choose the spot that was best for their success.  I have found however, that there is much less talking than there was before and once the novelty of some of the spots wore off, they have been choosing spots that are successful for them.

I plan on making a few more changes over the summer. I have worked it out with our school custodian that my desks will be gone and they will be replaced with tables. I am also looking to add some wobble stools and a small lounge area.

I highly recommend giving flexible seating a try. There are several teachers in our building who have implemented this idea and it looks different in each of our classrooms. The main thing is to give students a choice of where they sit and find what you are most comfortable with.

Elizabeth Crain
4th Grade Teacher

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