Читать книгу The Movement and Technology Balance - Traci Lengel - Страница 37

The brain requires water, sleep, oxygen, blood flow, and proper nutrients for an optimal learning state. If the brain does not have a healthy status, how can we ask students to perform at peak levels? The next important question is, “Which of these components can school settings actually control, monitor, and/or change?” Traditional technology usage does not deliver all these benefits. Additionally, many students attend school without receiving a restful night of sleep, nor do they have access to proper nutrition. These are crucial factors and, in most cases, out of the schools’ hands. Students of all ages have nodded off at their desks because their bodies and brains were simply demanding sleep. The delivery of a physically active academic lesson can help a sleepy child maintain some attention and state of alertness during instruction and while completing tasks. Ideal cognitive processing may not be a realistic expectation in this sleep-deprived state, but active learning can surely help make a difference.

Oxygen is essential for learning, yet 90% of the oxygen in our body/brain is stale unless we breathe deeply or exercise (Moize & Hess, 2017). Can you predict what fuels the brain and has been referred to by Dr. John Ratey (2008) as “Miracle-Gro” for the brain? If you answered “exercise,” you would be correct! Physical activity and exercise grow new brain cells (neurogenesis) in the learning and memory centers of the brain. Additionally, movement activates the BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor), which is a protein in humans that nourishes and protects the neural pathways for learning. Experts have suggested that student engagement increases 10% to 12% more during class simply by standing (Blaydes Madigan, 2009; Moize & Hess, 2017). When we sit for a certain amount of time, blood begins to pool in the feet and gluteus maximus, which is not beneficial for the body or the brain. Exercise provides protective effects to the brain through the production of nerve-protecting compounds, decreased cardiovascular disease, improved development, and survival of neurons (Mercola, 2012). When kinesthetic strategies are added to the classroom, students will be less likely to fall asleep and the brain can get the oxygen, blood flow, and nutrients it needs for optimal learning performance.