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Volume 17 z Issue 3 z March 2016 z Since 1999
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Do Stand-Up Desks & Work Stations Make Students Smarter? Submitted by Imagine Charter School Team
T
he research is staggering. Studies have shown that sitting for 2 hours continuously can lead to heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, orthopedic dysfunction and cancer, not to mention back and neck pain. Alarmingly, most school-aged children sit for 85% of their waking hours, this sedentary time greatly impedes the ability to learn. This demands a call to action, but what can we, as educators do about it? One researcher described physical activity as “cognitive candy.” If students are given the opportunity to move throughout
the day, they will do so. As students increase movement, their education improves from the change in focus alone. It has been shown that classroom management becomes more effective by minimizing disruption and encouraging focused engagement. At Imagine Charter School at Firestone, our goal is to create an environment that fosters engagement and active learning, in turn improving test scores, generating creative thinkers and most importantly, contributing to the health and happiness of our students. Our staff is committed to adding brain and
movement breaks into our daily routine, but continually exploring ideas to foster active minds for learning while decreasing chances of disease and ailment? The solution we have found is standup desks and workstations. We are currently piloting a stand-up desk in a first grade class and stand-up workstation in a full day kindergarten class. We have a passion for this initiative, the end goal being multiple desks for each classroom. Currently, we are researching multiple grant opportunities in hopes of meeting that goal for our school.
To Left:
First grader, Ryan remains focused using the individual desk model. To Right: The first sight word test taken before the stand-up workstation in kindergarten, 3 of 17 kids got EVERYTHING correct. The next test taken, this time with the stand-up workstation available had 9 of 17 getting EVERYTHING correct and 4 of 5 kids standing had perfect scores.
In our first grade class, it is being observed that having multiple desks or workstations would be beneficial as so many kids are showing greater focus and productivity while standing. Ryan, a first grader, says, “Doing my work is a lot better when my back isn’t hurting! This desk is awesome sauce!” In kindergarten, our decision-makers (students) have implemented their own rules for their multi-person workstation. The decision was made to be inclusive so all students get the opportunity to stand at it each day. Ms. Baker, the kindergarten teacher, has noted that the kids who are standing are more focused, on task, and less disruptive than their sitting counterparts. It is also noted that the students are more content doing pen to paper work, given the choice to stand to complete the activity. Ms. Baker also says that it has made a huge difference on class behavior because kids are less fidgety and more settled! Logan, a kindergarten student, says that he “loves how it exercises his legs and he loves that standing up makes him healthy!” Jasper adds to that “sitting hurts me and standing lets me stretch and feel good!” Aubrey says that she loves standing up at it because it is “better than that hard chair.” It’s an exciting time being able to incorporate these into our classroom and we are looking forward to being able to expand, giving more classes and more students access to this incredible opportunity!
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