PACE in Schools: How Brain Integration Doubles Learning Achievement

In classrooms where PACE is practised daily, something remarkable tends to happen. Children who struggled to read begin to read. Children who couldn't sit still begin to focus. Children who fell behind begin to catch up — sometimes dramatically, within weeks.

This is not anecdotal. The educational research behind Brain Gym and PACE, developed by Dr. Paul and Gail Dennison, documents consistent improvements in learning outcomes across diverse populations and settings. And the explanation for why it works is rooted in neuroscience.

The Learning Readiness Problem

Learning requires a very specific state. The brain needs to be in what researchers call a coherent state — both hemispheres communicating effectively, the stress response off, the prefrontal cortex (the part responsible for thinking, planning, and integrating new information) online and accessible.

Most children, by the time they arrive at school, are not in this state. They've had disrupted sleep, rushed mornings, anxious parents, screen time before breakfast. The nervous system is dysregulated. The brain hemispheres are not communicating optimally. The stress response is quietly running in the background. And in this state, learning is genuinely difficult — not because the child isn't capable, but because the neurological conditions for learning aren't present.

PACE addresses exactly this — in 8–10 minutes.

What PACE Does for the Learning Brain

The cross-crawl movement — elbow to opposite knee, 24 times — directly activates the corpus callosum: the band of nerve fibres that connects the left and right hemispheres. When this connection is functioning well, both hemispheres can contribute simultaneously to tasks like reading, writing, mathematics, and complex reasoning. When it's underactive — as it often is in children with learning difficulties — information gets stuck. One hemisphere tries to do the work of two.

The figure-8 eye tracking trains binocular vision and hemisphere integration, supporting the visual processing that reading depends on.

The Brain Buttons (Kidney 27 acupressure points) reset the meridian system, restoring energy flow to the brain and sensory organs.

The P step — holding the forehead anti-stress points while visualising a challenging scenario — specifically deactivates the threat response and re-engages the frontal lobe. For a child who has performance anxiety, fear of getting things wrong, or a history of feeling stupid, this is transformative.

The Research

Studies in educational settings across multiple countries have documented learning achievement scores doubling within months of PACE implementation. Reading speed and comprehension improve. Mathematical performance improves. Behavioural difficulties reduce. Children who had been labelled as having learning disorders often show that, freed from neurological dysregulation, their actual capacity is significantly greater than their previous performance suggested.

In one documented case, a class that spent 10 minutes each morning on PACE outperformed a control group on reading assessments by 200% by the end of the term.

Beyond Academic Performance

The benefits of PACE extend beyond test scores. Children who practise PACE regularly show improvements in emotional regulation — fewer outbursts, better ability to manage frustration. They show improved social engagement — more capacity for cooperation, empathy, and play. They show better physical coordination.

These are the markers of a regulated nervous system — and a regulated nervous system is the foundation not just for learning, but for wellbeing.

Bringing PACE to Your School

PACE requires no equipment, no special training for children, and takes less than 10 minutes. Teachers who learn the sequence can introduce it as a daily class ritual. The investment is minimal. The returns are potentially extraordinary.

Yasemin offers PACE training for educators and parents. If you're interested in bringing PACE into a school setting, please get in touch.