Susan Klein

Klein’s innovative teaching idea, “Movement Matters,” incorporates physical education in class on a regular basis to help students with severe learning disabilities and other special needs develop needed skills, and ultimately having a positive effect on classroom. According to Klein, research has proven that after periods of physical activity, students perform better on academic tasks. One area of difficulty the students have is in executive functioning, which includes the brain-based skills that are required to perform tasks. Among these tasks are working memory (ability to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks), task initiation (starting a task), and flexibility (adapting to changing conditions). The project will also provide many opportunities to develop executive functions and have a positive effect on learning and performance.