ROGERS — Should you visit Elza R.

Tucker School on a Thursday during the school year, you will have the opportunity to engage in Action-Based Learning in Brain Gym. Tucker's Brain Gym was launched at the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic school year. While working out class schedules for music, physical education, art and library, we discussed the benefits of Action-Based Learning. Our intent was to implement a program that boosts student achievement. Research indicates we may have done just that!

Action-Based Learning provides physical activity and promotes learning in all subject areas, as well as facilitating self-esteem and self-awareness. Action-Based Learning, or "The Brain Gym," at Tucker, is based on information and strategies gleaned from the work of Jean Blaydes Madigan and her Action-Based Learning Laboratory. Madigan's work is based on the research of Eric Jensen, Howard Gardner, Susan Kovalik and Dr. John Ratey, to name a few.

Physical education, (physical activity) is the cornerstone of Action-Based Learning, which provides the very foundation for learning. In P.E.

some actions we participate in are: movement at different levels; dynamic balance; spatial concepts of over and under; bilateral movement; spatial awareness; opposition; patterning; and jumping and landing.

These concepts facilitate the brain action of writing patterns in sequence, reading and writing words from left to right, and placing words on a page.

Through physical activity we integrate the senses through coordination of the visual, auditory and kinesthetic senses.

We develop eye tracking for visual motor control and core muscles to strengthen neural pathways. These concepts facilitate the brain action of sorting information, following the flow of words, solving problems, and sequencing patterns in reading and math.

Through physical activity we advance visual tracking through development via eyehand and eye-foot coordination, tracking moving objects, sequence of patterns, cross lateralization, beat competency, dynamic balance, and skills of toss, throw, strike, aim, catch, kick, jump, bounce, dribble and juggle. These concepts facilitate the brain action of actually processing thoughts, discriminating sounds, likeness and differences, organizing thoughts in sequence, as well as advancing to higher-level thinking skills.

Physical activity assists in the development of: vestibulardevelopment, which includes body control; coordination of the kinesthetic, auditory and visual senses; spatial concepts of around, up and down; peripheral vision; and locomotor skill development. These concepts facilitate the brain action of placing letters and words on a page, putting numbers and letters in sequence, discrimination of different sounds and writing letters in the appropriate proportion.

Visual-motor control is developed through physical activity by: developing form discrimination; dynamic balance development of visual fields including peripheral vision; directionality, encoding symbols and cross lateralization. These concepts facilitate the brain action of recognizing and writing letters and numbers, discriminating sounds, following words from left to right, organizing information and encoding the stroke of each symbol of letters and numbers.

Physical activity advances higher level thinking through: a higher level of dynamic balance; practice and reinforcement of academic content; and complex motor control. These concepts facilitate the brain action of anchoring information and improvement of memory retrieval, combining high level thinking skills and preparing the brain to take a test.

All of the above occur at Tucker's Brain Gym. When I stepped into Brain Gym last year, I noted the rock-climbing wall with Hula-Hoops attached: children must crawl through, over and under, while advancing across the climbing wall.

The televisions are set with activities for students to "toss the ball" using a tennis racket. Another TV has rolling ball on balancing slides or bars, where the student is to use their hands to correctly balance the bar.

Stands with high and low bars are set up for children to jump.

One corner has sets of cups for students to stack and unstack appropriately. Also present are jump ropes and Hula-Hoops.

The entire gym is set up in stations, where the children rotate from activity to activity in a programmed sequence.

I stopped to visit with two children who were rolling two number cubes, moving to specific spaces, then shooting the basketball. I asked the students what they were learning. They quickly explained they roll the number cube, one cube indicates the number of points they will get, the other indicates the location from which they shoot the ball.

Brain Gym day means you will see teachers wearing shirts stating Exercise Grows Brain Cells. It means every student at Tucker participates in physical activity. Our Brain Gym is open throughout the week for teachers to take their own class for a Brain Break. Teachers have learned and implemented Brain Gym or Action-Based Learning strategies for use in classrooms.

Physical activity provides children with an enriched environment. The work of Van Praag and Associates (and a host of others) indicates activity grows new brain cells. Other benefits of aerobic activity include enhanced cognition, increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor, reduction of stress, improved behavior and reinforced academic skills.

We have yet to determine the tangible rewards so far, rewards such as higher test scores and such. However, we do have teacher's telling us of longer attention spans, more focus, improved behavior, etc. after brain gym. These testimonies in and of themselves suggest more learning is taking place.

Now bear in mind, children of all ages benefit physically, socially and academically from daily activity. Children do not participate in physical education or organized physical activity on a daily basis. So, what if we implement daily activity at home? As families we can all benefit from walking, riding bikes, tossing, catching, hitting the ball, jumping, skipping, shooting baskets, jumping rope, etc. Can you imagine what might happen if every child were to participate in daily activities that could boost learning capacity and facilitate better physical health?

Ask your child to show you activities they participate in at the Elza R. Tucker Brain Gym as well as at other Rogers schools. They will be happy to share with you. Plan with your child, and your entire family, activities you can participate in on a daily basis, every day;

during the school year and in the summer. You will all reap the benefits of Action Based Learning, so will we all!

Debra Clark is the assistant principal at Elza R. Tucker School.

Scholars, Pages 8 on 08/26/2009

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