Why Are Brain Breaks Important.

How many times, as a student, did you get a bunch of problems to practice the current topic being taught in class?  I remember getting like 30 problems to do and by the time I got to the end of the assignment, I could barely tolerate doing the problems.  I didn't take any breaks because I had to get it all done and my parents believed one needed to start and finish the work in one go.  

What I've noticed over time is that I do much better when I take breaks.  It seems to allow my mind the time it needs to connect pieces so I understand the material better.

By definition, a brain break is a small break to give students a mental break designed for students to focus and get ready to work again. The break can give time so students can get the blood flowing, increase the amount of oxygen going to the brain, and it provides the time students need to reset and get a bit more energy.  A small brain break also gives students a chance to process and think about the material behind the things.

Incorporating regular brain breaks into the schedule can result in students having better behavior, increase their productivity, improve comprehension, have better creative thinking, while spending more time on task.  Time for brain breaks should be regularly scheduled so they are not spending too long on any one task.  When they spend too much time focused on one activity, it can be counter productive. A brain break should include some movement and music and help reduce the level of frustration students experience when working too long on a task.  The length of a brain break depends on the age of the students.  

There was a recent study published which took a look at the brain.  They discovered there was a spike in brain activity during the break where the brain appears to be reviewing the material the student had just been exposed to but it was happening at an extremely high rate of speed. The review of the material went from the neocortex, home to the processing of sensory and motor skills, to the hippocampus which is the center of the brains memory.  This happened at least 24 times within 10 seconds.  So even though the students are taking a physical and mental break, their brains are still processing the material.

When people or students learn a new skill, it has to be connected with prior learning or previous memories.  The process is called binding and it is an important part of learning new skills.  When we learn a new skill, the brain uses the time during a break to review the material, compress  and imprint the new material so it's stored efficiently.

Furthermore, when planning to use brain breaks in class, it is important to schedule them before students become fatigued, bored, or distracted, thus there need to be frequent breaks especially in the longer classes.  It is suggested that elementary students get a 3 to 5 minute break every 10 to 15 minutes while secondary students should have a break every 20 to 30 minutes.

One does not need to plan entertainment for these breaks.  Instead, have the students get up, stretch, move around, or even chat some.  I've found that high school students do not want to exercise or even sing songs but sometimes I've put on music or even math "rap" videos to entertain them. Other times, I have things placed around the room for students to get so they are moving out of their seats.

In fact, there is research to indicate that scheduling brain breaks during tests including standardized tests results in improved test scores. As far as the effectiveness of brain breaks in class, there are indications that student performance increases.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Brain Breaks

Again, I'd like to thank Twitter for this topic.  Its  new to me that I'd like to share.  It's referred to as "Brain Breaks" or taking a physical break to stimulate the brain into learning.

Brain breaks incorporate some sort of physical activity into the classroom for a minute or two every period.  A brain break is designed to clear the brain pathways of stress and overload so the brain is able to learn at its optimum.

It has been discovered that for the brain to absorb new material, the information must pass through an emotional filter called the amygdala before reaching the prefrontal cortex.

When students become to stressed out or overloaded with information, the emotional filter is activated to the point, information is unable to reach the prefrontal cortex.  Brain breaks are designed to help return the brain to a state of optimal learning.  Switching mental activity allows the brain to shift communications to fresh networks of neurotransmitters which allows the brain's chemicals to replenish within the resting networks.

As a general rule of thumb, brain breaks should occur after 20 to 30 minutes of concentrated activity for middle school and high school students.  The good news is that brain breaks need not interfere with instruction. A brain break may be having students do a quick stretch, have them move to another part of the room, or even put a short piece of music on to dance to.

I usually include some sort of movement in my classroom but not as regularly as I should.  Some of the things I do is to prepare several multiple choice questions for my Smartboard.  I have the corners of my room designated as A, B, C, D and they must go to the corner of the letter they believe is the correct answer.

I do not have students pass out work, I place any sheets, books etc away from the students and they must get up to get the assignment.  Yes, it takes a couple minutes but the students are up and moving.  In addition, I allow them to check notes for their tests but their notes are spread around the room.  If they want to check their notes, they have to get up, walk over, look at the notes before returning to their seats to work on the tests.  All tests remain on the desk.

I remember reading about a teacher who kept a ball in the room.  She'd have students stand up, ask a question, then toss the ball to a student to answer the question.  She'd ask another question and that student tossed the ball to another one to answer the question and so on.  The ball indicated the person had the floor.

Here are a few other suggestions I found that I like.

1.  Desk switch - have students grab their materials and find another desk to sit in for the rest of the class period.  By changing desks, they get a new perspective on things.  Be sure to set a time limit or it might take the rest of the period.

2. Sky writing - have students write a message in the air to a friend.

3. Give students a chance to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" for two minutes while away from their desks.

4. Thumb wrestling.

5. Mirror - Mirror where students are broken up into pairs.  One student mirrors the actions of another student.

6. Pantomime - choose a student to act out an activity without talking.  Students have to mimic the leader and then guess what the activity is.

Let me know what you think.  I hope you all have a great day.