The challenge for my students lies in their physical ability to stay focused on learning activities throughout the school day. Many of my students have a very hard time remaining still during lessons or while completing assignments, and can become very restless, often tipping their chairs or asking to leave the classroom for various reasons. Simultaneously, a handful of them struggle to remain awake and alert, and may fall asleep at their desks while working.
Extensive research has shown that students are more engaged when they are given opportunities to move their bodies, thus enabling learning to be more effective. In an attempt to put this theory into practice, I have implemented small group center activities into our daily schedule. This allows students to participate in learning activities with a small group of peers, transitioning from their normal seating arrangement of desks and chairs to flexible seating on the floor or other areas in the classroom. This allows students to be more active during learning as they work to complete assignments collaboratively with their classmates. These small group centers prove to be highly effective at keeping students engaged throughout the entire learning time, and my students look forward to this time each day.
However, this variation in our classroom’s learning environment requires a more flexible seating arrangement. Resources such as wobble stools, bean bag chairs, and wobble cushions would enable students to learn in these small group centers in both a comfortable and productive manner. Students can use wobble stools to better concentrate on tasks at the Teacher Table, group work at the table, or even at their own desks. They can use the wobble cushions to work on the floor in groups or pairs. Students can use bean bags to better concentrate as they complete digital assignments.
About my class
The challenge for my students lies in their physical ability to stay focused on learning activities throughout the school day. Many of my students have a very hard time remaining still during lessons or while completing assignments, and can become very restless, often tipping their chairs or asking to leave the classroom for various reasons. Simultaneously, a handful of them struggle to remain awake and alert, and may fall asleep at their desks while working.
Extensive research has shown that students are more engaged when they are given opportunities to move their bodies, thus enabling learning to be more effective. In an attempt to put this theory into practice, I have implemented small group center activities into our daily schedule. This allows students to participate in learning activities with a small group of peers, transitioning from their normal seating arrangement of desks and chairs to flexible seating on the floor or other areas in the classroom. This allows students to be more active during learning as they work to complete assignments collaboratively with their classmates. These small group centers prove to be highly effective at keeping students engaged throughout the entire learning time, and my students look forward to this time each day.
However, this variation in our classroom’s learning environment requires a more flexible seating arrangement. Resources such as wobble stools, bean bag chairs, and wobble cushions would enable students to learn in these small group centers in both a comfortable and productive manner. Students can use wobble stools to better concentrate on tasks at the Teacher Table, group work at the table, or even at their own desks. They can use the wobble cushions to work on the floor in groups or pairs. Students can use bean bags to better concentrate as they complete digital assignments.
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