Using mindful movement in cooperative learning while learning about angles

Abstract

Unlike studies on cooperative learning that have focused on the verbal communication aspect of learning, this study focuses on the non-verbal aspect—mindful movement, which is the use of body movement to aid academic learning. Our research examined the link between five learning activities occurring within a cooperative group of children using mindful movement and improvement of their academic achievements in the study of angles in geometry class. The learning activities were: (a) physical contact with the studied environment; (b) using visual and kinesthetic modeling; (c) socio-kinesthetic interaction; (d) sustaining the movement-aided learning activity; (e) non-learning behaviors. 261 learners from eight-second and third grade classes in six different schools participated in the research. The experimental group included 158 learners from five classes. The control group included 103 learners from three classes. It was found that, compared to the conventionally taught control group, the experimental group using mindful movement in cooperative learning reached significantly better results in studying angles. Additionally, a significantly positive correlation was found between each of the five variants of learning activities and improvement in academic achievement.