A053: The Immediate Effects of Cognitively Engaged Physical Activity on Academic Performance of Children

Authors

Ziyu Wang, Zhejiang University
Liang Hu, Zhejiang University

Document Type

Abstract

Keywords

physical activity, cognitively engagement, academic performance

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

Background/Purpose: In order to change the status quo of children's low levels of physical activity due to excessive academic pressure, a large number of studies have explored the improvement of children's academic performance through physical activity interventions without increasing the burden of learning. With the depth of the studies, the focus has been shifted from the quantitative (exercise time, intensity, and frequency) to the qualitative (e.g., type of exercise), and the cognitive stimulation hypothesis has proposed that the cognitive engagement during exercise has a better facilitating effect on children's academic performance, but there is no consistent definition of cognitive engagement in physical activity. Investigating the effects of different types of cognitive engagement on academic performance not only enriches the body of results in the field of research, but also provides a new avenue of physical activity for students in compulsory schooling.

Method: 198 third grade students (M/F=132/110, age=9.42) were recruited and randomized into physical activity intervention conditions of 2 different intensities (high and low intensity) and 3 different types of cognitive engagement (math engagement, skill engagement, and math + skill engagement) on a class-by-class basis. Academic performance in math was tested using a modular math test.

Results: Physical activity affected children's math test performance as indicated by significantly higher math test scores post-intervention than pre-intervention (F=63.99, p < 0.01), a significant interaction of test time with intervention intensity (F=8.43, p < 0.01), a non-significant interaction effect of test time with intervention type and test time, but a three-way interaction between intervention intensity and intervention type (F=3.13, p < 0.05).

Conclusion/Discussion: Physical activity with cognitive engagement improved children's math test performance, with high-intensity. Mathematically-engaged physical activity had a better promotion effect on math test performance. The present study found that acute physical activity improved children's math test performance, that physical activity with cognitive engagement in subject learning has a better facilitation effect on subsequence subject learning. Considering this finding, it is recommended that physical activity that integrates motor learning with academic learning be organized to further integrate physical education with intellectual education to achieve a win-win situation for both physical and academic excellence in schools by promoting children's academic performance.

Recommended Citation

Wang, Ziyu and Hu, Liang (2024) "A053: The Immediate Effects of Cognitively Engaged Physical Activity on Academic Performance of Children," International Journal of Physical Activity and Health: Vol. 3: Iss. 3, Article 53.
Available at: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/ijpah/vol3/iss3/53