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Physical Activity Improves Achievement Test Scores in Elementary School Students
Nancy G. Murray, Dr.PHMichael & Susan Dell Center for
Advancement of Healthy Living The University of Texas
School of Public HealthResearch Into Action – A Knowledge
Translation Initiative
What’s This All About?• Students learn better when they are
mentally and physically engaged in school
• PASS & CATCH is a simple tool teachers can use to “wake up” young minds
• The concept works for all students – even those with trouble adapting to school
• PASS & CATCH is easy to implement and doesn’t take time away from teaching and learning
• It’s fun for both students and teachers!
What Is PASS & CATCH?Physical Activity and Student Success
Coordinated Approach To Child HealthResearch study (Murray, Kelder, Hoelscher, Diamond, Garza, Ward, Cribb)Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004-2007 (U48 DP000057-03)
Intervention• Objective: To increase students’ participation in
moderate to vigorous physical activity to approximately 60 minutes per school day– Enhanced physical education class– Classroom physical activities• Adapted from Take 10!® program and CATCH• Designed by teachers to take
– 5 minutes– 10 minutes– 20 minutes (also used for recess)
• Implemented at teacher’s discretion– Recess
The Myth – Physical Activity Interferes with Teaching
• Low-performing children who were exposed to physical activity in the classroom caught up in math scores with students in non-PASS schools within one year
• These students showed significantly greater increases in math scores over time
• Students in the intervention and control schools had similar improvements in reading scores over the course of a year
Types of ActivitiesInvisible Jump Rope (10 minutes, grades 3-5, from Take 10!
®)• Students recall basic counting, addition, and subtraction facts while
jumping an invisible rope. • The teacher calls out a number, and everyone jumps as they count
up to it.
Zero In (10 minutes, grades 3-5, from Take 10!®)• Students try to help a classmate guess a “secret number” on the board
behind him/her. • The class will either perform vertical jumps if the
student needs to guess higher, or squats if the student needs to guess lower.
Participating Schools and Students• Eight elementary schools throughout
Texas (four intervention, four control)• 1,163 third- and fourth-graders• Four schools had a Hispanic population
greater than 93%• Half of all participants were either
overweight or obese• Almost evenly split between boys and girls• Percentage of economically disadvantaged students ranged from 43.9% to
99.7%• In five of the schools, more than 25% of all students had limited English
proficiency• Racial makeup was 68% Hispanic, 25% white, 5% African-American, 2%
other
Measures
Health Indicators
Fitness Indicators
Social Skills/Behavioral Assessment
Who Benefits the Most From Classroom Physical Activity?
• Children who are not adapting well to school. In the study, those students were identified through the following components:
AdaptabilityFunctional communicationSocial skillsLeadershipStudy skills
• These children experience challenges with appropriate emotional expression and control, daily living skills inside and outside the home, communication skills, and social, organizational, study and other adaptive skills
Where’s the Proof?Does increasing physical activity up to 60 minutes a day using classroom physical activities improve academic performance?
What does the data indicate?
Positive Correlation Between Fitness and Academic Achievement
10
12
14
16
18
20
Math Reading
above average average below average
# of
Lap
s
Lower Adaptive Skills Also Result in Lower Reading and Math Skills
20
30
40
50
60
Reading Comprehension Math Problem Solving
Not Adapting Well To School
Adapting Well To School
PASS & CATCH Math ScoresChange in Stanford math scores over time,
adjusted for race/ethnicity (i.e., percent Hispanic); among poorly adapted students
(n=198)
Stanford
math score
45
35
25
Comparison
Intervention
Sep./Oct. 2005
May 2006 December 2006
30
40
Math
For Children Identified as Having Adaptive Skills Problems by Their Teacher, Those in the Intervention Had Significantly Higher Math Scores Over Time
For Children Identified as Having Adaptive Skills Problems by Their Teacher, Those in the Intervention had Significantly Higher Reading Scores Over Time
PASS & CATCH Reading ScoresChange in Stanford reading scores over time,
adjusted for race/ethnicity (i.e., percent Hispanic); among poorly adapted students
(n=198)
Stanford
reading
score
45
35
25
Comparison
Intervention
Sep./Oct. 2005
May 2006 December 2006
30
40
Reading
In Their Own Words“This program lets my mind ‘wake up,’ because you always have to concentrate on doing your best.”
“I liked the game where we would pass the ball around the room and give each other multiplication tables. We would play this game before math in the morning to get our hearts pumping.”
Quotes taken from PASS & CATCH participant survey at close of intervention
What Teachers Had to Say“It created a team approach to learning.”
“My students were able to get out their pent-up energy in a positive way. They really enjoyed the different activities.”
“Seemed to increase alertness and awareness.”
“My students are more focused, and when students were getting off task, Iwould use PASS & CATCH activities.”
“The students learned to work together better.”
Quotes taken from PASS & CATCH teacher survey at close of intervention
Conclusions• When classroom physical activity and recess are added to physical
education for 60 minutes a day, elementary school children achieve higher test scores in math.
• The Stanford 10 math and reading skills of students identified as not adapting well to school were significantly lower.
• With 60 minutes a day of physical activity, including classroom activities, poorly adapting children significantly improve their reading and math scores over 16 months, compared to poorly adapting children with the usual physical education.
I’m Interested … Now What?Visit www.take10.net to find out how to incorporate physical activity into your curriculum …
…and www.catchinfo.org to learn more about how active kids have
active minds!
Nancy G. Murray, Dr.PHMichael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living
The University of Texas School of Public [email protected]
with assistance from
and