scholarly journals Effect of Vigorous Physical Activity on Executive Control in Middle-School Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 3949 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Phillips ◽  
James C. Hannon ◽  
Bradley B. Gregory ◽  
Ryan D. Burns
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
School Students ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
The U.S

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the acute effect of vigorous physical activity on executive control in eighth grade students from the U.S. Participants were eighth grade students (N = 68; 26 girls, 42 boys) recruited from one middle school located in the Mountain West region of the U.S. Two groups of participants were assigned to receive either a vigorous physical activity or a sedentary condition within a counter-balanced cross-over design using a 2-week washout. Both groups were administered Trails Making Tests A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B) at 20- and 25-min post-treatment, respectively. Mixed design ANOVA tests with repeated measures examined differences between treatments on TMT-A and TMT-B performance and the modifying effect of sex. Students who completed the physical activity condition displayed a faster time to completion on the TMT-B compared to students who completed the sedentary condition (Mean difference = −6.5 s, p = 0.026, d = 0.42). There were no differences between treatment groups on TMT-A and no sex × treatment interactions (p > 0.05). This pilot study suggests that vigorous physical activity may improve executive control in middle-school students and adds to the existent literature that continues to examine the emerging link between physical activity and cognition in school-based settings.

The Effectiveness of Equipment Provisions on Rural Middle School Students’ Physical Activity During Lunch Recess

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-295
Author(s):  
Hyeonho Yu ◽  
Pamela H. Kulinna ◽  
Shannon C. Mulhearn
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Environmental Intervention ◽  
School Students ◽  
Baseline Phase ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

Background: Environmental provisions can boost students’ discretionary participation in physical activity (PA) during lunchtime at school. This study investigated the effectiveness of providing PA equipment as an environmental intervention on middle school students’ PA levels and stakeholders’ perceptions of the effectiveness of equipment provisions during school lunch recess. Methods: A baseline–intervention research design was used in this study with a first baseline phase followed by an intervention phase (ie, equipment provision phase). A total of 514 students at 2 middle schools (school 1 and school 2) in a rural area of the western United States were observed directly using the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth instrument. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders. Paired-sample t tests and visual analysis were conducted to explore differences in PA levels by gender, and common comparison (with trustworthiness measures) was used with the interview data. Results: The overall percentage of moderate to vigorous PA levels was increased in both schools (ranging from 8.0% to 24.0%). In school 2, there was a significant difference in seventh- and eighth-grade students’ moderate to vigorous PA levels from the baseline. Three major themes were identified: (1) unmotivated, (2) unequipped, and (3) unquestionable changes (with students becoming more active). Conclusions: Environmental supports (access, equipment, and supervision) significantly and positively influenced middle school students’ lunchtime PA levels.

Active Supervision and Students’ Physical Activity in Middle School Physical Education

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel M. Schuldheisz ◽  
Hans van der Mars
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Functional Relationship ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Teacher Interaction ◽  
School Students ◽  
Passive Condition ◽  
Reversal Design ◽  
Low Activity

This study examined the effects of active supervision on the moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels of middle school students during fitness instruction. Students from four separate classes, characterized as “low activity students,” and their teacher participated in the study. Students’ MVPA levels during fitness instruction served as the target behavior. Two supervisory conditions were contrasted using a reversal design. Passive supervision was characterized by low rates of teacher interaction, such as prompting, encouragement, feedback, and movement. Active supervision consisted of teaching patterns that included higher rates of interactions with students and movement. Mean MVPA levels during passive condition were 49.7% while mean MVPA levels during active supervision were 68%. Findings point to a functional relationship between specific components of teachers’ supervisory efforts and students’ MVPA levels during fitness instruction. The importance of active supervision, within die context of holding students accountable for engaging in physical activity, is underscored by this study.

Readers Write: October 2001

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-69
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
School Students ◽  
Special Operations ◽  
Square Roots ◽  
The Future ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
One Year ◽  
Fine Publication

I WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE “Four Fours” letter that appeared in the February 2001 issue (p. 340). I have assigned this problem several times in the course of teaching middle school students and have always been impressed with the results. One year, I challenged the students to generate the numbers between 0 and 100 using only four 4s and the basic operations, as well as factorials, square roots, and exponents. (I had not heard of the “next to” operation that was discussed in the letter but will allow its use in the future.) In the letter, Barry D. Cohen writes that he does not believe that 19 can be made using any of the regular or special operations and suggests that it requires the use of .4. I was not sure how to generate 19 with .4, but one of my eighth-grade students was able to generate it in this manner: 19 = 4! −(4 + 4/4). This student was unable to find solutions for a few other numbers between 0 and 100, including 35, 37, 43, and 51, and several in the 70s and 80s. I would love to hear if anyone has results for these numbers. Thank you for putting out such a fine publication.

scholarly journals Effects of a Concept-Based Physical Education on Middle School Students’ Knowledge, Motivation, and Out-of-School Physical Activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yubing Wang ◽  
Ang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Autonomous Motivation ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Eighth Grade Students ◽  
Static Group ◽  
Out Of School

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the extent to which a concept-based physical education curriculum, specifically the Science of Healthful Living (SHL) curriculum, influenced middle school students’ knowledge, motivation for physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA), and out-of-school PA. Methods: A static group comparison design was adopted to analyze the differences on fitness knowledge, autonomous motivation for PE and PA, and out-of-school PA between eighth-grade students who studied the SHL curriculum (the experimental condition, n = 168) and their peers who studied a multiactivity PE (the control condition, n = 226) 1 year earlier. Results: The students who studied the SHL curriculum demonstrated significantly higher levels of knowledge (p < .05, Cohen d = 0.81), autonomous motivation toward PA (p < .05, Cohen d = 0.20), and out-of-school PA (p < .05, Mann–Whitney U effect size = 0.01) than students who had experienced the multiactivity PE. The students in both conditions were equally motivated in their respective PE courses. Conclusion: The SHL curriculum is effective in promoting students’ PA behavior outside of the school.

The Effect of Instructional Time Frequency on Middle School Students' Mathematics Achievement Scores

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 705
Author(s):  
Allison L. Temple ◽  
Shereeza F. Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Instruction ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Instructional Time ◽  
School Students ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

To achieve the goal of 100% proficiency for all students in mathematics, a middle school in a large urban public school district in Omaha, Nebraska increased the frequency of instructional time in mathematics instruction for a group of seventh and eighth grade students. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the performance of seventh and eighth grade students on the Nebraska State Accountability Mathematics Assessment (NeSA-M) using different frequencies of mathematics instruction, provided daily versus every-other-day. The Continuous Improvement Theory and Bloom’s Mastery Learning model were used as frameworks to investigate math achievement.  A quantitative causal-comparative study was conducted using ex post facto achievement data. The analysis included the comparison of the mean differences in NeSA-M scores for seventh and eighth grade students using an independent samples t test. This analysis was completed to see if block scheduling frequency daily versus every other day was effective with student achievement for each grade level. There were unexpected results from this study as the two grade levels demonstrated different effects from the influence of increased instructional time on the growth of middle school students’ NeSA scores.

scholarly journals PERCEIVED EXERTION AND MODERATE TO VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCE

2020 ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Paulina Yesica Ochoa-Martínez ◽  
Javier Arturo Hall-López ◽  
Cristhian Emmanuel López Campos ◽  
Edgar Ismael Alarcón Meza
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Perceived Exertion ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
World Health ◽  
P Value ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
School Students

The aim of the current study is to compare the perceived exertion and moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) among first grade middle school students in physical education (PE) classes given by PE teachers with higher or lower experience than 16 years. Eighty-seven PE lessons conducted by PE teachers with ≥ 16 years of experience (n=35) and teachers with ˂ 16 years of experience (n=52) were evaluated by 348 middle school students (Mean age=12.2±0.5 years). To determine the perceived exertion, the pictorial children's effort rating table (PCERT) was completed, after PE. Children chose an option on an illustrated scale 1–10 perceived exertion. The moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was evaluated using the System for Observing Fitness and Instruction Time (SOFIT) assessing the intensity as the proportion of time that students spent engaged in walking and very active PA during PE. A cross-sectional design was used, the equality of variance was calculated using the Student t-test for independent samples resulting in MVPA (P-value=.659) and perceived exertion (P-value=.205) α≤ than 0.05. In both groups, the average value of perceived exertion was less than 5 points on the scale, which is insufficient to enhance physical fitness. The MVPA did not achieve international guidelines of engaging students in at least 50% of the lessons time in walking and very active PA. It is recommended for PE teachers to develop pedagogical strategies contributing from the school environment to guide students in educational contents for health through PA, as established by UNESCO and recommended by the World Health Organization.

scholarly journals Objective and Subjective Physical Activity Levels in Austrian Middle School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 448-459
Author(s):  
Carla Greier ◽  
Clemens Drenowatz ◽  
Herbert Riechelmann ◽  
Klaus Greier
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
School Students ◽  
Physical Activity Levels

scholarly journals Investigation of Middle School Students’ Math Self-Efficacy Perceptions and Math Problem Posing Attitudes

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Sena Görgün ◽  
Canses Tican
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
Attitude Score ◽  
School Students ◽  
Math Problem ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Eighth Grade Students

The main purpose of the current study is to investigate middle school students&rsquo; math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes. The sample of the study is comprised of 990 fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students attending middle school in the Fethiye district of the city of Muğla. As the data collection tool, the &ldquo;Math Self-efficacy Perception Scale&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Math Problem Posing Attitude Scale&rdquo; were used. In the analysis of the data collected through the qualitative research method, frequencies, percentages, independent-samples t-test, one-way variance analysis, post-hoc tests (Scheffe and Dunnett&rsquo;s C) and correlation analysis were used. As a result, it was found that the middle school students&rsquo; math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes are over the medium level. The middle school students&rsquo; self-efficacy perceptions were found to be varying significantly depending on gender. The middle school students&rsquo; problem posing attitudes were found to be varying significantly depending on gender. The math self-efficacy perceptions and math problem posing attitudes of the 5th and 6th grade students were found to be significantly higher than those of the 7th and 8th grade students. A medium, positive and significant correlation was found between the middle school students&rsquo; mean math self-efficacy perception score and their mean math problem posing attitude score.

Gender Differences in Health Risk Behaviors and Physical Activity Among Middle School Students

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsu-Yin Wu ◽  
Sherry E. Rose ◽  
Joanna M. Bancroft
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Health Risk Behaviors ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
School Students

Adolescence is a period of accelerated growth and change, bridging the complex transition from childhood to adulthood. This period offers adolescents an opportunity to begin planning for their futures and to adopt healthy attitudes about risk behaviors that can continue into adulthood, thus setting the stage for a lifetime of desirable health behaviors. This study used the Youth Risk Behavior Survey on middle school students and examined the gender differences of health risk behaviors among 674 8th-graders from an urban setting. The results showed that males were more likely to be involved in fights, to initiate alcohol use, and to participate in physical activity; whereas females were more likely to try to lose weight with unhealthy practices, such as fasting and laxatives. School nurses are in a prime position to promote adolescent health in the school setting by providing health-related services and teaching to help students initiate and maintain healthy lifestyles.

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