The Kinesthetic Classroom - Research Paper Example

The Kinesthetic room Ability to speak the Spanish language can be a very useful skill for those people whose first language is non-Spanish. In the United States, as well as in many parts of Europe, Spanish is widely used and spoken. However, learning Spanish is not an easy task just like learning any other foreign language. Thus, the learning process must have an element of uniqueness to catch the learners’ interest and make them become more motivated to learn. One learning style applicable in the Spanish classroom is through kinesthetic education. Kinesthetic learners learn by bodily movements. With kinesthetic learning style in the Spanish classroom, expected are active participation among students and instructor coupled with keen mental ability to be innovative of classroom activities that will require actions. Inculcating knowledge to individuals is most effective if they are being taught in accordance to the learning style that the individual is best capable to learn. According to Kelly (2010), there are three major types of learners: visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic. While most individuals without disabilities can learn using any one of these styles, most people have one for which they show a stronger affinity (Kelly, 2010). To focus more on kinesthetic, learning here involves physical experience - touching, feeling, holding, doing, and practical hands-on experiences (Chapman, 2009). According to Chapman (2009), the word kinesthetic describes the sense of using muscular movement - physical sense in other words. Kinesthesia and kinesthesis are root words, derived from the Greek kineo, meaning move, and aisthesis, meaning sensation. Kinesthetic, therefore, describes a learning style which involves the stimulation of nerves in the bodys muscles, joints and tendons. This relates to the colloquial expression touchy-feely. With similar idea, Wiesen (2010) said that kinesthetic learning is a learning style often associated with learning by doing and learning through physical motion. Though most suited for individuals who learn more effectively through physical motion or bodily movements, kinesthetic learning is one of the various types of learning that can be applied in a classroom through the use of physical objects of movement during the learning process. In connection with kinesthetic learning, the kinesthetic Spanish classroom will be a unique environment of education for the students in a very innovative way. Monotony of the conventional classroom education setting (wherein there is a lecturer discussing in front of the students and where the students are just simply seated on their chairs, listening and without too much movement) will no longer be applied. Instead, it will be more of students’ active participation in physical activities that requires bodily movements. According to Lengel and Kuczala (2010), movement strategies in the classroom add to the learning process rather than distract from it and can prepare the brain for better retention and retrieval. This unique learning style is very significant for the students to make the learning process more attractive and interesting as they are eager to learn Spanish and they see the benefits of being able to speak, write, and understand the Spanish language for future personal advantage including better understanding of English (which many of the words came from Latin origin and Spanish is also a Latin language), knowing the Spanish culture (imminent in many residents of the United States), for travelling (especially to places where Spanish is the first language), and for employment (as a significant edge to better understand Spanish-speaking employers and clients). According to Erichsen (2010), a bunch of residents of the United States are studying Spanish in record numbers. Spanish, too, is becoming important in Europe because it is often the foreign language of choice after English. Also, Spanish is a popular second or third language, with some 400 million speakers, and it is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world (after English, Chinese and Hindustani). According to some counts it has more native speakers than English does. It is an official language on four continents and is of historical importance elsewhere (Erichsen, 2010). Consequently, integration of kinesthetic learning style in the classroom commonly involves the following according to Clark (2008): (1) Using activities that get the learners up and moving; (2) Playing music, when appropriate, during activities; (3) Using colored markers to emphasize key points on flipcharts or white boards; (4) Give frequent stretch breaks (brain breaks); (5) Providing toys such as Koosh balls and Play-Dough to give them something to do with their hands; (6) Highlighting a point by providing gum, candy, scents, etc. which provides a cross link of scent (aroma) to the topic at hand (scent can be a powerful cue); (7) Providing highlighters, colored pens and/or pencils; (8) Guiding learners through a visualization of complex tasks; (9) Having them transfer information from the text to another medium such as a keyboard or a tablet. To further visualize what is going on in the kinesthetic classroom, Biernat (2010), for instance, use puppets or dolls (even finger puppets will work) to teach Spanish to his students. According to Beirnat (2010) puppets are good materials to be used for a simple role playing like “hello, how are you?” in Spanish, “fine, thank you” in Spanish, etc. Other styles suggested by Mulrooney (2010) were (1) work games, (2) performing, (3) follow the leader, and (4) role playing. In work games, “Play Spanish-language charades: Divide the class in half, then write vocabulary words or phrases on individual slips of paper and have students select them from a fishbowl. Students will take turns miming the word or phrase in front of the class until somebody guesses it; the guesser’s team gets a point. Provide a small prize, like a point of extra credit, to each member of the winning team at the end of the game” (Mulrooney, 2010). In performing, the students, working together or individually, select a popular Spanish-language song, comedy skit, dance, or work of literature to perform in front of the class. They are encouraged to dress up or add props for the activity where they should explain what theyre doing beforehand--in Spanish. An extra difficulty for advanced students is added by requiring them to field questions in Spanish after their performance. In follow the leader, “Students take turns leading the rest of the class around the room, school or school grounds. Followers have to imitate what the leaders do--as long as the leaders can call out what they’re doing in Spanish. This is especially useful for teaching verbs. Commands may begin simply: Brinca, salta, para, camina, and so on, and move up in complexity as your students’ ability progresses.” And lastly, in role playing, a list of social or cultural scenarios covered in Spanish class is written. A box is filled with an assortment of clothing pieces or theater props appropriate to the students’ age. The students may work individually, in pairs or in small groups, and will select one of the scenarios from a fishbowl and then act it out using the props. Adding a twist of comedy can be done by spiking the prop box with completely random objects like pool toys, hula hoops and so on, and then props are distributed randomly to go with the random scenario. Anything goes as long as it’s done in Spanish and communicates the intent of the original scene (Mulrooney, 2010). Bruff (2010) also mentioned another material used in kinesthetic learning and this is the joystick. “Instead of clickers (or smart phones, etc.) students were given joysticks. They were told to push their joysticks forward if they felt the lecture should pick up the pace and to pull their joysticks backward if they were confused and thought the instructor should slow down. These feedback data were visualized on the instructor’s computer screen as a sequence of circles, one for each student. As a student pushed forward on the joystick, that student’s circle would move upward and turn green. As the student pulled back the circle would move downward and turn red” (Bruff, 2010). Apart from the use of joystick, Bruff (2010) added that the other key innovation is the visualization of the aggregate data. Instead of using a line graph or a bar chart, “Students on the Move” produces this very interesting set of circles that float up and down and change color as students provide feedback (Bruff, 2010). Implications of the preceding literatures and examples of kinesthetic learning in classroom setting depicts a unique style of learning preference that can be very interesting to the students as it involves active participation involving critical thinking, energizing the students, and employing learning styles rarely tapped by the conventional instructional techniques. Kinesthetic learning engages students by putting them in motion, tapping the sensorimotor part of the brain which is responsible in the aspects of bodily activities. Since it involves action or movement, this can also be a good form of physical and mental exercise, especially those methods that requires real exertion. But most importantly, kinesthetic learning in the classroom can incredibly be fun not just for the students but for the instructors as well to think and act with the students. This unique approach of inculcating knowledge in kinesthetic Spanish classroom will be a good educational preference for those individuals who have special kinesthetic intelligence or even to the general people who simply wants to learn Spanish in an interactive and challenging way with fun and excitement. References Biernat, M. (2010). Spanish kinesthetic language learning. Retrieved online on December 14, 2010 at: . Bruff, D. (2010). Students on the move – A kinesthetic classroom response system. Retrieved online on December 14, 2010 at: . Chapman, A. (2009). Howard Gardners multiple intelligence theories model, free multiple intelligences tests, and VAK learning styles. Retrieved online on December 13, 2010 at: . Erichsen, G. (2010). Why learn Spanish? Retrieved online on December 13, 2010 at: . Kelly, M. (2010). Learning styles: understanding and using learning styles. Retrieved online on December 13, 2010 at: . Lengel, T. and Kuczala, M. (2010). The kinesthetic classroom: Teaching and learning through movement. United States of America: Corwin, A SAGE Company. Mulrooney, M. (2010). How do your Spanish students learn? Activities for kinesthetic learners. Retrieved online on December 14, 2010 at: . Wiesen, G. (2004). What is kinesthetic learning? Retrieved online on December 13, 2010 at: . Read More