Hands-On Kinesthetic Strategies for STEM Learning

1. @hdllrc

2. Beyond Hands-On Kinesthetic Strategies for STEM Learning

3. A little background... Six years ago, I made my boss crazy by suggesting that we change our school district’s afterschool programs to a hands-on, project-based STEM system. We have 45 minutes of STEM (then STEAM, now STREAM) for roughly 250 TK-5th students, 4 days a week, for 28 weeks of our school year. There are approximately 8 3-week units and 2 mini-units (2-weeks) in any given year. We do everything from engineering gliders, cars, boats, and earthquake-proof buildings to geocaching to forensics to electricity. My job is to do all of the research, writing, training, and coordination for those units.

4. A little background... As the program grew and we discovered it worked wonders for decreasing behavior problems and helped us retain staff, we realized that some of our most effective ways of increasing student (and staff) understanding was to implement some sort of movement-based element to our STEM (STEAM/STREAM...whatever!) instruction time. I didn’t really know why that was the case, until I participated in a webinar put on by SPARK, called “Designed to Move,” led by Jorge Rodriguez. I have to credit his webinar for a lot of the more technical research parts of this presentation.

5. Benefits of Movement • Increases blood flow to the brain • Improves brain function • Enhances brain development • Allows the brain to make connections Movement allows students to: • Refocus attention • Prepare the brain for learning

6. Research: Exercise: • Produces better results than medication at treating depression! • One way to prevent or slow cognitive decline in adults and the elderly. • Supports existing neurons and encourages the growth of new ones • Develops neural connections • BDNF helps the brain deal with stressors.

7. Research: Exercise changes the neurochemistry in your brain, increasing levels of: • Endorphins • Dopamine • Serotonin • Cortisol • Norepinephrine Which means: • Better focus • More energy • Less impulsivity/fidgeting • Improved mood • Increased confidence

8. Research: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor • Children with ADHD have less BDNF • BDNF is also low in those with anxiety, depression, and PTSD • You can increase BDNF with exercise. • A German study found that adding sprinting to cardio increased BDNF and the sprinters learned vocabulary words 20% faster!

9. Is school-based physical education related to academic performance? "Overall, 11 of 14 studies found one or more positive associations between physical education and indicators of cognitive skills and attitudes, academic behavior, and/or academic achievement...The studies also suggest that increased time spent in physical education is not likely to detract from academic performance even when less time is devoted to subjects other than physical education. Across the nine studies that examined the relationship between time spent in physical education and academic performance, 16 outcomes were positive and 31 showed no association. No negative associations were found." ~Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The association between school based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.

10. Topic Vocab Toss Form a group of 5 or 6. Choose a term below and toss the ball. The recipient needs to read the definition, choose another term and toss again. Neurons - specialized cells transmitting nerve impulses Endorphins - peptides that activate the body's opiate receptors, helping you deal with pain. Norepinephrine - a neurotransmitter released in response to stress. Bilateral exercises - work both sides of your body, also called crossing the midline.

11. That was the Why But what you are probably here for is the HOW. • How do we include motion in learning? • How do we best utilize movement to teach STEAM concepts? • How do we incorporate movement into classrooms or OST programs?

12. Prepare the Brain for Learning: Start with Movement! Establish physical routines to start your day. Set up a simple obstacle course, or a specific pathway through playground equipment, or place cards with physical tasks on cones or taped/stapled in designated areas. Vary the tasks, but never the location of the cards. Do an activity like a non-elimination musical chairs (use paper plates in place of chairs for greater mobility outdoors) as you take attendance or get set up for your day. You only have to start or stop music as you mark students.

13. Add Movement to Instruction Add vocabulary to familiar, repetitive activities, like ball tossing, hula hooping, bounce passes, or jumping rope, or to gesture games like Hit the Deck.

14. Beneficial Movements: Crossing the midline: get both hemispheres of the brain to cooperate and get students ready to learn. • Pass vocabulary flashcards right over left in a line or circle. • Jump cross group recitations. Spatial awareness links to our ability to read, organize, and think abstractly. • Do spinning, jumping, rolling, and turning activities as you recite vocabulary. • Moving ball toss call & response with vocabulary word and definition.

15. Add Movement to Instruction Add a STEM concept to a familiar game (Electrical conductors and insulators with London Bridges, breaking cell walls with Red Rover, Warning Coloration with Poison Ball).

16. Add Movement to Instruction Add physical gestures to vocabulary. Explain the terms and allow students to choose the gestures for greater ownership.

17. Additional Benefits of Games CHOICEGames allow students to make choices. All learning begins with a choice.

18. Additional Benefits of Games: the Power of Play “There is good reason to think that play helps us learn. But another part of the evolutionary story is that play is a satisfying good in itself—a source of joy...If it had no other rationale, the sheer pleasure of play would be justification enough.” ~ Alison Gopnik “In Defense of Play”

19. References: A huge thanks to Jorge Rodriguez for the SPARK webinar “Designed to Move.” If you want to access the webinar, and all resources (which are worth the effort), sign up for SparkEcademy for free at https://www.sparkecademy.org/ and you might also look for “Rhyme & Reason” by Liz Giles-Brown. “Running Back from Hell” by Christine Fennessy. Runner’s World March 2014 http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/back-from-hell.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The association between school based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/health_and_academics/pdf/pa-pe_paper.pdf The Kinesthetic Classroomby Traci L. Anthony-Lengel & Michael S. Kuczala - First Chapter excerpt at https://www.corwin.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/33298_Pages_from_Lengel_The_Kinesthetic_Classroom_Ch1.pdf Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by Dr. John Ratey or check out the Brain Science Podcast episode 111 “Exercise and the Brain” from September 2, 2014 in the Apple store. “In Defense of Play” by Alison Gopnik August 12, 2016 http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/08/in-defense-of-play/495545/