By Bob Hill, Ergotron
As Millennials pour into the workforce, they’re bringing a
renewed sense of collaboration and flexibility. And these young professionals
expect their work spaces to keep up. Simultaneously, next generation learners
are walking into the classroom for the first time, and these students also
desire flexibility to meet their individual needs. One-to-one device
initiatives and personalized learning tools work to address these trends, but
districts often overlook the physical components that facilitate the best 21st
century learning experience.
The classroom sets the foundation for innovative learning,
and that goes beyond the qualifications of the teacher or the breadth of the curriculum.
Classroom furniture, including student desks, must keep pace with technology
and students’ varied learning styles to support their overall well-being,
ultimately leading to greater engagement and academic success.
An undeniable link between health, engagement
and academics
Walk into an average
classroom, and you’re likely to see most students just where you expect them to
be — sitting. But this seemingly normal aspect of today’s school system puts
students at a learning disadvantage. After just 30 minutes of sitting,
students’ metabolism slows, blood circulation decreases, good cholesterol drops
and blood sugar rises. Students lose focus the longer they sit, making them
less likely to engage. Their desks become a barrier to learning.
Elementary school
students benefit from movement-based activities already integrated into the
school day, as well as physical education and recess. As they transition to
middle school and high school, however, static classroom time replaces physical
activity. This familiar “sit and get” model of education doesn’t serve today’s
learners, physically or mentally.
This is where taking
a fresh look at classroom furniture comes into discussion. One option?
Replacing stationary desks with mobile sit-stand desks. Through regular
sit-stand motion throughout the class day, students achieve this
non-disruptive, low-level physical activity that counteracts the negatives of
sitting. Students have greater metabolic health, including higher heart rate
and greater oxygen and nutrient transport. They also burn more calories and
maintain insulin effectiveness.[1] This is a key step
in establishing healthier habits earlier in life. With more than one-third
(35.1%) of adults over the age of 20 in the United States classified as obese,[2] educators,
not employers, play a key role in combatting this trend before students even
enter the workforce.
Researchers have
found that integrating sit-stand furniture into the classroom leads to greater
classroom engagement, on-task behavior and greater academic performance.[3] Students regularly improve on regular
assessments like quizzes and tests, as well as full-year learning evaluations
that measure overall progress, and students notice the difference.
“You feel more
energetic and you pay much better attention when you’re standing up,” said
Jose, a ninth grader at Dr. Kirk Lewis Career & Technical High School in
Houston, Texas.
Physical activity
doesn’t have to just come from an elective physical education class. Instead,
students can remain in class, regularly switch between sitting and standing and
improve their overall well-being and academic performance. With more attentive
students, teachers can build on lesson plans with supplementary course material
that leads to better academic outcomes for students. And when focus wanes,
students intuitively know it’s time to stand.
“All teachers pride
ourselves on being able to know who our students are. If we’ve been sitting and
everybody starts to get a little flat, it’s time to stand up,” said Jason
Rhodes, a ninth-grade teacher at Dr. Kirk Lewis Career & Technical High
School.
Flexible classroom spaces lead to greater
personalization
Integrating regular
movement into the classroom not only supports students’ health and academic
outcomes – it promotes personalized learning. Teachers must accommodate
different kinds of learners, but with out-of-the-box classroom furniture,
they’re limited by time and resources to adjust.
As our digital world
continues to evolve, learning spaces need to also evolve to promote collaboration
and flexibility.
Many districts are already adopting new teaching methodologies
to approach education in a new way for today’s learners. In flipped classrooms
where students tackle detailed “homework” assignments, learning spaces need to
be instantly adaptable to move from whole-class instruction to collaborative
groups to individual student-teacher work sessions. Sit-stand desks help
teachers meet students where they are at, addressing their individual learning
styles more effectively. Raising or lowering the sit-stand desk allows students
to learn in the way that feels most natural to them.
“These desks are a part of personalized learning because they give
students freedom to be more comfortable, more focused and attentive,” said Alex
Brahm, a World History, World Religions, Theory of Knowledge teacher at Lamar
High School in Houston, TX
And with flexible
classroom furniture, teachers can easily reconfigure the classroom for group
collaboration, peer-to-peer work or one-on-one instruction. It no longer takes
dedicated time to drag heavy desks into new formations that only work for one
learning style. Teachers can easily experiment with new approaches and
continuously innovate in the classroom without the constraints of traditional
classroom furniture. As they move away from a lecture-style format, they take
on the role of a facilitator working to meet both individual and group
needs.
“There’s never a
moment when the actual physical space gets in the way of learning the
material,” Monica Escobar, a fifth grade teacher at Alexandria Country Day
School in Alexandria, VA, said after implementing LearnFit desks.
Funding can serve as
a barrier for some districts, but with a single investment facilities and
operations leaders have one solution for students and staff, reducing the
number of costly orders and the management of multiple kinds of classroom
furniture. It’s a standardized solution that’s also flexible, encouraging
teachers to broaden their teaching approach and allowing students to take control
of their learning environment.
Stand up for new learning possibilities
Transforming a
static, traditional classroom into a learning environment infused with movement
opens doors to renewed health and academic success for students. No longer
contained in an environment that has a negative impact on their bodies and
well-being, students will be more engaged and ready to take on new academic
challenges.
Equipped with tools
like sit-stand desks, school leaders can provide the non-disruptive activity
that both students and teachers need to succeed. This single investment pays
off in innovative teaching strategies, assessment scores, engagement rates and
overall student well-being. These desks also impact other departments in the
school because with endless combinations of classroom formats available without
facility involvement, facilities staff can focus on other concerns instead of
directing efforts toward fulfilling individual furniture requests.
The next wave of
technological advances will keep coming, bringing with it new opportunities and
challenges. But the fact remains, movement matters for students, and flexible
classroom furniture like sit-stand desks can convert student workspaces to be
healthy and personalized for their best learning environment.
Bob Hill is the
Healthcare and Education Manager for Ergotron. He works with schools and
healthcare facilities around the globe to build greater awareness of the
importance of active learnstyles and workstyles. He helps build ergonomic work
environments that support the health and wellbeing of employees, caregivers,
teachers and students in their diverse workflow and workstyle requirements.
[1] BBC Magazine. (2013). Calorie burner: How
much better is standing up than sitting? BBC Magazine. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/ news/magazine-24532996.
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Obesity and
Overweight. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm.
[3] Benden, M., Blake, J., Dornhecker, M., Zhao,
H., and Wendel, M. (2015). The Effect
of Stand-biased Desks on Academic Engagement: An Exploratory Study.
International Journal of Health Promotion and Education. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14635240.2015.1029641?journalCode=rhpe20.
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