The Inseparable Bodybrain Partnership- Emotions & Movement
The integration of movement and emotion plays a critical role in learning and cognitive performance. The brain's various systems, including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus, and thalamus, are deeply involved in processing emotions and forming memories.
The ability to mimic (which is a significant tool on learning) is movement based
Movement is crucial to every brain function (memory, emotion, language, learning)
The entire front half of the brain is devoted to organizing action, with the frontal cortex learning, routinizing, and processing motor and mental functions in parallel
Movement is fundamental to the very existence of a brain
The needed curriculum and instructional fixes for boys (such as aerobic exercise) also improve the learning environment for girls
Action replaces language for boys in many ways
Assigning seat-work to male students is the opposite of an effective learning environment for boys
The eye structure of boys
is geared to motion
is
A Word About Emotions & Gender Differences
Unlike women, the pair of the brain where emotions happen isn't well connected to the part of the brain where verbal processing & speech occur
Stress improves learning for males but impairs learning for females
Boys are less likely to affiliate with adult goals & aims than girls
Girls are more likely than boys to do their homework, even if the assignment doesn't interest them
Information Substances: The Rest of the Story
The body and brain have an inseparable learning partnership.
The aspects of absence of threat & the sense of community are essential for a classroom in order to have an effective learning environment for students.
Some neuroscientists speculate that less than 2% of neural communication actually occurs at the synapse
Virtually all locations where info from the 5 senses enter the nervous system, there are high concentrations of neuropeptide receptors; peptides filter the input of our experiences.
Emotion drives attention & attention drives learning, memory, and problem solving
We cannot separate emotion from cognition or cognition from the body.
Emotions in the Classroom
Students should be taught to practice dep breathing and different movement activities to cope with testing anxiety.
Collaborative learning, simulations, music, & drama enable students to more actively engage their brains.
Teachers should provide curriculum that students can experience both emotionally & cognitively. This type of curriculum encourages involvement of the prefrontal cortex & helps it to determine what should be moves to long-term storage.
Teachers should greet all of their students at the door to test their "emotional temperature"
The reticular activating system (made up of the brainstem, thalamus, & sensory cortex) filters the amount of sensory input that make it to the cortex.
Study trips & being there experiences in education allows students to take in sensory data. The brain is always scanning the environment for sensory data.
The prefrontal cortex becomes particularly active during emotional experiences
Emotion drives attention.
How Emotion Affects Learning
The prefrontal cortex is in charge of the brain; it coordinates and integrates almost all of the brains basic brain functions.
The hippocampus is responsible for helping form and find long term memories
The amygdala receives information from the thalamus and then send signals to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus release chemicals that prepare the body for flight, fight, or freeze.
The prefrontal cortex analyzes possible choices & makes the decision as to the best action for the body-brain to take
The cingulate gyrus in the brain reviews incoming sensory data from the 19+ senses & determines whether the data has emotional significance
The thalamus receives, sorts, & forwards almost all input from the sensory organs.
Years of Research
Emotions are processed throughout the entire brain and ALL of its structures
Emotions filter incoming sensory input,
regulating what the cerebral reflex
attends to, processes, & stores in long term memory
What Brain Research is Telling Us
Aerobic exercise triggers brain chemicals essential for forming new memories & wiring learning into long term memory
Movement To Enhance Learning
A Word About Movement & Gender Differences
Boys focus on movement while girls focus on the question of "What is it?"
Emotion as Gatekeeper to Learning & Performance
The mobility of the body
grows the brain & the
motion centers in the brain
are responsible for sequencing
thought
MOVEMENT
The Inseparable Bodybrain Partnership: Emotions & Movement
EMOTION
The gatekeeper to learning
& performance. Most of the
brain systems participate in
emotion & its connection to
cognition.
