Fit for School

A classroom that encourages movement gets good grades.

A classroom without desks -- where students write standing at podiums on wheels or take spelling tests sprawled on carpet squares. Is it some newfangled education heresy?

While it is unorthodox, Mayo Clinic researchers believe that a classroom that encourages movement may be part of the solution to this country's obesity epidemic. More than 15 percent of children in the United States are overweight and the numbers keep increasing. It's expected that half of the children in America are likely to have weight problems during their lifetime. And obese children are at increased risk of what, until now, had been considered adult health problems -- diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

"We know that a major culprit behind obesity is a lack of physical activity," says James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic obesity researcher who has studied the connection between everyday movement and weight.

Dr. Levine wondered if a different type of classroom could encourage movement, and ultimately, reduce the risk of obesity. Earlier this year, Levine and Mayo Clinic colleagues put the notion to the test. They designed what they believe is the first classroom without chairs using a range of creative and mobile tools. Each student had a "standing desk" on wheels that could easily move around the classroom. Apple loaned wireless notebook computers and iPods, which students used in regular learning activities.

Twenty-four students in fourth and fifth grade from Rochester, Minn., Independent School District #535 participated in the three-week experiment -- one week in their traditional classroom and two weeks in the classroom without chairs. Each student wore a device to record movement. While the number crunching isn't completed yet, initial observations indicate that chairs may be optional in the classroom.

"The wireless technology facilitated movement in the classroom," Dr. Levine says. Spelling tests were downloaded on iPods, so students could take the test anywhere in the classroom. Creative writing, done via laptop, didn't require sitting at a desk.

The teacher reported that the children were more focused and had fewer behavior problems in the new classroom. Parents said their children seemed happier in school. "The children said, 'We love it.' And that, along with improved learning, was the most important result of all," Dr. Levine says. In fact, students were able to use the classroom for the remainder of the school year. The school district is seeking support to create more "classrooms of the future."

Dr. Levine says it will take longer-term studies to judge what effect chairless classrooms will have on childhood obesity. But given the initial grades given by all involved, rows of classroom desks may one day be relegated to education history books.