A study from the Texas A&M Health Science
Center School of Public Health finds students with standing desks are
more attentive than their seated counterparts. In fact, preliminary
results show 12 percent greater on-task engagement in classrooms with
standing desks, which equates to an extra seven minutes per hour of
engaged instruction time.
The findings, published in the International Journal of Health Promotion
and Education, were based on a study of almost 300 children in second
through fourth grade who were observed over the course of a school year.
Engagement was measured by on-task behaviors such as answering a
question, raising a hand or participating in active discussion and
off-task behaviors like talking out of turn.
Standing desks -- also known as stand-biased desks -- are raised
desks that have stools nearby, enabling students to sit or stand during
class at their discretion. Mark Benden, Ph.D., CPE, associate professor
at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, who
is an ergonomic engineer by trade, originally became interested in the
desks as a means to reduce childhood obesity and relieve stress on
spinal structures that may occur with traditional desks. Lessons learned
from his research in this area led to creation of Stand2Learn™, an
offshoot company of a faculty-led startup that manufactures a classroom
version of the stand-biased desk.
Benden's previous studies have shown the desks can help reduce
obesity -- with students at standing desks burning 15 percent more
calories than students at traditional desks (25 percent for obese
children) -- and there was anecdotal evidence that the desks also
increased engagement. The latest study was the first designed
specifically to look at the impact of classroom engagement.
Benden said he was not surprised at the results of the study, given
that previous research has shown that physical activity, even at low
levels, may have beneficial effects on cognitive ability.
"Standing workstations reduce disruptive behavior problems and
increase students' attention or academic behavioral engagement by
providing students with a different method for completing academic tasks
(like standing) that breaks up the monotony of seated work," Benden
said.
"Considerable research indicates that academic behavioral engagement
is the most important contributor to student achievement. Simply put, we
think better on our feet than in our seat."
The key takeaway from this research, Benden said, is that school
districts that put standing desks in classrooms may be able to address
two problems at the same time: academic performance and childhood
obesity.
Additional Texas A&M researchers involved with the study, which
was funded by the National Institutes of Health, were Hongwei Zhao,
Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Texas A&M
School of Public Health; Jamilia Blake, Ph.D., assistant professor of
educational psychology at the Texas A&M College of Education; and
Marianela Dornhecker, doctoral student in educational psychology at the
Texas A&M College of Education. Monica Wendel, Dr.P.H., associate
dean for public health practice at the University of Louisville, also
contributed to the research.
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