Abstract
This paper explores a variety of practices and classroom activities that engage the whole student. Grounded in a somatic perspective (from “soma” meaning the body in its wholeness – the integration of thinking, feeling, and acting), the discussion shows how students can be brought fully into learning through movement, music, and interaction. Examples include: “The Leaders Body: Moving to the Next Level,” which incorporates postures, moving to selected music clips, and working in small groups to learn about five dispositions of the body (determination, openness, flexibility, stability, and centre); “Finding Flow,” which includes an experiential process in groups of five that brings alive the spectrum from boredom to optimal experience to anxiety; and “Building a Humour Body,” which is based on both Reich’s (1960) notions about armoring and the chakra system.
Highlights
Picture students starting to head-nod in the middle of your class
The approach advocated in this paper is based on a somatic sensibility – from “soma” meaning the body in its wholeness
Two quotations that reflect the perspectives of somatics and physical engagement in learning are: “Book learning tends to stay in the book;” and “Learning is a myth until it is embodied” (Strozzi Heckler, 1993)
Summary
Picture students starting to head-nod in the middle of your class. You wonder what might grab their attention and, perhaps, have them learn. Wouldn’t we all like to engage our students and enhance their learning through active processes? Three specific examples from senior undergraduate courses of how students become actively engaged in learning sessions mentally, physically, and emotionally can be found .
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