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By:
Candace Calvillo
Jane McCollum
EDUC 6327
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Running head: Flexible Seating
An educator in the Houston Independent School District and on staff at Texas Southern
University was asked to participate in an interview about flexible seating effectiveness for
students in the general education classroom. The participants name will not be used throughout
this paper. The participant notified me that she has had more than 10 years of experience in the
school environment from the general education, inclusion, resource, and college setting.
Before the interview, the interviewee was asked to be honest and provide any information
based on personal experiences or opinions. She stated that she agreed with the idea of providing
flexible seating for the general education classrooms. She noted that there are several academic,
behavior, and health benefits to implementing flexible seating in the classrooms. She also noted
there are rules that need to be in place in order to have a successful classroom environment for
all students. When asked about her thoughts on teachers implementing flexible seating in the
general education classroom her response was that research supports flexible seating
arrangements as well as flexible small grouping based upon skill taught. Not only does this all
for differentiation in instruction, but keeps the learning environment engaging. She also stated in
regards to this question that the flexible seating helps keep the kids busy and involved with
everything going on. When inquired about possible reasons that teachers would prefer flexible
seating in the general education, the interviewee responded, Teachers can group scholars
according to their level of functioning in various areas of instruction. For example, if a scholar is
strong in compare and contrast but weak in main idea and supporting details he/she shouldnt
necessarily be in the same group for the entire grading period. The grouping and seating should
change based upon the instruction and the scholars areas of strengths and weaknesses. This
response was different than anticipated, it was more directed towards the flexible seating based
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Running head: Flexible Seating
on groups of levels, as we discussed the questions more she responded that flexible seating can
be viewed differently, for this questions she focused on the level grouping but stated that for the
behavior that the flexible seating can keep kids interested by allowing the students to move
around and get the wiggles out it tends to help with their energy level and keeping them focused.
Working in the special education setting we know that kids cannot keep still, she mentioned that
this is the same for the general education classroom, some kids just cannot sit still and as
teachers we need to be able to accept this and create an environment that can accommodate that
need. As the moved through the interview, the question came up about why teachers would NOT
prefer flexible seating and her response was similar to my feelings. She responded that some
teachers may prefer consistency, routine, structure, and predictability for the scholars. Also, some
teachers just might be resistance to change and just may not be willing to try to see the benefits.
Teaches can be stuck in their ways, especially if they have been teachers for years and years, She
mentioned that even herself, it would take time to gather information about it and find the
resources but if it was something that would benefit the students then why not try. Moving
forward, we discussed the benefits to the teacher, students, and classroom of having flexible
seating. She mentioned that yes, there are benefits and those benefits include that the students
need the ability to be in the high group sometimes and not always be in the low group due to
their overall functioning in a particular subject. Also, it builds a team atmosphere and
collaboration. It reinforces the important social skills that are necessary for scholars to learn how
to work with others. Again depending on what type of flexible seating, but I feel that overall
kids obviously work better in an environment of comfort and an environment where they can
adjust the way that they need to make themselves more attentive. She strongly felt that there is
not one way to sit and learn, that some of our scholars prefer the floor or to stand and we need to
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Running head: Flexible Seating
take those considerations when creating our environment. With every positive aspect there are
going to be negative feelings or negative responses to something and with flexible seating the
interviewee stated those fall backs that affected the general teacher, students, and classroom as
perhaps confusion or disorganization when scholars arrive and they are not in the seat they were
in just a week or day ago. Some scholars are resistant to change or may not have the social skills
to make new friends initially. I believe this becomes less of an issue the more the scholars
become accustomed to the flexible seating. At the beginning there could be students that just
want to play with the new options and take advantage of new ways to sit and learn. Usually that
Finally, the participate was asked to give her opinions on whether flexible seating
affects students health, academic process, or behavior. She stated, I think flexible seating has a
positive effect on student health. I cant think of a reason it would have a negative impact. As
far as academic progress, it would help because they can perform to their greatest potential being
appropriately grouped. According to the interviewee, behavior issues may be a problem due to
some scholars being far too social and wanting to talk or play with their friends in the class.
This is where setting the rules and expectations in the beginning will come in hand. The
interviewee also closed her statement on this question with stating, Movement keeps their heart
beating and promotes activity which in return helps with concentration and focus. She stated
that with all the positive aspects of flexible seating, the school and teacher will need to do their
part to ensure the idea is successful and not more disruptive or in turn hurt the students.
When reviewing the interviewees statement, they were different than I had expected
or had anticipated for the research. She made me think of flexible seating in a new way then
what I had originally started for this research. With her feedback I was able to take this research
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Running head: Flexible Seating
to a different level and provide more options for flexible seating rather than the tangible objects.
When I started this research topic, my mind was more on the adding of seats or taking away
seats, my interviewee was about the actual grouping and development of the students based on
levels. I am more aware now that this topic can be view differently depending on the perspective
of the researcher. Overall the interviewee provided me with knowledge and opinions that I was
expecting but helped me see my topic of interest in a different light and allowed me to provide