Movement for optimal learning- Part 1
If you would like to increase your student´s attention span, optimize processing and
organization of information, movement should be included in the curriculum.
Many reasons can be given to show the effectiveness of movement in the learning process.
I will just mention one to you which, I believe, is the fundamental reason.
According to neuroscientists, the primary cortex, basal ganglia and cerebellum, which
coordinate physical movement, also coordinate the movement of thought. Just as they
order the physical motions needed for learning, they order the sequence needed for
thinking!!!!
Let´s take the following quotation and reflect about this topic:
¨We have a brain because we have a motor system that allows us to move away from
danger and towards opportunity. Educational systems that reduce most student
movement to one appendage writing sequences of letters as digits on a playing field the
size of a sheet of paper , don´t understand the significance of motor development. ¨
Robert Sylvester.
Learning, language and behavior are interlinked in some way to the motor system and
movement control. Our first experience of movement was within our mother´s womb,
where we got our first sense of the world and experienced the laws of gravity. From then
on, movement became part of our lives. Life is about movement and change!!
When we are under stress, as I have already mentioned to you in other articles, we start
building blocks in our body as well as our mind, and this will affect teaching and leaning
negatively.
Brain Gymâ® stimulates the flow of information within the brain and sensory system,
optimizing our ability to learn and helping us function with efficiency.
By learning about the three dimensions of intelligence : laterality, centering and focus; the
different balances , procedures and 26 movements, you can assist your students in their
academic skills, among other things.
For instance, Brain Gym®´s midline movements help integrate binocular vision, binaural
hearing and the left and right side of the brain as well as the body. In this way, brain
hemispheres are balanced and communication becomes easierThe Energy exercises help to re-establish neural connections between body and brain. They
stimulate parasympathetic function and decrease the release of adrenalin. By increasing
the electrical threshold across the nerve membrane, thought and action are again
coordinated. These exercises activate and focus the higher brain centers for fine motor
skills and new learning. . Through the use of these exercises you can experience the feeling
of being centered and grounded . They also facilitate organization .
Regarding the lengthening activities, they help the students develop and reinforce the
neural pathways that enable them to make connections between what they already know
in the back of the brain and the ability to express and process the information in the front
of the brain. Concentration and comprehension is also enhanced by the use of these
exercisesI hope you can understand the importance of movement in the learning environment as
you read this article. Next time, you´ll learn a little about some of these exercises
belonging to the three dimensions of intelligence: laterality, centering and focus.
BiodataGabriela Lombardo holds a degree as a Sworn Translator from Universidad del
Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has been working as an English teacher for 18
years now . She also gives in company training. In her classes she applies humanistic as
well as brain-friendly approaches in the teaching of the language so that students
acquire it easily and with joy. She also facilitates one to one sessions to help children
and adults in private sessions to defuse learning difficulties and stress related issues, thus
enhancing performance, increasing self-esteem and reducing stress, returning the person to
an awareness of CHOICE. She is a yoga practitioner and a certified Brain Gym â
Consultant / Instructor , member of Brain Gym â International. She has also nade
presentations in different congresses .She is at present studying psiconeuroeducation,
teaching English in companies, Brain Gymâ and counseling parents, teachers, schools and
any person interested in learning and applying these wonderful techniques. She can be
reached at: centrojoyful@fibertel.com.ar .
Buenos Aires, Argentina. (011)-4523-5261.