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Effects of using a variety of kinesthetic classroom equipment on elementary students’ on-task behaviour: a pilot study

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Abstract

The ability for students to maintain attention to classroom instruction is a critical factor for learning because loss of instructional time due to off-task behaviour has negative impacts on academic achievement. Early studies suggest that use of kinesthetic equipment in place of traditional seating in classrooms can improve student on-task behaviour. To date, however, limitations of the kinesthetic classroom research literature include small sample sizes, often without controls, use of a single equipment type (e.g. standing desks or exercise balls) and lack of objective measures of student on-task behaviour. We report a pilot study of the impact of using a variety of kinesthetic equipment in elementary classrooms on objectively-measured student on-task behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Cassidy Cabral, Kara Penney and the participating teachers, students and administrators for their support of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Rhode Island, 25 West Independence Way, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Michelle Flippin, Emily D. Clapham & M. Shane Tutwiler

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  1. Michelle Flippin
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  2. Emily D. Clapham
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  3. M. Shane Tutwiler
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Correspondence to Michelle Flippin.

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All procedures involving human participants were completed in accordance with the ethical standards of the URI Institutional Review Board.

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Flippin, M., Clapham, E.D. & Tutwiler, M.S. Effects of using a variety of kinesthetic classroom equipment on elementary students’ on-task behaviour: a pilot study. Learning Environ Res 24, 137–151 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-020-09321-2

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