From “Sit Still and Listen” to “Get Up and Move,” the Leap May Be One of Educational Paradigms but No Longer One of Faith No abstract available

Influence of Physical Activity on Elementary School Children: Challenges and Practice No abstract available

A Review of Acute Physical Activity Effects on Brain and Cognition in Children The prevalence of physical inactivity in children has become a global pandemic and has consequences for physical, as well as cognitive and brain, health. Single bouts of physical activity (PA), however, have shown a transient, positive effect on cognitive performance in preadolescent children. Acute bouts of moderate to vigorous PA have demonstrated benefits for cognition, including attention and executive function. These acute effects of PA on cognitive performance can be seen both immediately after and following a delay from the cessation of PA. Further, event-related potentials have been used to delineate real-time neural responses to behavioral tasks after PA interventions. A short bout of moderate-intensity aerobic PA serves to increase the allocation of attentional resources and improved cognitive processing and stimulus classification speed. As such, there are implications for evaluating the effect of PA within schools. Several neural mechanisms are suggested to explain the observed improvements in executive function after PA, such as the importance of brain-derived neurotrophic factor on synaptogenesis, the expression of human growth factors, the activated release of catecholamines, and increased blood lactate levels. The ensuing descriptive review demonstrates the current understanding of the effects of acute PA on childhood brain and cognition and may serve as a basis for understanding PA-induced improvements in academic achievement.

Lessons Learned from a Physically Active Learning Intervention: Texas I-CAN! The Texas Initiatives for Children’s Activity and Nutrition (Texas I-CAN!) has focused on the development of interventions to provide physically active learning (PAL) to regular education, elementary classroom. This article provides an overview of our approach and the iterations through which we have progressed in the intervention. We adopt a framework that considers PAL along continuums of relatedness to and integration with the academic goals of the lessons. This provides a lens through which to view our iterations of I-CAN!, as we sought a version of PAL that is both acceptable to teachers and effective for physical activity and academic outcomes. As such, this provides an overview of the choices that must be made to translate theory to practice.

Active Smarter Teachers: Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Maintenance of a School-Based Physical Activity Intervention The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study evaluated the effect of a 7-month curriculum-prescribed physical activity intervention on academic performance in fifth-grade Norwegian students. However, there is also a need to examine teachers’ perception and maintenance of the ASK intervention. We conducted a prospective, mixed methods descriptive study across 1 yr of the ASK intervention. Data were collected via a self-report questionnaire, administered online, at two time points, immediately after the ASK intervention and 1 yr postintervention. The first questionnaire comprised open-ended questions about the teacher’s experience with the ASK intervention. The second questionnaire determined teachers’ maintenance of the ASK intervention. All teachers (N = 59) from the 28 intervention schools were eligible to participate. To prevent workload burden, teachers from the same school were offered the option to respond as a group to a single questionnaire. Thirty-one teachers from 22 schools completed the first questionnaire, and 26 teachers from 25 schools completed the second questionnaire. An analysis of the open-ended responses in the first questionnaire identified themes centering on the teacher’s perception of the ASK intervention, including benefits on student’s social engagement, professional competence, and interpersonal processes. Eighty-one percent reported that they maintained the use of physically active learning and physical activity breaks as part of their weekly pedagogical practice 1 yr postintervention. Only 18% reported maintained use of physical activity homework. A novel finding was a recognition that the interaction in physically active learning opportunities was especially beneficial for low academic achievement students. Furthermore, the findings indicate that it is important to collaborate with teachers to codesign interventions. This seems to be critical in order for teachers to achieve agency and empower teachers to integrate physical activity into their school day.

Classroom-Based Physical Activity and On-Task Behavior Schools are valuable locations to promote physical activity because most children are in school for large portions of the day and year. However, the main objective of most schools is to teach academic skills. For school personnel to implement classroom-based physical activity programs, they need to be convinced that these programs will help the students learn better. Teachers understand and value the concept of on-task behavior or paying attention. Without attentional focus, students do not learn. Thus, if research demonstrates that participation in classroom-based physical activity programs enhances on-task behavior, teachers may be more likely to implement these programs. Although on-task behavior in the authentic classroom setting is difficult to measure, the accumulated evidence about the effect of classroom-based physical activity on on-task behavior is convincing. This article presents an overview of measurement issues associated with directly observed on-task behavior in schools and a summary of the key studies that have made a substantial contribution to the literature in this field. Various research designs and statistical comparisons have been used to examine these relationships. Several research studies have included examination of the effect of physical activity on on-task behavior within subgroups of students (e.g., level of attention, sex, fitness, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status). In summary, research demonstrates that classroom-based physical activity enhances on-task behavior compared with traditional sedentary learning environments, and this benefit appears to hold for all subgroups of students that have been examined. Specific suggestions to enhance the implementation of classroom-based physical activity and to further develop the research base are provided.

Physical Environments for Active Schools: Future Directions for Transdisciplinary Research The rise in childhood obesity coincides with children spending more of their formative years in child care or school environments, settings found to be strong predictors of children’s physical activity. Although most efforts focus on the social environment of the school, studies show there is potential to develop better evidence-based design guidelines for interventions in the physical environment that can afford more physical activity and support or complement other initiatives. In the context of the school, multiple studies long established that physical activity is correlated with time spent outside, but more recent studies found that the intentional design of outdoor spaces to have certain characteristics results in more participation of different groups and higher physical activity generally. However, there are many documented physical and social barriers to going outside, some of which could potentially be overcome through better design of the relationship between inside and outside, but there has been far less research into how the physical environment of the school building enables or hinders going outside in the first place. This article reviews and summarizes important findings in the literature that provide evidence of the effects that the physical environment of the school has on children’s health and resilience generally, and on their physical activity more specifically; presents field observations from research on the design of schools in Finland—one of the best school systems in the world in one of the most challenging climates with a strong tradition of outdoor learning and frequent time outside; and identifies gaps in knowledge and future directions for transdisciplinary research specifically focused on the design of active schools.

Supporting Teachers’ Implementation of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Research exploring factors related to teachers’ implementation of classroom-based physical activity (CBPA) has increased in recent years. This article highlights key findings from the literature about the implementation and maintenance of CBPA by classroom teachers. The authors provide an overview of the literature examining CBPA implementation from an implementation science perspective. Topics addressed include methods for measuring implementation, characteristics of CBPA resources, and predictors of teachers’ implementation of CBPA. Findings from the narrative review are presented in tandem with insights from the authors’ work during a grant-funded project examining strategies to improve CBPA implementation in elementary schools. Many off-the-shelf resources for CBPA implementation exist, with varying degrees of implementation support. Studies have used a variety of methods to measure implementation, mostly focused on teacher self-report. Few studies have provided evidence regarding long-term use of CBPA, but those that do report decreased implementation rates over time. A robust body of research examining CBPA implementation facilitators and barriers shows that organizational-level support from district and school administrators is crucial for successful implementation. Leadership buy-in is crucial for the implementation of policies and practices in schools, such as CBPA initiatives. Approaches that are embedded within school systems, such as communities of practice and coaching from school champions, have potential for improving implementation. Disseminating CBPA resources and providing information about the importance of school and district leadership are suggested for more widespread implementation. Future work would benefit from the use of evidence-based implementation science frameworks to ensure that interventions are designed to maximize implementation at the classroom level.

School Physical Activity Policy This article provides a general summary of school physical activity policies, addresses the appeal of policy as means to increase school physical activity, identifies general policy research approaches and findings, and outlines perspectives on future policy research in schools. It begins with an overview of the elementary school physical activity environment, distinguishes policies from practices, and outlines why school physical activity policy can be considered as a viable solution for improving population-level physical activity and health. Next, it describes relevant aspects of policy and provides an overview of policy-related research aims and findings. Lastly, it provides perspectives on policy research efforts that are needed to support evidence-based advocacy efforts.