![]() Neurophysiologist and author Carla Hannaford wrote the book, Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head. This was a fantastic book to read and I recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the connection between physical movement and learning…at any age. What do we enjoy about music? First of all, it triggers emotions, feelings, laughter and tears but it also assists in the development of the limbic system and its connection to high level reasoning and memory (Hannaford 1995). The earlier children are introduced to music, dancing and exploring movements, the more their brains develop and can express emotions in healthy ways. Dopamine is important to cognitive processing because it activates the amygdala around emotions having to do with new, exciting experiences, which are necessary in learning and memory (Hannaford, 1995). When a child hears a song they have heard before, their bodies start moving and they get excited. Isn’t that how we all feel when a Bruce Springsteen song comes on...Or is that just me? How about Taylor Swift? Hannaford talks about rote learning-which is a memorization technique based on repetition. The idea behind rote learning is one will be able to recall the meaning of the material the more they repeat it. Movement is necessary to gain the thought and build the nerve networks (Hannaford, 1995). Using gestures, body movements, or any other movement associated with what one is learning can highly benefit. I can directly relate to this as I have found that teaching the terms horizontal and vertical to first graders was extremely effective when I put my arms out (horizontally) and then straight up (vertically). We have a little song that goes with it- and its great to teach oblique lines, perpendicular and so on. Now lets take our focus back to the brain. We all know that nerves are fibers that transmit sensations to the brain and then on to our muscles and organs. There are three parts that make up your brain: The cerebrum, the cerebellum and the brain stem. The cerebrum encourages remembering, problem solving, thinking, movement and feeling. The cerebellum is at the back of the head and controls coordination and balance. Finally the brain stem connects to your spinal cord. This controls automatic functions like breathing, digestion, heart rate and blood pressure. Movement anchors Thinking and learning. “The cerebellum possesses the fasted conducting pathways between itself and the neo-cortex adding 5-10% to the speed with which the cortex can put together information and reason. Thus moving while learning increases the learning” (Hannaford, 1995 p. 110). Another chapter I found very intriguing associating movement and the brain is the vestibular system. A quick review on the vestibular system: A sensory system that provides contribution to the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance. I saw a student dragging her hands up against the hallway. Another teacher, in passing, firmly told the students to get their hands off the wall. I walked along in silence thinking, “Hmmm, was she upset the wall might be dirty now?” Then a seminar I attended a few months after had an occupational therapist talk about certain things children do, how to help and what to be cautious of. She mentioned the hallways and students dragging their hands against the wall. My ears perked up immediately. I found it astonishing that children are trying to find a balance. They need to feel the structured wall in order to find their “place” in the world. The spatial connection to our body’s movements and our brains are connected and influence each other in so many ways! The more they develop their sense of balance and their entire vestibular system, in turn affects their hearing, attention, language, and all learning.” (Hannaford, 1995) Involving cross lateral movements directly stimulate the vestibular system by strengthening it. When I have a brain break, I make sure to add in their the cross lateral movements. Those precious brains need as much exposure to movements and understanding their bodies. Learning is experience. Everything else is just information. -Albert Einstein Reference: Hannaford, C. (1995). Smart moves: Why learning is not all in your head. Arlington, VA: Great Ocean.
2 Comments
Susan Mattson
11/9/2016 08:13:55 pm
I was interested in reading more about movement and its effects on learning and the brain. This is especially true when it comes to Hannaford's assertion that moving while learning increases the learning. I remember that, as a child, I was taught the familiar songs about the ABC's and the months of the year. For me, as I believe it is for many people, I still sing these little songs in my head to retrieve this information. This also ties in with the learning of students on the autism spectrum. I have a son who is mildly affected by autism. As a 1st and 2nd grader, he was having a significant amount of difficulty learning phonics. We took him to a reading and speech therapist who introduced us to the Lindamood Bell system. This system emphasizes learning by integrating movement with sensory cognitive processes. Every day his teacher would introduce a new movement that corresponded to a phoneme. The results were nothing short of miraculous. By pairing the movements with the sounds, he learned to phonetically decifer, and read, in less than 4 months. This was the all the proof that I needed to realize the correlation between movement and learning. I use movement in my math and englishes classes to get students involved, and to stimulate their brains.
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Sarah Belger
11/18/2016 03:10:42 pm
Hi Susan!
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About:Welcome to my blog! If you are interested in learning how music, movement and the brain work together, check out my summaries and reviews based on peer reviewed and research based articles. I have loved reading and learning more about how music, exercise and movement help the brain learn. I hope you enjoy it too! Archives
March 2017
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