The meta-analysis of 42 studies around the world, published in British Journal of Sports Medicine, aimed to assess the benefits of incorporating physical activity in academic lessons. This approach has been adopted by schools seeking to increase activity levels among students without reducing academic teaching time.
Movement Exercises
Typical activities include using movement to signify whether a fact is true or false, or jumping on the spot a certain number of times to answer a math question.
The study concluded that incorporating physical activity had a large, significant effect on educational outcomes during the lesson, assessed through tests or by observing pupils’ attention to a given task, and a smaller effect on overall educational outcomes, as well as increasing the students’ overall levels of physical activity.
Lead author Dr Emma Norris (UCL Centre for Behaviour Change, UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) said: “Physical activity is good for children’s health, and the biggest contributor of sedentary time in children’s lives is the seven or eight hours a day they spend in classrooms.
“Our study shows that physically active lessons are a useful addition to the curriculum. They can create a memorable learning experience, helping children to learn more effectively.”
Memorable Learning Experiences
Co-author Dr Tommy van Steen (Leiden University, The Netherlands), added: “These improvements in physical activity levels and educational outcomes are the result of quite basic physical exercises. Teachers can easily incorporate these physical active lessons in the existing curriculum to improve the learning experience of students.”
Researchers looked at data from 12,663 students aged between three and 14. Nearly half of the studies took place in the United States, with seven conducted in Australia, five in the UK, four in the Netherlands and one in China, Croatia, Ireland, Israel, Portugal and Sweden.
Engagement and Academic Gains
Engagement and Academic GainsIn one of the 42 studies analyzed, eight- and nine-year-olds simulated traveling the world by running on the spot in between answering questions relating to different countries. The research team, also led by Dr Norris at UCL, concluded that the children were more active and more focused on the task than peers in a control group, following teachers’ instructions more closely.
In another study in the Netherlands, primary school children who took part in physically active lessons three times a week over two years made significantly better progress in spelling and mathematics than their peers – equating to four months of extra learning gains.
StepUp Summary
The StepUp approach to learning combines movement, rhythm, and repetition with an early learning curriculum. StepUp improves coordination of cognitive and motor skills in an educational environment that encourages self-evaluation and trial and error problem solving. As children progress through the program levels, they develop fluency in reading decoding, handwriting, and math fact retrieval. Try it free for 30 days!
Reposted from University College London