Procedural Memory, Movement & Exercise

We store memories in the brain and the body. Procedural memory is the long-term memory of how to do things. It’s the memory we call upon to physically carry out a sequence of steps. You use it when you ride your bike or play a song on an instrument. Movement can also be used to teach new material and review for better retrieval. Physical exercise actually builds the infrastructure of learning which will result in more brain cells!!

How can what we know about using movement to strengthen declarative knowledge be applied to learning in the classroom? How can we create more connections between disciplines in an effort to "move content" for increased motivation and learning?

I've learned...

Procedural memory has unlimited storage capacity.

Much of the brain is involved in complex movement.
The cerebellum processes both movement and learning.
When something is learned by the body, more sensory cues create increased recall.
When learning a physical skills with practice, neural pathways become smooth and the skill/movement becomes automatic, requiring no conscious thought.
The cognitive level of motor development uses the same part of the brain as problem solving, planning, and sequencing.
Physical movement energizes the brain by increasing blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients. It increases alertness, attention, and motivation, more nerve cells bind together, and the chemicals released at the synapse "fix" memories and improve recall.
When movement is paired with semantic learning, there is more dendritic branching therefore a stronger, smoother pathway for recall.
Finding ways to "move to learn" also engage emotions, which further stimulates long-term memory and improves recall. There are many ways to do this. Example - After some direct instruction, put kids into partnerships and ask them to use their bodies to show you what they learned in the last 10 minutes.
Exercise builds stronger and more efficient muscles, heart, lungs, bones and brain.
Exercise releases BDNF (brain developed neurotropic factor), which enhances cognition by improving the neurons ability to communicate with each other.
Movement and exercise reduce stress levels and too much stress has a negative impact on learning.
Exercise can build a better brain.

Strategies & Resources

Move Your Content - This handout provides classroom teachers ways in which they can add movement therefor tap into the procedural pathway to memory.

Moving To Learn Pages - This is the section of the website contains ideas to help teachers get kids moving by combining physical activity, procedural memory strategies and content.

Scarf Juggle In The Classroom - This juggle skill checklist can provide a focused movement break that kids can do just by standing behind their desk. It provides a way to have them do some cross lateral movement which strengthens the corpus collosum for better communication between brain hemispheres. And a bonus is that the kids learn a new skill!! You can purchase juggling scarves but light plastic grocery bags or vegetable bags (the kind on the roll in the produce section) can work just as well. If I were a classroom teacher every kids in my class would have 3 juggling scarves. You could cue this activity with some lively circus music. When the song is over they head back to what they were doing before. Seamless...

Learn More

SPARK - The Revolutionary Science of Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey, MD with Eric Hagerman is a must for all educators but it should be #1 on any physical educator's list of things to read. If you don't know the story of physical education in Naperville, Illinois and the basics of how exercise affects learning and the brain you and your students are missing out.

Brain Rules - by John Medina is a great resource for educators. It's fun to read and provides great information on how the brain works without getting too deep into the science. It gives great, easy to understand examples.

Smart Moves - Why Learning Isn't All In Your Head by Carla Hannaford & Carla Hannaford, Ph.D. delves into the science supporting the brain-body connection of all learning. If SPARK is #1 on your reading list, Smart Moves should be #2. Lots of food for thought for physical education and regular education teachers. The section on play, television and how it relates to the developing brain is eye opening.

Resources