Incorporating flexible seating within classroom design is more important than ever. Today’s generation of students has a shorter attention span and craves variety. They want to walk into a classroom that grabs their attention and meets multiple needs, so they can focus on achieving academic excellence.  

Flexible seating requires movement, since rocking and motion is known to facilitate concentration and better cognitive processing. According to Lakeside Educational Network CEO/President Gerry Vassar, “Rocking helps students who are experiencing a brain state of high arousal (hypervigilance) to be able to transition to a much more calm brain state to enhance his/her ability to learn and problem-solve.” Students who have a hard time focusing will do well when they are free to move.  

We know a few ways to bring flexible seating into the classroom to ensure students of all ages are ready to learn.  

At the tail-end of a two-year-long global pandemic, students are under more stress than ever before. The pandemic alone has massively affected their mental health as students make the switch to remote learning and continue schoolwork under these conditions. Not only were they forced to consider their futures while they were simultaneously unsure what the future held, but students also identified other global issues that had an impact on their mental health in the latest APA Stress in America Survey. Students today are stressed over issues like discrimination and harassment, the separation and deportation of migrant and immigrant families, mass shootings, political climate, hunger or food insecurities, work, and money, to name a few.  

MooreCo is piloting the conversation around how to best serve students in a post-pandemic world. Curating the classroom into a multifaceted learning environment is just one of many ways to adapt to the future of education. Think interactive displays, wall-to-wall whiteboards, ergonomic seating, and standing desks. Whatever your students need to catch up on their learning, MooreCo’s wide range of products are designed to keep academic focus at the forefront. 

MooreCo has been committed to providing environments where people can thrive for over 3 decades. But what does it mean to thrive? Once all of our survival needs are met (safety, food, shelter, water), we can focus on the higher range of needs. Hierarchy by MooreCo was inspired by Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs. We imagined a world where students were not only stimulated, but supported, encouraged, and set up to succeed in all their learning endeavors. 

Gratitude isn’t just a feeling, it’s a practice. Research shows that practicing gratitude can improve mental health and quality of life, as well as contribute to overall happiness. As we come to the end of an unprecedented two year period and prepare for the holidays, we reflect on all there is to be grateful for.

At MooreCo, we’re big on thriving. Our Thrive Philosophy came about in 2019, to place a focus on the design of spaces that encourage physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social-emotional, and moral development. But even as there was an opportunity to help students thrive then, the pandemic made that need even more dire. The past year has taken a toll on students, teachers, and parents in ways that will take time to recover from. With the help of ESSER funds being allocated to schools to help with this recovery, our hope is that each school and student will have access to the resources and spaces they need to truly thrive.

At MooreCo, we are fans of holistic design when it comes to educational environments. This means we make a conscious effort to consider human development and health when creating our products. In 2019, we featured an article on the “4 C’s” of learning, based on the idea that classroom design can foster active learning and improve retention of knowledge. The four C's of learning are: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity. Through study and learning from experts, we’ve discovered over the years that providing an environment where students feel empowered to choose the micro-environment that fits their individual learning  can put students in a position to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.