When schools cut physical education programs so students can spend more
time in the classroom, they may be missing a golden opportunity to
promote learning, according to research to be presented Sunday, May 1,
at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
The
study, according to a statement, adds to growing evidence that exercise is good not only for the
body but also the mind. It also shows that physical education and
academic instruction need not be mutually exclusive.
Researchers
Kathryn L. King, MD, and Carly J. Scahill, DO, pediatric residents at
the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital, led by
William S. Randazzo, MD, FAAP, and James T. McElligott, MD, sought to
determine how implementing a daily physical activity program that
incorporated classroom lessons would affect student achievement. First-
through sixth-graders at an academically low-scoring elementary school
in Charleston, S.C., took part in the program 40 minutes a day, five
days a week. Prior to initiation of the program, students spent 40
minutes per week in physical education classes.
The school nurse
was awarded several grants that were used to educate school
administrators and revamp several classrooms into two gyms that housed
equipment for an All Minds Exercise (AMX) room for older students and an
Action Based Learning (ABL) lab for the younger schoolchildren.
“The
teachers, administrators, parents and students at the school were brave
enough to think out of the box to help the children learn in new ways,”
Dr. King said.
First- and second-graders moved through stations
in the ABL lab, learning developmentally appropriate movement skills
while basic academic skills were reinforced. For example, children
traced shapes on the ground while sitting on scooters and hopped through
ladders while naming colors on each rung.
Students in third
through sixth grades had access to exercise equipment with TV monitors.
For instance, a treadmill had a monitor that played geography lessons as
the student ran through the scene, and a rock-climbing wall was
outfitted with numbers that changed as they climbed to help students
work on math skills.
Researchers compared state standardized
reading test scores for the year before and the year after initiation of
the program. Each student took standardized tests in the fall and
spring. In the fall, the results included an individualized goal for
each student to reach on the spring test. Researchers measured the
number of students who met or exceeded their goal score in the spring.
Results
showed that the time spent out of a traditional classroom in order to
increase physical education did not hurt students academic achievement.
In fact, student test scores improved. Specifically, the percentage of
students reaching their goal on the state tests increased from 55
percent before the program was initiated to 68.5 percent after the
program was initiated.
“These data indicate that when carefully
designed physical education programs are put into place, children’s
academic achievement does not suffer,” Dr. King said.
“More
studies are needed,” Dr. Scahill added, “but there is growing
substantial evidence that this kind of physical activity may help
improve academic behavior, cognitive skills and attitudes.”
