In 1929, English mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, said: “I lay it down as an educational axiom that in teaching you will come to grief as soon as you forget that your pupils have bodies.” Pressured by the implementation of Common Core and No Child Left Behind, many schools are increasing the amount of in-seat test preparation time. There are just not enough hours in the day to get all of the information presented and absorbed into their students’ precious little minds. This, as well as the ever-present budget cut, is causing school districts to cut down on music, art, physical education as well as sports programs. This trend is only lowering the outcome and productivity of these students. Despite years of research
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Research suggests that educational kinesiology should be used in every school, and particularly for students with special needs, because bodily-kinesthetic learning activates the wiring in the brain, makes the whole body an instrument of optimal learning, and facilitates production of nerve cells and the ability to listen and act upon auditory input in an efficient and integrated manner.
Kinesiology is the study of the mechanics of the body. Educational kinesiology deals with how the brain processes and stores information as movement while learning is implemented. Kinesthetic teaching can be described as using creative movement in the classroom to teach the curriculum. This is the science that produced the knowledge of hemispheric specialization. The brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for controlling the right side of the body, as well as number skills, math and scientific skills, written language, spoken language, objectivity, analytical thinking, logic, and reasoning. The right hemisphere is responsible for control of the left side of the body as well as 3D …show more content…
Jensen explains that it is necessary for us to have oxygen present for good brain function. Physical activities increase blood flow and increased blood flow means more oxygen to the brain. Higher levels of oxygen means increased brain function. Jensen goes on to explain that there are other outcomes from increased exercise and/or movement. Some of those include more cortical mass, a greater number of connections among neurons, and gene expression to improve learning and memory (Jensen, 2005). Simply put, movement improves brain function. Many in the mainstream educational community regard movement and thinking as completely separate functions and because of this, they assign them different and separate priorities. When school budgets get tight the first things to get eliminated or reduced are activities involving movement, such as dance, theater, and sometimes sports. But as more brain studies probe deeper into the relationship between body and mind, it becomes more and more apparent that there is a real connection between movement and cognitive learning. We all know that physical activity improves health and overall fitness. Sousa (2001) suggests that brain research shows that movement promotes the health and production of nerve cells, benefits the hippocampus and provides oxygen to
Research suggests that educational kinesiology should be used in every school, and particularly for students with special needs, because bodily-kinesthetic learning activates the wiring in the brain, makes the whole body an instrument of optimal learning, and facilitates production of nerve cells and the ability to listen and act upon auditory input in an efficient and integrated manner.
Kinesiology is the study of the mechanics of the body. Educational kinesiology deals with how the brain processes and stores information as movement while learning is implemented. Kinesthetic teaching can be described as using creative movement in the classroom to teach the curriculum. This is the science that produced the knowledge of hemispheric specialization. The brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for controlling the right side of the body, as well as number skills, math and scientific skills, written language, spoken language, objectivity, analytical thinking, logic, and reasoning. The right hemisphere is responsible for control of the left side of the body as well as 3D …show more content…
Jensen explains that it is necessary for us to have oxygen present for good brain function. Physical activities increase blood flow and increased blood flow means more oxygen to the brain. Higher levels of oxygen means increased brain function. Jensen goes on to explain that there are other outcomes from increased exercise and/or movement. Some of those include more cortical mass, a greater number of connections among neurons, and gene expression to improve learning and memory (Jensen, 2005). Simply put, movement improves brain function. Many in the mainstream educational community regard movement and thinking as completely separate functions and because of this, they assign them different and separate priorities. When school budgets get tight the first things to get eliminated or reduced are activities involving movement, such as dance, theater, and sometimes sports. But as more brain studies probe deeper into the relationship between body and mind, it becomes more and more apparent that there is a real connection between movement and cognitive learning. We all know that physical activity improves health and overall fitness. Sousa (2001) suggests that brain research shows that movement promotes the health and production of nerve cells, benefits the hippocampus and provides oxygen to