Combining play and movement is the best way to improve mental abilities and influence learning motivation. Movement-based learning consists of activities that involve body movement during class, as they have positive effects on health, brain development, and the learning processes of all students. This is because movement alerts and activates many mental capacities, which helps achieve comprehensive learning and development. It also integrates and reinforces information, as well as new experiences, in our neural connections.
Each movement is a sensory and motor experience related to understanding the world, and new learning is derived from it. For example, the movement of our head aligns the sense organs according to the environmental stimuli we perceive; eye movements help us measure distances, perceive three dimensions, and focus our eyes; hand movements allow us to touch, play, and manipulate objects in different ways; and the muscular system memorizes how to sit, stand, walk, run, and relate to spaces.
Under this logic, regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, causes small changes in the brain that improve memory and mental processes. Combining play and movement is the best way to improve mental abilities and influence learning motivation. All human beings learn best by moving.
According to Hillman et al. (2009), movement is necessary for intellectual growth; otherwise, learning is hindered. Movement activates the executive area of the brain, which is responsible for the concentration and attention we dedicate to an activity. Exercise stimulates our attention to tasks and activities and helps us regulate impulses and develop self-control. Learning through action plays an important role in the teaching-learning process.
The role of teachers is fundamental, since they not only have to know the theory and know how to apply it, but also be flexible, dynamic, and innovative in adapting it to each class and modifying it according to the needs of their students. Many activities can be implemented to put movement-based learning into practice.
A pause or break to get up and stretch helps students activate different muscles in their bodies. These exercises can also help them relax and thus stimulate learning. Students can simulate any subject studied in class by replicating it through body movements and physical actions, since their creativity allows them to interpret reality in their own way. Dancing and singing work very well, particularly with younger children.
For example, they can invent or perform an existing choreography related to the topic studied in class. They can also be provided with a space to stretch, sit on the floor, jump rope, do yoga, or use resistance bands. These exercises can help them rest, reactivate, and continue with the rest of their academic activities.
According to Jensen & McConchie (2020), the goal of every teacher is to help students succeed by using every tool available. Teachers can implement movement-based learning every half hour in their classes to help students clear and exercise their minds. The fact that learning is no longer traditional but now involves creativity allows for the use of different effective strategies to keep students motivated and focused at the same time.
Motivation in the learning process is also an essential element of the teacher’s educational work, consisting of using all possible approaches in the teaching-learning process that stimulate and guide students to make the necessary efforts to achieve productive learning. According to Ruiz (2013), it is important that teachers master the techniques needed to guide students in their independent activities, both inside and outside the classroom, in order to achieve an efficient learning process.
In the educational framework, the purpose of motivational research is mainly based on analyzing the intensity and direction of the behaviors adopted by students in the classroom. These two dimensions of motivation try to explain why people invest time and energy in an activity and why they are oriented toward one activity rather than another, indicating the purpose of their behavior.
According to Lopez (2015), in addition to the individual tendencies (motivational orientations) of each subject, there are situational factors that refer to the characteristics of the environment in which the subject is located. Together with the individual’s personal characteristics, these factors influence the person’s final involvement with either the task or the ego. These situational factors refer to the motivational climate.
The classroom, the gym, the home, the playing field, and other environments involve young people in situations related to the achievement of various objectives, where results are important and valued. In these scenarios, behaviors can be evaluated in terms of improvement and progress toward individual goals or in relation to already established standards.
Teaching goes hand in hand with the method used by the teacher so that knowledge flows to the student and, in turn, must also be linked to how motivated the teacher is and how this motivation is transmitted to students. It must be considered that a lack of intrinsic motivation in teachers directly affects students, since an unmotivated teacher is generally more controlling, less efficient, and less inspiring in helping students reach new goals. It is considered that, in the teaching-learning process, the student and the teacher form a partnership, and when a teacher demonstrates high levels of motivation and interest, this is perceived by and positively influences the student body.
Environments are constantly changing, and education is no exception. The way of teaching, the methods, and the approaches teachers use to reach students must also be reviewed. It is necessary to recognize that the current generation is more critical and has new tools that allow them to question the information they receive more quickly. In addition, students’ needs are not the same and vary frequently.
However, students learn when the information interests them, when it is meaningful and cognitively engaging, and when they are emotionally connected to personal or professional concerns and to the demands of reality outside the classroom. In these circumstances, they become committed to their own learning process.
Another aspect to consider is the potential of the existing sociocultural environment, which is usually beneficial for a better understanding of the personal and professional development of university students. Therefore, not only are the teaching-learning processes fundamental, but so is the environment in which learning takes place.
Another important aspect of motivation consists of adapting the content to the cognitive capacities of students. To achieve motivation, attention and interest must be combined with the establishment of links to previous knowledge and experiences. This can be achieved by creating expectations that encourage students to discover and assimilate new knowledge, while creating conditions for internal contradictions to arise between the level of knowledge already achieved and the new demands for learning. Students must feel that the activity they are engaged in is useful, reasonable, and necessary.
Teachers should, as far as possible, relate the content of study to practical life situations, to the new content of each subject, and to the knowledge students already possess. They should also provide information on how learning ability can be improved through personal effort and enhance students’ sense of personal autonomy. In general, a motivated person sets well-defined objectives and goals and traces the appropriate path to achieve them, enjoys undertaking new activities, seeks alternative solutions to obstacles that arise, is aware of successes and mistakes, learns from experience, is realistic about the goals they set, knows their strengths and weaknesses, and uses them appropriately. Such a person makes decisions and solves problems with confidence and self-assurance, organizes their contexts for action and achievement, and is proactive rather than reactive.
References
Hillman, C. et al. (2009) The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic achievement in preadolescent children.
Jensen, E. and McConchie, L. (2020) Brain-based learning: teaching the way students really learn, 3rd ed. Corwin.
Lopez, E. (2016) Crisis of Legitimacy of Educational Thought and Practices. Doctoral thesis. University of Valencia.
Ruiz, H. (2013) The professional motivation of university students and its influence on dedication to study: Role of the teacher. Pedagogy OACE event in Havana.