This presentation discusses the importance of physical activity, particularly in young people. It focusses on how physical activity can assist students to become better learners.

1. The Importance of Physical
Activity and its Effects on
Learning
Samantha McDonald
u3037265
Sport Coaching Pedagogy
UC, Semester 1, 2013

2. What is physical activity?
Physical activity is defined as any bodily
movement produced by skeletal
muscles that requires energy
expenditure.
 World Health Organisation (WHO), 2013

3. Physical activity…
Wilson, M., 2010
Wilson, M., 2010
Be Active WA, 2012 Active for Life

4. The current health statistics…
 April 2009 the ABS found 63% of children aged 5-14 years
had participated in organised sport or dancing at least once
 Participation in organised sport may be related to:
◦ Sex
◦ Age
◦ Country of birth
◦ Parents’ country of birth
◦ Socioeconomic status
 Physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth leading
risk factor for global mortality causing an estimated 3.2 million
deaths globally. (WHO, 2013)
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012

5. What is stopping children from
participating in physical activity?
 Technology
 Time
 Cost
 Fear

6. How to stop Physical Inactivity!
 Awareness!!
 Government concerns.
◦ Leads to foundations and guidelines being
set up
◦ At least 60 minutes every day for children.
◦ No more than 2 hours per day using
electronic media for entertainment
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012

7. What do I see in the classroom?
NEGATIVE POSITIVE
 Some students who • Some students who
are: are:
◦ Unmotivated o Healthy
Enjoying Physical
◦
o
Overweight
Activity
◦ Lazy o Motivated
◦ Tired o Have a healthy diet
◦ Unhealthy o Happy
o Energetic to learn

8. How physical activity can help
students in the classroom
 A study by Dwyer et al. 2001
◦ physical fitness
◦ cardiorespiratory efficiency
◦ and activity levels
◦ scholastic achievement.
 Small but significant positive
associations
Tomporowski, P, D., Davis, C, L., Miller, P, H., and. Naglieri, J, A

9. How physical activity can help
students in the classroom
 Studies documenting positive effects from
◦ School and classroom wide exercise programs
◦ Putting physical activity into the curriculum
◦ Integrating outside school activities
 These studies have found improvements in:
◦ Standardised test scores
◦ Task behavior
◦ Time on academic tasks
Kercood, S, & Banda, D 2012

10. How physical activity can help
students in the classroom
 Study comparing the effects of
physical activities
◦ DURING listening comprehension task.
 less time to complete the tasks
 improved performance accuracy
◦ PRIOR to listening comprehension task
 Continued to work at a faster pace
 Performance accuracy was lower
Kercood, S., & Banda, D., 2012

11. Health and Physical Education
 Health and PE has struggled for
legitimacy in education systems
 Not included in the national curriculum
that was implemented in 2011 by
ACARA
 Despite research in improving
academic performance
Stolz, S., 2009

12. How Health and PE can help
 Getting students motivated and
interested in physical activity
 Educating about the importance of
physical activity
 Getting students outside, in a range of
sporting environments to find
something they like

13. References
 Active for life, Increasing Physical Activity in Adults Age 50 and Older,
http://www.activeforlife.info/about_the_program/national_blueprint.html
 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, Australian Social Trends,
Viewed 27/3/2013, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40Jun+2012
 Be Active WA, 2012, The Taskforce and Local Governnent, http://www.beactive.wa.gov.au/index.php?id=312
 Kercood, S, & Banda, D 2012, 'The Effects of Added Physical Activity on Performance during a Listening Comprehension
Task for Students with and without Attention Problems', International Journal Of Applied Educational Studies, 13, 1, pp. 19-
32, Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 March 2013.
 Jacob Sattelmair and John J. Ratey, 2009, Physically Active Play and Cognition An Academic Matter?,
http://johnratey.typepad.com/SattelRatey.pdf
 Stolz, Steven. Physical education and the national curriculum. [online]. Professional Educator; v.8 n.4 p.44-47; November
2009. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=179754;res=AEIPT> ISSN: 1447-3607. [cited 26 Mar 13].
 Tomporowski, P, D., Davis, C, L., Miller, P, H., and. Naglieri, J, A., Exercise and Children’s Intelligence, Cognition, and
Academic Achievement, Viewed 27/3/2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748863/
 Wilson, M., 2010, Online Health Forum's, http://onlinehealthfourms.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/benefits-of-exercise.html
 World Health Organisation, 2013, Physical Activity, Viewed 30/3/2012, http://www.who.int/topics/physical_activity/en/