How do you ensure more movement in the classroom?
Children do not exercise enough at school. They spend most of their days just sitting in the chair, which has negative effects on their health. That is why Vanerum, together with i3-Technologies, has developed iMO-LEARN, a smart piece of furniture that ensures that students are physically active while learning.
About 80% of school-aged children only practice physical activities and sports at school. Yet their movements at school are often limited to physical education classes, playtime, and perhaps other exercise intervals. Students are forced to sit still in their seats, although exercise actually has many positive effects on their health because it:
- ability to ignore distractions increased
- allows students to remember and use information
- increases cognitive flexibility, which means that students can understand all possible options and alternatives
- helps develop brain structures
- increases our brain's production of serotonin, which is believed to help regulate mood and social behavior.
The school environment naturally plays an important role in developing physical education and promoting physical activity. Therefore, it is necessary to find innovative ways to bring movement into the classroom (Dogger-Stichter, 2007). Some may think that making more time available to exercise for students during lessons is only possible at the expense of valuable lesson time. But research has shown that this does not lead to poorer educational outcomes. On the contrary, there is a positive relationship between physical activity and students' behavior in the classroom, their executive capacities, IQ, general school performance, mental function and well-being.
Scientific research shows positive effect on classroom experiences
Denmark is at the forefront of innovation in education. This made Denmark a good choice for Vanerum and i3 Technologies to work on the ambitious iMO LEARN project to integrate more physical activities into the classroom. A few years after the creation of iMO-LEARN, the time was right for a scientific evaluation: what is the added value of iMO-LEARN in the classroom for teachers and children?
The context for creating iMO-LEARN
Vanerum and i3-Technologies, in collaboration with Southern Denmark University, were looking for a solution to implement physical activities in classroom practice. They started with a circular bench that moves students in a natural way. The circle was then divided into 24 separate units that can be integrated into any classroom without replacing the furniture. They called it iMO-LEARN, a smart piece of furniture that allows students to be physically active while learning. The iMO-LEARN has no straight edges. That is why you can work with all sides. Its unique and light shape promotes dynamic sitting and makes it easy to change the class layout.
Tips for implementing iMO-LEARN in the classroom
The iMO-LEARN offers many options to enrich your lessons and to involve your students. An intensive co-creation process involving 100 students and 8 teachers showed that iMO-LEARN can be used for various movement activities such as physical exercises, brain teasers, embodied learning and different subject areas, including mathematics, languages and balance exercises. In addition, i3-Technologies developed an activity manual with 100 basic exercises for teachers to start with.
There is also a range of 40 building activities to help students practice teamwork and spatial orientation. The set contains building structures that the students have to reconstruct paying attention to the number of iMO-LEARNs and their position in order to be able to build an identical structure.
The iMO-LEARN can also be used for digital activities in combination with a motion detection module. Connect iMO-LEARN to the online learning platform i3LEARNHUB with a wireless motion detection sensor. It transforms the iMO-LEARN into an interactive and digital resource that provides immediate feedback. This way, teachers can easily engage their students in challenging quizzes and fun activities.
The benefits of learning with iMO-LEARN
- Learning by moving.
- Introduce gamification into your lessons.
- Involve students in a simple way.
- Keep students motivated during class.
- Complex subjects are easier to understand.