ERIC Number: EJ1072451
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0270-1367
EISSN: N/A
Acute Effects of Classroom Exercise Breaks on Executive Function and Math Performance: A Dose-Response Study
Howie, Erin K.; Schatz, Jeffrey; Pate, Russell R.
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, v86 n3 p217-224 2015
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the acute dose-response relationship of classroom exercise breaks with executive function and math performance in 9- to 12-year-old children by comparing 5-min, 10-min, or 20-min classroom exercise breaks to 10 min of sedentary classroom activity. Method: This study used a within-subjects experimental design conducted in the spring of 2012. Ninety-six 4th- and 5th-grade students in 5 classrooms in South Carolina were randomized to receive each of 4 treatments: 5-min, 10-min, or 20-min exercise breaks or 10 min of a sedentary lesson led by research staff. Students completed the Trail-Making Test, an Operational Digit Recall test, and a math fluency test immediately before and after each condition. Planned linear contrasts were used to compare posttest scores between conditions using a repeated-measures mixed model, adjusted for gender, classroom, and the time-varying pretest scores. Potential effect modifiers were added as interaction terms. Results: Math scores were higher after the 10-min and 20-min exercise breaks compared with the sedentary condition (d = 0.24, p = 0.04, and d = 0.27, p = 0.02, respectively), and an interaction was observed with gender, IQ, aerobic fitness, and lower engagement in some of the conditions. There were no improvements in executive function tasks. Conclusions: A 10-min and 20-min classroom exercise break moderately improved math performance in students compared with a seated classroom lesson.
Descriptors: Exercise, Executive Function, Correlation, Mathematics Achievement, Preadolescents, Grade 4, Grade 5, Comparative Analysis, Pretests Posttests, Scores, Models, Gender Differences, Intelligence Quotient, Physical Fitness, Measures (Individuals), Predictor Variables, Fidelity, Intervention, Statistical Analysis
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education; Grade 5; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A