Fidget Spinners in Jamaica Class

For one week in June, the pupils from Jamaica class were allowed to bring in a fidget spinner to school to use during the day.

All pupils brought one in or borrowed on from the teacher.

They used it while they had to sit and listen to a presentation. They were also allowed to keep it on their table while they were doing their work.

It was an experiment, to see if it helped the pupils to focus better and to stay calm.

The pupils were still expected to do the same amount of work as they did before the experiment.

The findings were positive:

• It helped pupils to sit still and listen to a presentation,
• They worked quickly, so they could play with their fidget spinner, when they were finished,
• It was used in Literacy as a debate topic: ‘Do you agree or disagree with having fidget spinners in class?’
• They designed their own fidget spinner in Art,
• They used it in maths to make multiplication and division equations.
• It encouraged pupils to work together and share ideas,
• The same amount of work was done by all pupils with the fidget spinners in class,
• Children who felt a bit stressed, quickly calmed down after being allowed to use their fidget spinner.

I encourage other classes to take part in this experiment too.

From everyone in Jamaica class, have a great and safe summer holiday!