Embrace movement, big and small, to fuel learning success.
Learning happens in our whole bodies, not just in our heads. Movement, both big and small, unconscious and conscious, fuels our success, and yet we don’t often acknowledge the body’s role in learning. In The Body-Brain Connection, author Gravity Goldberg explores the powerful relationship between physical activity and cognitive function. This comprehensive guide delves into evidence-based strategies that can help reduce anxiety, boost student engagement, and enhance comprehension in all K-12 classrooms. Helpful features guide your learning with:
- Prime Yourself personal experiences to bring your attention to key ideas in each section
- Guiding questions to set the purpose for your learning
- A Look in the Mirror self-reflection feature to encourage application of the material into your own life and teaching practice
- Summaries of key ideas and practices for each chapter
Whether you′re a teacher or school administrator, this innovative book offers valuable tools and techniques to foster a holistic approach to education, ensuring that students thrive both mentally and physically. It’s time we start paying more attention to our bodies to create an environment where we can all feel safer, be more integrated, and be more successful as readers, writers, and thinkers.
Table of Contents:
Section I: Why Focus on the Body and Brain Connection
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Students Learn Through Their Bodies
Section II: How To Create More Body and Brain Connection
Chapter 3: Students Learn When They Feel Safe
Chapter 4: Students’ Bodies Help Them Handle Difficulty
Chapter 5: Students Learn Through Movement
Chapter 6: Students Use Gesture to Create and Communicate Understanding
Chapter 7: Students Learn in Places
Section III: Designing Learning Experiences Based on the Body and Brain Connection
Chapter 8: Putting It All Together
Appendix
About the Author :
Gravity Goldberg is an international educational consultant and author of eight books on teaching. Mindsets & Moves (Corwin Literacy, 2015) put her on the world stage with its practical ways to cultivate student agency, leading to speaking engagements and foreign translations of her work. She has almost 20 years of teaching experience, including positions as a science teacher, reading specialist, third grade teacher, special educator, literacy coach, staff developer, assistant professor, educational consultant, and yoga teacher. Gravity holds a B.A. and M.Ed. from Boston College and a doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the founding director of Gravity Goldberg, LLC, a team that provides side-by-side coaching for teachers.
Review :
Gravity Goldberg reminds us that our schools must be supportive of our students in their entirety - their brains and bodies. With practical recommendations to improve students′ regulatory skills, mental health, and focus, this book empowers teachers and school leaders with tools to students′ communication, collaboration, and comprehension.
In The Body-Brain Connection: Evidence-Based Ways to Reduce Anxiety, Boost Engagement, and Increase Comprehension in the Classroom, Gravity Goldberg offers a transformative approach to teaching that honors both students′ humanity and the educator′s role in fostering connection. By emphasizing safety, embodied learning, and productive struggle, Goldberg provides actionable strategies and reflection practices to reduce anxiety, boost engagement, and build a supportive community. This book is an essential guide for educators seeking to create grounded and impactful learning experiences that nurture both the mind and body.
Traditionally, the role of teachers has been to help students develop their minds. Gravity helps us understand that learning actually happens in a synergy between our minds and our bodies and offers teachers a wealth of practical strategies for supporting this connection in their day-to-day teaching, whatever grade and subject they teach.
Do you have stressed and anxious students? Students who are disengaged and not understanding lessons? If this sounds like some of the students in your classroom, Gravity Goldberg’s newest book is for you. It offers compelling evidence and advice for creating a learning environment in which students are supported to engage.
