We have an old-fashioned relationship with movement and learning.

We rarely allow them to happen at the same time. In schools and universities around the world we fill lecture theatres and classrooms with tables and chairs and expect learners to sit still while they learn.

But what if we introduced movement into the learning experience of subjects such as physics, mathematics, history and literature? What impact might this have on the way people engage with and create new knowledge?

Here are four fabulous books full of wonderful reasons to introduce movement into the learning environment.
Please make suggestions for additions to this list in the comments section below.

Jump in. Read on.

Brain-Based Learning

Eric Jensen & Liesl McConchie

This brand-spanking NEW edition of Brain-Based Learning is out! Here are just a few “wow” book gems.

Did you know there’s a secretive brain chemical that boosts learner focus and long-term memory?

In the book, you’ll discover the 3 simple (and quick) ways you can invoke it for free (pg. 15).

You’ll learn the 5 worst teacher-led social shaming ideas you should never use (pg. 76).

Did you know that your brain has “nearly magic” motivators you can use to mobilize and energize even the most lethargic student? (pg. 128).

Get the three nonconscious factors (nearly invisible to the naked eye) that are “must-haves” for your toolbox. Use them and reap double digit returns on student learning! (pg. 148).

The best part? You can read this book and apply learning the VERY next day! Insights will be jumping out of your brain F-A-S-T!

words from – https://www.jensenlearning.com/books-by-eric-jensen/

A Moving Child is a Learning Child

Gill Connell & Cheryl McCarthy

Grounded in best practices and current research, this hands-on resource connects the dots that link brain activity, motor and sensory development, movement, and early learning.

The expert authors unveil the Kinetic Scale: a visual map of the active learning needs of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and primary graders that fits each child’s individual timetable.

Teachers, parents, and caregivers will find a wealth of information, actionable tips, and games they can use to support children’s healthy development all presented in a lively, full-colour format with demonstrative diagrams and photos.

A final section offers easy-to-implement activities geared to the Kinetic Scale.

Dancing to Learn

Judith Lynne Hanna

Dancing to Learn: Cognition, Emotion, and Movement explores the rationale for dance as a medium of learning to help engage educators and scientists to explore the underpinnings of dance, and dancers as well as members of the general public who are curious about new ways of comprehending dance.

Among policy-makers, teachers, and parents, there is a heightened concern for successful pedagogical strategies. They want to know what can work with learners.

This book approaches the subject of learning in, about, and through dance by triangulating knowledge from the arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and cognitive and neurological sciences to challenge dismissive views of the cognitive importance of the physical dance.

Insights come from theories and research findings in aesthetics, anthropology, cognitive science, dance, education, feminist theory, linguistics, neuroscience, phenomenology, psychology, and sociology.

Using a single theory puts blinders on to other ways of description and analysis. Of course, all knowledge is tentative. Experiments necessarily must focus on a narrow topic and often use a special demographic-university students, and we don’t know the representativeness of case studies.

The Neurocognition of Dance

Edited by Bettina Blasing, Martin Puttke & Thomas Schack

Dance has always been an important aspect of all human cultures, and the study of human movement and action has become a topic of increasing relevance over the last decade, bringing dance into the focus of the cognitive sciences. Since the first edition of The Neurocognition of Dance was published, research into the cognitive science of dance has expanded extensively, with the number of scientific studies focusing on dance and dance-related topics in cognitive psychology growing significantly.

Featuring three new chapters addressing topics that have become highly relevant to the field in recent years – neuroaesthetics, entrainment, and choreographic cognition – as well as progress in teaching based on novel methods, this comprehensively revised and updated new edition of The Neurocognition of Dance is full of cutting-edge insights from scientists, researchers, and professionals from the world of dance.

Also now including online material such as links to video clips, colour images and hands-on material for practical application, this book is an essential companion for students and professionals from fields including dance, cognitive psychology, sport psychology and sport science, movement science, and cognitive robotics.

Book descriptions from Amazon or author websites

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