READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGE (CLASS 11 AND 12)

 Solved worksheet 16 

HOW PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BOOSTS LEARNING?

An extract from brain-based learning by Eric Jensen

1. Exercise does several things for the brain. First, it enhances circulation so that individual neurons can get more oxygen and nutrients. Second, it may spur the production of a hormone NGF (nerve growth factor) that enhances brain function. Third, gross motor repetitive movements can stimulate the production of dopamine, a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter.

“Aerobic exercise can definitely improve thinking and learning” say Dienstbier(1989) because, he adds, “it alone seems to train a quick adrenaline-noradrenaline response and rapid recovery. “This adrenal response is critical to facing and coping with challenges. Ned Herman PhD. (1988) suggests that even a brisk twenty-minute walk can be enough to serve both the body and mind. “The main thing is to get out and move your body around”, he states.

2. WHY PLAY BELONGS IN LEARNING

While it’s counterproductive to make play more important than academic subject matter, movement must become as honorable and important as the so-called “book work”. Hopefully we can better allocate our resources in ways that harness the hidden power of movement, activities, and sports. One of the most powerful reasons to engage learners in purposeful play is biological. All mammals engage in play. Play is a way to learn behaviors in a non-threatening way. Lion clubs will wrestle with each other in playful fighting and as they grow the moves, they learned with their cute playmates translate to survival skills. Similarly, when humans engage in play, it allows us to learn motor, emotional, social, and cognitive skills in an environment that can sustain a less-than perfect learning performance.

3. STIMULATION OF BODY AND MIND

Apparently, if you don’t’ want to lose your marbles, you’d better use them throughout your life. French researcher and neuroepidemiology Jean-Francois Dartigues (1994) says that non-intellectuals are more likely to face senility later in life. Dartigues did a study of 3700 people over the age of 65 in which he correlated their intellectual functioning with their former occupations. Then he adjusted for variables such as age, sex and even environmental and toxic risks. He found that the subjects who performed best on the tests were not those with the greatest formal education, but those who had the most intellectually demanding careers.

In Dartigues’s study, after retiring former farm workers were over six times more likely to become mentally impaired than those who were in more intellectual occupations, such as teachers, trainers, executives, managers, and other white-collar professionals. But for farm managers whose job forced more challenging thinking, the rate was only 2.9 times that of intellectual occupations.

4. Nobel laureate Eric kandel and neuroscientists Michael Merzenich studied the effects of digital manipulation on the brain of an owl monkey with interesting results. The monkey was provided with the manipulatives for an hour a day for three months, while the scientists carefully measured and recorded the areas of the brain that related to the particular digits the monkey was restricted to using. When the contrasting effects of the digits not used for manipulation were compared to those that were, the scientists discovered a substantial increase in size and neural connections within the brain areas related to the digits not used in the daily manipulation, demonstrating that physical activity can physically alter brain tissue.

For a human example, consider how a high proportion of concert pianists stay mentally sharp and verbally articulate well into old age. Some speculate that the long-term stimulation of the finger seems to simulate the mind. Elderly individuals who play cards, chess, or shuffleboard regularly also have a greater chance of staying sharp longer than those who engage only in gross motor activities, such as walking or jogging.

READ THE ABOVE PASSAGE CAREFULLY AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Mention the three things that exercises does for the brain.
First, it enhances circulation so that individual neurons can get more oxygen and nutrients. Second, it may spur the production of a hormone NGF (nerve growth factor) that enhances brain function. Third, gross motor repetitive movements can stimulate the production of dopamine, a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter.

2. Play and learning are equally important. Why?

when humans engage in play, it allows us to learn motor, emotional, social, and cognitive skills in an environment that can sustain a perfect learning performance.

3. Who are more prone to senility in old age?

non-intellectuals are more likely to face senility later in life. In Dartigues’s study, after retiring former farm workers were over six times more likely to become mentally impaired than those who were in more intellectual occupations, such as teachers, trainers, executives, managers, and other white-collar professionals.

4. Does stimulation of the fingers help in stimulating the mind?

For a human example, consider how a high proportion of concert pianists stay mentally sharp and verbally articulate well into old age. Some speculate that the long-term stimulation of the finger seems to simulate the mind

5. How does manipulatives help in learning?

Demonstrating a learning activity can physically alter brain tissue. Students can hold, mold clay or other objects and make models to enhance learning.