Math and Exercise

  There is now research indicating that increasing physical activity throughout the day can increase both reading and math scores.  It makes sense to me because when I have to sit through a professional development day, I get tired and sluggish.

It appears that regular aerobic exercise in children helps improve their ability to do math.  It has been theorized that the aerobic exercise results in a thinner layer of grey matter which is believed to improve cognitive control and working memory.  Both of which are important skills in doing math.

It is now being suggested that some sort of physical activity occur in the classroom during the lesson or just before to improve brain function.  Even just having them get up and walk around just before presenting an important activity helps increase understanding.

A study from the University of Copenhagen indicates that if the physical activity is integrated into the part of the lesson focused on learning the material, student understanding increases and student scores go up.  The physical activity included a whole body element such as drawing shapes with the whole body or using groups of students to do addition or subtraction problems.

It is much harder to create physical activities in the secondary math classroom but at least one high school has managed it by having students take gym first period before math.  The gym taught includes things like square dancing which requires the complicated movements designed to stimulate thinking.

In addition, if a math teacher notices a student starting to zone out in class, the teacher implements a short burst of physical activity to get the brain working again. This school has seen its reading scores and math scores increase significantly.

Furthermore, regular physical activity is great for improving behavior, concentration, and physical shape.  It can also decrease a person's anxiety prior to a major exam.  Research has discovered there is an immediate improvement in concentration as soon as they begin regular exercise.  Over time, the ability of the brain to process mathematics improves.

I found this to be quite interesting.  I think I might need to include a bit of physical activity in the middle of my classes to increase brain power.  Students take 7 classes per day with only a four minute break between and one 30 min lunch period.  Not really enough time for the brain to get the stimulation it needs.

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear.