Wow! What an exciting semester it has been and where has the time gone?  When the four of us entered this class on the first day (well, truthfully...the first few weeks) we were a bit overwhelmed, confused, and had more questions than answers.  It took several weeks, and a lot of brainstorming,  before we were even able to narrow down a topic.  Slowly, but surely, things started to fall into place.  Our topic began to take it's shape, we began to see the real life application in our classrooms, and truly began to develop interest and excitement surrounding "brain breaks!"  Step-by-step, we identified how we would develop a methodology around our research questions and most importantly, how to analyze the results after conducting our study.  At this point, we are very anxious to actually DO our project.  ENOUGH PLANNING, let's get to it already! : )  We are a close group of friends and plan on discussing and comparing the results of our projects with each other and ultimately with our school, and the smartpd community. 

We just stumbled upon an article that offers a new perspective on why students need to keep moving during the school day. A pediatric occupational therapist weighs in and says that kids are sitting too long, affecting kid’s ability to learn and also leading to incorrect ADHD diagnoses. Children need to move in a variety of different ways in order to create the changes needed in the sensory system to improve attention. Lack of movement actually hinders attention, which leads many doctors to incorrectly diagnose children with ADHD when that is not the true problem. 

 

Very interesting! Read the whole article here :)

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/07/the-right-and-surprisingly-wrong-ways-to-get-kids-to-sit-still-in-class/

Why we really should be taking Brain Breaks..

Over the holiday break I came across an interesting article identifying some of the most important reasons we should be incorporating Brain Breaks into our classrooms. By now many of us know that Brain Breaks improve the function of the brain, allowing our students to perform better academically but there are many other reasons for us to incorporating all types of Brain Breaks as often as we possibly can. 

According to Dr. Spencer Kagan, there are 9 reasons to incorporate Brain Breaks:

1. Character Education
2. Emotional Intelligence
3. Positive Social Orientation
4. Creativity
5. Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence
6. Process Orientation
7. Equal Participation
8. Engagement
9. Instinctual Playfulness

All of these reasons are an added benefit to the academic stimulus Brain Breaks provide to students. Kagan states that Brain Breaks are best and most effective when they are incorporated on an on-going basis for the reasons listed above, not strictly just for academic motivation and achievement. Areas such as creativity, social orientation and bodily/kinesthetic intelligence can greatly improve the circulatory system's function within the brain and provide the necessary nourishment to the brain. When we combine the reasons states by Kagan and the academic portion of Brain Breaks, we are allowing our students to become refreshed in a safe, active environment in which teachers can manage the energy and attention level of each student. The optimal environment for layering is that of relaxed alertness, which can be achieved through Brain Breaks and using them for reasons such as the 9 listed above. 

Check out Kagan's website to see more instructional tips and tricks for teachers based on his research.