How Incorporating Movement in the Classroom Supports Executive Function
In the modern classroom, teachers often ask students to sit still and focus. However, neuroscience suggests that for many children, sitting still is actually counterproductive to focus.
Often described as the CEO of the brain, executive function is the set of cognitive processes that allow people to navigate a world filled with distractions, shifting priorities, and complex tasks. For educators and parents, understanding the link between these mental processes and physical movement is the key to unlocking a student’s full potential.
WHAT IS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION?
Executive function refers to the mental toolkit children need to actively pursue goals. The concept was originally developed in the 1970s by Karl Pribram and other experts, and has since been refined by leaders like Russell Barkley, Ph.D., who defines executive function as the essential toolkit for goal-directed behavior (Barkley, 2012).
These skills are housed in the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s command center. This region manages:
- Working memory: Holding and using information over short periods
- Planning and organizing: Breaking complex tasks into steps
- Self-regulation: Managing emotions and impulses to stay on track
- Attention: Filtering out irrelevant stimuli to focus on what matters
THE FOUR CIRCUITS OF THE BRAIN
To understand how students interact with their environment, neuropsychologists have identified four distinct circuits within the prefrontal cortex (Barkley, 2012).
- The Who Circuit (Self-Awareness): This circuit governs identity. It helps people monitor their own behavior and recognize when they are off-task.
- The What Circuit (Planning): This circuit uses working memory to look at past experiences, strategize, and create plans for the future.
- The When Circuit (Time Management): This circuit helps people sequence steps in a timely fashion, ensuring tasks are completed in the right order.
- The Why Circuit (Emotional Decision-Making): This circuit weighs logic against emotion. It factors in how a person feels about an option to help them exercise sound judgment.
THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION HYPOTHESIS: WHY MOVEMENT MATTERS
The Executive Function Hypothesis suggests a direct link between aerobic activity and the health of the prefrontal cortex.
When children move, blood flow to the brain increases, delivering oxygen and essential growth factors. These factors promote neuroplasticity within the prefrontal cortex, leading to the development of more neurons and synapses. This process facilitates long-term potentiation—a state where the affinity between neurons strengthens, making communication more efficient.
In short, physical activity creates a biological environment where executive functions can flourish, leading to improved cognition, better academic performance, and stabilized behavior.
MOVING FORWARD
By recognizing that a child’s thinking brain is inextricably tied to their moving body, teachers can transform the classroom experience. Incorporating movement into the elementary school day doesn’t just get the wiggles out—it triggers the growth factors that strengthen the prefrontal cortex.
When educators allow students to move in the classroom, they aren’t just helping them stay active; they are fueling the brain for a lifetime of success.
REFERENCES
Barkley, R. A. (2012). Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved. Guilford Press.
The Walkabouts Platform, a web-based kinesthetic learning solution for pre-K to 5th grade students, boosts engagement and retention through short, movement-rich lessons that activate the elementary curriculum. More than brain breaks, the lessons are correlated to state and national standards and help educators seamlessly integrate physical activity and mental fitness into academic lessons, helping students learn better and feel better.
