Motor Lab: Preparing Bodies and Minds for Learning and Future Careers

The modern educational landscape increasingly recognizes the vital connection between physical development and academic success. Programs like Motor Lab, alongside initiatives promoting STEM education and healthcare training, are paving the way for a future where individuals are well-prepared for both learning and fulfilling careers.

The Ready Bodies, Learning Minds Approach

Motor Lab, also known as Ready Bodies, Learning Minds, is a program developed by physical therapist Athena Oden. The core premise is that a child's physical development is foundational to their academic potential. Recognizing that children today often experience less physical stimulation than previous generations, Motor Lab aims to address this gap by focusing on integrating various sensory and motor systems.

Key Systems Addressed in Motor Lab

Motor Lab sessions provide opportunities for children to develop and integrate several crucial systems:

Visual: Essential for reading, writing, and visual-spatial reasoning.
Motor: Encompassing gross and fine motor skills necessary for movement and coordination.
Tactile: The sense of touch, crucial for sensory processing and interaction with the environment.
Vestibular: Our sense of movement and balance, vital for spatial awareness and coordination.
Auditory: Processing sounds and language, essential for communication and learning.
Proprioceptive: The body's awareness of its position in space, crucial for coordination and movement control. This system receives information from the muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons to know how our bodies occupy the space around us.

A Typical Motor Lab Experience

A Motor Lab session is designed to be engaging and fun for children. They enter a gymnasium-like setting filled with various pieces of equipment arranged in 9-10 stations around the perimeter. Each class includes stations dedicated to each of the systems mentioned above. Examples of equipment include spinning boards for vestibular input, cocoon tubes for tactile experiences, and walking can stilts for proprioceptive development.

Action Based Learning (ABL): Integrating Movement and Learning

Action Based Learning (ABL) has been at the forefront of connecting movement and learning for over three decades. Their methods have been implemented in classrooms across the nation, providing educators with tools to enhance student focus, engagement, and overall success.

Read also: Internships at IMS

ABL's Nationwide Impact

ABL's influence spans across the United States, with schools in all 50 states utilizing their approach to transform classrooms into active, student-centered environments. More than 4,000 schools have partnered with ABL to improve student outcomes, reflecting their commitment to reaching all children, regardless of their learning style.

A Diverse Range of Products

ABL offers a catalog of over 100 research-backed products designed to meet the diverse needs of teachers and students. These products range from kinesthetic furniture to comprehensive classroom labs, all created with the goal of improving children's lives through movement and active learning.

Popular ABL Spaces

Some of ABL's most popular offerings include:

Action Based Learning Lab: These labs feature active learning stations that support the brain-body connection by targeting the 12 Foundations of Learning Readiness. Activities within these labs engage the vestibular system to improve balance and spatial awareness, which in turn aids students with tasks like placing letters and words on a page. Movement patterns like walking or crawling enhance the brain’s ability to process symbols.
Body Brain Adventure Lab: Similar to the Action Based Learning Lab, the Body Brain Adventure Lab supports the development of core foundational skills through age-appropriate activities. By targeting systems such as the vestibular system, students improve essential learning abilities.
Kinesthetic Classroom Packages: ABL manufactures classroom furniture designed to optimize the student’s brain for learning. This educational equipment is created with neuroscience best practices in mind, resulting in improved student performance and enhanced curricula effectiveness.
Youth Fitness Packages: Since 1999, ABL has provided commercial fitness equipment designed for children. They offer various sizes tailored to specific age groups, ensuring safety and effectiveness.
Sensory Lab Packages: These interactive labs create active sensory environments with developmentally appropriate activities that assist children with body awareness, fine and gross motor skills, cross-lateralization, vestibular development, proprioception, strength, flexibility, and mindfulness.

The Importance of Fine Motor Skills and Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy (OT) plays a crucial role in developing fine motor skills, visual motor integration, and overall coordination. These skills are essential for tasks such as handwriting, keyboarding, and using tools effectively.

Motor Lab's OT and Speech/Language Focus

Motor Lab recognizes the importance of these skills and offers occupational therapy and speech/language sessions that focus on the foundations of sensory motor and language development. Individual therapy sessions are available for students of all ages.

Addressing Specific Needs

OT sessions can help children with various challenges, such as:

Handwriting and Keyboarding: Therapists use fun tasks and drills to develop a progression of just-right challenges within a developmental framework to build the necessary skills needed for written communication.
Coordination and Motor Planning: Activities are designed to improve visual motor integration and overall coordination.
Sensory Regulation: Sensory Integration therapy techniques expose children to sensory activities through structured, experiential methods, teaching them simple, easy-to-understand, multi-step gross motor tasks.

The Interactive Metronome (IM)

The Interactive Metronome® (IM) is a computer-based program used to improve attention, coordination, and timing in students.

Career Opportunities in Healthcare and Design

The focus on physical and cognitive development extends beyond academic success and into career readiness. The healthcare and design industries offer a wide range of opportunities for individuals with the right skills and training.

Healthcare Careers

New medical technologies, an aging population, and a focus on preventive care have created a high demand for skilled healthcare workers. Educational institutions like Tidewater Community College (TCC) offer programs designed to prepare students for these in-demand careers.

TCC offers fast-paced, rigorous programs with in-depth instruction, state-of-the-art labs, and clinical experience. Their high-quality curriculum leads to high pass rates on national certification exams and strong job prospects.

Some of the healthcare programs offered at TCC include:

Diagnostic Medical Sonography: Diagnostic medical sonographers use ultrasound to image organs, tissue, and blood flow inside the body, helping clinicians diagnose illnesses.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS): TCC’s EMS program prepares students to work on the front lines of healthcare in various settings, including hospitals, fire and rescue departments, and sports organizations.
Health Information Management: Health Information Management Professionals work behind the healthcare scenes at the intersection of medical science, technology, and business.
Medical Laboratory Technology: Medical laboratory technicians provide valuable information to physicians as they diagnose, treat, and prevent illness.
Nursing: TCC’s Beazley School of Nursing offers a nationally accredited program to prepare students for a rewarding career in nursing.
Occupational Therapy Assistant: TCC’s occupational therapy assistant program prepares students for a career in helping individuals develop and maintain the skills needed for daily living.
Pharmacy Technology: TCC’s pharmacy technician program prepares students for a career in the pharmacy field.
Phlebotomy: TCC’s phlebotomy program prepares students to collect, transport, handle, and process blood specimens for analysis.
Physical Therapist Assistant: Physical therapy is a fast-growing career field, and TCC’s program prepares students to assist physical therapists in helping patients recover from injuries and illnesses.

Design Careers at General Motors (GM)

General Motors (GM) offers a variety of design-related career opportunities, focusing on innovation and creativity in the automotive industry.

GM's Design Center

GM's Global Design Center offers programs that support recruiting, collegiate partner-sponsored projects, outreach initiatives, and employee training. Their 12-week program builds industry knowledge and collaborative spirit through cross-discipline exercises, training, and studio program execution.

Outreach and Community Partnerships

GM Design actively engages in outreach initiatives and community partnerships to enhance access to art and design education. These programs include collaborations with the Girl Scouts of the USA to introduce young women to STEM education and spark an interest in automotive careers.

Design Roles

GM employs a diverse range of designers, including:

Creative Designers: These designers create fresh and innovative designs for the interiors and exteriors of future GM vehicles, using various media from pen and paper to sophisticated digital tools.
Advanced Designers: These designers monitor trends, identify emerging mobility challenges, and envision new vehicle designs and customer mobility experiences.
Visualization Designers: These designers use photographic, video, and computer-generated images to bring future vehicles to life.
Clay and Digital Sculptors: These sculptors interpret designers’ sketches into 3D models, aiding in solving design and engineering issues.
Industrial Designers: These designers are responsible for the visual expression of the company and its brands globally.
Design Fabrication Engineers: These engineers collaborate with the Design studios to develop 3D parts that can be fabricated and assembled by the Design Fabrication shops.
Design Center Trim Technicians: These skilled craftsmen offer a variety of talents and provide actual physical properties for the Design studios to review.
Metal and Wood Model Makers: These model makers construct a variety of models used for design evaluation and clinic purposes.
Design Center Paint Technicians: These technicians specialize in producing show-quality paint finishes on all Design Center properties.

GM's Commitment to Innovation and Inclusion

GM is committed to creating an inclusive workplace and fostering innovation. They support employees by providing resources to build their skills and pursue their passions.

tags: #motor #lab #ready #body #learning #job