k.

kinesthetic literacy:

“All things change, nothing is extinguished. There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement.”

~Ovid, 43 B.C.~

Kinesthetic literacy, the effective movement of the body in the classroom while learning, has been a pedagogical method I have been interested in ever since I decided to become a teacher. I was not sure going into this lesson how it would turn out. However, some evidence was gathered for a long-standing educational hypothesis. The hypothesis involved the effectiveness of using the classroom as a site for kinesthetic literacy. In other words, I asked myself the following inquiry question to move closer to a hypothesis: Why will a classroom with more kinesthetic activities run more successfully than one that does not and does this multimodal approach contribute to student literacy? My hypothesis speculates that a classroom that involves movement runs more successfully and engages in an effective literacy process. The following observations were made after giving a lecture on narrowing issues from topics, itself an act of movement, and having students perform an individual writing activity or a "Write-to-Learn."

I called the activity “Inquiry Question 30 Second Interviews,” but could have just as easily called it "Speed Dating." In fact, one student said, “This is like speed dating!” I said, “Yes, yes it is...” and smiled. I created four rows, where the inner two rows faced the outer two rows. The students then spent 30 seconds telling the person across from them what they were interested in exploring for sustained inquiry. The partners switched and I requested that the outer row rotate counterclockwise. I spent about 15 - 20 minutes on the activity and the outer row was able to fully rotate around the classroom. Halfway through the class I asked a question: “Now that you’ve told a few people what you are interested in researching, do you feel you have a more concise and clear idea of what it is you want to do?” The class said, “Yes!” I then used the remainder of class time for students to take notes on what they talked about with their partners and to indicate which inquiry question they would like to research.

As I reflected on the lesson, I couldn't help wonder about the kinesthetic effect of the activity. I wondered how the activity of moving around the classroom and repetitively stating an idea in the formative stages affected student literacy. I was once told in a newsroom that if you cannot go into the editor’s office and state your story idea in 30 seconds, you might need to rethink your story. Why is this important? Students seemed to respond positively to active engagement with one another, to getting a chance to interact with peers they may have interacted with for the first time, and to moving around the classroom. Also: Having a set timeframe to communicate an idea helps one become more specific and precise in what exactly he or she wants to communicate.

I found this lesson highly effective and productive and want to think about more ways to get the class moving into the direction of more precise, critical thinking. The kinesthetic literacy activity uses multiple forms of literacy, especially the traditional form of literacy: writing on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil (this form of literacy can be used to lead students into other forms of literacy). Students were able to expand from a literacy they were familiar with and begin tapping into the prior knowledge of other students. They were able to collectively access the knowledge of a group, explore an uncharted textual site, and solidify their thinking. Combining multiple forms of literacy proved to be effective in the kinesthetic classroom activity: a method aptly termed "kinesthetic literacy."