The Physiological Basis of Learning Teaching the Brain Through Games
Wendy Piret, Licensed Educational Kinesiologist & Leah Kalish, MA [email protected] - [email protected]
www.move-with-me.com 1
Objectives • Understand why movement & mindfulness are
essential to well-being, learning and social - emotional development.
• Learn how integrating more movement & mindfulness can easily and immediately shift a child’s (or your) State of Mind.
• Be inspired to use slow intentional movement, breathing, and/or movement stories to model daily self-awareness and self-care skills.
• Discover new resources for bringing movement & mindfulness to your classroom.
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Overview • Pre-Activity • Adventure Skills • Post-Activity • Triune Brain Theory • The Power of Hydration - Game • A Musical Bus Tour of the Brain • State of Mind - Game • Pass the Message – Game • (Time Allowing) Veggie Story
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Pre-Activity • Turn head to left.
– Notice how it feels. – Notice range of peripheral vision.
• Turn head to right. – Notice sensation and vision.
• Fold from hips into forward bend – Notice sensation and range of motion, touch
your fingers lightly on your knees or shins to mark ROM
• Snap Test – Notice ease or difficulty.
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A B C D E F G
l r t r l r t H I J K L M N l l r l r r t O P Q R S T U l t r l t r r
V W X Y Z
l t t l r
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• Adventure Skill # 1
• Adventure Skill # 2
• Adventure Skill # 3
• Adventure Skill # 4
*Ordered to coincide with Brain Gym®’s PACE
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A B C D E F G l r t r l r t
H I J K L M N l l r l r r t O P Q R S T U l t r l t r r
V W X Y Z
l t t l r
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Post-Activity • Turn head to left.
– Notice how it feels. – Notice range of peripheral vision.
• Turn head to right. – Notice sensation and vision.
• Fold from hips into forward bend – Notice sensation and range of motion, touch
your fingers lightly on your knees or shins to mark ROM
• Snap Test – Notice ease or difficulty.
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Result – A Shift in your State of Mind
Why? How? • When you play more, you stress less • When you stress less, you have greater access • When you have greater access, you learn from and understand more of the world around you
Mindfulness is increasingly recognized as an essential educational tool. It develops attention, emotional and cognitive understanding, bodily awareness and coordination, as well as interpersonal awareness and skills. Because it diminishes stress, anxiety, and hostility, mindfulness enhances our total well-being, peacefulness, confidence, and joy.
-Thich Nhat Hahn 9
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Triune Brain Theory -Professor Paul D. McLean
A Musical Bus Tour of the Brain
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Brain Area - Dimension Neocortex - Communication
Robots Shoulders/Neck
Limbic - Coordination
Swimmers Chest/Stomach
Reptilian - Focus
Penguins Back/Calfs
March of the Penguins
Adventure Skill #1
Drink water regularly to sustain feeling well, thinking clearly and being friendly.
Enhances: • Electro-‐chemical acEvity in Central Nervous System
• Processing speed • Stress release
Drink Water
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The Power of Hydration
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Purpose: To reinforce the principle that water is the most easily accessed and frequently needed Adventure Skill, to demonstrate that water is a powerful conductor of electricity and that the human body, consisting of between 60%-75% water, needs to remain well-hydrated in order to deliver its millions of electrochemical messages. Materials: Dehydrated green plant, energy ball*, cup of water Standards Addressed: AtL, LR, LD, SKS, PHD
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Early Learning Framework
• Physical Development & Health (PDH) • Social & Emo8onal Development (SED) • Approaches to Learning (AtL) • Logic and Reasoning (LR) • Language Development (LD) • Literacy Knowledge & Skills (LKS) • Mathema8cs Knowledge & Skills (MKS) • Science Knowledge & Skills (SKS) • Crea8ve Arts Expression (CAE) • Social Studies Knowledge and Skills (SSKS) • English Language Development (ELD)
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State of Mind Game Purpose: To understand the three different levels of cognition or “States of Mind”, to develop the ability to intentionally self-regulate by shifting our state of mind. Materials: 4 large dice, sidewalk chalk Standards Addressed: PDH, SED, AtL, LR, LD, LKS, MKS, SKS, CAE, ELD
Adventure Skill #2
Rub spots under collarbone with thumb and one finger while holding other hand over navel and tracking eyes horizontally. Deep breath and HUMMMMMMM to calm and focus.
SEmulates: • Flow of oxygen to the brain • Hemispheric integraEon • Binocular vision -‐ eye teaming • ReEcular AcEvaEng System –filter sensory info
*Similar to Brain Buttons in Brain Gym®
Humming Breath*
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Humming Breath Chant
One hand on my belly, I let it rest I bring the other hand up to my chest I find a pair of buTons beneath the shelf And Huuuuuummmmmm To calm myself I move my eyes slowly From the leV to the right Heart calm, mind clear Body strong, eyes bright!
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Humming Breath Video http://vimeo.com/68339890
Adventure Skill #3
March in place, alternately touching hands to opposite knees to energize body and wake up brain.
Enhances: • Crossing the visual/auditory/ kinestheEc/tacEle midlines
• Hemispheric integraEon • Binocular vision • Binaural hearing • LeV right coordinaEon • Stability in the walking gait
*Cross Crawl in Brain Gym®
Monkey Wisdom*
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Monkey Wisdom Chant
I am healthy I play every day I drink lots of water I don’t float away I rest when I’m Ered I breathe when I’m mad I eat fruits & veggies ‘Cause they are rad Red, orange, yellow, green At every meal and in between!
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Monkey Wisdom Video http://vimeo.com/68339892
Adventure Skill #4
1. Cross your ankles and wrists. Clasp hands and rest them at your sternum.
2. Breathe and think of something or someone you love.
Supports: • EmoEonal centering • Grounding • RespiraEon • Self-‐control and boundaries
*Hook ups in Brain Gym®
Deep Down Wisdom*
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Deep Down Wisdom Video http://vimeo.com/68339891
Executive Function • Kids need access to frontal cortex for higher
levels of learning • Stress blocks that access:
o Dehydration o Poor nutrition o Inability to self-soothe or regulate o Developmentally inappropriate activities /
expectations o Your stress about assessment or behavior
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Shifters Decrease Stress for Greater Access
• Embodied Self-Care and Regulation
• Play & Games
• Slow Intentional Coordinated Movement:
Yoga, Karate, Thai Chi, Gymnastics
• Movement Stories
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Pass the Message Purpose: To demonstrate that learning new tasks is easier and faster with repetition, to show, kinesthetically, how the brain prunes what isn’t used, in order to become more efficient and strengthen what is being used, to develop higher level thinking such as: cooperation, teamwork, and decision making. Materials: Paper, timer Standards Addressed: PDH, SED, AtL, LR, LKS, MKS, SKS, ELD
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Research Highlights
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• Decrease off-task behavior in preschool age children (Dr. Jennifer Dustow, Autism Project, 2009) • Improve creative problem solving, language skills, and memory (Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., The Cognitive Benefits of Play: Effects on the Learning Brain, 2008)
• Increases attention span and ability to ignore distractions and concentrate effectively
• Enhances behavioral regulation, metacognition, and overall global executive function (Flook, Smalley, Kitil, Galla, Kaiser-Greenland, Locke, Ishijima, Kasari, 2010, Napoli, Krech, & Holley, 2005)
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• Unifies and integrates mind/body experience (Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 2009)
• Organizes whole-brain function for optimal learning (Dennison and Hannaford, 1999)
• Improves executive functions (Science 2011)
• Concentrates BDNF in the hippocampus, enhances long term memory retention (Ratey, 2008)
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• Over-rides the body’s physiological response to stress
• Stimulates the release of BDNF, which grows the brain (Ratey, 2008)
• Improves the cognitive control of attention
• Enhances academic performance (Hillman, CH, Pontifex, MB, Raine, LB, Castelli, DM, Hall, EE, Kramer, AF, 2009)
• Focus attention and engage participant in an empathic response, creating a significant physiological effect on the body and on behavioral choices. (Paul Zak, 2013) • Activate episodic memory and light up the whole brain for learning (Dr. John Medina, Brain Rules, 2010)
Story in Motion
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Purpose: To inspire early literacy, movement, creativity, and a love of learning. To integrate self-care/self-regulation skills with characters from the story. Reading supports a wide range of positive outcomes, from phonological awareness to social emotional learning and self-awareness. Materials: The recommended lesson book or a book of your choice Standards: PDH, SED, ATL, LD, LKS, CAE, SSKS, ELD Procedure: Read each book at least twice in the course of the week
Veggie Story Prep
• Bring in a basket of LOTS of different fresh vegetable • Let children touch, smell. Discuss colors, qualities,
nutrients. • Invite children to “BE” each one of the veggies with their
bodies. This is a great warm up for the movement story. • Tell Veggie Story on next slide … • Be dramatic. Have fun with it. Play music. • CAPITALS indicate where a pose or movements go. • Pause as needed to make space for poses / movement. • Encourage children to explore different qualities, levels,
speeds in their movement while being a bird, cricket, etc. • Invite children to make expressive sounds.
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Veggie Story Once upon a time, a TINY SEED SNUGGLED DOWN into the earth. There, it SIPPED WATER from the RAIN and ATE MINERALS from the SOIL and made friends with the WORMS that WIGGLED through the dirt so seed could BREATHE and have room to GROW. First, it SPROUTS and SHOOTS a stem up toward the SUN. Then, leaves UNFOLD. A BUTTERFLY flits and a LADYBUG visits… BIRDS fly by and BEES and CRICKETS play nearby. Seed GROWS into a BIG, BEAUTIFUL PLANT, just the one it came from … Show us which yummy, nutritious VEGGIE YOU ARE. (Encourage each child to BECOME one of the vegetables while you guess, such as: are you a bushy broccoli and leafy kale, and are you long, thin green beans or asparagus? If a child has difficulties, ask if they would like to do an Adventure Skill, then decide) Now let’s all be each veggie. (Coach children to copy each other’s pose and/or movement one at a time) Now show me a way YOU LIKE TO MOVE when you eat veggies and feel HAPPY & STRONG. Do you JUMP, HOP, KICK, SKIP, PRANCE, SHAKE, FLAP, STOMP, TWIST, BEND, SLIDE, or BOP? (Demo and invite movements.) And now, let’s all SIT, then LIE on our BACKS and REST. Put your HANDS on your BELLY & FEEL your BREATH come in & go out. Ahhhhh J 32
Movement Story Demo
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Veggie Story Video hFp://vimeo.com/68337532
Drink Water every 20-30 min throughout the day Humming Breath – to calm and focus at circle time, after outside time, before or after transitions Monkey Wisdom – to energize as well as prepare for gross and fine motor skill activities and reading Deep Down Wisdom – to ground and center when upset, angry, frightened
Self-Care Review
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Resources • Move-with-Me.com • Imaginazium.com: Yoga Kit for Kids: • Barefootbooks.com: Yoga Pretzel/Planet Decks • Yogaed.com: Yoga Tools for Preschool Teachers • Omazingkids.com • Braingym.org • LearningStationMusic.com • mindfulnesseducation4life.com • victoriatennantconsulting.com • EveKodiak.com
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• Brain Gym® 101: Balance for Daily Life, Paul Dennison, Ph.D. & Gail Dennison, Brain Gym® and Me: Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning. Ventura, CA: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc, 2006. Teacher’s Edition Revised. Ventura, CA: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc, 1994 www.braingym.com
• Ratey, John. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. http://sparkinglife.org/
• Healy, Jane. The Growing Mind. http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/future/creating_the_future/crfut_healy.cfm
• Goldberg, Elkhonon. The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2001.
• Hannaford, Carla. The Dominance Factor: How Knowing Your Dominant Eye, Ear, Brain, Hand & Foot Can Improve Your Learning. Salt Lake City, Utah: Great River Books, 1997, Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head. Salt Lake City, Utah: Great River Books, 2005. http://www.greatriverbooks.com/PlayingInTheUnifiedFieldPage.htm
• Pearce, Joseph C. Evolution’s End: Claiming the Potential of Our Intelligence. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. http://ttfuture.org/jcp/front
• Sally Goddard Blythe - http://www.sallygoddardblythe.co.uk/index.php
• Dr. John Medina - http://www.brainrules.net/
Bibliography
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Science Research Highlights Bibliography Stories/Literature: Lin, P-Y., Grewal, N.S., Morin, C., Johnson, W.D., Zak, P.J. 2013. Oxytocin increases the influence of public service advertisements. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56934. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056934. [Link] Medina, John. Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five. Seattle: Pear Press, 2010. Print http://brainrules.net/pdf/references_longterm.pdf Embodied Self-Regulation Skills:
Dustow, Dr. Jennifer. Autism Project of Dr. Jennifer Dustow: Do Bilateral Exercises Decrease Off Task Behavior with Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Koln, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2009. Print LINK - http://www.amazon.com/Autism-Project-Dr-Jennifer-Dustow/dp/3838316614/ref=la_B0056OC1HU_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383996994&sr=1-2
Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., (2008) The Cognitive Benefits of Play: Effects on the Learning Brain, Retrieved from http://www.parentingscience.com/benefits-of-play.html Hannaford, Carla. Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head. Great Ocean Publishers 1995. Print
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Science Research Highlights Bibliography Mindfulness: Lisa Flook, Susan L. Smalley, M. Jennifer Kitil, Brian M. Galla, Susan Kaiser-Greenland, Jill Locke, Eric Ishijima, Connie Kasari. (2010) Effects of Mindful Awareness Practices on Executive Functions in Elementary School Children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, Vol. 26, Iss. 1
Katherine Weare. Developing mindfulness with children and young people: a review of the evidence and policy context. Journal of Applied School Psychology 2010 Vol. 21, Iss. 1, pp. 99-125
Cardio-Exercise Hillman CH, Pontifex MB, Raine LB, Castelli DM, Hall EE, Kramer AF. (2009) The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic achievement in preadolescent children. Neuroscience. 2009 Mar 31;159(3):1044-54. Doi 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.01.057. Epub 2009 Feb 3.
Strong WB, Malina RM, Blimkie CJ, Daniels SR, Dishman RK, Gutin B, Hergenroeder AC, Must A, Nixon PA, Pivarnik JM, Rowland T, Trost S, Trudeau F. (2005) Evidence based physical activity for school-age youth. J Pediatr. 2005 Jun;146(6):732-7.
Slow Intentional Movement Ratey, John J., MD. Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain. Little Brown and Company, 2008. Print
• Gothe N. Pontefex MB, Hillman C, Mcauley E. (2012) The Acute Effects of Yoga on Executive Function. Journal of Physical Activity & Health © 2012 Human Kinetics, Inc • Link - http://kch.illinois.edu/research/labs/neurocognitive-kinesiology/files/Articles/Gothe_2013_TheEffectsOfA.pdf
