Integrating physical activity into the primary school curriculum: rationale and study protocol for the “Thinking while Moving in English” cluster randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background The current and declining physical activity levels of children is a global concern. Integrating physical activity into the school curriculum may be an effective way not only to improve children’s physical activity levels but also enhance educational outcomes. Given the recent national focus in Australia on improving the literacy levels of children in primary school, and an increasing proportion of time spent on explicitly teaching these skills, integrating physical activity into English could be a viable strategy to improve literacy levels and physical activity at the same time. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the ‘Thinking While Moving in English’ (TWM-E) program on children’s physical activity, on-task behavior in the classroom, academic achievement, and executive function. Methods Grade 3–4 children from 10 public schools in New South Wales, Australia will be randomly allocated to intervention ( n = 5) or control ( n = 5) groups. All teachers will receive 1-day workshop of registered professional learning and a TWM-E equipment pack (e.g., chalk, lettered bean bags). Intervention schools will be asked to adapt their English lessons to embed movement-based learning in their daily program for three 40-min lessons per week, over a six-week period. The primary outcome is children’s physical activity levels across the school day (measured using accelerometry). Secondary outcomes are children’s on-task behavior during English lessons, academic achievement in English, and executive function. A detailed process evaluation will be undertaken including questionnaires, fidelity checks, and teacher and student interviews. Discussion The TWM-E program has the potential to improve primary school children’s physical activity levels, along with academic outcomes (on-task behavior, cognition, and academic achievement), and provide stakeholders with exemplar lessons and guidelines which illustrate how to teach English to children whilst they are moving. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical trial Register ACTRN12618001009202 Date registered: 15/06/2018 retrospectively registered. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-6635-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Impact of the “Thinking while Moving in English” intervention on primary school children’s physical activity and academic outcomes: A cluster randomized controlled trial

“…The design, implementation and reporting of the TWM-E study complied with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines for clustered RCTs 36 . Detailed study methods are reported elsewhere 37 .…”

“…The professional learning workshop provided the rationale for physical activity integration, presented the results of the feasibility trial, and offered practical examples of physical activity integration (i.e., online videos), access to English curriculum expertise and peer-supported planning sessions 37 . In particular, in the final component of the workshop, teachers created their own action plans, highlighting the timeline, examples of activities as well as potential barriers and solutions.…”

Alternatives of Physical Activity within School Times and Effects on Cognition. A Systematic Review and Educational Practical Guide

“…Observation of motor gestures of other colleagues can have positive effects on learning (Cook et al, 2013;Ping & Goldin-Meadow, 2008). Besides, recently cognitive load and embodied cognition theories appear as possible explanations of effects between movement and cognition Mavilidi et al, 2019).…”

“…The large effect of the physical-cognitive intervention could also be explained in terms of embodied learning and the cognitive load theory. Learning whilst making body movements can transform abstract information into concrete and tangible concepts (Mavilidi et al, 2019). Embodied learning can be defined as bodily states (i.e., arm movements and postures) arising from interactions of the body with the environment that are included in cognitive processing.…”

Lecciones activas: efectos de un programa escolar de actividad física mediante bike desks en adolescentes = Physically active lessons: effects of a school-based physical activity program using bike desks in adolescents

“…Por tanto, se considera importante lograr un enfoque de centro escolar comprensivo que incluya a toda la comunidad educativa (Beddoes y Castelli, 2017;Cardon et al, 2012). El profesor en general, y el profesor de Educación Física en particular, son ejemplo y modelo del adolescente, si estos propician un ambiente escolar activo y transmiten la ilusión por el deporte lo más probable es que este hábito permanezca en el alumnado a lo largo del tiempo (Cothran et al, 2010;Mavilidi et al, 2019). En este estudio se seleccionaron los dispositivos bike desks porque el pedaleo es una actividad saludable (Oja et al, 2011), donde ni las diferencias de género ni de competencia motriz condicionan su práctica, ni hay desmotivación por no lograr los objetivos (Ruiter et al, 2019).…”