About Our Project

Our Goal

To create an inclusive resource for teachers to learn how to maximize engagement and academic success in the classroom. This resource provides information on how to implement brain breaks into the classroom and why this is important. Research suggests that integrating brain breaks improves cognitive engagement and academic benefit to students (Owen, Parker, Astell-Burt, & Lonsdale, 2018). Brain breaks, whether physical or mindful in nature increase task engagement and reduces attentional failure (Steinborn & Huestegge, 2016). This website includes examples and guides to physical and mindful brain breaks that can be introduced into the classroom. This resource also investigates mindfulness practice as it relates to academic success. The goal of all brain breaks is to help students regulate, rest, and refocus; these breaks help students strengthen executive functioning skills and become mindful and intentional in their tasks and daily lives.

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Students in today's high schools are taking up to four classes a day ranging between an hour and fifteen to an hour and thirty minutes each and are expected to be engaged and focused throughout the entirety of the class. There comes a point where students disengage whether it be from stress, being tired, being overwhelmed or from other causes or distractions. Integrating brain breaks in the middle of a lesson, especially when students are noticeably disengaged, takes their minds off of the task at hand and gives them a change of pace. This allows them the opportunity to get their mind off of something that may be stressing them out such as the material of the lesson, or even something outside of the classroom. Following these brain breaks, the hope is that students are able to focus back on the task and become re-engaged with their learning. 

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