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Physical activity may strengthen Children’s ability to pay attention

Para2 Research was conducted in a controlled setting with 9 year old participants and tests were conducted after 20 minutes of physical activity.

Para 10 The study found that children were “ better able to gate out noise and selectively attend to the correct stimulus and act upon it” after 20 minutes bouts of walking.

Suggestions for future studies : focus on different forms of exercise such as a wii fit game

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Using percussion to
improve attention-to –tasks in children with autism 

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Using percussion to
improve attention-to –tasks in children with autism 

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Define (p18) attention to tasks as “length of time during which a person can concentrate on a subject or idea”

Research has shown percussions to have a positive effect on a variety of clinical psychological and social disorders.

“Drumming for even brief periods can actually change brain waves patterns, dramatically reducing stress.” P 19

P 20 This study trained OT’s in percussion techniques “that were then applied in clinical practice to increase attention-to –tasks in school-aged children with ASD”

P 20 the results” for all the students was an impressive positive average percent increase of 189.1 % in attention-to tasks.”

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Increasing On -Task Behaviors of High School Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Increasing On -Task Behaviors of High School Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Study involved three high school aged students with an IEP and ADHD

p 205 “Self-monitoring alone was effective in increasing the on-task behavior of two participants”

P 217 “it is worth mentioning that an emphasis on traditional on-task behavior does not necessary guarantee that students are meaningfully engaged in academic tasks.”

Limitations: time of study, inconsistencies of medication

This study supports past findings that self-monitoring is an effective strategy to increase on-task behavior. Past literature also indicated that this strategy was relatively easy to implement (p219).

Important to evaluate the purpose for on-task behavior, although it’s an important
skill it’s not the only important skill.

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Classroom- based physical activity breaks: Potential use for children with special education needs

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Classroom- based physical activity breaks: Potential use for children with special education needs

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I plan to study student focus in the beginning of the school day because I want to find explanations for off-task behaviors so that I may better understand effective methods to improve student focus.

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Explore the relationship between using classical music and on-task behaviors

Explore the relationship between physical activity and on-task behavior\

Explore the relationship between using a visual schedule and on-task behaviors

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http://www.lacoe.edu/Portals/0/Curriculum-Instruction/SHAPE%20Activity%20Breaks%20research%20May12.pdf

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Baseline Research should identify the off-task behaviors and possible reasons

Question: Should I look to implement an intervention that aims to decrease

inappropriate behaviors or should I look at interventions to increase on-task behaviors and focus?

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1: Strong correlation between physical activity and increased on-task behaviors and academic performance

2. Interventions should take place for 4- 6 weeks to determine effectiveness

3. Data should always be collected

4. Explanantions for off-task behaviors for students with autism

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Interventions for increasing the academic engagement of students with autism spectrum in the inclusive classroom

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Interventions for increasing the academic engagement of students with autism spectrum in the inclusive classroom

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http://www-tep.ucsd.edu/about/Courses/EDS382/Document%201.pdf

Students with autism engage in self-stimulatory behaviors, demonstrate perseveration, students often are reluctant to engage in activities in an inclusive setting therefore their behaviors can be perceived as defiant.

“Strategies researched in well-controlled laboratory settings may be difficult for classroom teachers to implement.”

“An important point to note is that each of the recommended interventions can be modified and tailored to a student’s unique engagement difficulties and linked with baseline-assessment data.”

On-task behaviors seem to decrease when disruptive behaviors decrease

Auditory engagement: using a sound to signify transitions

“Transition times scan be especially difficult to students with autism, as they require shifts in attention and behavior.”

Visual prompts and schedules can help increase student independence and reduce need for constant prompting

Visual schedules make it clear to students what they have completed and what comes next

“A visual schedule can be created that helps students direct their own behavior throughout the work period.”

Make sure you provide students with choices

Included: Research-based strategies that have proven effective in increasing “auditory, visual, social or physical engagement”
Engagement activities must be directly taught to students
Interventions should be implemented for 4-6 weeks and monitored to determine it's effectiveness

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INCREASING ON-TASK PERFORMANCE FOR STUDENTS WITH ADHD

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Article 10 Look Here!... How toIncrease Student’s Time onTask During Whole Groupand Small Group Instruction

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Article 10 Look Here!... How toIncrease Student’s Time onTask During Whole Groupand Small Group Instruction

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http://www.ed.psu.edu/educ/pds/teacher-inquiry/2012/Catalano_Final%20Inquiry.pdf

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http://www.education.com/reference/article/time-on-task/

Defines time on task and off task characteristics

Talks about how to collect data and measure on-task behaviors:

Frequency and duration

Momentary interval time sampling: “ This technique entails dividing the observational period (usually 20 minutes) into equal time intervals (e.g., one minute intervals) and recording what the student is doing at each time interval.”

Some research concludes that engaged time is the most important influence on academic achievement (Greenwood et al., 2002; Marks, 2000; Slavin, 2003).

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Article 8 Bell to Bell: Measuring Classroom Time Usage

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Article 8 Bell to Bell: Measuring Classroom Time Usage

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http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED519030.pdf

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Article 7 Does Time-of-Day of Instruction Impact Class Achievement?

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Article 7 Does Time-of-Day of Instruction Impact Class Achievement?

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http://perspectives.columbusstate.edu/v12_i_1/4-TimeofDay-Print.pdf

This article explores time of day as it relates to achievement.

This is interesting because our school day begins at 7am and many of my students are on psychotropic

medications that may impact the time it takes to begin their school day.

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Article 6 Best Practices in IncreasingAcademic Learning Time

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Article 6 Best Practices in IncreasingAcademic Learning Time

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http://dox.aea1.k12.ia.us/docs/gettinger.pdf

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Article 5 Increasing On-Task Behavior in a Pre-School Student with a Developmental Delay Using a Picture Activity Schedule

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Article 5 Increasing On-Task Behavior in a Pre-School Student with a Developmental Delay Using a Picture Activity Schedule

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http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/specialedjournal/Wicks

Para 1 Students respond to visual input as their primary source of information

Activity schedules with visual supports were proven effective through 13 different studies

A study with four students with high rate of off task behaviors used picture activity schedules and it increased independence and time on task

This particular study was limited because they only used one participant over an 11 week period to support previous research done on picture schedules.  This intervention in this study was a visual schedule that proved to be effective in decreasing off-task behaviors.  “There was an immediate increase in on-task behaviors from baseline to the intervention stage.”

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Article 4 School-Wide Strategies for Managing... OFF-TASK / INATTENTION

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Article 4 School-Wide Strategies for Managing... OFF-TASK / INATTENTION

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http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions/challenging-students/school-wide-strategies-managing-task-inattention

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Article 3 Physical Activity, Distressed Behavior, and Time-on-task in a Child with Autism

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Article 3 Physical Activity, Distressed Behavior, and Time-on-task in a Child with Autism

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http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7717/

Single Subject design

Natural environment

(Intro) “This study demonstrated that physical activity should be implemented amongst students with autism to decrease distressed behaviors for a single subject.”

“The aim of this study is to decrease distressed behaviors through physical activity and to increase the student’s time on task.”

Stress is one of the factors identified to contributing to the off-task behaviors and it manifested into

Studies between increased academic performance and physical activity usually involve students without disabilities.  This study shows how

This study will measure time and intensity of physical activity

4 week study with 3 phases: baseline, intervention, post intervention

Baseline: used Environmental Event Analysis form that measures time on-task and behaviors

Important note (Ethical concerns) the heart rate monitor was taken out of the study after 3 days at the request of the mother because she felt it was causing her child more anxiety.  This is a time where the safety of the study participant must always come before the importance of the study.

Intervention: 3 of the most stressful times of day engaged in moderate physical activity

A-B-A withdrawal individual case design was used throughout the study

Dependent variables were disruptive behaviors and time on task

The subject’s characteristics’ were very close to student behavior in my classroom.

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Active Bodies, Active Minds Physical Activity and Academic Achievement
http://www.californiaprojectlean.org/docuserfiles/AcademicAchievement_FactSheet_WEB_final.pdf

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Active Education

Physical Education, Physical Activity and Academic Performance

https://folio.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/10244/587/Active_Ed.pdf

This article reviews all of the world-wide studies that have been conducted to show the relationship of physical activity and increased on-task behaviors and academic performance.  Most of the studies concluded a strong correlation between increased academic performance and physical activity.

(Para 17) A 12 week research project of kindergartens-4th graders  were given a 10 minute activity break daily and the results found that on-task beahviors increased “by an average of 8 percent” and 20 percent  among the least on-task students.”-----In my opinion, this research indicates that students with the most off-task behaviors benefitted the greatest  from activity breaks.  My students all struggle to focus, therefore may need physical activity to help focus their attention.

11 out of 14 published studies from 1967-2006 found a strong link between regular physical activity and improved academic performance.

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Physical Activity May Help Kids' Grades, Too
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/physical-activity-linked-academic-performance/story?id=15273908

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The Association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance

The report indicates that school-based physical activity may help improve students' grades and test scores

and positively affect other factors that influence academic achievement. The report also concludes that

adding time during the school day for physical activity does not appear to take away from academic performance.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/pdf/pa-pe_paper.pdf

I paid close attention to the classroom physical activity studies because they related mostly to my project.

9 studies were done