March 2nd, 2009
4th Graders Teach Brain Research
McCall Elementary 4th graders Teach Brain Research
Using a cartoon-like slideshow full of Brainy Stuff, a dozen McCall Elementary students taught their peers the surprising facts about why physical activity (think FootGaming in the classroom) actually helps them to be better learners. Rattling off terms like BDNF, neurotransmitters, hippocampus and "oxygen to the brain," they enthusiastically shared the principles shared by Dr. John Ratey in his 2008 book SPARK. The white board was soon covered with stick figures, huffing and puffing lungs, a radiant heart and the star of the show - a wrinkly brain.
Using interlaced fingers to illustrate the way rhythmic physical activity can help neurotransmitters connect and build strong cognitive links, one boy explained to his classmates, "When you are having trouble remembering a fact like in science, or your brain is tired from wokring on a tough math worksheet you can go to the computer and do some math games with the FootPOWR pad. That way you'll get your heart and lungs pumping and get more oxygen to your brain. Then your neurotransmitters can connect and help you remeber better."
His classmate, Katie, was most interested in BDNF, "Your brain doesn't need fertilizer, you know, like plants do. But it does need some stuff called BDNF that sort of works like fertilizer for the brain. The more you move and exercise and be active the more BDNF your brain gets."
Of course it
wasn't long before the class was ready to try out Footgaming
for themselves. Deep into a game of Bookworm Adventures
(PopCap.com) the one Footgamer had three helpers. They would
all try to discover the biggest and best word amidst the grid
of letters. The eager FootGamer would then select and
move the letters - and trounce the evil guys out to harm the
cool Bookworm. It wouldn't take any teacher more than a
few seconds to be able to rattle off a list of reasons this
"exercise" is just what the PE mandates require and the test
prep team would love. For the full ExerLearning story,
Check out this slideshow resource.
