Fun And Games Helps Learning, Study Shows

Recent findings published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism show that four minutes of physical activity can dramatically improve classroom behavior in primary school students.

"While 20 minutes of daily physical activity (DPA) is required in Ontario primary schools, there is a need for innovative and accessible ways for teachers to meet this requirement," said Dr. Gurd, lead study author and professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, in a news release. "Given the time crunch associated with the current school curriculum we thought that very brief physical activity breaks might be an interesting way to approach DPA. We were particularly interested in what effects a brief exercise bout might have in the classroom setting."

For the study, researchers taught students in a class and were then given an active break in which they could perform a FUNterval, or a non-active break where they would learn about differen aspects of healthy living on alternating days for three weeks. After each break, classroom observers were then asked to record instances off any off-task behavior.

When a four minute FUNterval was completed during a break from class, there was less off-task behavior observed in the 50 minutes following the break than if students completed a non-active break.

Working with Dr. Gurd, master's student Jasmine Ma created the series of four-minute activities that students could complete in small spaces with no equipment.

For the study, FUNtervals involved "making s'mores" in which students would lunge to "collect firewood," "start the fire" while crouching and exploding into a star jump and squatting and jumping to "roast the marshmallows" to make the S'more.

Each activity moves through a 20-second storyline of quick, enthusiastic movements followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight intervals.