Math and Movement is a ground-breaking new educational program that combines physical fitness with learning and practicing math, reading, and other concepts.
Image from mathandmovement.com
The Nazareth College School of Education Teacher Leader Quality Partnerships (TLQP) Program will host a training and demonstration of the Math and Movement program on Wednesday, January 11 from 1 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Children’s School of Rochester, School Number 15 (494 Averill Ave, Rochester, N.Y.). Nazareth’s School of Education continually champions innovative and creative methods of teaching and learning, and these workshops will train the teachers in movement-based learning strategies which will give their students the opportunity to hop, skip, and jump to the answer. Children from the city school district are taking part in the demonstration to show parents and teachers how moving can be great for learning.
Eight out of ten children are kinesthetic learners (learn best through movement.) The program harnesses children’s natural kinesthetic learning style to foster positive feelings towards learning. The Math and Movement program is based on research that shows that moving during learning facilitates muscle memory, an important factor with younger children whose abstract thinking skills are not fully developed.
One parent of a boy who participated in the program was surprised at how quickly he learned multiplication. She says her son “is definitely more confident about his math ability and this confidence has carried over into the second grade.”
At a time when there are 12 million obese children, physical fitness has become a matter of national urgency. As U.S. Senator Chris Dobb has said, “All of us—parents, schools, government, employers—need to see the rising childhood obesity rates for what they are: a medical emergency.” Math and Movement promotes physical activity while simultaneously increasing learning. The end result: physically fit children and increased test scores.
