How can I get my students to engage after a long lecture? Learner engagement can sometimes be a struggle for teachers. Trying to keep students and adults active at the same time, can be even more challenging than some can imagine. Teachers always try to find a “buy-in” approach for students to see if they will take the bait and really get involved, but is there a program that has it all? There is a program that seems to have a lasting impression for both adults and children. It gets students out of their seat while increasing their level of energy, and that program is GoNoodle: The Good Energy Company.
GoNoodle is known for its unique values. These values are learner engagement friendly for students of all ages. Many teachers use GoNoodle for brain break activities for students who needs a resting break from all the knowledge that is poured into their brains - and the students love it. Students can move around and enjoy learning through physical movement and “self-discovery,” as stated by GoNoodle. Research shows that physical movement enhances the retainment of information for children. According to the Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue (2018), “Movement integration has traditionally been defined as any type of physical activity infused into normal classroom time, including academic lessons that incorporate physical activity, short physical activity breaks, and physical activity during transition periods.”
While doing research, studies have shown that movement is a form of motivation for our younger students. According to a study done by Gehris, Gooze, and Whitaker, “The teachers felt this innate need to move reflected how children learn best, which is by moving and having hands-on contact with their environment.” The ultimate goal for educators is motivate their students to learn and to enjoy doing it. Dempsey and Reisner state that, “Motivation to learn is promoted when the knowledge to be learned is perceived to be meaningfully related to one’s goal” (p. 81). Students want to have the self confidence that they can be successful, and they love the reward of being able to accomplish a given task. They look forward to that reward; therefore, knowing that movement in the classroom can help students learn and retain more information, then why not incorporate that into the lesson daily?
According to Dempsey and Reisner, “Motivation to learn is promoted when a learner’s curiosity is aroused due to a perceived gap in current knowledge” (p. 80). One of GoNoodle’s key values is “Be curious, get messy, never stop playing.” GoNoodle encourages students to pursue their curiosity to build their creativity. Learning is sometimes better when you can explore a task and figure it out hands-on. For our elementary students, anything that involves exploring new possibilities is exciting for little brains. Not only is it important for children to learn, but educators also need constant training and lessons on engagement to help meet the needs of their students. Gehris, Gooze, and Whitaker also received results from their students that indicated that teachers wanted more training on student movement and motor development to enhance the learning activities of their students. This is so important because the movement and curiosity that GoNoodle provides, is an amazing resource for teachers to incorporate in their daily lessons to help engagement students based on the lesson topic.
GoNoodle has incorporated so many different types of videos and activities for teachers and students that there is something available for everyone and on so many different topics. So why not try it out for the sake of your students. We all want to learn, so why not have fun why doing it?
References
Reiser, & J.V Dempsey (Eds.). (2018). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (4th ed.)
(pp. 80-81). New York, NY: Pearson
Gehris, J. S., Gooze, R. A., & Whitaker, R. C. (2015). Teachers’ perceptions about children’s movement and learning in early childhood education programmes. Child: Care, Health & Development, 41(1), 122–131. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1111/cch.1213.
Miller, S. C., & Lindt, S. F. (2018). Chapter 3: Engaging Elementary Students through Movement Integration in Mathematics and Reading. Curriculum & Teaching Dialogue, 20(1/2), 31–43.
Page. GoNoodle. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from
https://youtu.be/8vW4WoD9AY0
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On any given day a teacher has an abundance of information and knowledge to impart to their students. But, inevitably, there are days when the wind is howling outside, the moon is full, the holiday festivities have kicked in or the kids are just plain restless. For that reason, a daily dose of activity is the antidote to the blues, the foggy brain, or the wiggles that impede the students' ability to pay attention. Time for a bit of movement and that's where Go Noodle comes in! Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue (2018), “Movement integration has traditionally been defined as any type of physical activity infused into normal classroom time, including academic lessons that incorporate physical activity, short physical activity breaks,…