Children can learn Math better and have better absorption of learning when instruction involves their own bodies, according to a new study The findings from the research by the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports claims that children improve at Math if they move and use their body to learn, Science Daily reported. The results also suggest that each children require individualized method of instruction.
How school-age children learn will impact their life when they become adults, which is why it is important that school teaching and learning are optimized during elementary school.
Head researcher and Associate Professor, Jacob Wienecke of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, said that kids will be able to absorb better learning if they move and use their whole body to learn. He also said that while previous studies suggest that intense physical activities can enhance learning outcomes, they have proven that even less intense activities can be just as effective, or even more effective. The only important thing is that movement is integrated.
The study took six weeks and all of the children who participated were seen to have improved their scores in a standardized fifty question national test. The results have shown that the kids who have incorporated body movement performed best and have increased their performance by 7.6 percent. The researchers are now doing an investigation on the regions of the brain involved in these types of learning strategies and are looking at its effects on academic learning, like reading.
These results were similar to the findings by another research conducted by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. According to The Star, the kids who moved their bodies during math and spelling are able to learn more effectively compared to the students in a typical sedentary classroom.
