Abstract
BackgroundIntegration of physical activity (PA) into the classroom may be an effective way of promoting the learning and academic achievement of children at elementary school. This paper describes the research design and methodology of an intervention study examining the effect of classroom-based PA on mathematical achievement, creativity, executive function, body mass index and aerobic fitness.MethodsThe study was designed as a school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial targeting schoolchildren in 1st grade, and was carried out between August 2012 and June 2013. Eligible schools in two municipalities in the Region of Southern Denmark were invited to participate in the study. After stratification by municipality, twelve schools were randomized to either an intervention group or a control group, comprising a total of 505 children with mean age 7.2 ± 0.3 years. The intervention was a 9-month classroom-based PA program that involved integration of PA into the math lessons delivered by the schools’ math teachers. The primary study outcome was change in math achievement, measured by a 45-minute standardized math test. Secondary outcomes were change in executive function (using a modified Eriksen flanker task and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire filled out by the parents), creativity (using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, TTCT), aerobic fitness (by the Andersen intermittent shuttle-run test) and body mass index. PA during math lessons and total PA (including time spent outside school) were assessed using accelerometry. Math teachers used Short Message Service (SMS)-tracking to report on compliance with the PA intervention and on their motivation for implementing PA in math lessons. Parents used SMS-tracking to register their children’s PA behavior in leisure time.DiscussionThe results of this randomized controlled trial are expected to provide schools and policy-makers with significant new insights into the potential of classroom-based PA to improve cognition and academic achievement in children.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov: NCT02488460 (06/29/2015)
Highlights
Integration of physical activity (PA) into the classroom may be an effective way of promoting the learning and academic achievement of children at elementary school
The present study will contribute to the field by generating detailed knowledge about the relationship between physical experiences that are combined with abstract math information and the acquisition of math skills
The complex flanker task that assesses the three core executive functions will allow us to verify the few previous research findings concerning the association between a change in physical activity level and the ability to focus on a target stimulus and inhibit distractions [14, 74]
Summary
Integration of physical activity (PA) into the classroom may be an effective way of promoting the learning and academic achievement of children at elementary school. A regular school day often includes very little PA and children are required to sit quietly in the same position for long periods of time [5,6,7] This may not be the most effective way of enhancing children’s academic achievement. A recent study demonstrated a positive relation between mathematic achievement and decreased gray matter thickness in the superior frontal cortex, superior temporal areas, and lateral occipital cortex, in more fit children [29] This suggests that aerobic fitness is essential for the normal thinning of the cortical gray matter during brain maturation, providing us with a predictor of math performance that could in turn help educators to identify interventions that can enhance learning
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