Modified Flexible Seating and its Impact on Student Autonomy

What is something you would never expect to hear or see in a first-grade classroom? Silence with every student working. Flexible seating classrooms gives students the autonomy to choose what kinds of learning spaces work best for them based on their personal learning style. With the implementation of flexible seating, students have “the ability to concentrate, focus, and learn effectively” (Harvey & Kenyon, 2013, p. 9). In this qualitative self-study, I explore how the use of flexible seating can provide students with a better understanding of what they personally need in order to learn best and what kind of seat in the classroom can best help them. Data was collected throughout my student teaching placement in the form of field notes, anecdotal records, student work, and lesson plans. My findings indicate that with the use of flexible seating, students are given the autonomy to make well-informed choices about themselves as learners and make changes in their behaviors that will encourage them to become better learners