Chapter 5 Physical Activity Opportunities During the School Day: Classroom Teachers’ Perceptions of Using Activity Breaks in the Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore classroom teachers’ perceptions of incorporating physical activity breaks into their classroom and to determine specific features of preferred activity breaks. These perceptions are considered within the conceptual framework of Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP). Twelve elementary and high school classroom teachers from one Indigenous school district participated in the study. The data were collected using semistructured interviews and teachers’ reflective journals and were analyzed inductively by conducting systematic searches for patterns across data types. Emergent themes included: the need for and threats to classroom control; a preference for breaks with connections to academic content; and the importance of implementation ease and student enjoyment. The findings indicated that teachers prefer activity breaks that are easy to manage, quick, academically oriented and enjoyable for students. These findings have practical implications when considering physical education teacher education and professional development that targets classroom teachers.

Teacher perceptions on the delivery and implementation of movement integration strategies: The CLASS PAL (Physically Active Learning) Programme

“…the processes by which MI is integrated into routine practice within the school/classroom) of MI. For example, possible threat to classroom control from active breaks is a particular concern for primary and secondary school teachers, and pupil enjoyment and connection to academic content may positively influence their decision to implement breaks or not (McMullen, Kulinna, & Cothran, 2014b). To date, however, studies have largely focused on understanding delivery issues related to a single standardised MI intervention (e.g.…”

“…Teachers' perceptions of using MI in primary school classrooms have been examined in a number of qualitative studies, which have largely been conducted in the United States (Cothran, Kulinna, & Garn, 2010;Finn & McInnis, 2014;Gately, Curtis, & Hardaker, 2013;Goh et al, 2013;Howie, Newman-Norlund, & Pate, 2014;Mcmullen, Kulinna, & Cothran, 2014a;Norris, Shelton, Dunsmuir, Duke-Williams, & Stamatakis, 2015b;Vazou & Skrade, 2014) and have offered some insight into barriers to and facilitators of both the delivery (i.e. the behaviour of carrying out MI) and implementation (i.e.…”

Implementeringen af motion og bevægelse i skolen – et review af hæmmende og fremmende faktorer set i et lærerperspektiv

“…Hvis laererne har viden på området og forstår sammenhaengen mellem fysisk aktivitet og laering, er de mere tilbøjelige til at integrere fysisk aktivitet i undervisningen (Cothran et al, 2010;McMullen, Kulinna, & Cothran, 2014), ligesom laererens kendskab til de politiske krav også er en fremmende faktor for integrering af fysisk aktivitet i undervisningen (Allison et al, 2016). Laererne er til gengaeld mindre villige til at integrere fysisk aktivitet, hvis de mener bevaegelsesaktiviteterne strider imod, hvordan de mener, at elevernes bedst laerer.…”

“…I en del studier har man undersøgt betydningen af elevernes respons for laerernes villighed til at implementere bevaegelse i undervisningen, og flere studier viser, at det har stor betydning, om eleverne synes, det er sjovt at deltage (Benes et al, 2016;Howie, Newman-Norlund, & Pate, 2014;McMullen et al, 2014;Stylianou, Kulinna, & Naiman, 2016). Laererne er også mere villige til at anvende bevaegelse i undervisningen, når de kan se, at eleverne opnår et positivt udbytte af aktiviteterne (Stylianou et al, 2016), og når de oplever, at eleverne − ofte mod forventning − er mindre rastløse og mere koncentrerede efter at have vaeret i gang med en bevaegelsesaktivitet (Gibson et al, 2008;Howie et al, 2014).…”

“…Mange laerere er bekymrede for den uro og det kaos, som bevaegelse i klasserummet kan medføre. Laererne er bange for at miste kontrol, og det gør dem utilpasse, når de lader eleverne forlade deres pladser ved bordene (Goh et al, 2013;Lowden, Powney, Davidson, & James, 2001;McMullen et al, 2014). Dette forhold gjorde sig også indledningsvist gaeldende i et treårs interventionsstudie (Physical Activity Across the Curriculum) af Gibson et al (2008), hvor laererne havde samme bekymring ved studiets begyndelse, men efter et år gav selvsamme laerere udtryk for den modsatte oplevelse; at fysisk aktivitet integreret i undervisningen tvaertimod havde en positiv indvirkning på elevernes adfaerd og på laererens oplevelse af kontrol (Gibson et al, 2008).…”