Evidence-Based Teaching Strategy: Brain Breaks!

“Brain breaks” are exactly that – giving the working brain a break. By doing so, learning and retention can be enhanced (Willis, 2006; Young 2020). Although the idea of taking a break, for example, when studying, isn’t new, the intentional use of planning breaks in your teaching approach may be. I would bet we have all had the experience ourselves as students of trying to study for hours for an exam and looking at a page only to be reading the same sentence over and over because it’s not going in.

The idea of brain breaks reaches both sides of the teaching-learning dynamic as students and teachers can use it to enhance learning and increase retention.  Two aspects come into play here. The first is related to focus, attentively staying engaged in learning, and second, the concept of spacing.

Research shows that the working brain can process a limited amount of information at a time and that over time, focus diminishes. However, if we want the information to move into long term memory and retention, we must intentionally think about how we organize and plan how we teach. How long a person can stay focused rests on several individual factors; however, everyone loses focus over time. Neurologically speaking, with sustained focus, neurotransmitters become depleted, and learning diminishes. Rest is needed for the neurotransmitters to replenish and resume processing the material being learned; otherwise, retention is negatively affected (Sousa, 2011; Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014; Willis, 2006).  How can we give students’ brains a rest? Intentionally plan in brain breaks and ensure they happen. The good news is that neurotransmitters will quickly replenish if given a chance to do so (Willis, 2006).

The principle of “spacing” has long been established but has not consistently been applied to education.  Research has shown that spacing information out rather than delivering it all at once enhances memory (Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014; Wahlheim, Dunlosky, and Jacoby, 2011). Spacing entails intentionally presenting information spread across time rather than all at once. It also can involve deliberately taking students off task, giving them space – as it were. This idea of providing students breaks has been shown to improve focus when they return to the task of learning (Ariga & Lleras, 2011).

The next time you sit to plan your time engaging with students and their learning, you will hopefully begin to explore ways to help enhance student learning and improve retention by spacing out your content and providing adequate brain breaks. This concept of brain breaks is also great information to pass on to students when they are studying.

References

Ariga, A., and Lleras, A.(2011). Brief and rare mental “breaks” keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 118(3), 439-443. doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007

Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2014). Making classrooms better: 50 practical applications of mind, brain and education science. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

Wahlheim, C. N., Dunlosky, J., & Jacoby, L.L. (2011). Spacing enhances the learning of natural concepts: an investigation of mechanism, metacognition, and aging. Memory & Cognition, 39(5), 750-763. doi.org/10.3758/s13421-010-0063-y.

Willis, J. (2006). Research-based strategies to ignite student learning: insights from a neurologist and classroom teacher. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Young, J.R. (2020). Want to learn more effectively? Take more breaks, research suggests. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-09-16-want-to-learn-more-effectively-take-more-breaks-research-suggests