PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY At the Schnitzer Family Campus | Think for yourself. Work for the world. Winter 2019, 5779 | Exclusive updates for our donors and supporters.
Flexible Furniture Improves Student Engagement
Examples of adaptable furnishings currently in use at PJA.
As part of our mission to honor and teach the whole child, PJA has made it a focus of our funding initiatives to increase flexible furniture options in our studentutilized spaces and classrooms. Flexible furniture such as Hokki Wiggle Stools, Zuma Chairs, Node Chairs, Zboom Standing Desks and M-Benches allow our spaces to be dynamic, agile, and responsive centers of teaching and learning. Flexible furniture is a critical element of student engagement. It allows for the rearrangement of a learning space to fit the needs of the curriculum and instruction. A “read aloud” activity can quickly be transformed into a performance when furniture is easily moved into a black-box theatre set-up. A teacher calling on students to share their thoughts with the class can quickly shift to deeper, small-group discussions. Just sit in the Learning Commons for a morning and you’ll see firsthand the ways that furniture is spontaneously reconfigured to meet the needs of our learners. Think of that Starbucks on the corner, where the tables, puffy chairs, and ottomans are in a different place every time you walk in the door to order a latte!
An integral part of honoring the whole child is shifting ownership of learning from the teacher to the student. Flexible seating options and choice in seating arrangement and style signal to students that their freedom, creativity, and autonomy are valued and understood. They are trusted with ownership and decision making regarding their own learning. Current educational practices and psychological research indicate that offering children options for their learning in a cooperative, collaborative environment, including where and how to place their bodies for learning, provides for better academic, social, and emotional outcomes. Teachers at PJA from Pre-K through 8th grade have found that when children are given the freedom to choose a way to work, they are more likely to be engaged, focused, and on-task. Learning is not only a cerebral process—it is also an emotional, social, and physical process. Recent advances in neuroscience and technology have confirmed the wisdom of the body; we move to learn and learn best when moving. When we honor our students’ need to move with wiggle stools and stand-up desks, students are happier, more engaged, and more focused.
6651 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, OR 97219 | 503.244.0126 | www.pjaproud.org