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Fun and games make for better learners

Date:
October 31, 2014
Source:
Queen's University
Summary:
Four minutes of physical activity can improve behavior in the classroom for primary school students, according to new research. A brief, high-intensity interval exercise, or a 'FUNterval,' for Grade 2 and Grade 4 students reduced off-task behaviors like fidgeting or inattentiveness in the classroom.
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Four minutes of physical activity can improve behaviour in the classroom for primary school students, according to new research by Brendon Gurd.

A brief, high-intensity interval exercise, or a "FUNterval," for Grade 2 and Grade 4 students reduced off-task behaviours like fidgeting or inattentiveness in the classroom.

"While 20 minutes of daily physical activity (DPA) is required in Ontario primary schools, there is a need for innovative and accessible ways for teachers to meet this requirement," says Dr. Gurd, lead researcher and professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies. "Given the time crunch associated with the current school curriculum we thought that very brief physical activity breaks might be an interesting way to approach DPA. We were particularly interested in what effects a brief exercise bout might have in the classroom setting."

For the study, students were taught a class and were then given an active break, where they would perform a FUNterval, or a non-active break where they would learn about different aspects of healthy living on alternating days for three weeks. After each break, classroom observers recorded instances of off-task behaviour. When a four minute FUNterval was completed during a break from class, there was less off-task behaviour observed in the 50 minutes following the break than if students completed a non-active break.

Working with Dr. Gurd, master's student Jasmine Ma created the series of four-minute activities that students could complete in small spaces with no equipment.

FUNtervals involved actively acting out tasks like "making s'mores" where students would lunge to "collect firewood," "start the fire" by crouching and exploding into a star jump and squatting and jumping to "roast the marshmallows" to make the S'more. Each activity moves through a 20-second storyline of quick, enthusiastic movements followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight intervals.

This research was published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Queen's University. Original written by Rosie Hales. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Jasmin K. Ma, Lucy Le Mare, Brendon J. Gurd. Classroom-based high-intensity interval activity improves off-task behaviour in primary school students. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2014; 1 DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2014-0125

Cite This Page:

Queen's University. "Fun and games make for better learners." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 October 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141031150008.htm>.
Queen's University. (2014, October 31). Fun and games make for better learners. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 22, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141031150008.htm
Queen's University. "Fun and games make for better learners." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141031150008.htm (accessed December 22, 2024).

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