Preschoolers exhibit greater on‐task behavior following physically active lessons on the approximate number system

Abstract

Objective To determine how the dual‐task nature of incorporating physical activity with instructional activities immediately impacts acuity of the approximate number system and on‐task behavior in preschoolers. Methods Using a randomized within‐participants repeated‐measures crossover design, 51 children completed an approximate number system task before and after either 20‐min of physically active instruction corresponding to 38% heart rate reserve (HRR; light‐to‐moderate intensity) or conventional sedentary instruction at corresponding to 21% HRR (very light intensity). Results Findings revealed that preschool‐aged children exhibited similar learning and greater on‐task behavior following a single bout of physically active instruction relative to conventional sedentary instruction. Overall, preschoolers accrued 931.3 ± 8.2 more steps and an additional 9 minutes at or above light‐intensity activity during the physically active instruction. Conclusion Accordingly, these findings suggest that the dual‐task nature of physically active learning does not compromise learning, reduces the need for redirecting off‐task behavior, and ultimately allows children to avoid sedentary behavior in educational contexts.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Preschool-Aged Children’s Movement Behaviors in Hong Kong: A Longitudinal Analysis of Accelerometer-Measured Data

“…In fact, one might infer that, compared with being at home, children's PA might be more compromised when they are attending school [20], which might be a result of extended time students spend sitting (i.e., SB) when receiving instruction in preschools in Hong Kong. This highlights the need to incorporate more active learning experiences for preschool children at kindergartens, which has also been shown to improve learning outcomes [21]. Apart from accruing PA, preschool education is tasked with developing children's motor skills, which may affect children's future PA participation.…”

Online physically active academic lessons in COVID-19 times: A pilot study

“…One parent said “My son doesn't really like math, but he seemed excited about this Project and participated during class, asking questions and paying attention to the teacher ”. Physically active academic lessons promote and maintain student attention ( Routen, Johnston, Glazebrook, & Sherar, 2018 ), participation ( Romar et al, 2020 ; Routen et al, 2018 ), and reduce off-task behavior ( McGowan et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Physically active academic lessons are a promising way of improving students' health and learning ( Norris, van Steen, Direito, & Stamatakis, 2020 ), that has been supported by three systematic reviews ( Daly-Smith et al, 2018 ; Martin & Murtagh, 2017b ; Norris, Shelton, Dunsmuir, Duke-Williams, & Stamatakis, 2015 ) and two meta-analyses ( Norris et al, 2020 ; Watson, Timperio, Brown, Best, & Hesketh, 2017 ). Such lessons allow to strike a balance between learning outcomes and time spent in physical activity ( Watson et al, 2017 ), thus counteracting sedentarism among students ( McGowan, Ferguson, Gerde, Pfeiffer, & Pontifex, 2020 ), while managing to align with teachers and school leaders’ needs ( Skage, Ertesvåg, Roland, & Dyrstad, 2020 ).…”

Meeting 24-hour movement behavior guidelines in young children: Improved quantity estimation and self-regulation

“…Personality perspectives characterize self-regulation as the capacity to handle emotions and behaviors in accordance with situational demands. Although researchers have operationalized self-regulation differently, with some measuring components of executive function (Becker & Nader, 2021;Bezerra et al, 2020;Willoughby et al, 2018) and others using on-task/off-task behavior (Mahar et al, 2006;McGowan et al, 2020McGowan et al, , 2021Webster et al, 2015), context is important for understanding how children self-regulate their behavior. Thus, it is important that self-regulation measures be relevant in the context in which the goal-directed behavior occurs.…”

“…For example, the benefits of physical activity also extend to classroom behavior, with children exhibiting greater on-task behavior-an index of behavioral self-regulationwhen provided increased opportunities to engage in physical activity throughout the school day (Donnelly et al, 2009;Mahar et al, 2006;Szabo-Reed et al, 2017). In this context, physical activity may improve young MOVEMENT BEHAVIORS AND SELF-REGULATION IN PRESCHOOLERS 8 children's math achievement by enabling gains in aspects of self-regulation that enable better learning of novel information (McGowan et al, 2020(McGowan et al, , 2021.…”