Blog Articles

Case Study on Exergaming for Kids with Behavioral Issues – Preliminary Report

by Dan Lawler, Ph.D. on May 6, 2013 at 3:43pm

In schools today students who engage in antisocial behaviors are a real challenge for teachers and administrators.  Too often these behaviors diminish a student’s ability to learn and often interrupt the education of others.  Many times teachers and schools apply restrictions to privileges, more seat time, anger management strategies, and suspensions as a remedy for these behaviors.  A few months ago I assisted a middle school with initiating an alternative to...

AAHPERD Driving Toward a Healthier Generation Through Technology and Exergames

by Jeffrey Dammann on Apr 16, 2013 at 10:28am

The 2013 AAHPERD National Convention and Exposition being held in Charlotte, North Carolina, is coming up fast!  The convention takes place April 23-27th and over 5,000 health, physical education, recreation, dance, and sport professionals are expected to attend the show. AAHPERD, which stands for the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance has over 20,000 members and is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical...

Exergame Fitness Educates the World at the Exergame Education Workshop 2013

by Ashley Staley on Feb 26, 2013 at 1:02pm

On average, children spend three to seven hours a day parked in front of a television.  Whether it’s watching after school cartoons, the Disney Channel, or playing video games, the rate of child obesity has had a drastic increase throughout the course of the past 20 years.  Let’s Move!  a campaign launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, has an ambitious but important goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.  This nationwide...

Case Study on Exergaming for Kids with Behavioral Issues

by Dr. Dan Lawler on Feb 21, 2013 at 5:07pm

In schools today students who engage in antisocial behaviors are a real challenge for teachers and administrators.  Too often these behaviors diminish a student’s ability to learn and often interrupt the education of others.  Many times teachers and schools apply restrictions to privileges, more seat time, anger management strategies, and suspensions as a remedy for these behaviors.  A few months ago I assisted a middle school with initiating an alternative to...

The ExerGaming Lab As an Effective Tool to Help Students With Behavior Issues

by Dan Lawler, Ph.D. on Jan 17, 2013 at 11:27am

The ExerGaming Lab As an Effective Tool to Help Students With Behavior IssuesSocietal and clinical concern of antisocial behavior in school-aged children is significant. Students engaging in antisocial behavior represent a major challenge in the school system (Cihak, Kirk and Boon, 2009) and account for a large proportion of placements in special education classes (Knitzer, Steinberg, and Fleisch, 1990). Despite significant support and interventions, issues involving anti-social behavior...

First Care For Then Educate

by By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. and Bev Bachman, M.Ed. on Nov 26, 2012 at 3:50pm

Peter Senge, in his 1990 book entitled The Fifth Discipline, talked specifically about well-intentioned goals and aspirations often leading to unpredicted outcomes that even the best leaders and thinkers could not have anticipated.  Certainly a 1981 government document release called “The Nation at Risk” intended to bring attention to the need for education to improve for all kids.  What evolved over the years was a tightening of curriculum, the development...

Integrating ExerGaming with Instruction: One Model

by By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. on Oct 9, 2012 at 12:12pm

By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. This school year a Title I teacher in Colorado will be integrating into her teaching both effective practices in literacy instruction and current research on how exercise prepares the brain for learning.   She is a strong literacy teacher, long grounded in strategies that have been supported by research in reading instruction.   This year she is excited to add this new dimension to her literacy lessons by having her classes participate in 5...

Motivation Through Exergaming

by By Dan Lawler Ph.D. on Aug 14, 2012 at 10:07am

By Dan Lawler Ph.D. Every teacher in every classroom eventually faces the dilemma of how to motivate the uninspired student.   Often teachers look to utilizing positive rewards as a means to increase desired behaviors.  Some traditional strategies, especially at the elementary level, include longer recess, special seats, positive phone call home, lunch with the teacher, and positive verbal feedback.  Extrinsic motivators, in the form of rewards, can encourage...

BrainBike: Exercise for the Brain and the Body by Dan Lawler, Ph.D.

by by Dan Lawler, Ph.D. on Jul 24, 2012 at 1:28pm

Most often wellness programs focus on improving employee fitness levels along with emphasizing good nutrition.  Seldom is any specific attention given to retaining and improving the functions of the brain. “A life-long commitment to stimulating brain activity contributes to quality of life, especially in the later years. Exercises that promote brain health vary widely and include physical activities such as walking and intellectually stimulating activities....

What Makes Early Morning Physical Activity Helpful for Students

by Dan Lawler, Ph.D. Education Consultant on Jun 7, 2012 at 1:57pm

Several schools across the country have adopted early morning physical education classes in order to assist students with learning.  In Naperville, Illinois, District 203 has been conducting a Learning Readiness Physical Education program for years.  Their approach has received national attention because of the positive impact it has had on literacy scores.   More and more evidence points to the reasons why this intervention is so successful.  Primarily, when...

BrainBike® as Part of an ExerGaming® Lab

on Apr 6, 2011 at 9:50am

By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. Education Consultant Exercise4Learning™ As an elementary principal one of the most exciting interventions I have ever experienced was the implementation of our Exergaming® lab.  Our school, not unlike many across America, had a minimal amount of minutes that students were receiving physical education.  As a community, because of financial reasons, we saw little opportunity to increase fitness time in our school by adding more physical...

BrainBike™ - An Innovative Brain and Fitness Option

on Jul 26, 2011 at 11:46am

By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. Education Consultant Exercise 4 Learning     The NeuroActive BrainBike™ is an exercise bike that trains the body and brain for fitness. The BrainBike™ was engineered by Dr. Stephane Bergeron, MD, president of Brain Center America (BCA), and a team of international brain specialists. It is designed to improve user’s memory, concentration, multitasking, and a complete range of mental abilities while providing a cardio...

Exergaming and the "Turned On" Brain By Dan Lawler, Ph.D.

on Aug 2, 2010 at 11:32am

When I observed the positive effects our Exergaming lab had on our elementary school, I was convinced that every student should have access to this type of lab.  Nothing I had observed before motivated students to exercise with the enthusiasm and spirit that this lab created.  The lab had a remarkable impact on our student body's commitment to exercise and physical activity.  Students couldn't wait for their scheduled time in our Exercise 4 Learning lab. How and Why We Started an...

ExerGaming® is a Key to Motivating Our Youth Toward Fitness

on Feb 8, 2011 at 10:34am

By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. Education Consultant Exercise4Learning, LLP As an elementary principal for over 30 years, I have witnessed many strategies and techniques that influence student motivation to get fit.  Motivation, as we know, can be induced artificially - i.e. fear, candy, rewards, etc. - but the effects are temporary.  There is no substitute for the real thing - intrinsic motivation to participate and engage.  The fact remains that physicians, educators, and heath experts...

Implementing an Exergaming Lab in your school....

on Jun 18, 2010 at 2:32pm

Exergame Fitness Advisory Board Member "Dan Lawler" speaks about implementing Exergaming in Schools.... A year ago, I was able to implement an Exergaming lab in my school. It was one of the most exciting interventions I had ever experienced in over 30 years as a principal. Unfortunately, I retired before I could see the expected benefits that the lab would create for the all the students in the school. After a year of students and teachers being actively engaged in the lab, I wanted...

Obesity and Exergaming: Changing the School Environment

on Jun 21, 2011 at 10:35am

By Dan Lawler, Ph.D. Education Consultant   Obesity is a health crisis in the United States, as well as in many other countries around the world.   On average, an obese person in the U.S. will cost society over $6,000 a year in loss of productivity and medical treatment.  There are many experts and organizations in this country dedicated to changing this national trend, but, unfortunately, many of these efforts have been unsuccessful.  Even Michelle Obama has made lowering...

Schools Beware: Tough Decisions May Result in Negative Unintended Consequences

on Sep 23, 2010 at 10:15am

Ever since the Commission on Excellence in Education published the Nation at Risk in 1983, school systems across America have been racing to improve academic performance. Over the years this issue has become a major political priority. Simply put, both parties had their ideas about how to reform public education. Both sides of the political spectrum have raised credible arguments and both found common ground in national standards and high stakes testing to improve education. But that...

The Adults Must Know What They Are Doing, Don’t They?

on Dec 10, 2010 at 11:27am

If we’re listening to the experts, all the evidence points to the importance of increasing physical education/physical activity (PE/PA) in our schools.   A compelling body of research shows that, as fitness increases, achievement increases, behavior issues decrease, and wellness increases.  Utilizing this research is one of the most compelling reasons for school administrators to use budget funds to increase PE /PA or to add new technology (ExerGaming®) to energize their...