Educator and Coach Paul Zientarski discussed the impact of how adequate physical activity and recess enhance learning. There is a growing body of evidence indicating that physical activity and fitness can benefit both health and academic performance for children. Because children spend so much time at school, schools have a unique opportunity to help children become more healthy and active. Furthermore, both childhood obesity and poor academic performance tend to be clustered in schools with a high percentage of lower-income, minority students, creating a student health issue that is especially problematic in those communities. In this Webinar, presented by The National Physical Activity Society, Zientarski goes into detail about how physical activity and fitness may help school-aged children maximize their academic performance. He provides an overview of the effects of physical activity on the developing brain.
Data showcasing the findings in California’s Department of Education school system, highlight the direct connection between physical activity and brain function, specifically the increase in SAT scores due to physical activity. Indeed, academic performance is influenced by factors like parental involvement and socioeconomic status, but Zientarski’s findings report that active children tended to have stronger performance, especially in reading and mathematics. Also, the results outline that the benefits of exercise during the school day outweigh the benefits from increasing class time. Children who are more active are better able to focus their attention, are quicker able to perform simple tasks, and have better working memories and problem solving skills than less-active children. They also perform better on standardized academic test.
Coach Zientarski went into further detail when he discussed Dr. Hillman’s scientific findings. Dr. Hillman took a composite brain scan of about 20, nine and ten year olds. The children were categorized into higher and lower fitness levels and given tests similar to games found on Lumosity, the brain game website. The results of the scans showed that students with higher fitness levels had elevated brain activity, no matter how difficult or easy the tests were.
In a period when greater emphasis is being placed on preparing children to take standardized tests, these studies should give school administrators reasons to consider investing in quality physical education and vigorous activity programs, even at the expense of time spent in the classroom. Time devoted to physical activity at school does not harm academic performance. Moreover, the way to increase exercise is to promote physical education classes, recess, and classroom breaks during the school day; encouraging after-school sports and walking or biking to school when feasible would also help. Physical activity should be a core educational concern, not a dispensable option.
Source:
- National Physical Activity Society. How Quality Physical Education, Recess and Active Classrooms Enhance Learning. Webinar: September 19, 2016. http://physicalactivitysociety.org/how-quality-physical-education-recess-and-active-classrooms-enhance-learning/
If there can be more studies which shows a positive correlation between physical activity and test scores, then maybe this would be the impetus to make physical activity a required course as opposed to an optional course. Test performance is especially critical for schools in areas with a lower socioeconomic status since funding is tied up to test scores. Bringing physical activity in these schools will benefit both the bodies and the minds of the students.
One other thing worth looking at is incorporating physical activity in classroom learning. One of the leading educational thinkers, Howard Gardner, came up with the concept of seven intelligences which are different ways in which students learn (for more information: http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html). One of these seven intelligences is body-kinesthetic intelligence. In other words, some students better learn through physical activity or role playing. This particular intelligence is being implemented more in science classes to not only get the students excited with the subject matter but to use a teaching strategy in order for the students to learn the subject material as opposed to “chalk and talk” style of learning Not all children respond to that kind of learning. Physical education teachers could play an important role in that regard for they can collaborate with teachers of other subjects to incorporate physical activity into their lesson planning.
It disturbs me that PE is constantly leaving school systems. Personally, I learn best when I get to be active whether or not it pertains to what I am learning. When I have to sit for too long, I know my attention drifts off and I can be unsure of what is going on. Because I am looking at incorporating strength into high school’s, I am curious of the best way to do this in order to help students athletically, academically, and personally. Furthermore, having a break from learning gives us more time to digest information, which is just what a strength or PE program does. The government needs to make sure PE and strength are in all curriculums
Physical activity is so important at every age. Many studies have found that physical activity at different stages of life has implications for the next stage. For example activity among young adults improves executive functioning during midlife and continued physical activity through midlife has positive impacts on memory and reduced cognitive decline later in life.
It has continues to amaze me that 30 years ago, when I was the age that my children are now, I had PE one hour a day 5 days a week, in addition to recess. Children now have one day of PE if they are lucky and often it is completely cut out beyond elementary school. In addition, recess, another time that physical activity is possible during the school day, is often taken away as punishment for behavior issues. In addition to cognitive functioning I have also seen research emphasizing the importance of physical activity for behavior modification. As a previous kindergarten teacher, I can attest to children being able to focus and concentrate for longer periods of time after engaging in physical activity. It is so frustrating that despite knowing the benefits, administrators and decision makers continue to make cuts in these areas.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201404/physical-activity-improves-cognitive-function
I think it is very important that physical activity is being studied in relationship to education. Even in larger studies like https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23465408 where about 11,750 students were tested on how aerobic fitness, as opposed to weight status, is a better indicator of standardized math and reading scores. This is definitely something that I believe would be extremely appealing to schools, and get them to develop their PE or physical activity program, since it will benefit the school in multiple ways. In addition, aerobic fitness sort of takes away the stimga of BMI being the only indicator. Someone who is overweight or obese can improve their aerobic fitness even without losing weight, which will still lead to improved testing scores. Overall, it is great as a future health professional to hear that research is being done on the multiple benefits of active living in all age groups.
This is a very interesting webinar. I agree that physical activity has benefits and enhanced academic performance might be one of them. I however would love to see if there are other studies that show the effect of physical activity on standardazied tests. Would similar studies show the same results?
I have tried the brain gain Lumosity but did not stick to it enough to see if I saw a change in my brain-solving skills. Did they mention how often the students played the game? Were there any other interfering factors that could have caused the change observed? I believe that after a while you get used to how the game plays and are more aware of how to answer the questions. This might not necessarily be due to brain skills improvement. I do think this is a great research area though and more people should look into it. I can’t imagine any parent or teacher not advocating for more physical activity time if it benefits the students in the end.