The Walking Classroom is a national award-winning education program that provides students and educators with an innovative way to get exercise without sacrificing instructional time. The nonprofit program’s “Walk, Listen, and Learn” methodology capitalizes on the favorable link between exercise and cognitive function.

Students take brisk 20-minute walks while listening to custom-written, kid-friendly podcasts that begin with a brief health literacy message and transition to topics on science, social studies, and English language arts. The content aligns with standards, and topics are appropriate for students in grades 3–8. Students return to the classroom in better moods, more focused, and more likely to engage in post- walk discussions.

A Spring 2018 research study done by UNC Chapel Hill confirms that walking while listening to podcasts improves student learning and retention, improves student mood, and helps students feel happy, healthy, educated and smart. Teachers overwhelmingly confirm in annual surveys that walking while listening to The Walking Classroom podcasts strengthens student understanding of content, is an effective tool to increase discussion and engagement in the classroom, is an effective tool to differentiate instruction, and is easy to implement.