The Brain is the Body: A S.M.A.R.T. Approach to Self-Regulation and Learning

This paper examines how the S.M.A.R.T. (Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training) program enables learning readiness through movement. S.M.A.R.T. brings a modality to fostering students’ ability to learn across academic areas that are simple to do, effective, and accessible to students of all abilities. For this project, aspects of the S. M. A. R. T. curriculum were integrated into three students’ time in the resource room. The program as it was carried out was modified by the constraints of this unique classroom. Findings provided an example of how the program can be beneficial even when not utilizing all of the activities described in the full S.M.A.R.T. curriculum. The participating students enjoyed the activities and classroom teachers reported positive changes when they returned to the classroom. Having an awareness and understanding of how the brain is not separate from the body opens the field of possibilities for ways to learn. Investing time into developing learning readiness allows for greater ease in absorbing and integrating direct academic instruction and acquiring social-emotional and self-regulation skills.