I have been on a quest for support from the neuroscience community for movement in the classroom. I read Marianne Frostig and Phyllis Maslow's paper, "Neuropsychological Contributions to Education," which offered some fascinating research on how movement impacts not just learning, but adolescents' abilities to control their emotions.
What's the story?
Frostig and Maslow begin by addressing the long-held (though now unfounded) view that intelligence is fixed. They go on to discuss how the brain can grow in ability through examples of patients who suffered brain injuries. Many of these people's brains found work-arounds for their cognitive troubles, using secondary areas of the brain to process information.
In relating this work to education, Frostig and Maslow state,
...The first fact that the teacher has to learn from neuropsychology is that the brain and its functions can change and that the teacher is in part responsible for providing the environment in which these changes can occur. (p. 43)
The classroom climate we cultivate is valuable. The more comfortable a student is, the more likely the student will be to take risks. Frostig and Maslow also recommend viewing intelligence as, "...A conglomerate of interrelated abilities," (p. 44). This is reminiscent of Gardner's work in multiple intelligences - fostering a child's many abilities is necessary.
In relating the study of neuropsychology specifically to movement in the classroom, Frostig and Maslow state,
The moving organism does not stop perceiving; on the contrary, perceptions are used to guide movement, and movement is necessary so that the organism can comprehend the logical, causal, temporal, and spatial relationships and the sequences of stimuli in the environment. (p. 45).
Incorporating movement in the classroom is clearly valuable. The authors go on to say "Movement requires the cooperation (in the original sense of the word) of widespread areas of the brain," (p. 48). Layering content with movement forces the brain to make new connections and engage multiple regions.
What I found most interesting in this paper was the impact that movement in the classroom can have on students' emotional control. Frostig and Maslow explain that the relationship between movement and brain regions like the limbic system, the emotional center, can be used to help adolescents control high emotions. It is not possible to divorce internal emotions from external stimuli. Positively channeling aggression, sadness, or even excessive excitement into movement can help students to cope with these high emotions. "Movement is also a method of preventing emotional disturbances. It influences emotions, and emotions in turn influence muscle tonus," (p. 46).
Is it useful?
I find this information fascinating. While I began this research hoping for neurological support for movement based learning, I am discovering that movement in the classroom offers a host of benefits for student and teacher alike.
As we know, adolescents go through many changes, physical, emotional, and cognitive during their teenage years. It seems that incorporating movement in the classroom can not only assist them in understanding content more deeply, but also provide an outlet for them emotionally.
One of the tenants of adolescence is physical change. Students who sit in desks all day while these changes are occurring are not given the opportunity to relate to their new physical abilities and limitations, thus making the changes unsettling and difficult to manage. Giving students opportunities to get up and interact with others and with the environment may allow them a deeper understanding of their new found physicality.
Additionally, movement itself seems to have an impact on controlling high emotions. Simply the act of getting up and walking, running in place, doing a few jumping jacks, can help to dispel feelings of anger and aggression. This is due to the connection between motor operations and the limbic system.
Conclusion
The research on movement as a form of emotional control has enormous implications for the classroom. Students who have difficulty controlling their emotions may need the opportunity to be up and out of their seats during class to help dispel those feelings physically. Teachers can use this knowledge to inform their classroom management practices. Allow students time each day to be up and out of their seats, interacting with their environment and peers, learning to channel their feelings into activity.
Clearly, as adolescent educators, our job is more than just teaching content. We must also give students the skills needed to interact with others in meaningful and productive ways. It seems that movement may have an impact on these life skills as well as learning.
References
Frostig, M., Maslow, P. (1979). Neuropsychological contributions to education. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 12(8), 40 - 53.