Our Brains, Movement and Learning

We have learned SO much over the last 20-25 years about the brain and how the brain learns.  Yet, when you go into most classrooms, particularly as the age of the students becomes older, you see that teaching may have not changed much from when you went to school.  The teacher is still the instructor, children are asked to stay seated in chairs and are at least reprimanded, if not punished for getting out of their seats, or for speaking out.  If we consider the Teacher as "The Font of All Learning", then yes, we have to punish those talkers and walkers because then how will everyone hear the teacher.

I suggest another way, a way that is supported by the latest research on the brain and learning.  The Teacher is the Facilitator and Moderator.  The student is his own teacher, and regulates how and how fast he learns.  The teacher adjusts the environment so that the student is getting the exposure to the information that he needs.  The student is not punished for learning differently.  Information is provided through a "multi-sensory" approach so that you can learn no matter how your individual brain learns.

THE BRAIN AND HOW IT LEARNS:  What We Know:  EVERYTHING THAT COMES INTO THE BRAIN, COMES IN AS SENSATION.  We are all familiar with the "Five" Senses' Sight, Sound, Taste, Touch and Smell.  The two most powerful sensations though, are Vestibular/Movement, and Muscle/Joint Sense.  All Sensation goes into your brain and is filtered and processed by the Cerebellum.  This job is so important that though the Cerebellum is only 1/10th of brain mass, it holds nearly half of the brain's neurons.  Reach your hand to the back of your head just above where your neck joins your head.  This big bulge is where your Cerebellum is.  The Cerebellum is like a Conductor or Traffic Cop.  Unimportant information like the air molecules which we can see with our eyes, unimportant, light, sounds, sensory information is filtered out by the Reticular Formation (unless the filters aren't working as in Autism).  Messages/information that needs a response that is processed by the other parts of the brain are sped onward for further "decision making"; information which requires a muscle response or is autonomic (breathing, blood pressure, etc.) is sped back to the body for action.  As sensation passes through the cerebellum, neurochemicals/neurotransmitters are released which affect attention, the awake/sleep state of the brain body, and give additional information which further affects the brain's ability.  The Cerebellum also processes movement, and since it processes  ALL SENSATION, this is where learning BEGINS.  So to build on this very basic knowledge, we now know thru research, that there is a relationship between movement and the visual system, between movement and memory (Desmond, Gabrielli, Wagner, Ginier & Glover, 1997), movement and ATTENTION (Courchesne & Allen, 1997).  There is a relationship between the Cerebellum and predicting, sequencing, ordering and corrective actions (this affects both Math and decision-making as well as behavior.  The harder the task, the greater the Cerebellar activity.  SO IN A NUTSHELL, THE CEREBELLUM AFFECTS ALL LEARNING; MOVEMENT AFFECTS ALL LEARNING! 

Yet, the dominant model for learning, continues to be "sit and git".

So, how can we use this information to help us learn or teach?  

• The Reticular Activating System (awake, asleep, attention ) is stimulated by spinning, rolling, jumping, swinging, hopping.  Increasing these types of movements have resulted in gains in attention and reading.
• Exercisers have larger cortical mass than non-exercisers.  This means that exercisers have increased blood flow and oxygen to the brain.  This is good for EVERYTHING.
• Exercise/Movement increases the baseline of new neural growth.  New neural growth increases learning. 
• Exercise/Movement improves classroom behavior and academic performance (Dwyer, Sallis, Lazarus & Dean, 2001).
• Daily P.E. has been shown to increase academic performance and resulted in better attitudes toward school.

 Play and recess:

• allows the learner to make mistakes without lethal consequences
• enhances learning
• improves ability to handle stress (because of the calming neurotransmitters that are released.)
• the longest lasting neurotransmitters that calm and focus attention are those which are released through deep pressure (jumping, climbing, monkey bars, balancing), and movement through space/vestibular (rolling, spinning, running, swinging).
• triggers brain-derived neurotrophic factors that enhance cognition/thinking.
• enhances social skills, emotional intelligence and conflict resolution.
• physical activity increases Catecholamines (norepinephrin and dopamine) which regulate mood and energy levels.
• 86% of principals say recess has a positive impact on academic acheivement.
• 2/3 principals say that recess allows students to listen better and improves focus
• 96% of principals say that recess has a positive social impact

So, what have we done with this incredible information?  Well, we have decided to focus on measuring how well our children are learning.  We have increased testing. Kids are being tested up to three times a year in some grades.  We are teaching to the tests, which requires more time seated in chairs learning splinter skills and random facts, rather than building foundations of learning.  Because more time is devoted to testing, time has been taken away from recess and P.E.  Some school districts have eliminated recess entirely, except for the recess around lunchtime.  When I was teaching, my students got 20 minutes to eat lunch and play.  68% of high school students don't participate in daily Physical Education programs.



It gets even worse.  In a National Survey of Principals:

• 3/4 of the nation's schools withhold recess as punishment for bad behavior.

Decrease of physical activity is not only present in the schools.  In many inner city schools, parents are afraid to let their children outside to play because it is not safe.  There are homework requirements.  The School District in my town has a homework policy as follows:  Kinder & 1st grade 5-15 mins. 2-4 days/wk., 2nd & 3rd Grade 15-30 mins. 3-4 days/wk., 4th & 5th Grades 30-60 mins. 3-4 days/wk.  Middle School and High School expectations are 1-3 hours a night.  This is implemented despite there being inconclusive evidence that homework increases student achievement across the board.  There are positive effects only for certain students under specific conditions, some even show adverse effects (Kohn 2006, Trautwein & Koller 2003).  Older students benefit more than younger students (Cooper 1989; Hoover-Depsey et al 2001; Leone & Richards 1989; Mulenbruck et al 2000).  Low income students show fewer benefits than higher income students.  It is speculated that this is due to fewer resources (computers) and availabe assistance.  If the homework is not completed where there are no resources or assistance, then no benefits are reaped (McDermott, Goldmen & Varenne 1984; Scott-Jones 1984).

As a parent of a child who had learning disabilities and visual deficits, I can say without reserve HOMEWORK IS THE DEVIL!! When my son came home from school he was completely exhausted.  He was in 2nd grade before he could come home from school and not fall immediately asleep.  Interestingly enough, this pattern repeated itself once he was in high school (falling asleep when he came home).  Any parent can tell you what a battle it is to get their child to complete homework.  If your child has educational challenges, this is made even worse.  These children should be relaxing, playing, blowing off steam to prepare them for the next day. exploring what their bodies can do, discovering their place in space, laying groundwork for learning.  They do NOT need to put their butt in another chair when they've been sitting all day!  

A friend who teaches puts it this way, "Our kids are constantly in front of "glowing boxes."  Their families are afraid to send them out into the big, bad dangerous word to play.  Our current educational system, especially those that claim to meet the needs of high poverty areas, are doing a tremendous disservice to our students and their families.  Kids spend most of their school day SITTING!  If they act up in class, recess is often taken away.  Then they are bussed back home to watch glowing boxes."

So, what can we do?  Share this, with other parents, teachers, counselors, school board members, principals.  

In primary grades, learning should be through movement, clapping, stomping, moving manipulatives.  Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, will also activate the proprioceptors that release neurotransmitters that calm and allow attention.  Tug of war, jumgle gyms, climbing, jumping.  Get them out of those chairs for learning!  Learning is doing.  Breaks between seated, learning activities.  Many teachers have found success using brain gym 2-3 times a day (see link at end).  Research shows that breaks at Midday and early afternoon are more beneficial than early morning breaks.  The Centers for Disease Control recommends 60 minutes of physical activity a day.  Do the research on homework and get those guidelines and expectations changed.  Engage your kids in physical activity when they get home, and above all don't punish your children by restricting play or physical activity!  You'll just be adding fuel to the fire and increasing your child's behavior problems.  (I'll be addressing behavior and discipline in another posting.)

If you're a teacher and want to know how to change your classroom, ask you School District Occupational Therapist.  If he/she is familiar with Sensory Integration she can make suggestions that will change your life, "You totally hit the mark on movement as we try to cram more and more academics down their throats. Almost no one realizes that if their development stages are not met (and supported) pushing them to do more is impossible. An OT totally transformed the way I set up my classroom. We do Brain Gym twice a day along with other movement breaks. Yes, it takes 8 minutes but I get 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted instructional time. Seems like a good investment to me."  Teacher, Kate Swensen, American Indian Magnet School, Minneapolis St. Paul, MN

Resources:
Sensorcises     by Laurie Glazner
Smart Moves        by Carla Hannaford
Dominance Factor        by Carla Hannaford
The Out of Sync Child Has Fun          by Carol Kranowitz
Building Sensory Friendly Classrooms       by Rebecca Moyes

Brain Gym     26 activities that foster eye learning, eye-hand coordination, whole-body flexibility, and activate the brain.


Links to Resources:

Books for Kids who Learn Differently

Sensory Ideas for the Classroom



Five Practical Sensory Strategies for the Classroom



Brain Gym 


Peace & Joy,


Kismet