De-slumping

I was interested by a brief experiment on my PGCE course yesterday when my tutor suggested we try a 'Brain Gym' exercise before a class. Having suffered in the previous session from the slump myself, I did feel better for this session, which got me wondering. So I have tried our Dr Carla Hannaford's suggested approach with most of my classes today, to some effect. There was a distinct improvement in one post-lunchtime group. I didn't do the exercise with the next group, who remained their grouchy usual selves.

There are other 'Brain Gym' tips too, like making sure students drink water because of the effects of dehydration, which I can certainly attest to. However, there is an element of 'cod science' here, attacked, quite rightly, by commentators such as Ben Goldacre (2006) for such nonsense as processed food "not containing water" or "directly stimulating the cartoid artery". Allegedly supported by Ofsted as an example of "healthy school practice" there is no trace of such a recommendation, which would have been worrying.

So do I continue with it? Well yes, though I'm not convinced by the science. It is a great unifying activity for the class and seems to raise a smile at least. So I think this will be my opener and 'trademark quirk' for the next few weeks at least. I think all teachers need an idiosyncracy for students to hang their hats onto (this is true of most effective leaders - Churchill and cigar; John Harvey-Jones and his bow tie) and if by some miracle it does improve retention then I'll take that as a bonus.



Goldacre, B. (2006). "Brain Gym – Name & Shame" [online]. Downloaded 1 Oct 2009 from http://www.badscience.net/2006/03/the-brain-drain/