Give the Gap a Nap – March 09 Brain Buddies Blog
Curriculum crunch sends educators into “Pack and Stack” mode so we can cross topics off our to-do list. The problem is, even though we have “covered” the lesson, it may be wasted effort and energy.
When students’ body language tells the teacher they’re drifting, a change of activity might get them refocused. As magnificent as the brain is, it can only absorb so much information during any given time. Oversimplifying, the synaptic gap becomes backlogged when too much is crammed through the channels. We’ve all experienced a numb brain when the body needs a break. When the body is numb, the brain is the same. Concepts must actually pass through synaptic gaps and become linked to what they already know before they can be officially admitted into long term memory. Everything else becomes overflow, lost on the brain’s cutting room floor. Think Jell-O ™. It needs time to “set”.
So, how do we “Give the Gap a Nap”?
Move-it to Learn-it:
· Staying in chairs… Move from the waist up. Suggest or have students generate creative ways to move arms, shoulders, neck and head with or without music.
· Standing by their chairs… burns more calories, and sends more blood and oxygen to the brain.
· Move around the classroom…walk a few steps forward and backward or around. the room and sit back down. Link the movement to the lesson, and it works great.
· Take a 5 minute fresh air break for a quick run outdoors.
Shift Mental Focus:
- Partner share applications of the concept just taught
- Teach someone else what you’ve learned
- Make it into a rap or rhyme
- Express it in drawn pictures, cartoons, or a collage
Changing method, mode, setting or sensory pathway causes the brain to sit up and notice, making long term learning more likely.
Our Brain Buddies’ recommended book for March shares case studies and provides natural solutions for us to our fix “broken brains”:
The Ultramind Solution Mark Hyman, M.D. (Scribner 2009)
Sandi
© Sandra Sunquist Stanton MS, NCC, LPC, Connections of the Heart LLC
For additional articles and information, visit www.ourbrainbuddies.com or send an email sandi@ourbrainbuddies.com