Sit Still or Move More? The Impact of Fidgeting on Creativity

A study by Marily Oppezzo, Daniel L Schwartz, Rocky Aikens, Jessie B Moore, Joss Langford, Michael Baiocchi, James J Gross, Ilsa Dohmen

Abstract
Many modern classrooms impose constraints on student movement, both physical (e.g. stable, upright chairs) and psychological (e.g. norms that “being still” signals paying attention).. We conducted two separate studies on 32 6th grade (11–12 year old) and 43 7th grade (12–13 year old) students, respectively. Study 1 was a within-subject design and compared students’ creative ideation on the Alternate Uses Test and a verbal memory task through two conditions: Sit Still (on a regular chair with instructions to not move) or Freedom to Move (on a wiggle stool with ability to move as they wanted). There was a significant effect of condition on novel ideas, as well as number of novel ideas / total ideation (creativity ratio). There was no significant difference by condition on the verbal memory task. Study 2 was a within-subject design (due to the COVID-19 pandemic, each student completed 2 of 3 conditions): Sit Still, Freedom to Move, and Sit as Usual (on a regular chair with instructions to sit as if they were paying attention in class) and compared students’ creative ideation and a focused attention task instead of Study 1’s memory task. There was a significant effect of condition on novel ideas and creativity ratio, but pairwise comparisons were not statistically significant. There was no condition effect on focused attention. The Freedom to Move effects appear selective only for creative ideation. Implications for future research and small classroom changes to support natural movement are discussed.

When asked to imagine the ideal classroom, many of us conjure a room filled with eager students who are sitting still and quiet in neat rows, attentively facing the teacher. The “sitting still” part of this image seems particularly important. Teachers report that squirming, swinging on chairs, fidgeting, and whispering– what is classified as low-level classroom disruption – is a persistent, common, and ongoing challenge to behavioral management and learning. Not only are these low-level disruptions taxing to teachers, they also can be distractions to learning for the entire class, with some reports accounting for up to an hour a day of lost learning (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017; Haydn, 2014; Ofsted, 2014).

Recent evidence, however, suggests that one behavior often subsumed under low-level classroom disruption, namely physical movement, may not be detrimental to education after all – and could even be helpful. Identifying if and how physical movement in the classroom interacts with learning and attention can help inform classroom behavior management and the design of modern classrooms. After a brief overview of the movement and learning literature, we situate the current two studies in the work on dynamic seating, where we explore the question: Does giving students the freedom to fidget and wiggle enhance their creative thinking? Is there a price to pay in their memory or attention capacity?

Sit Still or Move More?

Continue reading here.

Reading Kingdom is an online K-3 reading program that uses a new “phonics-plus” model to teach students to read and write at a 3rd grade level with comprehension. Sign up for a complimentary Reading Kingdom trial (or any of our other products) here.

We also have a program for students on the autism spectrum and others who face unique learning challenges called ASD Reading. Sign up for a complimentary trial of ASD Reading.

State & Charter school funding is available! Look for your program and begin using your education funds today!

Want to help a child in need learn to read? Try shopping at our Amazon affiliate store where a portion of every sale goes towards teaching kids the life-changing skill of reading.