MoveU / en Movement breaks: students re-energize classroom experience at U of T /news/movement-breaks <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Movement breaks: students re-energize classroom experience at U of T</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/movement_1140.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=S5sSiSnn 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/movement_1140.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zIav48v1 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/movement_1140.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Rhn3OtiQ 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/movement_1140.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=S5sSiSnn" alt="MoveU instructors lead a classroom movement break"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lavende4</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-10-28T08:07:39-04:00" title="Friday, October 28, 2016 - 08:07" class="datetime">Fri, 10/28/2016 - 08:07</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">MoveU members Mandy Tu (left) and Sabrina Fang (right) lead a classroom movement break (photo by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Katie Babcock</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/moveu" hreflang="en">MoveU</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/exercise" hreflang="en">Exercise</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/classrooms" hreflang="en">classrooms</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Zhifan Liu</strong>, like many other undergraduate students, sits for hours in class. But as a human biology student, he鈥檚 keenly aware of the negative effects of prolonged sitting.&nbsp;</p> <p>That鈥檚 why he decided to help lead classroom movement breaks 鈥� a program run by MoveU&nbsp;through the support of U of T鈥檚 Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE).&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e visit classes for five to 15 minutes and lead students through simple exercises," he said. "It鈥檚 a great way to get moving and get your focus back.鈥�&nbsp;</p> <p>The pilot program was launched in September 2015 by<strong> Danielle Dinunzio</strong>, assistant manager of physical activity in KPE. Dinunzio worked closely with <strong>Sabrina Azwim</strong>, who is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree&nbsp;at U of T鈥檚 Dalla Lana School of Public Health. After participating in a movement break led by one of her professors, Azwim says, she recognized the impact it could have for all students.</p> <p>The two worked with the MoveU Crew, a team of 12 students, to develop the initiative that sends one or two crew members to classes across the downtown Toronto&nbsp;campus. MoveU promotes physical activity as a wellness strategy,&nbsp;helping students to understand how physical activity can lower stress levels, improve sleep patterns and boost concentration.</p> <p>鈥淭he beauty of these breaks is that we can easily adapt them to any classroom setting and audience, and they require little preparation,鈥� says Dinunzio. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to teach students healthy learning habits. So later, when they鈥檙e in the midst of exams and the pressure is on, they have developed some coping mechanisms.鈥�&nbsp;</p> <p>Last year, the MoveU Crew visited 28 classes and this year, they鈥檙e set to lead 66 breaks. To further expand their reach, they鈥檙e working with U of T鈥檚 <a href="http://teaching.utoronto.ca/">Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation</a> and the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bieFCcsNn-8" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>University&nbsp;of Toronto&nbsp;Scarborough&nbsp;launched a similar program this summer called <a href="http://utsc.utoronto.ca/athletics/physical-literacy">Fit-Breaks</a>, developed by alumni <strong>Alyona Koulanova</strong> and <strong>Ary Maharaj</strong>. The short bursts of physical activity are led by Athletics and Recreation staff and take place during regular breaks from classroom lectures.&nbsp;</p> <p>The team plans to collect data on how the breaks affect grades, retention of information and stress.</p> <p>These programs are receiving rave reviews from professors and students alike, organizers say. Assistant Professor <strong>Sunita Mather</strong> in U of T鈥檚 department of physical therapy is an avid supporter and has booked multiple breaks throughout the semester.</p> <p>鈥淲e teach exercise physiology and we know that prolonged sitting is bad for your health. But students in this program sit in the classroom for an average of eight hours a day. It鈥檚 good for them to see how to deal with this challenge in a practical way,&nbsp;not only for their own health, but also in terms of treating patients who sit for long periods of time.鈥�</p> <p>What does the future hold?</p> <p>鈥淭he MoveU volunteers want to visit as many classes as possible, but there鈥檚 a limit to what they can do,鈥� says Dinunzio. 鈥淭he team is&nbsp;creating a toolkit&nbsp;that we can give to professors and students so they can easily run the breaks on their own. We want this to become a self-sustaining program and to create long-term healthy habits for students and professors.鈥�</p> <p>For more information and to book a movement break, visit <a href="http://physical.utoronto.ca/MoveU">physical.utoronto.ca/MoveU</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 28 Oct 2016 12:07:39 +0000 lavende4 101430 at