Preliminary Efficacy and Feasibility of the "Thinking While Moving in English": A Program with Integrated Physical Activity into the Primary School English Lessons.
Myrto F MavilidiDavid R LubansNarelle EatherPhilip James MorganNicholas RileyPublished in: Children (Basel, Switzerland) (2018)
Background: The physical, cognitive, and learning benefits of physical activity for children have already been established. However, many schools are failing to provide children with sufficient activity at school due to a crowded school curriculum. Physical activity interventions that integrate physical activity with learning is a way to enhance physical and cognitive benefits without loss of academic time. This study evaluated the preliminary efficacy and feasibility of "Thinking While Moving in English", a primary school program that integrates physical activity into English lessons. Method: Two classes of Grade 4 students (n = 55, 10⁻11 years old) were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 29) or control (n = 26) conditions. The program components consisted of 3 × 40 min physically active academic lessons per week, delivered over a 4-week period. The following measures were taken at baseline and immediate post-intervention: on-task behavior, cognition (inhibition and working memory), and learning outcomes (spelling and grammar). Results: Results revealed significant improvements in on-task behavior and spelling in the intervention group, compared to the control group. There were no observed improvements in cognitive outcomes or grammar. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of physically active English lessons to enhance children's educational outcomes.
Keyphrases
- physical activity
- working memory
- randomized controlled trial
- quality improvement
- young adults
- body mass index
- sleep quality
- mental health
- clinical trial
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- medical students
- type diabetes
- depressive symptoms
- mild cognitive impairment
- skeletal muscle
- multiple sclerosis
- insulin resistance
- single cell
- study protocol
- emergency medicine