Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports and Inclusive Didactics
COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AND CLASSROOM-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Abstract
Physical activity has been shown to have numerous cognitive benefits for youths. In particular, by incorporating regular physical activity into curricular routines, students can reap these cognitive benefits, which can have a positive impact on their math performance. Therefore, aim of the present work was to investigate how a classroom-based physical activity intervention could affect mathematics performance both in students with mathematics learning disabilities and who do not have any specific learning disabilities. Participants were 104 students attending the first year of high school. At baseline and after intervention, a battery of standardized motor tests and the AC-MT 11-14 test was administrated. In comparison to the control, the intervention group showed significant improvements in comprehension and production, arithmetic reasoning and problem solving, as well as in physical fitness. No significant changes were found in the control group. The findings of this study indicated that integrating physical activity with mathematics classes has stronger effects on mathematics performance than traditional lessons.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v8i3.1081
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Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports and Inclusive Didactics
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