Project Description

Moving to Learn

Dr. Deborah Breen

Boston University

When we picture a lecture, we easily imagine students sitting in rows listening to their instructor while perhaps watching a slideshow or demonstration. This form of learning engages our listening and viewing skills; interactive lecturing can help us expand sensory connections with course materials through kinesthetic learning. Kinesthetic activities engage the brain in different ways and allow students to process, retrieve and retain concepts through learning that involves movement.

As you plan kinesthetic activities for your classes, remember to:

  • Consider the logistics of your class and its space: you may need to modify an activity depending on the number of students and the classroom space.
  • Consider the mobility needs of your students and adapt the kinesthetic activities as needed to make them accessible to all students.
  • Pace your kinesthetic activities to engage and refresh students between mini-lectures that reinforce content.

Here are 3 ways to integrate movement into your interactive lectures:

As with all interactive elements in your classes, explain the why and how of the activity to your students to help them connect the activity to the learning goals for that day or unit. Remember, too, that any change in mode of activity takes time to set up, do and process, so build that time into your class plan. When the kinesthetic activity is complete, connect it back to content so that it supports and strengthens, rather than disrupts, your students’ learning.