Disabled children push their boundaries at De Bremberg
i3-Technologies is testing the usability of the iMO-LEARN project, the cube that encourages movement, in practice. For the past months, the company has been researching the added value of the innovative cube in a number of schools and educational institutions.
One of those schools is De Bremberg, a school in Diest, Belgium, for preschool, elementary school children, and adolescents with moderate to severe mental disabilities. The research provided a lot of information in the field of learning with a mental disability and it generated valuable feedback from teachers.
Physically and mentally challenged
The iMO-LEARN challenges the teachers of De Bremberg to add creativity to their lessons. They are forced to step away from standard activities and materials because the students are not only challenged physically but also mentally during the lessons.
By stacking the cubes correctly, students learn to build constructions such as a tower, arc, or solid wall. By balancing on the sloping side, they practice their balance. Moreover, the cube renders spatial orientation concrete, tangible and visual. The cubes can also be transformed into dices to learn arithmetic. In short, the iMO-LEARN brings learning and moving together under the rubric of embodied learning.
Personally involved
By bringing different subjects into practice, children can easily pick up the subject matter. It is a fact that children learn better and more efficiently if they are personally involved in the lessons. This is even more true for children with mental disabilities. Moreover, by getting started with the iMO-LEARNs, they learn to work together to achieve a common goal, such as a solution to a math question, a construction, and so on.
Conclusion
Teachers of De Bremberg state that the iMO-LEARN is an extremely user-friendly and flexible tool that they can use for a variety of teaching activities. It moves limitations, motivates, and brings students closer together in a unique way.
Written by: i3-Technologies on Thursday, July 1, 2021