movement — Cultivating Space

MOVEMENT

Learning reinforced by movement is the most effective method for boosting brain plasticity and strengthening memory and cognition.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. ⁰²

It is a well-known fact that movement can have a positive impact on our physical health. In recent years, it has also been proven to be just as effective in exercising the brain. When we move, an increase of oxygen and blood flow to the brain helps improve neuroplasticity and the brain’s capacity to form lasting connections. This can happen through the smallest of movements, like shifting your weight back and forth in a rocking chair, or the most intense, like running a marathon.

Essentially, any type of movement other than sitting in a stationary position will help engage multiple parts of the brain and improve cognitive processing and memory. The primary part of the brain that is activated by physical movement is the cerebellum, which coordinates movement and balance. Additionally, physical activity can trigger the release of dopamine, a “happy hormone” involved in the reward center of our brain that helps increase memory, motivation and attention - key functions of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.

Classroom design in the 1900s reflected society’s focus on efficiency and standardization, especially in the US.

Rows of desks, often fixed to the floor, limited movement and kept students seated for long periods of time while being asked to recite information being taught from a textbook.

“Behaviorists were not concerned with what goes on inside of a child’s mind, only with the outcome: proper recitation on an exam. Movement is not important to learning in this view. In fact, it is easier to pour things into empty vessels or to write on blank slates if they are still.”⁰³

Although science has since proved that there are more impactful environments for learning, little has changed of this model, especially in classrooms post kindergarten. When asked to draw their existing classroom, a first grade student drew rows of desks facing a blackboard - or screen - with fluorescent lights above. Although it was drawn in 2025, this could just as easily be perceived as a classroom from the last century.

In her book, Minding Bodies, Susan Hrach researches the positive relationship between movement and learning, and offers strategies to incorporate more movement into the classroom.

“I hope it will seem shocking to us in the future that we once thought that bringing together the bodies of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of human beings only to have them sit quietly and listen for hours and weeks and years on end was the best way for them to learn. I hope we’ll understand that taking good care of our bodily health and well-being are marks of our care for ourselves as thinkers.”⁰⁷

“Watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his mind comes about through his movements”

-Maria Montessori⁰⁸

While a number of educational theorists, like Jean Piaget and Loris Malaguzzi, advocated for movement in education, Maria Montessori was arguably the most dedicated, designing the classroom environment and materials to constantly engage the whole body in learning. After years of observation and research, Montessori found that incorporating movement into learning had notable impacts on student participation, attention and memory. While recess can be useful to get students moving outside of the classroom, Montessori believed that movement should be incorporated into every activity a child does in school.

She modeled a typical Montessori classroom to enable movement, offer space for sitting, standing, or laying down while doing schoolwork, and designed learning materials that engage the whole body. Rather than watching a teacher write the alphabet and numbers on a chalkboard or point at countries on a map, Montessori students learned by doing, physical exploration and engagement with sensory materials.
While advances in neuroscience can now prove this, Maria Montessori discovered a new method for better learning. Our brains are inextricably connected with our bodies and young children especially can use movement in learning to form a stronger foundation of cognitive and motor skills and keep them engaged in their education.

Unfortunately, many classrooms in the United States are overcrowded, making it difficult for educators to incorporate movement into the classroom. In the supporting teachers survey for this manual, over half of participants indicated that classroom space was the biggest obstacle keeping them from exploring different classroom arrangements with one teacher saying,

“Classroom size is also an issue; several of us have classrooms that are converted storage rooms.”
In some classrooms, it is possible that the biggest opportunity to introduce movement is through the chair.

In 1898, the original manufacturer of Montessori Materials, P. Johannes Müller & Co. joined Ramminger & Stetter to establish VS, a school and office furniture manufacturer. Since their establishment, VS has grown internationally as a manufacturer focused on improving the quality, comfort, flexibility, and function of classroom and office furniture, with an emphasis on movement.

“When you must buy new furniture because the old furniture is damaged, then please look for furniture that absorbs the movement needs of the sitting body and does not restrict or suppress it.”

-Dr. Dieter Briethecker¹¹

Working with Dr. Dieter Breithecker - former President of the Federal Institute on the Development of Posture and Movement in Germany - VS has led research on the positive impact of movement in learning and specifically designed their furniture to enable this.

Their classroom catalog includes a range of furniture that is durable, modular, adaptable, and offers a variety of possibilities for students to engage in movement while learning. This is most evident in their chairs. Even in the smallest of spaces, simply switching a static chair for a dynamic one can make a significant difference in how students are able to focus and engage in learning. VS offers a number of models that are designed to absorb movement without distraction.

If new furniture is not an option, consider adding a thick rubber band around the back legs of your students’ chairs for them to rest and rock their feet on, tennis balls on the feet of chairs to absorb the sounds of moving or leaning, or investing in a few alternate seating options that students can choose to use when overstimulated or in need of movement.

At a classroom scale, consider investing in lightweight, yet durable furniture that can easily be moved to open up the space for different activities. Maria Montessori believed that children should be able to choose where they get to sit throughout the school day, whether it be in a chair, on a couch, or on the floor. While this is not as common in public schools, many Montessori schools have dedicated open space where students can take mats to for floor work. Almost like a desk surface, the mats imply a boundary that is theirs to work on, clean up, and put away themselves.

Another lesson that can be applied from the Montessori classroom design is “walking the line.” Most Montessori classrooms have a circle drawn on the ground where students will engage in rhythmic exercises while walking along the line. Montessori believed that giving order to movement in support of learning is the most useful for developing the mind. If you are concerned about losing classroom time when moving furniture around for different activities, consider using color and shapes on desk surfaces and the ground to indicate where desks go when they are in different configurations so students can help rearrange and simultaneously learn while doing.

“Kids spend as many as half their waking hours in schools and are sedentary for most of that time; a few small design tweaks could potentially improve the health of hundreds of children in one fell swoop.”

- Emily Anthes, The Great Indoors