The Link Between Movement and Learning

A recent segment on ABC news (link below) discussed the link between movement and learning. In some classes around the country teachers are encouraging their students to sit on therapy balls, sit on t-stools, stand, do jumping jacks and integrate other movement into their everyday school lives. The connection between movement and academic performance has been demonstrated via the use of brain imaging to show the higher level of brain activity during a test following an exercise activity. As teachers are encouraging this type of activity in their classroom as opposed to the “sit there and be quiet” attitude, it makes me very hopeful for the integration of children with various learning needs and styles in the general education classroom. As different strategies like this are implemented in the classroom teachers are finding that children who previously had a difficult time participating in class are much more focused and are actually making significant progress. Different labels such as autism, asperger’s, ADHD, and the like many times come in conjunction with some level of sensory processing difference; which means they have a difficult time filtering out the “background noise” in order for them to focus on the salient and pertinent details. By integrating physical movement into the classroom, these children are more able to show their abilities because the movement helps them regulate the incoming sensory information.

Movement and Learning – ABC