Effect of Integrated Physical Activities with Mathematics on Objectively Assessed Physical Activity

Abstract

Background: One of the promising strategies for increasing physical activity (PA) at school is to integrate it with academic learning. The purposes of this study were: (a) to examine differences in objectively measured PA levels between integrated PA with mathematics and traditional lessons, and (b) to evaluate the PA levels of different integrated PAs. Methods: Seventy-seven 4th grade students (41 males) were included in an intervention (Move for Thought program: M4T) group (n = 46) that utilized PA integrated with mathematics or a control group (n = 31). Accelerometer data from each student were collected during five complete school days. M4T and control classroom sessions were identified using teachers’ logs. Accelerometer data were extracted, processed separately, and aggregated into a single data set. Minutes and percent time at different PA intensities were obtained using accelerometer minute-by-minute predicted METs. Results: One-way ANOVAs on PA levels showed a significant group effect (F = 5.33, p < 0.05) on moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) in favor of the M4T group, but not on sedentary and light PA. The most active integrated PA provided 10.88 min of MVPA (SD = 11.87; 21.38 ± 24.38%) in a 50 min class period. Conclusion: Integrating PA with mathematics in the classroom can contribute to increasing MVPA levels in children.

Improvements in Physical Activity Levels after the Implementation of an Active-Break-Model-Based Program in a Primary School

“…They contributed to a reduction in physical sedentarism and to an increase in the levels of MVPA in accordance with stipulated health advice. The results were consistent with the higher effects of MVPA reported by previous research into ABs that also focused on the school day [13,[35][36][37]. It was observed that the participating school children were sedentary for an average of 82.54% of the time in the case of the control group and 71.99% for the experimental group.…”

Classroom‐based physical activity and math performance: Integrated physical activity or not?

“…This duration has been shown to be the most common in classroom‐based physical activity research 8 . This present study extends current research of the ‘Move for Thought’ (M4T) elementary programme that has been found to increase children's math performance 18 and physical activity levels, 19 compared to traditional instruction.…”

“…Each activity was designed to be repeated multiple times for a period of approximately 10–12 min. This duration has been found to be feasible and effective 7,19 …”

Active School Breaks and Students’ Attention: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

“…Some authors consider ABs to be an effective approach to promote PA with the final aim of improving students’ health since school time represents an ideal setting for such purposes [ 6 ]. There is evidence confirming that school-based PA interventions increase students’ PA levels [ 7 , 8 ]. In fact, the scientific literature suggests that the brain learns better when active methodologies (active role of students) are implemented instead of passive methodologies or traditional lessons [ 9 ].…”

“…There is sufficient evidence to suggest that ABs improve cognition, especially attention [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Furthermore, previous evidence has shown that ABs can improve students’ attention [ 7 , 8 , 23 ]. However, results are still heterogeneous [ 2 ] and require further confirmation [ 3 ].…”