BY DANNA BROWNELL
Intuitively, cognition is extremely relevant and applicable to education. Better understanding how the mind works can increase the effectiveness of educational techniques. This article examines the importance of recess in light of empirical evidence for children's cognitive immaturity. The authors argue that recess cannot be dismissed as sheer recreation; it is in fact necessary to maximize childrens learning potential.
Research shows that recess is important for two reasons. Experiments have demonstrated that distributed learning is more effective than massed learning (for adults and children). Task spacing appears to work better with childrens limited cognitive resources, such as attention and the ability to resist interference. However, studies have also shown that providing breaks or breaking up tasks by switching subject matter can produce different levels of academic improvement. For younger children, the break or switch needs to be more dramatic. In fact, younger children benefit from a more unstructured break altogether. As the cognitive abilities of children mature and they are more able to minimize cognitive interference on their own, the breaks between tasks can be less frequent and of a less structured nature.
As children, we all understood the importance of recess. However, many schools across the country are actually eliminating unstructured recess as it serves no educational function. Considering evidence discussed here, it seems that recess may serve more of an academic purpose than school officials may think.
REFERENCE
Pellegrini, A., & Bjorklund, D.(1997). The role of recess in children's cognitive performance, Educational Psychologist, 32(1), 35-40