Movement in learning

Last updated August 15, 2024

Movement in learning also known as movement-based instruction, is a teaching method based on the concept that movement enhances cognitive processes and facilitates learning. This approach emphasizes integrating movement into educational settings to optimize students' engagement and academic performance. Research suggests that incorporating movement breaks as little as 10 minutes of walking, and physical activities during lessons can enhance students' ability to process and retain new information.^[1] While some studies have highlighted the positive effects of movement-based instruction, there is ongoing research exploring its effectiveness across diverse educational settings and populations.

Benefits

Physical movement stimulates long-term memory and recall because it has been associated in the human brain with survival. This has been supported by brain imaging studies.^[2] This idea is confirmed by findings in studies that show that exercise can shape muscles and potentially strengthen some areas of the brain, growing brain cells and increasing alertness in the process. It is said that the harder the task is for students, the greater the cerebellar activity.^[3] Specifically, short movement breaks for the brain is said to lead to more opportunities for information processing and increased memory formation.^[4] It contributes to the overall cognitive development of the students because it sends oxygen, water, and glucose to the brain, helping it grow and improve mood and motivation.^[5] In addition, the area of the brain that processes movement is also the part that processes cognitive tasks.^[6] The link between movement and the cognitive development has been proven as early as the 1960s during Richard Held and Alan Hein's experiments that revealed the role of physical activity on the development of brain networks that are important for adaptive mental function.^[7]

Students through brain breaks to engage in physical activities can facilitate physical development. In combination with the socialization, which also contributes to the learners' socio-emotional development - movements offer a quick and convenient way to support the rapid development, especially among young learners.^[5] This can be demonstrated in the efficacy of using physical tasks to address the needs of hyperactive students because they are able to release stress and energy, allowing them to focus on their studies without causing disruption in the class.^[8] Movements also eliminate lethargy that results from sitting for long periods of time. There are recorded cases, for instance, that show marked improvement in school performance for learners who were made to do physical tasks such as walking in mid-afternoon.^[9]

Applications in the classroom

Younger students can greatly benefit from engaging in various movement-based activities that reinforce their learning. Brain-based learning advocates for the incorporation of movement in educational settings. According to research from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, one fundamental aspect of brain-based learning is that learning involves the entire body. This means that movement, diet, attention spans, and neurochemicals all play a role in the learning process. Another crucial principle is that complex learning is enhanced by challenges but hindered by stress. The concept of enrichment suggests that the brain has the capacity to form new connections throughout life, and that challenging and stimulating experiences, coupled with appropriate feedback, are optimal for cognitive development. Furthermore, it's noted that cognitive skills are strengthened by engaging in activities involving music and motor skills.^[10]

Supporting these ideas, both the U.S. National Institute of Health and the Mayo Clinic advocate for exercise and movement as effective means to reduce stress levels. Given that elementary-aged children can effectively absorb only 15 to 20 minutes of material at a time, incorporating regular brain breaks into lessons becomes essential. Implementing brain breaks into the classroom routine offers multiple benefits for both students and teachers alike. These breaks not only provide opportunities for learning but also allow students to return to tasks feeling refreshed and energized.

Another method in movement-based instruction is the use of science choreography, which is a technique that uses movement to teach science. A team of scientists, educators, dancers, and choreographers worked together to develop movement-based activities inspired by dance to teach science concepts.^[11]

Chart: Sample movements and classroom applications

Movement(s) Category	Examples	Classroom Application
Exercise or play	Running, chasing, recess activities	Creating dance routines, run on the spot, perform knowledge of a process
Contact or sports	Soccer, football, wrestling	PE classes
Introverted play	Puzzles, Lego, crosswords	Building using objects to show creativity or to assess knowledge of a concept learnt. Group puzzles (educator made to make connections or just general for team-building) Vocabulary crosswords
Outdoor learning	Playing in the garden, digging, physical, social, and cognition development	Relate to science lessons, hands-on experiments, observing and making real life connections
Stand & stretch	Tai chi, yoga, passive or active stretching	Simon says, goal setting on the move, gallery walks, full body stretches and stand up to get a paper or supplies before assignment
Group/team competitive games/activities	Relays	Relay teams for math questions on the board
Constructive play	Building with blocks	Model building of how something works
Exploratory	Hide and seeks, scavenger hunts, make-believe	Hide and seek with answers. Hide clues throughout the classroom that lead to answers
Functional	Purposeful play	Ball tossing for reviewing or building vocabulary, story-building and movements that incorporate opposite or cross-lateral movements (tap your head and rub your stomach)
Group non-competitive	Team building, social, collaborative thinking, dance, drama	Collaborative drawing and stories, role playing and group presentations
Individual competitive	Marbles, track and field, hopscotch	Spelling words on the board, math fact around-the-world game
Adventure or confidence	Walking excursions, ropes course	Field trips, walks inside the school, walks outside the school exploring environments

Movement in Learning Environments Research

A study by Vujičić, Peić, and Petrić compared movement-based integrated learning in early childhood education across two groups attending city kindergartens (an experimental group emphasizing movement and a control group with standard integrated learning practices). In the experimental group, the gym was organized to enable children’s exploration, with the teacher taking on an indirect facilitator role, whereas the control group followed traditional teaching methods. Results of the research showed that children in the movement-based group exhibited higher levels of engagement, motor skill development, and enjoyment in learning. This research emphasized the importance of considering physical environments in early education for enhancing learning experiences.^[12]

Additional benefits for special-needs learners

Movements, such as those involved in playing active games, are thought to activate the brain across a wide variety of areas in ways that may be beneficial to students with disabilities. A study by Reynolds and colleagues (2003) found that children with dyslexia were assisted by a movement program.^[13] Those in the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement in dexterity, reading, verbal fluency, and semantic fluency than those in the control group. The exercising group also made substantial gains on national standardized tests of reading, writing, and comprehension in comparison with students in the previous year.

Related Research Articles

Dyslexia, previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, "sounding out" words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. Often these difficulties are first noticed at school. The difficulties are involuntary, and people with this disorder have a normal desire to learn. People with dyslexia have higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental language disorders, and difficulties with numbers.

Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys. Ed. or PE, and sometimes informally referred to as gym class or simply just gym, is a subject taught in schools around the world. PE is taught during primary and secondary education and encourages psychomotor, cognitive, and effective learning through physical activity and movement exploration to promote health and physical fitness. When taught correctly and in a positive manner, children and teens can receive a storm of health benefits. These include reduced metabolic disease risk, improved cardiorespiratory fitness, and better mental health. In addition, PE classes can produce positive effects on students' behavior and academic performance. Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between brain development and exercising. Researchers in 2007 found a profound gain in English Arts standardized test scores among students who had 56 hours of physical education in a year, compared to those who had 28 hours of physical education a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active learning</span> Educational technique

Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." Bonwell & Eison (1991) states that "students participate [in active learning] when they are doing something besides passively listening." According to Hanson and Moser (2003) using active teaching techniques in the classroom can create better academic outcomes for students. Scheyvens, Griffin, Jocoy, Liu, & Bradford (2008) further noted that "by utilizing learning strategies that can include small-group work, role-play and simulations, data collection and analysis, active learning is purported to increase student interest and motivation and to build students ‘critical thinking, problem-solving and social skills". In a report from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, authors discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting active learning. They cite literature that indicates students must do more than just listen in order to learn. They must read, write, discuss, and be engaged in solving problems. This process relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process." In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Motor learning refers broadly to changes in an organism's movements that reflect changes in the structure and function of the nervous system. Motor learning occurs over varying timescales and degrees of complexity: humans learn to walk or talk over the course of years, but continue to adjust to changes in height, weight, strength etc. over their lifetimes. Motor learning enables animals to gain new skills, and improves the smoothness and accuracy of movements, in some cases by calibrating simple movements like reflexes. Motor learning research often considers variables that contribute to motor program formation, sensitivity of error-detection processes, and strength of movement schemas. Motor learning is "relatively permanent", as the capability to respond appropriately is acquired and retained. Temporary gains in performance during practice or in response to some perturbation are often termed motor adaptation, a transient form of learning. Neuroscience research on motor learning is concerned with which parts of the brain and spinal cord represent movements and motor programs and how the nervous system processes feedback to change the connectivity and synaptic strengths. At the behavioral level, research focuses on the design and effect of the main components driving motor learning, i.e. the structure of practice and the feedback. The timing and organization of practice can influence information retention, e.g. how tasks can be subdivided and practiced, and the precise form of feedback can influence preparation, anticipation, and guidance of movement.

Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synonymously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, the brain creates a long-term muscle memory for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed with little to no conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. Muscle memory is found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding bikes, driving motor vehicles, playing ball sports, typing on keyboards, entering PINs, playing musical instruments, poker, martial arts, swimming, dancing, and drawing.

Dyscalculia is a disability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical calculations, and learning facts in mathematics. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as "math dyslexia", though this analogy can be misleading as they are distinct syndromes.

Distributed cognition is an approach to cognitive science research that was developed by cognitive anthropologist Edwin Hutchins during the 1990s.

Recess is a general term for a period in which a group of people are temporarily dismissed from their duties.

Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping or neural oscillation. Other forms of neuroplasticity include homologous area adaptation, cross modal reassignment, map expansion, and compensatory masquerade. Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning a new ability, information acquisition, environmental influences, pregnancy, caloric intake, practice/training, and psychological stress.

Brain training is a program of regular activities purported to maintain or improve one's cognitive abilities. The phrase “cognitive ability” usually refers to components of fluid intelligence such as executive function and working memory. Cognitive training reflects a hypothesis that cognitive abilities can be maintained or improved by exercising the brain, analogous to the way physical fitness is improved by exercising the body. Cognitive training activities can take place in numerous modalities such as cardiovascular fitness training, playing online games or completing cognitive tasks in alignment with a training regimen, playing video games that require visuospatial reasoning, and engaging in novel activities such as dance, art, and music.

Neurodevelopmental framework for learning, like all frameworks, is an organizing structure through which learners and learning can be understood. Intelligence theories and neuropsychology inform many of them. The framework described below is a neurodevelopmental framework for learning. The neurodevelopmental framework was developed by the All Kinds of Minds Institute in collaboration with Dr. Mel Levine and the University of North Carolina's Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning. It is similar to other neuropsychological frameworks, including Alexander Luria's cultural-historical psychology and psychological activity theory, but also draws from disciplines such as speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. It also shares components with other frameworks, some of which are listed below. However, it does not include a general intelligence factor, since the framework is used to describe learners in terms of profiles of strengths and weaknesses, as opposed to using labels, diagnoses, or broad ability levels. This framework was also developed to link with academic skills, such as reading and writing. Implications for education are discussed below as well as the connections to and compatibilities with several major educational policy issues.

Dyschronometria, also called dyschronia, is a condition of cerebellar dysfunction in which an individual cannot accurately estimate the amount of time that has passed. It is associated with cerebellar ataxia, when the cerebellum has been damaged and does not function to its fullest ability. Lesions to the cerebellum can cause dyssynergia, dysmetria, dysdiadochokinesia, dysarthria, and ataxia of stance and gait. Dyschronometria can result from autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia (ADCA).

Procedural memory is a type of implicit memory which aids the performance of particular types of tasks without conscious awareness of these previous experiences.

Dyslexia is a reading disorder wherein an individual experiences trouble with reading. Individuals with dyslexia have normal levels of intelligence but can exhibit difficulties with spelling, reading fluency, pronunciation, "sounding out" words, writing out words, and reading comprehension. The neurological nature and underlying causes of dyslexia are an active area of research. However, some experts believe that the distinction of dyslexia as a separate reading disorder and therefore recognized disability is a topic of some controversy.

Educational neuroscience is an emerging scientific field that brings together researchers in cognitive neuroscience, developmental cognitive neuroscience, educational psychology, educational technology, education theory and other related disciplines to explore the interactions between biological processes and education. Researchers in educational neuroscience investigate the neural mechanisms of reading, numerical cognition, attention and their attendant difficulties including dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD as they relate to education. Researchers in this area may link basic findings in cognitive neuroscience with educational technology to help in curriculum implementation for mathematics education and reading education. The aim of educational neuroscience is to generate basic and applied research that will provide a new transdisciplinary account of learning and teaching, which is capable of informing education. A major goal of educational neuroscience is to bridge the gap between the two fields through a direct dialogue between researchers and educators, avoiding the "middlemen of the brain-based learning industry". These middlemen have a vested commercial interest in the selling of "neuromyths" and their supposed remedies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memory improvement</span> Act of improving ones memory

Memory improvement is the act of enhancing one's memory. Research on improving memory is driven by amnesia, age-related memory loss, and people’s desire to enhance their memory. Research involved in memory improvement has also worked to determine what factors influence memory and cognition. There are many different techniques to improve memory some of which include cognitive training, psychopharmacology, diet, stress management, and exercise. Each technique can improve memory in different ways.

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language, relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness or amnesia.

Attentional control, colloquially referred to as concentration, refers to an individual's capacity to choose what they pay attention to and what they ignore. It is also known as endogenous attention or executive attention. In lay terms, attentional control can be described as an individual's ability to concentrate. Primarily mediated by the frontal areas of the brain including the anterior cingulate cortex, attentional control and attentional shifting are thought to be closely related to other executive functions such as working memory.

Cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS), also called Schmahmann's syndrome is a condition that follows from lesions (damage) to the cerebellum of the brain. It refers to a constellation of deficits in the cognitive domains of executive function, spatial cognition, language, and affect resulting from damage to the cerebellum. Impairments of executive function include problems with planning, set-shifting, abstract reasoning, verbal fluency, and working memory, and there is often perseveration, distractibility and inattention. Language problems include dysprosodia, agrammatism and mild anomia. Deficits in spatial cognition produce visual–spatial disorganization and impaired visual–spatial memory. Personality changes manifest as blunting of affect or disinhibited and inappropriate behavior. These cognitive impairments result in an overall lowering of intellectual function. CCAS challenges the traditional view of the cerebellum being responsible solely for regulation of motor functions. It is now thought that the cerebellum is responsible for monitoring both motor and nonmotor functions. The nonmotor deficits described in CCAS are believed to be caused by dysfunction in cerebellar connections to the cerebral cortex and limbic system.

The neurobiological effects of physical exercise involve possible interrelated effects on brain structure, brain function, and cognition. Research in humans has demonstrated that consistent aerobic exercise may induce improvements in certain cognitive functions, neuroplasticity and behavioral plasticity; some of these long-term effects may include increased neuron growth, increased neurological activity, improved stress coping, enhanced cognitive control of behavior, improved declarative, spatial, and working memory, and structural and functional improvements in brain structures and pathways associated with cognitive control and memory. The effects of exercise on cognition may affect academic performance in children and college students, improve adult productivity, preserve cognitive function in old age, preventing or treating certain neurological disorders, and improving overall quality of life.

References

↑ Mualem, Raed; Leisman, Gerry; Zbedat, Yusra; Ganem, Sherif; Mualem, Ola; Amaria, Monjed; Kozle, Aiman; Khayat-Moughrabi, Safa; Ornai, Alon (20 April 2018). "The Effect of Movement on Cognitive Performance". Frontiers in Public Health. 6: 100. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00100 . PMC 5919946 . PMID 29732367.
↑ Sousa, David (2015). How the Brain Influences Behavior: Strategies for Managing K 12 Classrooms. Delaware: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781632206848.^{[ page needed ]}
↑ Ivry, Richard (1997). Cerebellar Timing Systems. International Review of Neurobiology. Vol. 41. pp. 555–573. doi:10.1016/S0074-7742(08)60370-0. ISBN 978-0-12-366841-7.
↑ Mangan, Margaret (2015). Brain-Compatible Science. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781632209658.^{[ page needed ]}
1 2 Responsive Classroom (2016). Refocus and Recharge! 50 Brain Breaks for Middle Schoolers. Turner Falls, MA: Center for Responsive Schools, Inc. p. 2. ISBN 9781892989871.
↑ Kearns, Karen (2017). Birth to Big School. Sydney: Cengage Learning. p. 71. ISBN 9780170369343.
↑ Tomporowski, Phillip; McCullick, Bryan; Pesce, Catherine (2015). Enhancing Children's Cognition With Physical Activity Games. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 10. ISBN 9781450441421.
↑ Bluestein, Jane (2008). The Win-Win Classroom: A Fresh and Positive Look at Classroom Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. p. 175. ISBN 9781412958998.
↑ Gurian, Michael (2005). The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. p. 173. ISBN 9780787977610.
↑ Gath, Ann. "Quality of life for people with learning disability throughout the life span". Psychiatric Bulletin. 17 (7): 405–408. doi: 10.1192/pb.17.7.405 . ISSN 0955-6036.
↑ Grabel, Laura; Weir, Michael; Appel, Laurel F.; Johnson, Elizabeth; McCarthy, Richard; Lerman, Liz (December 2013). "Science Choreography: A Movement-Based Approach to Biology Teaching". CBE: Life Sciences Education. 12 (4): 582–583. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-07-0131. PMC 3846507 . PMID 24297284.
↑ Vujičić, Lidija; Peić, Mirela; Petrić, Vilko (2020). "Representation of Movement-Based Integrated Learning in Different Physical Environments of an Early Education Institution". Revija za elementarno izobraževanje. 13 (4): 453–474. doi: 10.18690/rei.13.4.453-474.2020 .
↑ Reynolds, David; Nicolson, Roderick I.; Hambly, Helen. "Evaluation of an exercise‐based treatment for children with reading difficulties". Dyslexia. 9 (1): 48–71. doi:10.1002/dys.235. ISSN 1076-9242.

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[1] Mualem, Raed; Leisman, Gerry; Zbedat, Yusra; Ganem, Sherif; Mualem, Ola; Amaria, Monjed; Kozle, Aiman; Khayat-Moughrabi, Safa; Ornai, Alon (20 April 2018). "The Effect of Movement on Cognitive Performance". Frontiers in Public Health. 6: 100. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00100 . PMC 5919946 . PMID 29732367.

[2] Sousa, David (2015). How the Brain Influences Behavior: Strategies for Managing K 12 Classrooms. Delaware: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781632206848.^{[ page needed ]}

[3] Ivry, Richard (1997). Cerebellar Timing Systems. International Review of Neurobiology. Vol. 41. pp. 555–573. doi:10.1016/S0074-7742(08)60370-0. ISBN 978-0-12-366841-7.

[4] Mangan, Margaret (2015). Brain-Compatible Science. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781632209658.^{[ page needed ]}

[:0-5] 1 2 Responsive Classroom (2016). Refocus and Recharge! 50 Brain Breaks for Middle Schoolers. Turner Falls, MA: Center for Responsive Schools, Inc. p. 2. ISBN 9781892989871.

[6] Kearns, Karen (2017). Birth to Big School. Sydney: Cengage Learning. p. 71. ISBN 9780170369343.

[7] Tomporowski, Phillip; McCullick, Bryan; Pesce, Catherine (2015). Enhancing Children's Cognition With Physical Activity Games. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 10. ISBN 9781450441421.

[8] Bluestein, Jane (2008). The Win-Win Classroom: A Fresh and Positive Look at Classroom Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. p. 175. ISBN 9781412958998.

[9] Gurian, Michael (2005). The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. p. 173. ISBN 9780787977610.

[10] Gath, Ann. "Quality of life for people with learning disability throughout the life span". Psychiatric Bulletin. 17 (7): 405–408. doi: 10.1192/pb.17.7.405 . ISSN 0955-6036.

[11] Grabel, Laura; Weir, Michael; Appel, Laurel F.; Johnson, Elizabeth; McCarthy, Richard; Lerman, Liz (December 2013). "Science Choreography: A Movement-Based Approach to Biology Teaching". CBE: Life Sciences Education. 12 (4): 582–583. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-07-0131. PMC 3846507 . PMID 24297284.

[12] Vujičić, Lidija; Peić, Mirela; Petrić, Vilko (2020). "Representation of Movement-Based Integrated Learning in Different Physical Environments of an Early Education Institution". Revija za elementarno izobraževanje. 13 (4): 453–474. doi: 10.18690/rei.13.4.453-474.2020 .

[13] Reynolds, David; Nicolson, Roderick I.; Hambly, Helen. "Evaluation of an exercise‐based treatment for children with reading difficulties". Dyslexia. 9 (1): 48–71. doi:10.1002/dys.235. ISSN 1076-9242.

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