Want to learn quicker? Use your body

Waving your arms, wriggling your fingers and striding around a room
can help you learn faster, says Colin Barras. How does it work?

Body and mind
This theory suggests, that what goes on in our minds stems from our
actions with the world around us. It means that encouraging children
to think and learn in an abstract way might make lessons harder for
them to understand and remember. Spencer Kelly, a psychologist at
Colgate University in Hamilton, found evidence that it is easier to
understand something when people use arm and hand movements to
emphasise points. Studies show that young children learn more if their
teacher uses gestures when explaining a concept. Meanwhile, Susan
Wagner Cook, a psychologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City,
has found that children pick up new concepts more effectively, if they
are taught to mirror and repeat the gestures their teacher uses, and
that lessons involving words and gestures live longer in a student's
memory than lessons using words alone.

More information here:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140321-how-to-learn-fast-use-your-body

Paweł Sztabiński