EDTS 546 - Flexible Seating

The physical space of our classrooms is one of the components of our teaching practice over which we have some control. The way we utilize the space we are given can help or hinder classroom management, facilitate or limit collaboration in group work, and impact how we are able to differentiate instruction. For these reasons, more teachers are turning to flexible seating design to best meet the needs of their students. Flexible seating is one of the cornerstones of the student-centered classroom and is backed by research that supports the impact of movement on learning. Flexible seating is more than just a variety of seating; instead, it’s a space organized to provide academic growth and student engagement with accountability and ownership of learning. Teachers who choose flexible seating need to know that there is some prep work involved and guidelines to follow to ensure flexible seating works for you and your students.

This course will provide the tools for you to implement flexible seating in your classroom. In each module, we will look at how teachers content guides the organization of the space for student learning. The course will provide ways for you to look at the purpose of flexible seating and how to assess the needs of the classroom with your philosophy of teaching in mind, but also setting up an effective classroom for active learning and increasing student accountability. The modules will also explain research on brain-based methods for improving learning that can be achieved through changing a classroom from traditional to flexible seating.