Lisa Fluckiger Final Project EDGR 535 Week#5

Exercise and the Brain: The connection between learning and

movement

Lisa FluckigerFinal Project, EDGR 535Concordia University Online

In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection.

-- Plato (Cited in Ratey, 2008)

The Mind-Body Connection

The Mind-Body Connection

As a nation, we move less and less, but evolution-wise, we are born movers. (Medina, 2011).

Obesity and diabetes were once afflictions of the middle-aged, but are now epidemic among children… “We’re literally killing ourselves…and what virtually no one recognizes, is that inactivity is killing our brains too – physically shriveling them” (Ratey, 2008).

The more we learn about the brain, the more we know that physical exercise makes the brain function at its best (Ratey, 2008).

Neurogenesis – the birth of brain cells

In the 1998, research showed that the adult

human brain does produce new brain

cells (neurogenesis) through the

hippocampus (Erikkssen et. al.,

1998).

You may remember learning that “you are born with all the brain cells that you will ever

have. “

Not true!

The brain is much more “plastic”, or changeable, than we knew before.

One reason for the brain’s plasticity is

BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).

The Brain Can Change and Grow

Over the last 20 years, research has shown that

neurogenesis actually occurs in adults. (Society for Neuroscience).

Brain plasticity describes structural changes in the brain as it adapts to new experiences and learning – changes in cells, molecules, and connections (Cotman, C., & Berchtold, N., 2002).

BDNF is a protein that

BDNF is Brain Fertilizer

Improves the function of neurons

Encourages growth of neurons

Strengthens and protects neurons against cell death

Appears to be important for

long-term memory

Is a crucial link between emotions, cognition, and

movement (Ratey, 2008)

If we are looking for a metaphor, BDNF is Miracle Gro for the brain.

It’s the Master Molecule of learning (Ratey, 2008; Medina, 2011).

Here’s the next miracle: exercise increases the production of neurons and also increases levels of BDNF

that helps neurons grow (Medina, 2011).

Exercise improves learning in three ways:

Once new neurons are created, they need something to do –

at this point, you need to “use it or lose it” (Ratey, 2008).

How does exercise affect learning?

It puts the brain in a state of alertness, attention, and motivation (Jensen, 2005;

Ratey 2008).

It prepares and helps neurons to connect to

each other (Ratey, 2008)

It initiates the creation of new neurons from stem

cells in the hippocampus (Erikkssen et. al., 1998).

Over the past decade, thousands of schools in 39 states have switched to a new kind of P.E. that focuses on fitness, rather than competitive

athletics (Ratey, 2008; PE4Life)

This shift toward daily, active exercise has had a remarkable effect on academics and behavior.

A New P.E.

“In our department, we create the brain cells. It’s up to the other teachers to fill them.”

-- Paul Zientarski, Naperville High School P.E. teacher

(cited in Ratey, 2008)

A New Kind of P.E.

“It’s about enabling each student to maintain a

physically-active lifestyle forever. It means

emphasizing fitness and wellbeing, not athleticism. It eliminates practices that humiliate students. And it

assesses students on their progress in reaching personal

physical activity and fitness goals. A [quality] program

exposes kids to the fun and long-term benefits of movement

– it’s really that simple.” 

-- Phil Lawler, Naperville High School P. E. Teacher (PE4Life)

The next 7 slides highlight four schools that utilize the link between exercise and learning.

Naperville, Illinois School District 203 integrated a new Learning Readiness PE (LRPE) class in 2005. This program found a link between physical education and improved math and literacy scores when offering physical activity daily before reading and math classes.

Significant improvements were seen from the first year. Students enrolled in a PE class immediately before math increased their algebra readiness by an average of 20% compared to only 4% in the students who took PE several hours after math class.

(PE4Life – Results)

Exercise Improves Academic Performance

Naperville, IL High School

In one semester, those with LRPE immediately before literacy class increased their reading and comprehension scores by 1.4 years on a grade level equivalency scale. Students enrolled in LRPE an hour before reading class scored nearly twice as high as those who had a longer time frame between the classes.

(PE4Life – Results)

Exercise is most beneficial right before academics

More Data from Naperville School

District 203

As an added bonus, the school’s obesity rate

has remained at 3%, compared to a national average of 18% or more (Ligon & Cowart, 2009, Ratey, 2008).

In 1999, Naperville Middle School students took the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). They

scored 1st in the world in science and

6th in math, while as a whole the U.S. ranked 18th and 19th (Ratey, 2008).

Decreased Discipline Incidents

Woodland Elementary School, in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri, also changed from once a week PE to daily aerobic PE classes (45 minutes per day) in the 2005-2006 school year.

After just one year, the number of out-of-school suspensions dropped 67%.

The number of discipline incidents dropped from 228 to 94, a 59% drop.

(PE4Life, Results)

Effect of Exercise on Behavior

Decreased Disciplinary Incidents

Woodland Elementary School, a K-5 school in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri, integrated 45 minutes of daily aerobic exercise in 2005-2006.

After just one year, the number of out-of-school suspensions dropped from 1177 to 392 (67%). The number of discipline incidents dropped from 228 to 94 (59%) (PE4Life – Results).

Sustained Discipline DecreaseThe number of out-of-school suspensions and discipline incidents have been markedly lower over the past four years since Woodland Elementary implemented daily active PE.

The average number of suspensions has decreased 51%, and discipline incidents have dropped 31%.

(PE4Life, Results)

Long-term effects of exercise in school

Transformation in Titusville, PA

Titusville school district decided to implement what they saw in Naperville. Here’s what they did:

The Results?

Reading test scores went from below the national average to 17% above it.

Math test scores went from below the national average to 18% above it.

In the junior high school, not a single fist fight among the 550 students since the year 2000 (Ratey, 2008).

Installed fitness centers in secondary schools.

Bought heart rate monitors

Local hospital helped fund diagnostic equipment.

Added 10 minutes to the daily schedule, shaved time away from core classes.

Implemented daily aerobic PE classes (Ratey, 2008).

City Park Collegiate School

Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Allison Cameron, a teacher at City Park Collegiate, read about the academic gains of the students in Naperville, and asked

her principal if she could incorporate exercise into her special education classroom (Brain Gains, 2009).

City Park is a last-chance alternative high school. Cameron’s students were mostly boys, many with ADHD, who had an

average grade 4 reading level (Brain Gains, 2009).

The students began using the treadmills for 20 minutes every day, and immediately began to see both academic and behavioral gains (Brain Gains, 2009).

In 4 months, Cameron’s students made an average gain of one year’s growth in Reading, Writing, and Math; furthermore, some students began to read for the first time (Brain Gains, 2009)!

City Park Collegiate School, cont’d.

More About the Effect of Fitness on Academics

A study at Virginia Tech showed that

cutting gym class in favor of

academics did not improve test

scores (Ratey, 2008).

In 2001, The California Department of Education

(CDE) compared their students’ state test scores

with their scores on the FitnessGram – a pass/fail

test that measures overall strength, flexibility,

percentage body fat, and endurance (Ratey, 2008).

Results? Fit kids scored twice as well on academic tests as

peers who were unfit (Ratey, 2008).

A Review of 850 Studies Confirms It

This panel supported the CDE studies, and also reported that physical activity has a positive influence on:

(Strong et. al., 2005).

After reviewing 850 studies of effects of physical activity on school-age children, thirteen noted

researchers concluded that school-age youth should participate daily in 60 minutes

or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity (Strong et. al., 2005).

concentration memory

classroom behavior

Now what?

Take 15 minutes and watch Brain Gains (Leishman, 2009; see link on Reference page)

Consider how you can

integrate movement into your methods.

Brain Rules Website

Practical Applications

Educators can purposely integrate movement into classrooms by

Daily stretches (Sroka, 2004; Kirsch, 2008)

Walks and “brain breaks” Michigan Dept. of

Education (2005)

Active and collaborative learning (Reed, J.; Udvari-Solner, A., & Kluth, P., 2008)

Drama – daily or weekly role plays (Bany-

Winters, 1997)

Physical education (http://www.pe4life.org/)

Recess - important for everyone!

Movement and dance (Skoning, 2008)

Application

Summary

Strong evidence supports the mind-body connection.

Movement increases the number of brain

cells.

By causing production of BDNF, movement increases learning.

As a side benefit, it also decreases obesity and

improves behavior.

We need to use our resources to take advantage of the hidden power of

movement…“It’s time for educators to catch on” (Jensen, 2005, p. 67).

Bany-Winters, L. (1997). On stage: theater games and activities for kids. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press.

Cotman, C. & Berchtold, N. (2002). Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health

and plasticity [Electronic version]. TRENDS in Neurosciences, Vol.25 No.6 June 2002.

Retrieved from http://resulb.ulb.ac.be/facs/ism/docs/behaviorBDNF.pdf

Erikksson, P., Perfilieva, E., Bjork-Erikksson, T., Alborn, A., Nordborg, C., Peterson, D., & Gage, F. (1998). Neurogenesis

in the adult human hippocampus. Retrieved from

http://www.societyns.org/runn/2009/pdfs/Bednarsept2109Neurogenesis1998.pdf

Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd edition). Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Kirsch, J. (2008) Classroom Exercise Makes Learning Lively [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-

exercise-video

Ligon, L., and Cowart, C. (2009). One School Tackles Obesity Statistics. Retrieved from

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/OneSchoolTacklesObesityStatistics

Leishman, Joan (2009, April 23). Brain Gains [Video]. Retrieved from http://

www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/story/2009/10/06/national-braingains.html

Medina, B (2011). Rule #1: Exercise. Retrieved from Brain Rules Website: http://www.brainrules.net/exercise

Michigan Dept. of Education (2005). Brain Breaks. Retrieved from: http://www.emc.cmich.edu/brainbreaks/

PE4Life (n.d.) Results. Retrieved from http://www.pe4life.org/about-us/results/

References

Ratey, J. (2008). Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and

Company

Reed, J. (n.d.). Integrating Movement into the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.moveintheclassroom.com/

Society for Neuroscience (2011). Adult Neurogenesis. Retrieved from http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?

pagename=brainbriefings_adult_neurogenesis

Skoning, S. (2008). Movement and dance in the inclusive classroom [Electronic version]. TEACHING Exceptional Children

Plus. Vol. 4(6). Retrieved from: http://journals.cec.sped.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1512&context=tecplus&sei- redir=1#search=%22Skoning%20Movement%20Dance%20theInclusive

%20Classroom%22

Sroka, B. (2004, October). Take a 5-Minute Yoga Break. Instructor [Electronic Version]. Retrieved from

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/Oct04_yoga.htm

Strong, W., Malina, R., Blimkie, C., Daniels, S., Dishman, R., Gutin, B., Hergenroeder, A., Must, A., Nixon, P., Pivarnik, J.,

Rowland, T., Trost, S., Trudeau, F. Evidence based physical activity for school-age youth [Electronic Version]. The Journal of

Pediatrics,

146:732-7. Retrieved from http://www.healthywv.com/shared/content/page_objects/content_objects/

pdf_documents/youth_pa_recs.pdf

Udvari-Solner, A., & Kluth, P. (2008). Joyful learning: active and collaborative learning in inclusive classrooms. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

References, cont’d