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Body/Brain Connection: Linking Movement To Learning: Mpesa Fall Conference September 13, 2006

This document discusses the connection between movement and learning. It explains that movement supports learning in several ways such as by activating parts of the brain involved in learning, fueling the brain with oxygen, helping the brain repair itself, and releasing chemicals that enhance memory formation. It also discusses the five pathways for memory - semantic, episodic, automatic, emotional, and procedural - and how movement can take advantage of procedural memory, an untapped resource for learning.

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Krishnendu
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63 views

Body/Brain Connection: Linking Movement To Learning: Mpesa Fall Conference September 13, 2006

This document discusses the connection between movement and learning. It explains that movement supports learning in several ways such as by activating parts of the brain involved in learning, fueling the brain with oxygen, helping the brain repair itself, and releasing chemicals that enhance memory formation. It also discusses the five pathways for memory - semantic, episodic, automatic, emotional, and procedural - and how movement can take advantage of procedural memory, an untapped resource for learning.

Uploaded by

Krishnendu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Body/Brain Connection:

Linking Movement to Learning

MPESA Fall
Conference
September 13, 2006

Patti Field
Grant McManes
Movement: The Untapped Resource

Learning
 Movement Supports  Movement Is Learning
Learning - Memory: Evidence of
- Brain Physiology Learning
- Brain Fuelling - Procedural Memory:
- Brain Repair the untapped resource
- Brain Chemistry
- Pleasure
Body/Brain Connection

Brain Physiology

The part of the brain used in


almost all learning, the
cerebellum, is in high gear when a
learner is physically active.
Body/Brain Connection

Fueling the Brain

Exercise fuels the body with oxygen


and feeds it neurotropins which
encourages growth, helps to make
stronger connections, elevates mood
& helps long-term memory.
Body/Brain Connection

Repair
Scientists have now discovered that the
brain can reproduce neurons. This has a
huge impact on education. Newly
formed neurons have a 50%
survival rate in enriched
environments. Increased
physical activity improves
this process.
Body/Brain Connection

Brain Chemistry

Brain chemicals (in particular acetylcholine)


serve to activate neurons for the formation of
a memory trace. This chemical enhances the
ability of the brain to plant a memory. Each
time there is physical movement acetylcholine
is released in the brain. So movement, may
actually enhance learning: not just for
kinesthetic people but for all people.
Body/Brain Connection

Brain Chemistry
Neuroscientists at the University of California
have discovered that exercise triggers the
release of BDNF. BDNF is a
natural substance which
enhances cognition by
boosting the ability of
neurons to communicate
with one another.
Body/Brain Connection

Pleasure:
Sensory-motor experiences feed
directly into the brain’s pleasure center.
This is not of trivial importance;
enjoying school keeps students in school
and helps motivate them while there.

Exercise increases serotonin in the brain


so it reduces distress and depression.
Body/Brain Connection

Interesting Facts:

Students who tip back on two legs of their chairs


in class might be stimulating their brain with a
rocking motion that activates the vestibular
system. While rocking in a chair is not to be
encouraged in a classroom, its motion
happens to be good for the brain.
Body/Brain Connections

Movement and Memory: Movement can be


constructed to meet both the brain’s need and
curricular objectives. Movement can:
1. make the abstract concrete,
2. force higher level thinking,
3. provide needed opportunity for
rehearsal and review,
4. motivate students to learn, and
5. plant memories (memories planted
in more than one part of the brain
are easier to retrieve)
Body/Brain Connection
Memory Lanes
Learning and Memory
The Brain in Action
Marilee Sprenger
1999
Memory Lanes and
Learning

 The only evidence we have of learning is


memory
 The brain has at least five memory path
lanes
 These memory lanes are used to access
and store information for long-term
memory
Memory Lanes and
Learning

Memory
Pathways
Group #1
1. Semantic Memory

 Information learned from words; these words may


be oral or written
 Knowledge of facts and data: lists, dates, names,
places, etc.
 Book or school learning
 Requires intrinsic motivation from learner
 Requires much repetition for long-term storage to
take place
 Strategies: graphic organizers, jigsaw, acronyms
Group #2
2. Episodic Memory

 Learning is associated with location (contextually


imbedded)
 Has unlimited capacity, is effortless, and is used naturally
by everyone
 Learning space and people provide opportunity for memory
retrieval
 Contamination can take place when you have too many
event memories embedded in one location (rotate seating)
 Students who learn information in one room and are tested
in another room have more difficulty than those taking the
test in the original room
 Strategies: role plays, masks
Group #3
3. Automatic Memory

 Any learning that has become automatic


may be stored in this memory lane e.g.
decoding skills, multiplication skills but not
comprehension
 Sometimes called conditioned response
 Strategies: word association, repetition,
drill
Group #4
4. Emotional Memory
 Most powerful kind of memory
 Takes precedence over any other kind of memory;
the brain always gives priority to emotions
 The correlation between the strength of the original
emotional event and the likelihood of retrieval of that
event is around 90%
 Other memory lanes shut down if a strong negative
emotion, like fear or anxiety, is present
 Strategies: music, personal anecdotes
Group #5
5. Procedural Memory
 Stores memories about what the body does (sensory,
bodily-kinesthetic): motor learning
 Often called muscle memory
 remembering ‘how’ to do something
 Sequences that are consistently repeated are stored in
procedural memory
 Allows the brain to do more than one thing at a time
 Helps us learn things that don’t require conscious
attention
 Strategies: building a model, conducting an experiment,
hands-on experiences, practice, rehearsal
Procedural Memory: The Untapped
Resource

 Procedural Memory does not require processing first


by the hippocampus
 Procedural Memory does not require conscious
thought
 Procedural Memory has unlimited storage, requires
minimal review and needs little intrinsic motivation
 At school, this type of learning diminishes each year
until it’s virtually absent from all but a physical
education, industrial arts, or drama curriculum

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