Math and Physical Education Activities

Math and physical education activities have been shown to enhance academic achievement. In recent years, there has been a growing body of research linking physical activity with improved academic performance. Many schools are now incorporating physically active lessons into their curriculum in an effort to boost student achievement.

WHAT MAKES BEING ACTIVE IN MATH HELP STUDENTS TO LEARN BETTER?

So what is it about being active that seems to help students learn better? Researchers believe that the benefits of physical activity may be due to its ability to improve cognitive flexibility, focus, and memory. Additionally, exercise has been shown to increase blood flow and oxygenation to the brain, which can lead to increased cognitive function overall. If you’re looking for ways to help your students achieve even greater success in school, consider adding some physically active lessons into your math curriculum!

WHY MATH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION?

Math requires executive functioning skills such as cognitive flexibility. For example, students have to shift their attention from objects, colors, and shapes, to math problems to solve them. Physical education lessons also require students to adapt and be flexible with new situations and game rules.

Visual motor and visual spatial abilities are critical to understanding math concepts which are also key skills for physical education activities. Read more on how visual spatial skills influence math abilities.

According to earlier studies, repetition and memorization can improve numerical processing speed in physical activity interventions.

In addition, there is strong evidence that physical activity can help improve mathematics performance.

RECENT RESEARCH ON MATH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

A recent study explored how incorporating physical activity during math lessons affects cognitive function and gross motor skill development over the course of 2 years in 82 elementary school children.

The children were split into two groups – an intervention group who received 8 hours a week of physically active lessons and a control group.

At the start of the study, cognitive function tests were completed along with the Test of Gross Motor Development – Third Edition. Following the intervention, data analysis indicated great improvements in all cognitive measures when compared to the control group including:

• digit span forwards
• digit span backwards
• free word recall
• selective visual attention
• verbal fluency
• arithmetic

In addition, students in the intervention group also displayed greater improvements on the Test of Gross Motor Development, locomotion skills, and object control.

The researchers concluded that the physically active mathematics lessons offered benefits that work well together for cognitive and motor development, which are critical for optimal development in the early years.

Reference

Magistro, D., Cooper, S. B., Carlevaro, F., Marchetti, I., Magno, F., Bardaglio, G., & Musella, G. (2022). Two years of physically active mathematics lessons enhance cognitive function and gross motor skills in primary school children. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 63, 102254.