Introduction
Student engagement is crucial for learning to take place. When students are disengaged from lessons and activities, it becomes very difficult for them to retain information or develop a meaningful understanding of concepts. As a teacher, maintaining high levels of student engagement throughout lesson delivery is key. In my fifth grade classroom, I found that student engagement often declined, especially during whole-group instruction and independent work time. Students would start to fidget, get distracted by peers, or zone out when being taught a new concept from their desks in straight rows. This led me to wonder how I could improve engagement levels, and if a simple change such as the classroom seating arrangement could make a difference. My action research question emerged: How does utilizing alternative seating arrangements, such as stability balls and standing desks, impact student engagement in my fifth grade classroom compared to traditional desks?
Literature Review
To better understand how seating could potentially impact engagement, I reviewed existing scholarly research on the topic. Much of the literature supported that alternative seating does in fact correlate with improved student engagement (Burgoyne & Ketcham, 2015; Fedewa & Erwin, 2011; Koenraad & Sallis, 2014). Studies found that stability balls instead of chairs (Fedewa & Erwin, 2011; Koenraad & Sallis, 2014) as well as standing desks (Burgoyne & Ketcham, 2015) increased indicators of on-task behavior, such as less fidgeting, more eye contact with the teacher, and fewer disruptive actions like talking to peers. Researchers attributed this to the dynamic nature of these seats which allow students to subtly move and fidget without disturbing others. Another study looked specifically at whole-group instruction periods and found students rated higher on engagement scales when using balls versus traditional desks (Koenraad & Sallis, 2014). For kinesthetic learners especially, the movement provided stimulation to stay focused. While findings were generally positive across studies, limitations included smaller sample sizes and lack of qualitative data from students themselves on why the alternative seats helped. Based on the research though, alternative seating seemed worth testing in my own classroom context.
Methodology
With approval from administrators and consent from parents and students, I began my action research plan in January. For four weeks, students used the traditional fixed desks arranged in rows as my control setting. I observed one whole-group and one independent work period each day, taking tally marks of observable engagement behaviors every two minutes on an observation sheet. Behaviors included making eye contact, participating orally, working quietly without distractions, and demonstrating knowledge when called on versus signs of disengagement like looking around the room, fidgeting, chatting to peers, etc. At the end of each week, I also surveyed the class on a 5-point Likert scale on statements related to how engaged they felt during lessons.
For the next four weeks, I rearranged the furniture into small clusters of four stability balls instead of desks. Whole group still occurred at the front but independent work was done at the balls. I continued to observe twice daily, recording the same behaviors, and administered the same weekly survey. For the final phase, which lasted four weeks as well, I replaced half the traditional desks along the back wall with standing desks and allowed students to choose their preferred seating each day as long as they were respectful and got their work done. Observations and surveys were again repeated on the same weekly cycle.
At the end of the 12 weeks, I conducted semi-structured interviews with six focus students to gain deeper insights into their perspectives on the different arrangements and levels of engagement felt. Field notes from observations and surveys were compiled and analyzed via descriptive statistics and coding to identify emergent themes in student responses. This mixed methods approach provided both quantitative and qualitative data to answer my research question.
Findings and Analysis
Results of my observations and surveys revealed student engagement did in fact improve during alternative seating periods compared to traditional desks. When using the stability balls, I noticed significantly higher percentages of students making eye contact across observing periods, from a 57% average to 83%. There was also noticeably less fidgeting compared to the 16% observed fidgeting at desks. Time off task chatting had decreased from 9% to an average of only 2% when students were on balls. Survey responses about feeling engaged in lessons rose a full point from 3.2 to 4.3 on the scale.
When chairs were replaced by standing desks as well, engagement continued elevating. Eye contact percentages averaged 87%, fidgeting had dropped to less than 1%, and off task time fell further to 1% across periods. Student surveys showed another increase to a 4.6 rating feeling engaged. Qualitative interview data reinforced this positive impact. As one student said, “On the ball it’s easier to pay attention and not get distracted because I can bounce a little, and standing up helps my brain stay focused.” Others described traditional desks making them feel more sleepy and less active versus the alternative seats.
Some notable limitations were that it was a small sample size of only 22 students, and other classroom or external factors could have impacted engagement besides just the furniture. Triangulating data sources strengthened confidence in conclusions. Based on all findings, it is evident introducing flexibility and movement via stability balls and standing desks as alternative seating options served to significantly increase student engagement levels in my classroom setting compared to the traditionally static arrangement of fixed desks alone.
Conclusion and Implications
The results of this action research validate that a simple change in classroom furniture and seating can make a meaningful impact on student learning. Maintaining high engagement is crucial for optimal knowledge retention and understanding to occur. By providing students with alternative options that allow for subtle movement, it supports their natural inclinations to fidget while keeping them focused on lessons and independent work. This study has multiple implications. On an individual level, it informs how I arrange and manage my classroom space going forward. More widely, it adds to the body of literature demonstrating the pedagogical value of incorporating flexible, ergonomic seating alternatives into K-12 settings to increase engagement outcomes. Future research could expand the sample size and explore if gains are maintained long term with alternative seating. Overall, this action research reinforces the link between student engagement and classroom design elements within a teacher’s control.
Andrew Stroud