Importance of Physical Activities in Relation to Academic Achievement

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

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Importance of Physical Activities in Relation to Academic Achievement

Introduction

Schools have served many purposes throughout history. They serve to teach children to

become successful adults. Over time the idea of what it takes to make a student a successful adult has

changed. Schools have been forced to measure students with tests instead of the whole child. Students

are evaluated year after year on their academic achievement through standardized tests. Teachers are

now judged on how well their pupils do on tests whether it be on a nationally standardized test or

benchmark testing in the classroom. Since testing will not go away, teachers must find ways that

improve the way students retain information. Physical activity supports developmental, emotional, and

cognitive growth.

Physical activity helps students develop fine and gross motor skills. Typical recess activities such

as monkey bars, pumping legs on a swing, throwing balls all help develop motor skills that are needed in

the classroom. Hand eye coordination that is developed from these physical activities helps students

track when reading, take notes, and holding a pencil. When recess is cut, these activities either suffer or

the teacher must find time in their already hectic schedule to work these activities into the curriculum

(Franxman & Gilbert, 2018).

Many playground activities lead to social and emotional development. Students are put into

situations that are not guided by a teacher and are tested to make their own decisions. Peer

relationships are developed through physical activity (Murray & Ramstetter, 2018). This “free” time

helps develop a student’s ability to communicate, negotiate, and problem solve, all of which are needed

to contribute to society (Murray & Ramstetter, 2018).

School days are long. Students are expected to sit for long periods of time focusing on specific

content. When students are given breaks to move, different motions fire up neurons in their brains.

Students are more attentive to their lessons after a chance to engage in physical activity (Murray &

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Ramstetter, 2018). The physical activity helps keep the brain active by giving one area a chance to rest

and recharge, while another area of the brain develops other skills.

Physical activity is important to the development of the whole child. Schools have drifted away

from making physical activity or play a priority in favor of structured academic time. This paper will look

at the role physical activity plays in academic achievement. It will show if physical activity is improving

test scores, curbing behavioral issues, and encouraging student learning by using physical activity in

unstructured activity, using set programs, and as motivation for cognitive improvement.

Literature Review

This paper examines the value of physical activity as an essential tool for learning. A review of

the relevant literature revealed three major areas of study. These areas include unstructured physical

activity, set programs that encourage physical activity, and motivation.

Unstructured physical activity

When developing a research project on the benefits of physical activity on test scores, one of

the starting points of the project is what kind of physical activity should be used to prove there is a

connection between physical activity and test scores. In a study of the amount of recess in Shanghai,

the top scorers on the Program for International Student Assessment, showed that for every 40 minutes

of instruction, students receive 10 minutes of recess (Chang & Coward, 2015). This information shows

that there could be a link between physical activity and test scores.

Research completed by Erwin, Fedewa, and Ahn (2012) asked if there was an effect on

classroom physical activity intervention on student academic performance. In this study, experimental

research was conducted. Thirty-nine students in 2 classrooms, one the control and one receiving the

physical activity intervention through a quasi-experimental design (Erwin, Fedewa, & Ahn, 2012).

Reading and math grades, standardized test scores, and pedometers were used to determine if physical

activity had an effect on academic performance (Erwin et al., 2012). Baseline tests were given at the

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beginning of the project and every two weeks reading and math were assessed in both classrooms

(Erwin et al., 2012). Pedometers were worn by all students during the whole school day to measure

activity, and in the intervention group the teacher gave physical activity breaks for over 20 minutes each

day (Erwin et al., 2012). Mixed design ANOVAs were used to examine the data (Erwin et al., 2012).

Major findings from this study show that physical activity had a significant positive effect on in

class weekly tests in reading and math (Erwin et al., 2012). These weekly test scores peaked and

dropped for the control group, while the intervention group showed continual growth (Erwin et al.,

2012). The researchers concluded that although they saw growth in the classroom from the

intervention group, they determined that in this experiment, a longer-term project would need to be

conducted to see a connection to standardized test scores (Erwin et al., 2012).

This research helps support the idea that moving more during the school day helps to increase

academic growth. This growth was evident through weekly tests and monitoring the daily movement of

the students. Increasing that movement showed an increase in academic performance.

Another study on unstructured physical activity was completed by Dagli (2012) which asked if

there was a relationship between reading achievement and the scheduled amount of recess in a week

for kindergarten students. This was a correlation study that took the reading test scores from the

beginning and the end of kindergarten, socio-demographic characters, and the number of days and

length of each recess (Dagli, 2012). In the spring, teachers were surveyed using a Likert Scale. ANCOVA

was used to examine the data.

Major findings include that when the researchers controlled for gender, race, socio-economic

status there was the amount of days and length of recess had no main effect on test scores (Dagli,

2012). However, the study did find that when holding a longer reading language art block, taking a

recess break produced the highest scores (Dagli, 2012). Although this study did not make a strong case

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for increasing recess times, it did show that having recess did not hurt the development of reading skills,

and recess helped maintain achievement (Dagli, 2012).

These two studies show a different conclusion to the question on whether unstructured physical

activity helps with academic achievement. The best conclusion from this information is that an increase

in movement can help break up the monotony of a typical learning day which can lead to better focus.

Another important take away is that physical activity did not harm learning or cause scores to drop.

Programs that encourage physical activity

Many researchers chose to look at the benefits of structured activities to see if there are

benefits to physical activity on academic achievement. With a structured program, all students are

working the same muscles and reaching the same level of activity which helps strengthen the

connection between physical activity and academic achievement. Project SPARK, Playworks, Build Our

Kids’ Success, and SOFIT guidelines were four programs used to determine if there was a connection

between physical activity and academic achievement.

Project SPARK stands for Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids curriculum. This curriculum

was used in experimental design research to answer the question on what effects health-related

curriculum has on academic achievement. Seven elementary schools were chosen, and three specialists

trained in the curriculum were brought in and one served to train the teachers (Sallis et al., 1999).

SPARK curriculum engages in high physical activity and is used a minimum of three days a week (Sallis et

al., 1999). Achievement test scores and a baseline of physical activity was used to analyze the results.

This study took place over two years. The major finding of this experiment was that increasing

the time spent on physical activity did not decrease standardized test scores (Sallis et al., 1999). The

scores produced by the experimental group had a smaller range of decline in test scores than the control

groups (Sallis et al., 1999). This information helps show that physical activity is not taking away from the

academic rigor of the classroom.

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The Playworks program places full time coaches in low income schools to help improve physical

activity and social skills (Burdumy, Bleeker, Beylerr, London, & Westrich, 2013). In this correlation

research based on implantation of a program, data including surveys, observations, interviews, physical

activity data, and academic records were collected from schools participating in Playworks and control

schools (Burdumy et al., 2013). The data was used to assess school climate, conflict resolution,

academic performance, recess experience, development, and behavior (Burdumy et al., 2013).

Major findings include Playworks helped create less difficulties in transitioning from recess to

learning activities (Burdumy et al., 2013). Teachers reported better focus and behavior from students

after using Playworks at recess (Burdumy et al., 2013). Teachers also stated that students were more

prepared for class when participating in an adult-organized recess (Burdumy et al., 2013). This helps

reinforce the idea that physical activity can help redirect focus and behavior creating a positive learning

environment.

Build Our Kids’ Success is a before school program that uses moderate to vigorous physical

activity through organized games and skill development (Hall, Poston, & Harris, 2015). This long term

experimental research looks at how a before school physical activity program can create positive

outcomes with working memory (Hall et al., 2015). Groups were created based on those who enrolled

and participated in the program and those who did not participate, and surveys were sent to all parents

and teachers to evaluate working memory and physical activity (Hall et al., 2015). ANOVA and t-tests

were used to analyze the data (Hall et al., 2015).

Major findings include a significant correlation between program participates and

improvements in working memory (Hall et al., 2015). In year 2, the working memory of second graders

that participated in at least one semester of the program showed significant improvement, while second

graders who did not participate in the program declined in their working memory skills (Hall et al.,

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2015). This information helps show the connection between structured physical activity and cognitive

development.

The effects of physical education and activity levels on academic achievement was looked at in

an experimental design research by Coe, Pivarnik, Womack, Reeves, and Malina (2006). This project

took 6th graders and used the SOFIT guidelines which uses time and effort exerted during physical

activity to determine the effectiveness of the physical activity (Coe, Pivarnik, Womack, Reeves, &

Malina, 2006). Researchers used report card grades converted to a numeric scale help with analysis and

Terra Nova standard test scores to determine academic achievement (Coe et al., 2006,). The SOFIT

system was used to provide qualitative evaluation of physical activity performed (Coe et al., 2006).

These guidelines were applied during a Physical Education class and compared to students who did not

take a Physical Education class the same semester (Coe et al., 2006).

Major findings of this research came to the same conclusion that students enrolled in the

Physical Education class did not perform better than those that had extra instructional classroom time,

but as seen in other studies, academic performance did not decrease either (Coe et al., 2006). Another

major finding is that students who had PE second semester (the same semester that standardized tests

are administered), scored higher on the standardized test than those not currently in a PE class (Coe et

al., 2006). This helps give credibility that physical activity increases academic achievement.

The benefit of using set physical activity programs seem to be that students seemed to be more

focused after the physical activity. A theme that appeared in 3 of the studies is that standardized test

scores did not drop when incorporating set physical activity programs into the day. Another common

conclusion is that students who did not participate in a physical activity program reported lower or more

declining scores than their physical activity counterparts. After studying the results, we can draw the

conclusion that using a set program that uses moderate to vigorous physical activity can help students

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maintain focus and perform better than their peers who do not complete any physical activity during the

school day.

Motivation

Can physical activity be used as a motivating factor to increase academic achievement? In the

most of previous examples, physical activity was increased, and test scores were analyzed in relation to

the increased activity. In the following research, recess is used as a motivational tool to get a desired

result.

The effects of contingent use of recess activities on the academic performance of a third-grade

classroom was the question focused on by Douglas Reiss, Roger Klein, and Eileen Reiss (1974). This

experimental design research took 22 low-average performing 3rd graders and applied a contingency

recess based on a weekly math fact test (Reiss, Klein, & Reiss, 1974). The third graders were given a poll

to rank the desirability of specific recess activities and based on these results the activities were placed

into 3 levels (Reiss et al., 1974). If a student showed an increase of 12% based on the previous 2 weekly

in class tests, they could do any activity at recess, but if the change was lower they were restricted to

the two lower levels (Reiss et al., 1974). If the student had a decrease in scores they were only allowed

to participate in the lowest level or least desirable activities at recess (Reiss et al., 1974).

The findings from this research showed that a recess structured around test performance

increased academic scores (Reiss et al., 1974). Recess was used as a reinforcer for students to do their

best work (Reiss et al., 1974). The study also showed that when the contingent recess was on place the

lowest group either maintained or improved their test scores (Reiss et al., 1974).

Another example of using physical activity to motivate a change in behavior comes from Todd,

Haugen, Anderson, and Spriggs (2002) who believed teaching students how to interact and play at

recess would decrease the number of behavior referrals. This program started with teacher training so

that all teachers would be consistent on what was acceptable playground behavior (Todd, Haugen,

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Anderson, & Spriggs, 2002). Students participated in outdoor workshops on how to correctly interact

with others as well as using playground equipment correctly and indoor workshops to learn the

acceptable behavior for indoor recess (Todd et al., 2002). These workshops also focused on how to play,

line up correctly, and playground boundaries (Todd et al., 2002). Surveys were given to staff to evaluate

the success of the implantation of teaching recess and documentation of office referrals were

monitored (Todd et al., 2002).

In this situation it was the staff who was motivated to make a change to make recess a more

meaningful and pleasant experience. The school found it takes effective communication and every

member of the staff to buy into a program to see results in the students (Todd et al., 2002). The

research showed that the common language, consistent recess management, and practice on the part of

the student helped reduce the number of office referrals (Todd et al., 2002).

These two examples of recess as a manipulative to increase motivation in academics and

behavior show that recess behaviors can carry over to success in the classroom. Using this idea of

having clear expectations to create a pleasant recess experience, could carry over to benefit the

classroom discipline and indirectly influence academic performance. Students will work harder when

they receive something for their efforts whether it is desirable activities at recess or a feeling of safety.

Implications for Diverse Populations

Research can be limited by the perimeters it evaluates. It is often necessary to take into

consideration as much information of the subjects as possible. When focusing on children, researchers

should consider many diverse factors such as gender, race, nationality, learning ability, and socio-

economic status. In this research subject demographics were considered as making sure the population

was well represented, the limitations of socio-economic data, and the consideration of race on the

results.

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In the Sparks study, standardized test scores were broken down by demographics on gender,

ethnicity, age, and parent education (Sallis et al., 1999). The purpose of breaking down the test scores

by these demographics was to make sure the test scores included a representative sample of the school

population (Sallis et al., 1999). This practice helps provide a guideline of scores to ensure that the

average is considered across relative demographics.

Some of the research projects used some form of reference to socio-economic status to help

draw conclusions about the results they obtained. The Effect of Physical Education and Activity Levels

on Academic Achievement in Children pointed out that they gathered results from a school that has a

higher income than the state average (Coe et al., 2006). They went further in the explanation to include

socio-economic status as a limitation to their study since they did not consider it in their study (Coe et

al., 2006). In contrast the research on the success of Playworks on academic achievement only focused

on low socio-economic status since the program is designed specifically for low income school districts

(Burdumy et al., 2013). Dagli’s research did show a connection between socio-economic status and

achievement. This research showed that females from a high socio-economic status performed better

on reading assessment than students from a low socio-economic status (Dagli, 2012).

Dagli’s study on recess and reading achievement in early childhood used information about race

when studying their results. Although race was not an overall factor in the conclusion, several points

were mentioned that was related directly to race. The amount of recess time given to students was

lower in for African-American and Asian students (Dagli, 2012). This is used to make a connection

between the actual test scores. In the study, Asians had the highest reading test scores followed by

Caucasians with African Americans and Hispanics with the lowest (Dagli, 2012).

In education, student diversity should be addressed so the needs of all students can be

recognized and met. In most of the research presented in this paper made no mention of student

demographics. This component should have been addressed at least in the limitations so that

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researchers could determine if specific student diversity plays a role in a connection between physical

activity and academic achievement.

Implications for Technology

In society today, technology has a very prominent place. Most schools and classrooms rely on

some form of technology to get information across. Students spend a lot of time interacting in a virtual

world because of the technology they have accessible at their fingertips. The best way to connect

technology to the research on physical activity and academic achievement is to look at examples of

technology used in the research and how to use technology to incorporate physical activity into

learning.

In the research discussed, technology did not play a big role in the experiments. The use of

surveys, pedometers, playground equipment, and testing materials were used to determine results.

Overall, the research was about how to make time for physical activity instead of more time in a

traditional learning environment, not the technology used to make this happen.

Technology is beneficial in many ways. Teachers can use technology to encourage physical

activity in their classroom. There are many internet sites such as GoNoodle that encourages brain

breaks and movement. Games can be created using smartboards and PowerPoint to get students up

and moving. Using information from the research, it would be helpful to incorporate technology and

movement in the classroom to engage learners.

The researchers did not use technology as a variable in their experiments. When looking at

physical activity, it is not necessary to incorporate computers, apps, or the internet. However, the

information gathered has opened the door to conducting further research about using technology in the

classroom to guide the physical activity.

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Summary

Students have lots of demands placed on them and are asked to stay focused for many hours of

the school day. As a teacher, I want to know the best way to reach my students. I chose to look at the

connection between physical activity and academic achievement because I felt that students do not get

the opportunity to move much during the school day and I wondered if increased movement would help

their academic performance. After reviewing the research, I found trends throughout the experiments,

ways I can apply what I found to my classroom, and how this information could help schools overall.

I was surprised by the results of the research. I expected to find that the more active students

were, the better they would perform academically. However, while most of the research that was

reviewed could make some connections to physical activity on academic success, the biggest take away

for teachers is that physical activity does not harm or take away from academic success. Another theme

that came up repeatedly was that the type of activity mattered. There was a correlation between a

moderate to vigorous exercise and academic achievement. Taking these factors into account, this

research suggests to educators that it is important to take breaks from structured learning to engage

other areas of the brain through physical activity.

Although the results did not exactly support my theory that physical activity would increase

academic achievement, I could still find ways to use the research in my classroom. I could help keep

students focused by giving brain breaks, pausing to stretch, or letting students outside to get fresh air

and exercise. From the research I also learned that before we complete any major testing, the students

should do some form of moderate to vigorous exercise. I also noted that physical activity in the form of

academic review was also beneficial. This would help me plan better review activities before taking a

weekly test. I am now also confident that extra time playing, will not harm or keep the students from

making academic growth.

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Schools can benefit from this research when planning their school day. Making sure students

have time for structured PE classes and unstructured recess time, will help break up the academic rigor

without hurting academic success. This research also shows that planning school-wide physical activities

close to and while standardized testing is going on could help boost the scores. The most important

take away from this research for administrators is to recognize that there is no benefit to removing

recess from the school day.

Physical activity including unstructured recess time is needed to educate the whole child. This

research helped show that physical activity is important and does not detract from academics. I will

apply what I learned to help my students grow in all developmental areas. Being aware of the need for

physical activity in children can help students achieve their full potential.

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References

Chang, R., & Coward, F. L. (2015). More recess time, please! Phi Delta Kappan, 97(3), 14-17.

Coe, D., Pivarnik, J., Womack, C., Reeves, M., & Malina, R. (2006). Effects of physical

education and activity level on academic achievement in children. Medicine and Science

in Sports and Exercise, 38(8), 1515-1519.

Dagli, U. (2012). Recess and reading achievement of early childhood students in public schools.

Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20 (10), Retrieved May 29, 2018, from

http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/898

Erwin, H., Fedewa, A., & Ahn, S. (2012). Student academic performance outcomes of a

classroom physical activity intervention: A pilot study. International Electronic Journal

of Elementary Education, 4(3), 473-487.

Franxman, E., & Gilbert, J. (2018). The brain body connection: Advocating physical activity in

our schools. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 46(1), 20-24.

Hall, G., Poston, K., & Harris, S. (2015). Before the bell rings: how a before-school physical

activity program improves executive functions. Afterschool Matters, 22, 54-58.

James-Burdumy, S., Bleeker, M., Beyler, N., London, R., Westrich, L., Stokes-Guinan, K., &

Castrechini, S. (2013). Does Playworks work? Findings from a randomized controlled

trial. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, Retrieved June 5, 2018, from

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED563086.pdf

Murray, R., & Ramstetter, C. (2013). The crucial role of recess in school. Ped