New study: Want students to pay attention? Give them a standing desk
Image: Texas A&M University
For years, teachers have longed for ways to encourage students to pay more attention in class. The answer may be as simple as standing.
A newly published study, co-authored by Associate Professor Mark Benden of the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, finds that students provided with standing desks exhibited higher rates of engagement than those in traditional seated desks.
Preliminary results indicated that students at standing desks exhibit 12 percent greater engagement – roughly an extra seven minutes per hour of engaged instruction time.
The findings are based observations of almost 300 elementary students over the course of a school year. The students were scored as engaging the class when they answered a question, raised a hand, or participated in active discussion.
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