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Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of classroom-based physical activity on math achievement.

ABSTRACT: Integration of physical activity (PA) into the classroom may be an effective way of promoting the learning and academic achievement of children at elementary school. This paper describes the research design and methodology of an intervention study examining the effect of classroom-based PA on mathematical achievement, creativity, executive function, body mass index and aerobic fitness.The study was designed as a school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial targeting schoolchildren in 1st grade, and was carried out between August 2012 and June 2013. Eligible schools in two municipalities in the Region of Southern Denmark were invited to participate in the study. After stratification by municipality, twelve schools were randomized to either an intervention group or a control group, comprising a total of 505 children with mean age 7.2?±?0.3 years. The intervention was a 9-month classroom-based PA program that involved integration of PA into the math lessons delivered by the schools' math teachers. The primary study outcome was change in math achievement, measured by a 45-minute standardized math test. Secondary outcomes were change in executive function (using a modified Eriksen flanker task and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire filled out by the parents), creativity (using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, TTCT), aerobic fitness (by the Andersen intermittent shuttle-run test) and body mass index. PA during math lessons and total PA (including time spent outside school) were assessed using accelerometry. Math teachers used Short Message Service (SMS)-tracking to report on compliance with the PA intervention and on their motivation for implementing PA in math lessons. Parents used SMS-tracking to register their children's PA behavior in leisure time.The results of this randomized controlled trial are expected to provide schools and policy-makers with significant new insights into the potential of classroom-based PA to improve cognition and academic achievement in children.Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02488460 (06/29/2015).

SUBMITTER: Have M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4827169 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of classroom-based physical activity on math achievement.

Have Mona M Nielsen Jacob Have JH Gejl Anne Kær AK Thomsen Ernst Martin M Fredens Kjeld K Støckel Jan Toftegaard JT Wedderkopp Niels N Domazet Sidsel Louise SL Gudex Claire C Grøntved Anders A Kristensen Peter Lund PL

BMC public health 20160411

<h4>Background</h4>Integration of physical activity (PA) into the classroom may be an effective way of promoting the learning and academic achievement of children at elementary school. This paper describes the research design and methodology of an intervention study examining the effect of classroom-based PA on mathematical achievement, creativity, executive function, body mass index and aerobic fitness.<h4>Methods</h4>The study was designed as a school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial ...[more]

PMID: 27068574

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Project description:Students in many western countries struggle to achieve acceptable standards in numeracy despite its recognition as an important 21st century skill. As commercial math programs remain a staple of classroom instruction, investigations of their effectiveness are essential to inform decision-making regarding how to invest limited resources while maximizing student gains. We conducted a cluster randomized-controlled trial of the effectiveness of JUMP Math, a distinctive math program whose central tenets are empirically supported, for improving elementary math achievement (clinical trial.gov no. NCT02456181). The study involved 554 grade 2 (primary) and 592 grade 5 (junior) students and 193 teachers in 41 schools, in an urban-rural Canadian school board. Schools were randomly assigned to use either JUMP Math or their business-as-usual, problem-based approach to math instruction. We tracked student progress in math achievement on standardized and curriculum-based measures of computation and problem solving, for 2 consecutive school years. Junior students taught with JUMP Math made significantly greater progress in computation than their non-JUMP peers but the groups did not differ significantly in problem solving. Effects took hold relatively quickly, replicating the results from an earlier pilot study. Primary students in the non-JUMP group made significantly greater gains in problem solving and computation in year 1. But those taught with JUMP Math made significantly greater gains in problem solving and the groups did not differ in computation, in year 2. The positive effects of JUMP Math are noteworthy given that the JUMP Math teachers were likely still adjusting to the new program. That these positive findings were obtained in an effectiveness study (i.e. in real-world conditions), suggests that JUMP Math may be a valuable evidence-based addition to the teacher's toolbox. Given the importance of numeracy for 21st century functioning, identifying and implementing effective math instruction programs could have far-reaching, positive implications.

Project description:Improving academic achievement and reducing the rates of obesity in elementary school students are both of considerable interest. Increased physical activity during academic instruction time during school offers a potential intervention to address both issues. A program titled "Physical Activity Across the Curriculum" (PAAC) was developed in which classroom teachers in 22 elementary schools were trained to deliver academic instruction using physical activity with a primary aim of preventing increased BMI. A secondary analysis of data assessed the impact of PAAC on academic achievement using the Weschler Individual Achievement Test-II and significant improvements were shown for reading, math and spelling in students who participated in PAAC. Based on the results from PAAC, an adequately powered trial will be conducted to assess differences in academic achievement between intervention and control schools called, "Academic Achievement and Physical Activity Across the Curriculum (A?+?PAAC)."Seventeen elementary schools were cluster randomized to A?+?PAAC or control for a 3-year trial. Classroom teachers were trained to deliver academic instruction through moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with a target of 100+ minutes of A?+?PAAC activities per week. The primary outcome measure is academic achievement measured by the Weschler Individual Achievement Test-III, which was administered at baseline (Fall 2011) and will be repeated in the spring of each year by assessors blinded to condition. Potential mediators of any association between A?+?PAAC and academic achievement will be examined on the same schedule and include changes in cognitive function, cardiovascular fitness, daily physical activity, BMI, and attention-to-task. An extensive process analysis will be conducted to document the fidelity of the intervention. School and student recruitment/randomization, teacher training, and baseline testing for A?+?PAAC have been completed. Nine schools were randomized to the intervention and 8 to control. A random sample of students in each school, stratified by gender and grade (A?+?PAAC?=?370, Control?=?317), was selected for outcome assessments from those who provided parental consent/child assent. Baseline data by intervention group are presented.If successful, the A?+?PAAC approach could be easily and inexpensively scaled and disseminated across elementary schools to improve both educational quality and health.R01- DK85317.US NIH Clinical Trials, http://NCT01699295.

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Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of classroom-based physical activity on math achievement.

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Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of classroom-based physical activity on math achievement.

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