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I am a special education resource room teacher, working with students in small groups (no more than 5) at a time. Activity breaks would potentially occur at the beginning of our 30 minute sessions.

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How can I improve student test scores?

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Parental Consent
Student willingness to participate

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After reading all the studies, can I be objective regarding results? I know I can, but wonder if this ever affects the results of other researchers.

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Time constraints Academic vs. Movement

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Annotated Bibliography of possible sources

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Annotated Bibliography of possible sources

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As the father of a six-year-old, I am passionate about identifying daily habits that can help keep my daughter healthy, happy, and prepare her to achieve her full potential. Like every parent, I want my daughter to do well in school so that she can have all the opportunities that education will provide throughout her lifespan.

What can you do as a parent to ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve his or her best academically? Over the past three years of blogging for Psychology Today, I have touched on a broad range of daily habits that seem to improve cognitive function and improve the odds of academic achievement.

As the author of The Athlete's Way, my focus is primarily on the neuroscience behind the mental and physical benefits of exercise at every stage of our lives. In recent months, scientific articles finding a link between physical activity and brain health have been released at breakneck speed.

In this review I define "doing better in school" based on the CDC definition of academic performance which is broadly to describe different factors that may influence student success in school. The CDC divides these factors into three primary areas:

Cognitive Skills and Attitudes (e.g., attention/concentration, memory, verbal ability).

Academic Behaviors (e.g., conduct, attendance, time on task, homework completion).

Academic Achievement (e.g.,standardized test scores, grades)

Below is a brief summary of eight studies that have been released in recent months that explore the link between physical acitivity, cognitive function, and academic performance from a variety of angles.

Eight Ways Exercise Can Help Your Child Do Better in School
1. Combination of Motor Skills and Aerobic Fitness Improves Academics
In June of 2014, researchers from the University of Madrid reported that motor skills gained through physical activity may be of greater importance than the cardiorespiratory benefits of aerobic fitness.

The Spanish study,"Independent and Combined Influence of the Components of Physical Fitness on Academic Performance in Youth," was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
2. Exercise Creates More Efficient White Matter and Brain Connectivity
An August 2014 study from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that children who are more aerobically fit have more fibrous and compact white-matter tracts in the brain than their peers who are less fit.

The study, "Aerobic fitness is Associated with Greater White Matter Integrity in Children," was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
3. Exercise Before School Improves Focus and Reduces ADHD Symptoms
In a September 2014 study, researchers from Michigan State University and University of Vermont found that offering daily before-school, aerobic activities to younger at-risk children could help in reducing the symptoms of ADHD in the classroom and at home.

The study, "A Randomized Trial Examining the Effects of Aerobic Physical Activity on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Young Children," was published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
4. Physical Activity Should Remain Playful For Best Results
In a September 2014 study, researchers at the University of Montreal identified four dimensions of play particularly important for children as part of any physical activity. Play makes exercise seem like fun which makes it more enjoyable.

The study from University of Montreal, "Problematizing "Play-for-Health" Discourses Through Children's Photo-Elicited Narratives," was published in the journal Qualitative Health Research.
5. Boys Can Especially Benefit from Regular Physical Activity
A September 2014 study from University of Finland found that physically active school transportation related to academic skills and may be beneficial for the development of reading skills in boys.

The study, "Associations of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior with Academic Skills - A Follow-Up Study among Primary School Children," was published in PLOS ONE.
6. Taking "Brain Breaks" During Class Improves Classroom Performance
In September 2014, the abstract of a study,"Brain Breaks: Physical Activity in the Classroom for Elementary School Children," was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Oregon law will mandate that by 2017 elementary schools have 30 minutes a day of physical education classes, in addition to recess periods. A survey conducted by the Healthy Youth Program found that 92 percent of Oregon public elementary schools currently do not meet this standard. The CDC confirms that this is a nationwide deficit.
7. After-School Exercise Groups Can Improve Cognitive Function
In September 2014, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign released findings that children who participate in after-school exercise groups have improved cognitive function.

The study, "Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function," is available from the University of Illinois News Bureau.
8. Resistance Training and Lifting Weights Can Improve Memory
In October 2014, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that an intense bout of resistance training for as little as 20 minutes can enhance episodic memory, also known as long-term memory in healthy young adults.

The study, "A Single Bout of Resistance Exercise can Enhance Episodic Memory Performance, was published in the journal Acta Psychologica.
Conclusion: Exercise Is Key for the Well-Being of Our Children and Future Generations

These findings come at an important time. In a June 2014 report, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released an alaming study about the repercussions of increasing sedentarism among American chilldren: before-school, in-school, and after-school.

Please take a few minutes to read the CDC report here.
If you'd like to read more on this topic, check out my Psychology Today blog posts: Follow me on Twitter @ckbergland for updates on The Athlete's Way blog posts.

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8 Ways Exercise Can Help Your Child Do Better in School

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As the father of a six-year-old, I am passionate about identifying daily habits that can help keep my daughter healthy, happy, and prepare her to achieve her full potential. Like every parent, I want my daughter to do well in school so that she can have all the opportunities that education will provide throughout her lifespan.

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While physical activity is known to improve children's physical fitness and lower their risk of obesity, new research suggests it may also help them perform better in school.

Dutch researchers reviewed 14 previous studies from different parts of the world that looked at the relationship between physical activity and academic performance. Their review is published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The data from the studies "suggests there is a significant positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance," wrote the authors, led by Amika Singh of the Vrije Universiteit University Medical Center's EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research in Amsterdam.

While they didn't examine the reasons why the relationship may exist, the authors, citing previous research, said regular physical activity seems to be linked to better brain function. The effect on the brain could be the results of a number of factors, including increased flow of blood and oxygen to the brain as well as higher levels of chemicals that help improve mood.

This latest report comes at a time when schools across the country debate cutting physical education from their curriculum or have already eliminated it because of budget constraints, the desire to stress academics or a combination of both. There is also concern that physical activity in schools can be detrimental to academic performance.

But in addition to the latest research review, a 2010 literature review done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that out of 50 studies, more than half showed a positive association between school-based physical activity -- such as physical education, recess and extracurricular sports -- and academic performance and about half found no effect. Only a few showed a negative relationship that could be attributable to chance.

Some of the research reported that concentration, memory, self-esteem and verbal skills were among the improvements noted in students who participated in school-based physical activity.

"School boards, school administrators and principals can feel confident that maintaining or increasing time dedicated for physical activity during the school day will not have a negative impact on academic performance, and it may positively impact students' academic performance," the CDC's authors wrote.

Schools Focus on Test Scores, Not Activity

One of the reasons the Dutch authors decided to conduct their research review was concern over schools' emphasis on test scores.

"There is a focus on test scores and academic accomplishments, and there's a belief that schools need to cram all available time into academics," said Dr. David Geier, director of sports medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Geier was not involved in the Dutch research.

"The other problem," Geier said, "is that it becomes a funding issue for many schools."

If intellectual activities are incorporated with physical activities, Geier said, children will benefit both ways.

Geier's colleagues at the Medical University of South Carolina and a group of educators recently tried that combination at an elementary school. They incorporated 40 minutes of physical education every day that included a learning component for different grade levels. As an example, young children rode scooters while tracing shapes at the same time.

When the students took their spring standardized tests, more children achieved their score goal after the new physical education program than before it was implemented.

But even if there are no academic gains, physical activity in schools is still very important.

"There are cardiovascular benefits as well as decreased obesity and a decline in juvenile diabetes," said Geier.

"There's an even greater need for physical education now, because the vast majority of children's leisure activities are sedentary and involve technology," said Keith Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y. "The problem is our bodies were not designed with technology in mind. They were designed for physical activity, and both children and adults should use this ability or we risk losing it."

While they reported an overall positive association between activity and academics, the Dutch authors stressed their conclusion was "cautious" because very few studies they analyzed were scientifically strong.

"Only 2 of 14 studies were rated as being of high methodological quality, which is the minimum number of studies needed for 'strong evidence,'" they wrote.

The studies also measured physical activity and academic achievement differently, and physical activity information often relied on self-reporting, which can be unreliable.

Because of the limitations of the prior research, the authors said more "high-quality" research is needed to accurately measure the relationship between physical activity and school performance.

"To gain insight into the dose-response relationship between physical activity and academic performance, we need more high-quality studies using objective measures of physical activity," they wrote.

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Can Physical Activity Help Kids' Grades?

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While physical activity is known to improve children's physical fitness and lower their risk of obesity, new research suggests it may also help them perform better in school. Dutch researchers reviewed 14 previous studies from different parts of the world that looked at the relationship between physical activity and academic performance.

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As schools everywhere strive to improve the academic performance of their students, many have cut physical education and recess periods to leave more time for sedentary classroom instruction. A sensible new report from the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how shortsighted this trend can be. It found that exercise can significantly improve children's cognitive abilities and their academic performance, as well as their health.

Students who exercise have lower body fat, greater muscular strength, and better cardiovascular and mental health. While admitting that the studies are limited, a panel of experts assembled by the institute says that "a growing body of evidence" suggests children who are more active are better able to focus their attention, are quicker to perform simple tasks, and have better working memories and problem solving skills than less-active children. They also perform better on standardized academic tests.

Academic performance is influenced by factors like parental involvement and socioeconomic status, but the panel reported that active children tended to have stronger performance, especially in reading and mathematics. It believes that the benefits of exercise during the school day outweigh the benefits from increasing class time.

The report recommends that all students get at least 60 minutes a day of vigorous or moderate physical activity, equivalent to a brisk walk. Only about half of all school-age children meet this guideline, according to the panel. The way to increase exercise is to promote physical education classes, recess and classroom breaks during the school day; encouraging after-school sports and walking or biking to school when feasible would also help. Physical activity should be a core educational concern, not a dispensable option.

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Opinion | Exercise and Academic Performance

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As schools everywhere strive to improve the academic performance of their students, many have cut physical education and recess periods to leave more time for sedentary classroom instruction. A sensible new report from the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how shortsighted this trend can be.

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Last July I published a post titled "Why so many kids can't sit still in school today." It hit a nerve and became one of the most-read pieces on this blog last year, with readers continuing to click on it, along with related posts, such as " The right - and surprisingly wrong - ways to get kids to sit still in class" and " A therapist goes to middle school and tries to sit still. She can't. Neither can the kids."

Here is a new post on the same subject, by Aleta Margolis, founder and executive director of the Center for Inspired Teaching, a D.C.-based nonprofit organization that works with teachers, principals, and entire school faculties to foster the best teaching practices. Margolis writes about how teachers incorporate movement into lessons to make it part of learning, not just a break from it.

By Aleta Margolis

As an educator for the past 25 years, I'm delighted that our national conversations about teaching and learning are beginning to recognize that excellent instruction engages students intellectually, emotionally, and physically. We've come a long way in our understanding of the development of young minds. Yet despite research proving the lasting benefits of serious play, too many of our classrooms remain still, silent places, lacking any element of physical movement.

It's critical to maintain time for recess and free play that builds students' balance systems ( as powerfully described by Angela Hanscom), but we also need to emphasize the important role that physical movement can and should play within the classroom. Movement is a powerful teaching tool, and when we as teachers thoughtfully incorporate physical elements into instruction, we elevate the learning experience. As part of my work at Center for Inspired Teaching over the past 20 years, I train teachers to provide this type of active, student-centered instruction because it's how students learn best.

The teachers we train learn to create lessons in which students use their bodies to explore the math and literacy concepts their brains are learning. Teachers who've graduated from our programs are using movement to teach in classrooms across the District, across all disciplines and grade levels.

One teacher has her students measure their pulse and breath rates before and after a set of jumping jacks and then asks them to create graphs to display these results.

Another teacher makes a large outline of Washington D.C. using masking tape on the floor of his classroom and then has his students, brought together from schools across the District, map out the city's geography by walking to and from important sites - the Capitol, the White House, the Potomac River, and also their homes, their schools, their playgrounds.

A third teacher has his students estimate the perimeter of their playground and then physically measure the distance using their own feet and the standard foot on a ruler.

Vigorously shaking a container of cream to create butter teaches students about the difficult realities of frontier life and also about the science of their own bodies, about lactic acid and what happens when muscles are used too hard for too long. When students time each other running for 30 seconds, they get to practice using basic time measurements and also to begin asking big picture questions about advanced issues such as time perception. Why does 30 seconds feel so long when you're out of breath but so short when you're playing a game?

A graduate of one of our programs recently described the wealth of learning that can derive from physical movement, in this instance from an activity she calls " indoor ice skating ":

Thanks to my training, I understood the benefits of this play. By having to hold the paper plate to the ground with their feet, the kids were using concentration skills. . . . The gliding actions were helping to build their muscles and tone their gross motor skills. The act of having to navigate their skating around other kids, to take care of themselves and others and share the space, was helping them work on self-control and peer-to-peer social-emotional development. The fun and the joy of it were helping to get their blood pumping and adrenaline boosting.

As this teacher describes, movement isn't a break from learning; movement is learning, and the opportunities for thoughtful exploration in the classroom are endless.

Inviting students to participate physically can feel like inviting classroom chaos, and it's critical to recognize and respect that when teachers ask students to participate physically, we're asking them to complete far more complex, demanding work than just sitting and listening.

So how do you teach teachers to take this next step in building their practice? The answer lies in ensuring professional development engages teachers the way we expect them to engage their students - physically as well as intellectually. By taking teachers completely out of the typical training model, which requires them only to stare passively at PowerPoint slides, my colleagues and I ask teachers to tap into new ways of problem solving, community building, and communicating with those around them.

Incorporating movement-based activities can help learners of all ages articulate and internalize new ideas, and this process invites adult participants to leave their comfort zone and reexamine their roles as both teachers and learners. They explore the relief that students feel at being invited to move, as well as the uncertainty and shyness that can arise when something new and unexpected is introduced.

After participants experience this shift in mindset, my colleagues and I then focus on shifting classroom practice, training teachers to implement research-based strategies to infuse movement into lessons through careful planning, the setting of clear expectations, and the creation of meaningful work that authentically requires students to be fully engaged, in both body and mind.

It's difficult to train teachers this way and equally difficult to teach this way, but it's worth it. It's worth it because higher-level instruction, provided by teachers who have strong training and support, elevates classrooms from static places where we create forced fidgeters and compliers to vibrant learning environments that build expert problem solvers, inventors, and creators. For school to be a place where the talents of young people are cultivated rather than extinguished, we need to give students the freedom and responsibility to tinker, explore, test, prod, and physically interact with the world around them.

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You may also be interested in:
Why so many kids can't sit still in school today The right - and surprisingly wrong - ways to get kids to sit still in class
A therapist goes to middle school and tries to sit still. She can't. Neither can the kids.

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Letting kids move in class isn't a break from learning. It IS learning.

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Last July I published a post titled "Why so many kids can't sit still in school today." It hit a nerve and became one of the most-read pieces on this blog last year, with readers continuing to click on it, along with related posts, such as " The right - and surprisingly wrong - ways to get kids to sit still in class" and " A therapist goes to middle school and tries to sit still.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Will the district allow me to do this?

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Most of my student will be moving to middle school. How will this work with timing?

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Can I realistically do this when preparing student for state testing?

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In my classroom, students fail to successfully answer test questions although the were previously able to in class.

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Gonoodle
kidsbop on smartboard
figure 8s
Brain Gym
Bal-a-vis-x

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Working title