Classroom Movement Interventions Can Increase Learning Behaviors

A 2006 study by Mahar et al., published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, examined the effectiveness of increasing physical movement in the classroom on promoting positive learning behaviors as well as the daily physical activity levels of elementary students at school. The researchers used pedometers to determine the daily level of physical movement in school of 243 students. One hundred thirty five of the students also received a classroom intervention called “Energizers” to increase their physical movement, while a control group of 108 students did not receive the intervention. The researchers tracked the on-task behaviors of students prior to and after implementing the intervention. They also compared the daily in-school physical activity levels of students that received the intervention and those that did not. The researchers found that the physical activity levels of the students in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group and that the students that participated in the intervention had an 8% increase in on-task behavior. This study demonstrates that increasing movement in the classroom can have significant implications for improving positive learning behaviors and decreasing disruptions.

The “Energizers” intervention would be an easy one for schools to implement. In this study, teachers received only 45 minutes of training on the program. They were able to choose from a variety of “Energizer” activities each day. The “Energizers” lasted only about ten minutes and required no equipment and very little preparation. During the Energizers students stood up and engaged in movement. This simple intervention was effective in increasing the number of steps students took in a school day by almost 1000. It also increased positive in-class behaviors by 8% on average. Interestingly, students that demonstrated more disruptive behaviors had an increase of 20% in positive behaviors after the intervention. This is especially significant because research has demonstrated that students with more disruptive behaviors will often have more struggles academically (refer to my earlier blog posts). I wonder if providing in-class interventions such as “Energizers” starting at an early age could improve the long-term achievement of students that are at-risk due to demonstrating less positive learning behaviors than their peers.

This study is inspiring because it is very similar to the research I hope to conduct with my students. I plan to track the frequency of three defined off-task behaviors (inappropriate sitting, blurting out, and engaging in private conversation with peers) that cause me to pause and redirect students during fifteen minutes of writing instruction. I will implement a free online intervention call GoNoodle that provides videos of short, physically engaging “brain breaks”. I hope to see a reduction in off-task behaviors after implementing the intervention. If proven effective, the GoNoodle intervention could prove to be a powerful engagement tool for early elementary teachers.

Mahar, M. T., Murphy, S. K., Rowe, D. A., Golden, J., Shields, A. T., & Raedeke, T.D. (2006). Effects on a classroom-based program on physical activity and on-task behavior. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38, 2086-2094. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000235359.16685.a3