Sweat So You DON’T Forget!
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Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2010, and today, he is one of the ‘most followed educators’on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the ‘500 Most Influential People in Britain’ by The Sunday Times as a result of…
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Do you believe a burst of 5-star jumps during a lesson can improve student recall?
This research explores how brief bursts of physical activity can enhance students’ focus and learning, transforming lessons into engaged spaces!
I’m becoming increasingly obsessed with cognitive science, and especially brain research. To state my focus specifically, I have been exploring retrieval practice and short activity breaks during the learning process to enhance memory retention.
Why explore something that may be a challenge for most state school teachers?
Several research sources suggest that brief exercise breaks during lessons can help students focus their attention, recall information and improve overall outcomes.
I wonder if this would improve behaviour too?
Research published by McMaster University explored exercise brakes during a lecture, and what impact it had on attention and learning. Sweat So You Don’t Forget: Exercise Breaks During a University Lecture Increase On-Task Attention and Learning (Fenesi et al., 2018)
Here is a summary in one minute.
Reflection questions for teachers:
Now, there is an obvious barrier for all teachers implementing this; unstructured activities could lead to poor behaviour. Let’s assume you are on top of your game and that your classroom behaviour management is superb.
- How can teachers integrate short exercise breaks into their existing lesson plans?
- What types of physical activities would be most engaging for your students?
- How might teachers adapt exercises to ensure inclusivity for all students?
- Could teachers use movement to relate to lesson content directly?
- How can you measure the impact of exercise breaks on student focus and learning outcomes?
- What strategies can teachers employ to encourage reluctant students to participate?
- How might exercise breaks look different across various age groups and learning environments?
- What considerations should be made for students with physical disabilities?
- How can teachers balance curriculum demands with the need for physical activity breaks?
- Could collaboration with PE teachers or departments provide additional resources or ideas?
Implementing exercise breaks in the classroom need not be a Herculean task. With carefully aligned activities to match subject knowledge, teachers can implement short physical movement breaks to unlock student engagement, and exam scores!
Download the full paper.
