Learning Through Movement

Kids Move = Kids Learn

This week we discussed "movement" and how it plays a role in our classrooms. The book discussed how vital movement is for children, especially for the younger ones. Movement enhances their memory and makes their learning more meaningful. Many schools are cutting recess time from their school day so that they can focus on academics. However, the research shows that students learn better when they have sufficient time to let their energy out. The book encouraged us to incorporate as much movement as possible in our classrooms.

Some questions we discussed included: 

With our busy schedule as teachers, how much freedom are we able to fit in to our lessons?

How can we be more intentional in applying these concepts such as freedom, movement, and choice into our daily teaching?
How do can we effectively foster the brains of these young children?
What is most important in our teaching?

We discussed how this type of teaching, project-based, would be easier if we had plenty of time, lots of resources, and more space. Kaila said it is hard to move around in her room because of the limited space and high number of students. Some practical things we discussed including in our teahcing include: doing movements to songs, doing motions to memory verses or to remember specific words, have students run at recess, take more brain breaks between activities, and simply "doing" instead of just "listening". We all agreed that this book reminds us of important concepts we should be incorporating in our classrooms; however, it is harder to carry out and know how to implement effectively. 

Executive Control versus Freedom in Learning

Executive Control versus Freedom in Learning

This week, we read about the connection between control and attention. The book emphasized promoting discovery and freedom in our students in our methods of teaching. One method that promotes this sense of free discovery and self-learning is Project Based Learning. Also, we can allow students to "be the teacher" and encourage them to use what they know to create. The book mentioned letting our students plan out their own ideas in their learning. We all agreed that as teachers, there must be some executive control; however, we often overcompensate and use too much control. We should do more discovery based learning so that the students can learn to do things on their own. Discovery based learning also encourages students' attention, natural curiosity, and a love for learning. 

Professional Development Sharing

Kaila shared this week what she learned from a conference she went to about mathematics. Some highlights she took away included:
- Using "purposeful struggle" as a method to develop their thinking and use what they already know
- Recognizing and using all 15 types of addition and subtraction problems in the classroom

- Using ten frames to help students visualize numbers

- Using a program, Doodlecastpro, to allow students to write, speak, and explain how they solve their own problems

- Allowing discovery even in mathematics, remembering it isn't about having the "right answer" but about the explanation of how a student got there

Wrapping Up

We decided that reading this book is fine, but we need to take away practical applications that we can apply in our classrooms. Angela said that she is going to try and give her students more freedom by putting out art supplies, giving a few directions, and then watching how they create their artwork. Bekah said that she would like to incorporate her students' interests more often in her classroom. Kaila said that she would like to train her students to plan their own ideas in the classroom.