These are some of the most phenomenal people I know, and they’re my students. They have an admirable amount of energy and excitement within themselves. Each of one has different interests, personalities, and experiences that make them who they are. This is why using the same methods for every student, every year does not work. One thing that I have found to be a fairly simple way get my students engaged, on task, and to also diminish several behavior problems is flexible seating.
Teacher Kayla Delzer @TopDogTeaching goes into great detail about the reasoning and research in this Edutopia article. This blog is to explain and show some of the specifics to putting together a classroom with flexible seating and things to consider.
I like lists so here it goes:
Teacher Kayla Delzer @TopDogTeaching goes into great detail about the reasoning and research in this Edutopia article. This blog is to explain and show some of the specifics to putting together a classroom with flexible seating and things to consider.
I like lists so here it goes:
Flexible Seating in 7 Steps 1. Let go of control - Most important step. There is very little for the teacher to control with flexible seating, which is one of the reasons it works so well. Kids like feeling in control of their lives just as adults do. 2. Student material storage - Where will you have students store their notebooks, books, pencils etc? I have 4 books shelves in different parts of the room with 1 bin and 1 book box that are labeled with numbers for each student to put their things in. There is a bin for crayons, marker, pencils, and so on for every 4-6 students. Those bins are labeled with the student’s numbers that use them. |
3. Learning areas - How do you see your students sitting when they aren’t in their desks? Try and make your learning areas match that. Get rid of the desks! Some were kept for those who wanted their own space at all times. I like to have at least one table that students can choose to stand and work at. I just raised the legs on a table I already had and put 4 tall stools around it. Other work areas include; coffee tables, end tables, stools, crate seats, pillows, carpets, papasan chairs, basically anything comfortable to work at and sit on. I found the furniture in my room at garage sales, neighborhood buy/sell/trade sites, IKEA, and Goodwill for very reasonably priced pieces. In total I spent $45 to get it set up and another $15 during the year for more stools. I do plan on purchasing some pillows and more stools for the upcoming school year and plan on going with some fellow educators as they make their transition to flexible seating.
4. Home Groups - These are the only assigned seats I have in my room. There are 4 learning areas that are labeled with a circle and the corresponding number above it. It is up to the students what chairs they use when in Home Groups. I use these groups in a few different ways: Those materials stored on bookshelves are organized by Home Groups. The color circle above the learning area matches the colors on their bins, so you will need 4 different colors when you start labeling. If there are guest teachers in the room this is where my students know to sit. I also include those details in my plans for the guest teacher that briefly explains how the room is set up. As we line up to leave the room students sit in their Home Groups to be called by the student leaders for the week. To transition back into the room or times when they do not get to choose the groups they work in I just tell them to go to their Home Groups and they know exactly where to sit.
5. Breakout Groups - It is important to always keep students moving and working together and I use a variety of ways to do that. These have become an easy way to mix up students during group work after I have numbered them off. During the first or second day of school I had students determine 6 places that we could number as Breakout Groups and it stayed that way for the entire school year.
6. Getting Admin on Board - I was very fortunate to have administrators that supported this unorthodox setting. The summer before I got rid of my desks I had done quite a bit of research about how boys learning and one of the things I came across was flexible seating. There is an ongoing file in on my computer that kept the research I found. After my room was set up I showed it to administration and cited the research while explaining how it would work.
7. Starting the Year and Getting Parents on Board - The week before school starts we have Open House that parents attend and it is a great time for them to come in and see the classroom their child will be in for the year. After introducing myself the first thing I explained was our flexible learning environment. I told them about some of my rationale for making the change, the research I had done that led me to this point, that administration was on board with it, and that we can always make changes as needed. This led nicely into telling them about the other big difference between our classroom and the other rooms (STEAM + Problem/Project Based Learning) in the building because it gave more reasons for flexible seating.
Take a risk and go outside your comfort zone! You'll wonder why you hadn't been doing this all along, I know I did.
5. Breakout Groups - It is important to always keep students moving and working together and I use a variety of ways to do that. These have become an easy way to mix up students during group work after I have numbered them off. During the first or second day of school I had students determine 6 places that we could number as Breakout Groups and it stayed that way for the entire school year.
6. Getting Admin on Board - I was very fortunate to have administrators that supported this unorthodox setting. The summer before I got rid of my desks I had done quite a bit of research about how boys learning and one of the things I came across was flexible seating. There is an ongoing file in on my computer that kept the research I found. After my room was set up I showed it to administration and cited the research while explaining how it would work.
7. Starting the Year and Getting Parents on Board - The week before school starts we have Open House that parents attend and it is a great time for them to come in and see the classroom their child will be in for the year. After introducing myself the first thing I explained was our flexible learning environment. I told them about some of my rationale for making the change, the research I had done that led me to this point, that administration was on board with it, and that we can always make changes as needed. This led nicely into telling them about the other big difference between our classroom and the other rooms (STEAM + Problem/Project Based Learning) in the building because it gave more reasons for flexible seating.
Take a risk and go outside your comfort zone! You'll wonder why you hadn't been doing this all along, I know I did.