After placing three stability balls and small desks randomly in the classroom one weekend, I was already asking myself if this experiment would be a valuable use of CfT grant funds or simply a risky innovation that would waste scarce grant resources.
My hope for adding a flexible seating option is that some students will be inspired to try a new experience that may boost engagement. Sitting on a ball requires alertness which could improve attention. The balls offer an element of fun which could inspire a creative approach to learning. Another benefit is the potential to relieve stress and anxiety by redirecting physical and mental tension and centering into a more present state of being.
On the following Monday morning, I watch as students walk into the classroom. They seem quite surprised by this unconventional change and cautiously walk around the balls as if they are wild animals waiting to pounce on dinner. With my encouragement, a few students try out the stability balls and desks. They sit down carefully but immediately look uncomfortable and self-conscious. After class they tell me it takes too much physical effort to sit and actively balance for fifty minutes, and they prefer stretching out and lounging in the usual desk chairs.
The feedback I received allows me to identify potential reactions to using the balls and reflects what other students may experience. There may be simple ways to facilitate creating more value around using the balls. Offer short, one-minute try-it-out sessions? Acknowledge and encourage the freedom to get on or get off a ball during class? Suggest bouncing up and down before class starts to increase alertness? Over time I may be able to help students grow belief in the value the stability balls can provide.
After several weeks watching students avoid the balls, I am becoming convinced that my experiment with novel seating has failed to achieve any positive effects. But one day as I am preparing to leave the classroom, one of my former students arrives a few minutes early for her next class and immediately sits on a ball. She laughs as she bounces up and down, enjoying a moment of pure fun. She tells me “I love using them (because of) the leg room. I can bounce and fidget without distracting others, and I can focus more while sitting because of the freedom they give me to move.”
Overall, I believe real value is created when a change in how we teach or in the classroom environment allows teachers and students to become more engaged and develop more meaningful connections together. I am still unsure if adding a few balls to the classroom will greatly empower student engagement, but having just one student benefit from bouncing on a ball to inspire learning or relieve stress and anxiety is empowering and ultimately priceless.
Beth Pride Ford
Department of Economics
Additional resources:
Clayton, M. and Messinger, E. (2014). A Comparison of Stability Balls Versus Chairs in the Classroom. SAU Knowledge Exchange.
https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=undergrad_ed
Giang, V. (Jan 2015). The Surprising and Powerful Links Between Posture and Mood.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3041688/the-surprising-and-powerful-links-between-posture-and-mood
Peper, E., Lin I-Mei., Harvey, R., and Perez, J. (2017). How Posture Affects Memory Recall and Mood. Biofeedback. 45. 36-41. 10.5298/1081-5937-45.2.01.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321348063_How_Posture_Affects_Memory_Recall_and_Mood
Roth, E. What are the Benefits of Stability Balls in School? AZ Central/USA Today Network.
https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/benefits-stability-balls-school-19386.html