Why Use a "Body to Brain Learning" Approach in Your Teaching?

It has been a while since I've presented a blog because I've been distracted!  It seems I either work well in "creation mode" or "sharing mode" -- spanning both seems to be challenging!  And that probably tells you a bit about me!🤣🤔😀 

So, what have I been up to?  

In the last few months, I have been busy preparing the online course materials for our School-based approach:  "Body to Brain Learning @ School".  It's based on the INPP School's Programme that is covered in Sally Goddard Blythe's book "Assessing Neuromotor Readiness for Learning". BUT, it is contextualised for the Australian Education Context providing teachers with more neurodevelopmental information and professional support so that they can start to use this approach in their educational context. 

What does that mean?

Basically, it means we look more closely at this neurodevelopmental and body-based approach to teaching. I provide you with some theory and understanding of the concepts that are inherent in the approach and explain a bit more about how the body helps train the brain and how understanding that process helps us understand more clearly how the students in our classes actually learn. 

We look at questions like this:

• How do children use their bodies to learn? And,
• How does a child's way of functioning (ie their body's way of working) contribute to their academic learning success? 
• How does this approach and understanding as teachers tie in with our responsibility to deliver the Australian Curriculum? 
• How does this information and approach help teachers understand and meet their requirements for working with and including diverse learners with many different presentations?
• How does this actually help teachers better understand their learners and HOW they learn?

I can't go into all of that here -- I've just created over 41/2 hours of video and course material to explain that in more detail and there's a lot to it.  But, I can tell you that there are huge benefits for the students, for the teachers and for all concerned with young learners when this "Body to Brain Learning" approach is used. 

This approach is so much more than just getting students moving. It's about understanding how students use their bodies to learn, and how to read the stories that their bodies tell us about how they learn. It's about the neurodevelopmental science of how we learn, and how we continue to learn using our body and brain neurophysiological connections.

When we understand this concept, we begin to understand one of the most important parts of the learning equation -- how students use their bodies to learn.  Potentially, each child has a different learning story to tell and we need to be able to read it to help them reach their learning potential.

There's a lot more to the programme and why I think this is (as one of my recent students would say), "the bee's knees" for understanding and helping children learn more effectively in your classrooms.

Several teachers I have worked with over recent years have been badgering me to get a school's approach together that we can share to improve teachers' understanding and use of neurodevelopmental principles in their classrooms.  So, it's time to deliver...

Before I launch the programme though, I wanted you to hear from two of the teachers who have used this approach in their schools with great success.  I had a conversation with Carleen and Suzanne a while ago and this is an excerpt that explains what drove them to investigate this approach more closely and WHY this approach actually fills a pedagogical gap in their practice.  The results have been beyond my expectations, and they share some insight into that in this conversation.

So, I invite you to listen to the conversation as the audio recording here or watch this part of the whole recorded conversation on our Youtube channel. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/PJHC-qDyrQc  

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and, IF you want to know more about our "Body to Brain Learning @ School" approach including how the programme works, you can visit our course description and sign up for more details at this website: https://www.bodytobrainlearning.com/at-school-PD

I'm looking forward to seeing this as a professional learning opportunity that can be used in your school areas soon.

Understanding and applying the Body to Brain Learning^™ process helps students and teachers attain better academic learning outcomes. It's a neurodevelopmental approach that impacts the well-being of students and teachers at school, and can help support neurodiverse students and those who work with them. It also assists those who are underachieving academically and are experiencing learning challenges because of neuromotor and sensory immaturity.  

LEARN MORE and STAY INFORMED 

If you would like to learn more about the Body to Brain Learning^™ process and join in the conversation, then sign up for regular updates, training information and other 'neuro-nerd' learning facts using the button in the section below.  

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and  Linked In. Please join in the conversation there. Body to Brain Learning^™  is part of Integrating Thinking  Neurodevelopmental Education Consultancy.  

Dr Christine Payard (PhD) is a Neurodevelopmental Educator, founder of the "Body to Brain Learning^™ Professional Development Series", Director of "Integrating Thinking" and the INPP Australia Principal.  

She is an experienced teacher, a passionate educator who could talk all day about learning, how we learn, the body, the brain, and a functional and developmental approach to learning.

Learn more:

www.bodytobrainlearning.com   

www.integratingthinking.com.au  

www.inppaustralia.com.au