Guest Blogger- Joe

We have another guest blogger this week, Joe Pennington.  Below is Joe's sharing of his flexible seating set up in his room.
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I have always been a proponent of students working in pairs and groups to share thoughts and ideas that benefit learning.  I found that it was often difficult to provide good work areas for this with the older desks that were in my classroom that are connected to the seats and difficult to get together allowing students their own individual space.  So, that led me to consider alternative seating options.  I started with getting tables and chairs for my classroom that allows students a better opportunity to work together and support each other during their learning.  I was also able to find a number of rolling office chairs for a good price that increased the ease of movement to adjust seating arrangements, and it offered students a more comfortable learning environment.  These new seating options have been a positive change to my classroom in several ways.  

One of the biggest changes has been the excitement that many students now bring to class.  Students can be comfortable and have plenty of room on the tables for all of their supplies, and it is easier for students to share information and ideas with each other with the current setup.  I also was able to create more space in the room for students to stand and move around as needed.  Some students need this space and freedom, and I often have one or two students that choose to stand in the back of the room during class.  A few have also decided to sit on the floor from time to time.  Students also have the freedom to choose where to sit each day, and some students will switch seats to ask questions to other students while they are working on assignments.  Some students prefer working individually, and there are still a few individual desks for students to choose as desired.  Since incorporating the new seating arrangement, student achievement has increased with improved scores on assessments and fewer retakes than previous years.

I know that several other classrooms in the school have been transformed with tables and chairs, and other teachers are seeing similar results with student learning.  However, I realize that my current classroom setup may be improved, and it is still not ideal for all students.  I have been reading more about flexible seating options, and I am pursuing ways to improve the learning environment for all students.  Some of the items I would like to include are additional seating options (such as bean bags, pillows, stools, and exercise balls), and I plan to raise a couple of tables to create standing stations.  This will create more student choice and help provide the best learning environment for my students to feel comfortable and achieve success.  

Questions to consider:

1. How do you decide to set up and arrange your classroom? Why?
2. How do you select student seating?  Do you assign seats or let students choose their own seats?  Why?
3. How can you improve your classroom environment to increase student learning?