Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the role of movement in authentic learning in the elementary classroom. First, this chapter discusses the role of movement education in fostering a classroom climate of curiosity, learning, and positive development for children. Next, the chapter explores the link between being active as a child and increases in learning. Movement is children's first contact with the world, and since the interaction between children and their environment is primarily via the body, movement can spur the development of conceptual understanding. Therefore, this chapter proposes that young learners benefit from having movement activities embedded into their educational experiences, especially in the elementary physical education classroom.
TopBackground
The human body is designed to move. The basic process of locomotion has a myriad of significant factors transcending the basic movement of going from one place to another. Biologically and physiologically, the body confirms the importance of movement since it is finely associated to life. Physical activity involves moving the body. Movement cannot be separated from the body, and the body cannot do without movement.
Physical educators have long recognized the importance of physical activity to development (Young, 2014). However, one area of disagreement is whether physical education teachers should teach physical activities or physical education (Lund, 2013). Physical literacy, or knowledge about the physical activity, is without doubt an important topic in today’s society. According to Cornish et al. (2020), physical literacy includes “affective (motivation and confidence), physical (physical competence), cognitive (knowledge and understanding), and behavioural (engagement in physical activities for life) domains,” (p. 2). However, the case is made that educators should never forget the connection between movement and the person. As ambassadors of learning, physical education teachers, particularly those at the elementary level, need to be aware of the necessity of movement and its connection to learning and development.
Movement education helps foster a classroom climate of curiosity, learning, and positive development for children. Montessori, in her work on the education of the senses, argued that there exists within a child a period where the mind and body are moving closer to each other. Therefore, there exists within a child a drive to experiment actively with the world. The exercising of the senses is the focalization of the efforts of young children to make meaning of the world around them. Children’s movements underpin the function of muscles because motor activities serve to coordinate muscular activity. It is through actively engaging with their surroundings that children learn to view the world as something interesting, a place with opportunities to refine coordination and to assist in meaning making (Montessori, 1966, 1967).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Lifelong Learners: Individuals having the attitude and behavior to continue learning across the lifespan. For a physical education class, it involves having the desire to be active across the lifespan.
Movement Education: A curriculum model using movement as a framework that guides learners’ actions within the gymnasium ( Rovegno & Bandhauer, 2017 ).
Authentic Learning: A Constructivist approach to learning where learning takes place in real-world contexts, or the activities are closely related to real-world tasks.
Constructivism: A educational philosophy that suggests that learning is an active process where students are highly engaged with problems and materials.
Physical Education: The academic discipline that prepares students to became leaders in the area of physical education teaching.
Motricity: Being able to use one’s body for movement.
Physical Literacy: The concept of educating students in physical education settings to value the importance of physical health and activity for life (SHAPE America, 2013, 2014).
Skill Literacy: The knowledge and ability to perform basic movements that underlie sports skills.