Active learning is the key to success

Before reading this short blog, pose yourself the following question:

How much time does the average child in my class spend physically active?

Taking into account an 8:45am – 3:30pm day with a 15-minute break and 30-minute playtime at lunch, children in your class could be spending six hours sitting at a table.

Six hours! Imagine sitting in a meeting for six hours. What would happen? Feelings of tiredness, boredom and lethargy.

If we struggle to cope then how do the children?

Remaining physically inactive labours the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain, thus minimising processes and decreasing output. Hence feeling stagnated in your concentration and enthusiasm.

Some children have the ability to cope, whereas others become lost in the system. Turn your attention to a toddler, spending their early childhood exploring the World around them. Crawling, climbing and sneaking around the environment.

Surely education should continue to encourage the process of exploration?

The key to success is being creative. I firmly believe that every lesson and subject has the capability of being adapted into a practical setting. It is not to say that the whole lesson should be physical as there is often a need for teacher-led input.

However, children should be encouraged to explore their learning within the human form. Our species were designed with two legs…let’s use them within a child’s everyday life.

Not only are you increasing the flow of oxygen to the brain to keep children engaged for longer, but also improving their physical health and wellbeing. Education is important but only as long as the beholder is around to use it.

So my final question reads as follows:

What lessons can I make more active for my students?

The answer should be all of them.

This is a re-blog post originally posted by@chrisbourne2win and published with kind permission.

The original post can be found here.

You need to Login or Register to bookmark/favorite this content.