Creating Individual Workstations in Your Classroom

Active classrooms are more important now than ever before, and that’s because students (and teachers) will need to adjust from their work from home lifestyle to back to their classrooms. Since learning from home, the day might include moving around more. For example, to grab a drink of water, grab another snack, make lunch, chase around your kids that are also learning from home, or your workstation is set up to be more active (stools, standing desks, kitchen counter, etc).

Therefore, going from standing or moving whenever, to being sedentary in the classroom will be hard for students to adjust. One way to make it easier for students to safely adjust to the classroom is by creating individual workstations.

Individual workstations allow students to safely distance from each other, while engaging in activity.  These stations can be made with standing desks, active seating, fidget busters and individual supply packs.

Step 1: Pick your desk

We recommend choosing an adjustable desk that is easily moveable. An adjustable desk allows students to adjust the height, so their station can go from sitting to standing in a matter of seconds. Standing desks that include wheels are a plus because you can easily create custom floorplans.

Brain Tip: Standing increases efficiency while working by up to 45%.

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Step 2: Add an Active Seat

Adding active seats to your workstations can easily increase your students’ movement throughout the day, while remaining in their own space. When choosing an active seat there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind.

1) Material

Antimicrobial material helps to control mold, fungus, and other bacteria that can cause problems for those using the product. This material will be easier to manage with new protocols for cleaning and disinfecting.

Cushioned seats made with leather, nylon, and spandex may be more comfortable for students, but might not meet your school’s disinfecting requirements.

2) Level of Instability

Some active seats have a rounded bottom so users can safely wobble while engaging muscles and providing an opportunity to release excess energy, enhance focus and productivity!

Other active seats allow users to slightly rock or tilt while working their core muscles in new ways without disrupting class.

Active seats that are stable will most likely have a backless design. This engages core muscles, and improves posture and concentration!

Brain Tip: Backless active seats ensure proper posture for increased blood flow to the brain, which increases productivity and time-on-task.

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Step 3: Choose a Fidget Buster

Fidget busters are a great way for students to get their fidgets out right at their desk, without being distracting. They are usually small enough to fit under or on top of a desk so they’re out of the way and easy to clean up.

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Step 4: Add a Supply Pack

Individual supply packs, such as MyStemSupplies, are a great way to safely and effectively provide every student with their own supplies. Therefore, reducing supply sharing and encourages physical distancing. If your school has a hybrid plan, these supply packs are perfect for students to transport to and from class.

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Start the Conversation with Your Admin

Use this free toolkit to advocate for the role kinesthetic classrooms play during physical distancing. Starting the conversation with your admin is just the beginning!