When Limited Seating Leads to Success

Choice can be a powerful tool for helping our students become independent learners. We’ve found that giving students choice about where they sit in the room provides them with a sense of control over their learning environment and usually leads to making wise choices about where they will be most successful.

Sometimes we have students who struggle with behaviors of independence and discover they are successful when they have fewer choices and spots with clearly defined borders. Carpet squares and square yards of fabric are easy ways to define seating space. In my experience, these work like magic for some students, and become magic carpets for others. So, defining spaces in ways that can’t fly around the room can be valuable.

Using blue painter’s tape to define a rectangle of personal space can work on both carpets and floor. A laundry tub can feel like a cozy, personal reading space. Desks and file cabinets can be arranged so they provide borders for small, private read-to-self nooks.

Training students who might benefit from limited boundaries to select from one of these can really help them be successful.