Elementary school classroom physical activity breaks: student, teacher, and facilitator perspectives

Abstract

Current physical activity (PA) guidelines recommend that children accumulate at least 60 min of PA each day, and that adults should collaborate across sectors to increase opportunities for PA. Implementing brief classroom PA breaks (CPABs) is one way to help increase daily PA. The primary purpose of this study was to determine perceptions of a 14-wk CPAB program among elementary school children, in the first through fourth grades ( n = 254), at a suburban elementary school, and their teachers ( n = 18). The CPAB program was implemented by university exercise science students, and student and teacher perceptions were assessed through surveys. The children reported that the CPABs were very fun (86%), provided them with a nice break during the school day (88%), were very good for their health (94%), helped them feel more ready to learn (71%), and learn better (50%). The teachers reported that the students really enjoyed the CPABs (100%), that encouraging students to be physically active was either very important (83%) or important (17%), and that they were either very confident (72%) or confident (28%) that they themselves could lead the CPABs. No teacher reported that the CPABs hindered classroom learning. CPABs appear to be enjoyable to both students and teachers, easy to administer, and supportive of learning. Recommendations for improvements within the present collaboration were minimal and could be easily addressed with firmer entrenchment of the program. This collaboration was beneficial and fun for the vast majority involved, and others are urged to implement similar programs.

Quality Effectiveness Analysis Assessment of Physics Teaching Materials-oriented ICARE Method on Student Cognitive Mastery Based Experiment Skill Level

“…This happens because of habits in learning that only focus on solving mathematical problems and applying examples in textbooks. For this group, the emphasis is needed on strict instruction and guidance from the facilitator to keep directing students on the track [26,27,28]. In this group, it cannot be expected that creativity arises from solving problems.…”

Effects of In-Classroom Physical Activity Breaks on Children’s Academic Performance, Cognition, Health Behaviours and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

“…The classroom setting is considered as a good environment to implement physical activity-based interventions [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], as the children are easily reached this way and teachers have a large degree of autonomy to decide the most appropriate time to implement a physical activity break [ 23 , 24 ]. Physical activity breaks within a classroom setting are hypothesized to demonstrate effects on academic performance and cognitive outcomes according to the embodied cognitive loading theory [ 25 ] in addition to providing health-related benefits.…”

Classroom-based physical activity and teachers’ instructions on students’ movement in conventional classrooms and open learning spaces

“…In addition to potential health benefits, CPA also can have a positive impact on academic-related outcomes and students' on-task behaviour (Goh et al, 2016;Watson et al, 2017). CPA provides possibilities for children to increase energy expenditure, enhance physical competency, diversify social interactions, and ingrain habits of daily PA (Mullins et al, 2019), while studies in CPA have revealed that students enjoyed participating and became more excited about school because of the activities (Barr-Anderson et al, 2011;Gibson et al, 2008). There is some research indicating that health behaviour (i.e., PA and nutrition) can be promoted by interventions that develop personal agency (Contento et al, 2007).…”