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Possible outcomes and effects from the inclusion of movement in learning settings

Simran Roy

Georgia State University

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to share the possible effects from the inclusion of movement in

various learning settings. Traditional school settings require more learning experiences that are

passive rather than active. The way our parents were taught and learned and the way our students

are learning now are on two different ends of the spectrum, with the inclusion of technology

now, but the focus should be on creating meaningful learning experiences for our students. To

create meaningful learning experiences, we must engage our students and be able to keep our

students actively engaged in their learning. My process to achieve this is through the inclusion

of movement/physical activity in learning settings through brain breaks and action-based

learning. Brain breaks will be aerobic-only brain breaks that focus on the inclusion of PA.

Action-based learning will range from a variety of activities or environments that link movement

and learning to improved academic performance and behavior. Both interventions require

students to move their bodies and will show the effects of movement in student cognition and

academic achievement.

Keywords: [brain breaks, action-based learning, physical activity, cognition, memory,

health, action research, effects, movement, intervention, academic achievement, intervention]

Introduction

During my undergraduate career, I completed a genius project on keeping students engaged with

brain breaks throughout class time. Through that experience, my idea of brain breaks turned into

aerobic-only breaks after I learned about the direct link between movement and learning and how

it improved student achievement and behavior. Both approaches require movement or PA from

the student. Movement increases oxygen flow to the brain which energizes the brain and

enhances adaptability and connections between brain cells which is essential for learning. This
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focus to increase PA/movement will benefit our students in more ways than just their health.

First, movement [e.g., stretching] increases heart rate and subsequent circulation, therefore,

arousal. Second, movement enhances spatial learning [and] spatial perspective. Third, practicing

the learning in multiple states of mind [including movement] may develop greater cognitive

flexibility and recall. Fourth, breaking up stream of content with well distributed physical

practice is far more effective than excessive content dumping. Finally, certain kinds of

movements can stimulate the release of the body’s natural motivators (Merriman, González-Toro

and Cherubini, 2020). This paper will discuss the possible outcomes and effects of movement

inclusion in the classroom and the process that I will use to try and achieve to show the positive

relationship between physical activity and academic achievement.

Area of Focus Statement

The purpose of this study is to describe the effects of the inclusion of movement/PA on

student academic achievement and cognition as well as how the effects differ with the two

approaches taken. Brain breaks and action-based learning environments require students to move

their bodies and both interventions show an improvement in the brain’s ability to function. The

brain breaks are aerobic-only breaks and can be used with children across all grade levels when

modified. Action-based learning refers to the idea of taking a kinesthetic approach to learning to

create more active learning environments. Group A will participate in aerobic-only brain breaks

while Group B students participate in a variety of action-based learning environments. This area

of focus statement satisfies my purpose of achieving benefits in learning that come with

movement inclusion, and it is something I would like to see implemented in more learning

environments.
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Research Questions

1. What is the effect of the inclusion of PA on student academic achievement?

2. How do aerobic breaks affect student cognition?

3. What is the effect of action-based learning on student academic achievement?

Review of Related Literature

An issue that pertains to most, if not all, educators is student engagement and focus in

traditional school settings. During my first-year teaching, or I should say first semester teaching,

I realized the severity of this problem in my classroom after just one month. I often found my

students daydreaming, working on other work, or just not engaged in my classroom. This led me

to think back to my undergraduate classes when I began my project on movement breaks. I knew

that this project would help me somewhere along the way in my career, I just didn't think that

time would come so early into my career. Luckily for me, the project was fresh on my mind, and

I started forming a plan to implement movement breaks into my classroom when I saw that my

students were not focused on engaged. I started off simple with just asking the students that were

falling asleep to stand in the back of the class, and then continued to progress by asking students

to do 10 jumping jacks if I saw that they were bored or not engaged. Not only did I see results

immediately, but the research that I found about movement in the classroom drew me more into

how I could implement this type of action research with my students. After reviewing the

literature, I knew that I had to act for my students, their learning, and for the benefit of all

educators, regardless of the outcome of my results. Integrating movement in the classroom can

improve a student’s health, their cognition, and has proven to bring higher academic

achievement.
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Most results led to findings that showed improved cognition and student health which led

to higher academic achievement in most individuals. These findings provide multiple ways that

movement can be implemented in our classroom, and the benefits it may bring. While there is an

emphasis on physical activity (PA) for children, schools in the United States are continuing to

decrease the amount of PA offered to students. The CDC recommends 60 minutes of moderate to

vigorous PA a day for ages 6-17. Most elementary aged students should not be sitting for more

than 15-20 minutes at a time. Energizers are “breaks” for students and one example of how

movement can be implemented across all content areas and even as a reward as stated on page 66

(Kreider, C). These types of brain breaks, kinesthetic activities, and increasing opportunity for

PA during the school day provide evidence of improvement in most students in, at least, one

way or another. In addition to improving student health and combatting student obesity,

providing more opportunities for PA has evidence showing to improve memory and

concentration while enhancing adaptability in the brain according to Ratey. In a separate study

done in California, over one million students showed that fit students scored consistently higher

on academic tests. (Grissolm 2005). In another study done in Massachusetts students that

participated in PA breaks showed improvements of attentiveness and more focused during

cognitive activities (Everhart et al,. 2021). Creating an active learning environment should be a

priority and there are plenty of resources that show positive effects from incorporating any type

of movement. Active learning has significant advantages over sedentary learning and there are

ways to create an active learning experience for our students. Brain breaks are one way that

movement can easily be implemented across any subject area and have shown improvements in

students. However, one study showed aerobic-only PA breaks may be more effective in

enhancing academic achievement in comparison to breaks that involve academic content.

Though more research is necessary and the relationship between PA and academic achievement

is complex, evidence showed that aerobic-only PA breaks had greater achievement gains than

academic-based breaks. (Fedewa, A. L). This sparked my interest further because of my central

focus is the movement part of movement breaks for my action research. When brain breaks were

first introduced, most included academic content rather than aerobic-only breaks. Because

academic content breaks require students to juggle between academic content even during their

“break,” the gains were shown to be significant in one content area which is something I can use

and test with my own research.

With every article I reviewed, I see the possibility of success that can come with my

action research. As stated in the article by Jensen, active learning is for educators who

understand the science behind learning. The evidence points to greater success with most

students in their achievement, health, and overall cognition. Teachers should be regularly

engaging students in movement because of the simple reason of increased oxygen flow to the

brain and the effects to come from that alone. My take home message is that results only come

with action. I look forward to sharing my results that will come as I attempt to improve student

engagement, focus and learning through the implementation of PA.

Final Thoughts

Through many diverse interventions involving movement and PA in learning, evidence points to

higher academic achievement, increased cognition, and better student health. As well as other

unanticipated outcomes such as increased on-task behavior, and self-efficacy of students. I do

believe that movement inclusion during learning will bring for more and better opportunities for

meaningful and active learning experiences for our students. However, understanding the science

of learning, and how important the role we play as educators will be the determining factor for
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the outcomes of movement implementation. Instead of focusing on drilling content into our

student’s brains, we must first understand the process of how learning occurs. Movement

increases the flow of oxygen, which enhances our brain’s functioning, which then increases our

ability to learn and grasp the information necessary to learn. It’s not about the material, it’s the

way our brain receives and stores that information for later use.
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References

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