MOTOR ACIVITIES AND NEURO TEACHING AT SCHOOL

It is a matter of common observation that the human body is an amazing machine that is made to move. Emerging evidences from the neurosciences confirm that the motor or musculo-skeletal system is not merely an executive system but it is sophisticatedly integrated with the cognitive or nervous system. The interaction of the motor-cognitive system with the environments around us occur through the development of specific and complex functions, in turn structured via bodily experiences. The experiences we live on a daily basis throughout our lives, with and through our body, can be considered as the starting points for the structuring of space and rational mind, the formation of our verbal and non-verbal communication systems, the understanding and interpretation of the intentions of the individuals around us and to become progressively aware of our emotions. In order to keep up with the pace of research and innovation, the contemporary school system should aim at introducing and integrating novel teaching-learning strategies, such as an embedded, enactive and inductive teaching approach, i.e., the neuro-teaching, to the more traditional forms of teaching, focused on a more homologating and deductive approach. The main purpose of this contribution is to provide an opportunity for reflection on the possibility of implementation of a neuro-teaching approach, which might help to abandon the traditional meaning of physical education, intended as a pure physical training discipline, in favour of a novel and evidence-based reinterpretation of the key role of this discipline: an interesting and attractive opportunity to promote the development, growth and maturation of the child in toto.