Can standing desks keep students engaged?
By Allie Gross | February 27, 2015
Education Dive
Dive Brief:
Can standing desks help enhance student engagement and rein in extra-fidgety energy? Schools like Pasadena High in Texas are putting this concept to the test.
Dr. Kirk Lewis Career and Technical High School is experimenting with Ergotron, Inc.'s LearnFit Standing Desks to see how a new physical learning environment could influence student outcomes. With the desks also comes more attention to project-based and collaborative learning.
Most importantly, the desks can be adjusted throughout the day, so students may start sitting and then stand for a discussion, or whatever they feel would be best.
Dive Insight:
“Students are more actively participating in discussions and the amount of time that it takes students to complete tasks has lowered by four to five minutes, which is a big deal in a 45-minute period," Jason Rhodes, a geography teacher at Dr. Kirk Lewis Career and Technical High School, told eSchool News.

The most obvious idea here is that often when students act out or get distracted, it's almost always because they are too comfortable or stagnate. Standing actually burns calories and can possibly keep a student's energy focused on what's before them. With standing desks gaining steam in the corporate world due to the idea that the human body wasn't meant to sit for hours on end, it should come as no surprise that the concept is now being introduced to schools.

Recommended Reading
eSchool News: School implements standing desks to boost student engagement