Moving is the best way to learn

What is a good workplace?" The hands of the third and fourth-graders shoot up. Most of the 21 children know their teacher Martina Nicolussi's question, know the answer and have thought in advance about where they would most like to set up today.

The window seats are quickly taken. The light blue balance cushion is also popular. It makes working at the standing desk a little more exciting, as you can balance quietly or rock actively on the air-filled cushion, depending on your preference. And the nubs tickle the soles of your feet pleasantly.

Unfortunately for the children, only one of these cushions is available to the class. For the first time, Martina Nicolussi has also brought two rolls of towel wrapped in adhesive tape. They can also be used dynamically. Like everything that is new, the pupils want to try it out straight away.

When learning, the brain forms new connections between nerve cells. Movement helps with this.

Petra Jansen, sports scientist

The rest of the class settles in at the desks and on the floor. Benches are pushed together to form a pedestal, which is great for lounging around on. Martina Nicolussi and her team-teaching colleague count down with the class: clapping ten times, patting, stamping, nine times, eight times, seven times ...

It's loud, funny and also a little wild. When they reach one, the schoolchildren rub their hands together, place them over their eyes and murmur quietly: «I'm calm, I'm focussed.» Then they all set about their tasks. It becomes quiet in the classroom at Engelwies School in St. Gallen.

More drive for the brain

If you want to concentrate on your work and learning, you need to feel comfortable. This also means that the children don't have to sit stiffly at the table, but can choose their own working position. And that they are allowed to move around when their concentration wanes.

There is much to be said in favour of more movement at school. According to the Federal Office of Public Health, ten-year-olds spend over seven hours a day sitting down. At school, but also at home doing homework and bent over their digital devices in their free time. Postural problems and back pain are already plaguing children and young people today.

Exercise is not only good for our health, but also stimulates our brain. It increases alertness and has a positive effect on memory. Studies have also shown that exercise can influence problem solving and creative thinking.

Petra Jansen, Professor of Sports Psychology at the University of Regensburg and co-author of the book «Does exercise really make you smart?», knows exactly how this works. She is particularly interested in the connections between cognition and motor skills: «When we learn, our brain works at full speed. It forms new connections between nerve cells, which helps us to memorise information better.»

Juggling improves visual-spatial skills

Exercise supports this process by increasing blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain. «And it releases important messenger substances that stimulate the growth of nerve cells,» adds Jansen. «This makes the brain more efficient and receptive.»

This suits our performance-oriented society, which likes to look for quick and efficient solutions. How nice it would be if a simple movement exercise could relieve us of the often tedious task of learning: Five minutes of jumping rope and you'll have the French words down pat. Daily juggling and mathematical equations no longer make us spin our wheels.

Fidgeting is a normal reaction of a tired mind to regulate itself through physical movement.

Patrick Fust, teacher

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. According to Petra Jansen, it is not yet clear which type of movement affects which cognitive abilities. Nevertheless, there are already a few indications: «We have repeatedly found that coordinative movements such as juggling can improve visual-spatial abilities,» says Jansen. Endurance training, such as jogging, on the other hand, seems to strengthen working memory.

Let off steam for five minutes

Whilst science is only slowly beginning to understand the connections between body and mind, in practice we have long been convinced that movement can make the learning process much easier. For example, in the form of exercise breaks.

Teacher Martina Nicolussi also occasionally sends boys or girls who can no longer concentrate out of the classroom with a skipping rope. Or up and down the stairs. The rules are clear: let off steam for five minutes and then return to class.

The fidget has such a bad reputation, and wrongly so. «Fidgeting is a normal and good reaction of a tired mind to regulate and stimulate itself through physical movement,» explains Patrick Fust.

The experienced teacher has intensively studied various concepts of active schooling and has been passing on his knowledge to other teachers in school training courses and workshops for 17 years. «The attention span is limited,» emphasises Fust. «You can ignore this or find a good balance between concentration and enjoyable distraction.»

Full attention in the classroom

In the meantime, twenty minutes of concentrated work have passed in the Engelwies school building. That is roughly the attention span of nine and ten-year-olds. When Martina Nicolussi starts the Smartboard, the children cheer. In the style of a jump-and-run game, they run on the spot, jump over imaginary bananas and duck under rockets flying past the screen. Everyone is fully engaged, it's their favourite exercise break. «But sometimes we just sing a song with a rehearsed sequence of movements,» smiles the teacher.

Before the pupils return to their individual work, they rub their hands together again. It is fascinating how this action almost instantly spreads an atmosphere of energised attention in the classroom. Is the quieting ritual a magic trick, the concentration mantra a spell? Martina Nicolussi laughs: «I'm convinced that movement breaks generally ensure more calm and focus during the work phases.»

Despite all the advantages: Physical education has its challenges. «A school class that moves a lot needs clear rules and structures so that the children's joy of movement doesn't get out of hand,» emphasises Martina Nicolussi.

And Patrick Fust adds: «The teacher must relinquish control and let the children have their own experiences.» Because restlessness does not necessarily mean that a child is not learning. Just as someone who sits there quiet as a mouse is not necessarily highly concentrated. As a teacher, she can't always rely on her instincts, says Nicolussi.

Learning is individual

That's why the class at Engelwies school gathers in a circle during the morning. How did the children fare when working quietly? Who was able to concentrate well, who struggled? One girl says that she no longer wants to work at the standing desk in future. She didn't like it.

Self-reflection helps pupils to feel what they need and what is good for them at the moment. In this way, they can increasingly control their own learning and take responsibility for their own well-being. To do this, however, they must first familiarise themselves with a wide range of movement options. This is where the school comes in.

Patrick Fust's workshops reveal a veritable treasure trove of ideas. One movement game follows another. The participants barely get a chance to sit down on the small, uncomfortable children's chairs. That takes some getting used to. Because instead of setting a good example, we adults are also becoming more and more sedentary.

Yet we know all too well that the best ideas often come in the shower after a round of cycling. Or how new perspectives open up when we get up from our desk in the office to grab a coffee and look out of the window at the cloudy sky.

Exercise can only realise its full potential if it is fun.

The best way to mix forms of movement

«It's the mixture that makes the difference,» says Patrick Fust when asked which forms of movement have the greatest effect and, from experience, are the most fun for the pupils. That's why he covers the entire spectrum of movement-based teaching with his suggestions: the movement games for in-between lessons also provide fun for the adult participants in the workshop.

Coordination tasks require maximum concentration: for example, who can throw two juggling balls - one in each hand - vertically into the air at the same time and catch them again with their arms crossed? Patrick Fust also provides tips on how to make simple and inexpensive aids from everyday materials. For example, a bundle of newspaper on flattened paper balls can be used as a substitute for the popular balance cushion.

We experience the world with our bodies

Another way of incorporating physical experience more strongly into lessons is when the subject matter can be explored directly through movement: Mime idioms, run distances, rubber-wrist geometry. After all, it is not without reason that «understanding» means «grasping» and «grasping».

Nevertheless, exercise is not a one-size-fits-all solution. As a former physiotherapist, Martina Nicolussi knows this very well. Exercise can only develop its full potential if it is fun. Because fun motivates and motivation is a cornerstone of successful learning. Teachers Nicolussi and Fust are convinced of this.

Those who feel good learn more easily. And a little exercise is often enough to improve your well-being.

In Petra Jansen's eyes, the relationship between motivation, emotions and cognition is also an important question that has been researched far too little. However, it has been proven that physical activity has a particularly positive effect on anxious children. «When emotional processes take up the working memory, there is less capacity available for cognitive processes,» explains Jansen.

This closes the circle: those who feel good learn more easily. And even inconspicuous movements or changes in posture are often enough to make you feel better: Sitting up straight helps with exam nerves, standing tall leads to more self-confidence and laughing puts you in a good mood.

If necessary, an artificial grin has the same effect, Fust knows. However, he prefers to stick to his credo: «School has to be fun - not always, but always.» Fortunately, moving and playing together automatically leads to a relaxed class atmosphere and strengthens group cohesion.

After a varied morning, it's time for a well-earned lunch break at Engelwies school. The two teachers say goodbye to each child at the door with a handshake. Depending on the children's wishes and urge to move, they sometimes do a lively pirouette.