TALLMADGE, Ohio — Keeping students engaged is always a challenge for teachers, but new tools and a new school are giving kids better balance in the classroom.
As education evolves and the needs of students change, educators at Tallmadge Elementary School wanted to give kids a seat at the table when it comes to their own education.
“We're trying to change that mindset from the traditional sense of ‘I’m the teacher and these are my 25 kids to the new modern sense of, ‘We have 200 kids in this grade and we're all responsible for them,’” said principal Adam Booth.
The new Tallmadge Elementary School opened three years ago and houses kindergarten through fifth grade. It was designed to offer a more personalized learning experience and give students a little ownership in their learning path.
“We want our kids to have fun,” said Superintendent Steve Wood. “If they're having fun, they're engaged and they're learning faster, and they want to come to school and they want to be excited to go to school.”
Part of that educational journey includes a flexible seating arrangement. Things like wobble stools and bean bags replace more traditional seating. Students aren’t always sitting at a desk and chair but are constantly engaged in learning.
“Some kids like to be moving a little bit, so giving them a wobble stool and enable them to get that energy out of them, it enables them to be more engaged in the lesson, and that's ultimately what we want,” Wood said.
The shift in teaching philosophy comes as schools try to keep up with the ever-changing needs of their students. Studies have shown kids to be more alert and focused when moving around and having flexible seating allows them to do that.
“I think the more that we learn and more that research shows that personalized learning model is that everybody has their own way of learning in certain ways,” Booth said.
