Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Patrick Cullinane

EDAM 528: Research Methodology for Action Research Winter 2014 Katz-Buonincontro

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction of Problem
There are multiple obstacles facing students in the classroom today. Some of these problems can be addressed and some cannot. Classrooms can have varying temperatures, different seats, and seating arrangements, different teaching methods, and depending on the student varying satisfaction of subject matter. My research will be focusing on student engagement in the classroom and one of the underlining problems that students may have; Physical Activity. Action Research questions at hand are: 1. Will a short break from academics to physical activity enhance the classroom? a. Will the physical activity help students focus/re-focus on the academics/class discussion and/or assignments? b. How Long of a physical activity/break will be required to see any change in classroom demeanor? c. Will this physical activity/break help promote better health and work habits in the long run? Within this Action Research some key elements need to be discussed and furthered explained. To start I will want to find out what other research has shown on classroom engagement; what creates classroom engagement, how to measure classroom engagement effectively, and what are some underlying factors of classroom engagement. I will also want to look into obesity vs. physical activity especially in young adults. There must be a correlation between how much physical activity a young adult has in a given day and obesity. I will also want to look into the effects of obesity on the minds/mental capacity. This may be a factor of classroom engagement.

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Lastly I will be researching if there are any studies on physical activities in the classroom and what was previous outcome. And if there are previous outcomes can I duplicate the data or will there be other factors in my classroom that prohibit or enhance others research. This will help me gain a starting base before moving into my own research.

Classroom Engagement
Classroom engagement has been researched thoroughly every year. But every year new research is done on classroom engagement. This is because each year student change and learning capabilities keep changing. For a 21st century learner there are a few factors that can motivate them to excel in class. Creating Motivating Learning Environments: What We Can Learn from Researchers and Students states there are 3 things that motivate a student in school; Feeling some sense of autonomy or control, a connection to the class and the school, and the feeling that they have the skills necessary to meet the challenge (Daniels, 2010). Daniels goes on to explain that stress plays a large role in a student's life and it can determine whether or not they will participate. Most students want to be challenged with tasks in school and overcome the obstacles but other factors come into play, the stress of not managing time properly, life at home etc. Daniels also states that "Rewards and punishment work wonders at controlling students' immediate classroom behavior. What they don't do is foster an intrinsic, long-term desire to learn, behave, and achieve" (Daniels, 2010). Motivation in the Classroom: Reciprocal Effects of Teacher Behavior and Student Engagement Across the School Year states that childrens motivation decreases from preschool to high school. (Skinner & Belmont, 1993). Skinner and Belmont focus on the idea that what a teacher does in the classroom will motivate students to a certain degree. They focused on

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Involvement, Structure, and Autonomy Support. From Skinner and Belmonts research they have stated Teachers interactions with students predicted students behavioral and emotional engagement in the classroom (Skinner & Belmont, 1993). They go on to state that a teachers involvement on an individual basis with students had the most powerful impact on the student perspective of the teacher. And that a student perspective of a teacher can motive students in the classroom (Skinner & Belmont, 1993). Although the next article researched took place in the preschool classroom some very interesting facts were discovered that can be translated to any classroom. Classroom settings effect childrens motivation from activities that had more choice and activities that had more teacher structure. Those activities with more choice had a more positive engagement (Vitiello, Booren, Downer, & Willford, 2012). The article goes on to describe that more positive reinforcement helps with engagement from students. And that Childrens behavior is highly variable within a single day (Vitiello, Booren, Downer, & Willford, 2012). Lastly Rassuli has done research on bonus credit in the classroom and the effect it has on student motivation. The findings revealed that students will balance Leisure time vs. Work time and what the added benefit would be. The study showed that students performed best when a bonus was given but only with a condition stating that they must complete all prior work before the bonus will be considered (Rassuli, 2012).

Physical Activity and Obesity

Physical activity is at the core of America with an epidemic on our hands. Studies have shown that children with more freedom to travel to and from school and accumulate more physical activity throughout the day and are more attracted to physical activity (Kolt, 2013). Kolt

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also mentions that proper nutrition will play a fact in obesity but physical activity will be the main talking point in his article. The association between physical activity, screen time and weight from 6 to 14 yrs: The Raine Study showed that younger children 8 and 10 years old screen time played a factor in their weight and BMI (Hands, Chivers, Parker, Beilin, Kendall, & Larkin, 2011). This study reports that children exposed to a longer period of screen time (computers and TV) have less physical activity and ten correlates to a higher weight and BMI. Lastly on the pure physical activity side of things there are reports that lower levels of physical activity can lead to adult depression. Based on a study done by self reporting in a community on their depression and their childhood physical activity levels there is a 35% increase in odds for depression for those who had low physical activity as a child (Jacka, et al., 2011). This studies show that physical activity among young children is vital to their health in the short run and the long run.

Physical Activity in the Classroom

Merging both topics together, classroom engagement and physical activity, we can now look at historical studies done on this topic. In the US lunches are becoming more and healthier for students but at the same time recess is being cut for more academics. Looking at the playground and recess a lot of factors go into why a child will or will not be physically active including what others think, weather, the status of the equipment and field (Stanley, Boshoff, & Dollman, 2012). Bullying and other social aspects are a large factor in open ended physical activity along with the conditions of the fields.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

A comprehensive school and physical activity program is needed for all students to become more physically active. This includes P.E. in school, but also physical activity during school with staff involvement (Elliot, Erwin, Hall, & Heidorn, 2013). Physical activity should be integrated into the academic content, allow for walking throughout the day, and to engage into brief (3-5 min) physical activates. To ensure a school program work there needs to be support from all levels (district, teacher, parent, and student) (Elliot, Erwin, Hall, & Heidorn, 2013). The use of physical activity in the classroom has been shown to increase academic performance (Strong, et al., 2005). Along the same contexts this was broken down into physical activity having effect on study learning and academic achievement vs. being physically fit. In young children for girls just doing some sort of physical activity increases physical activity while in boys being actually physically fit was the only association made (Kwak, Kremers, Bergman, Ruiz, Rizzo, & Sjostrom, 2009). This being said there is other evidence from The association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance: A systematic review of the literature that suggest that there is no negative impact on student and physical activity. This review states that 50% of the time physical activity has a positive impact on students while 48% of the time the effect is negligible, meaning there is no impact (Rasberry, et al., 2011). Donnelly and Lambourne have also done research along the same line and have discovered that when physical activity is present in the classroom and students obtain 75minutes per day academic achievement went up by 6% (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011). It goes on to state that the use of physical activities in the classroom can benefit academic achievement as well as students health.

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Looking at a historical perspective there is a link between physical activity and academic achievement but future studies should look into the types of physical activities being done as well as the length of physical activities (Howie & Pate, 2012). With 125 studies looked at, Howie & Pate have concluded that prior to 2007 the average study into this physical activity vs. academic achievement was not a priority. This is changing as researchers are looking for ways to help motivate and engage students in and out of the classroom. And more research needs to be done in order to find the link between physiological mechanism by which aerobic fitness may contribute to performance on standardized academic test (Roberts, Freed, & McCarthy, 2010).

Conclusion
From my research I can say that I am better prepared for my own studies. I have found that there is a link between physical activity and obesity in young adults. And that physical activity in young adults can foster better knowledge (Mahar, Murphy, Rowe, Golden, Shields, & Raedeke, 2006). I have also discover that other classroom have attempted to use physical activity in their classroom and will use these other research as a guide of what to do and what not to do in my own study.

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References

Daniels, E. (2010). 1. Creating Motivating Learning Environments: What We Can Learn from Researchers and Students. English Journal , 25-29. Donnelly, J. E., & Lambourne, K. (2011). Classroom-based physical activity, cognition, and academic acheivement. Preventitive Medicine , S36-S42. Elliot, E., Erwin, H., Hall, T., & Heidorn, B. (2013). Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: Helping All Students Achieve 60 Minutes of Physical Activity Each Day. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance , 9-15. Hands, B. P., Chivers, P. T., Parker, H. E., Beilin, L., Kendall, G., & Larkin, D. (2011). The association bewteen physical activity, screen time and weight from 6 to 14 yrs: The Raine Study. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport , 397-403. Howie, E. K., & Pate, R. R. (2012). Physical activity and academic achievement in children: A historical perspective. Journal of Sport and Health Science , 160-169. Jacka, F., Pasco, J., Williams, L., Leslie, E., Dodd, S., Nicholson, G., et al. (2011). Lower levels of physical activity in childhood associated with adult depression. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport , 222226. Kolt, G. S. (2013). Children and physical activity. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport , 291. Kwak, L., Kremers, S. P., Bergman, P., Ruiz, J. R., Rizzo, N. S., & Sjostrom, M. (2009). Associations between Physical Activity, Fitness, and Academic Achievement. The Journal of Pediatrics , 914-918.e1. Mahar, M. T., Murphy, S. K., Rowe, D. A., Golden, J., Shields, A. T., & Raedeke, T. D. (2006). Effects of a Classroom-Based Program on Physical Activity and On-Task behavior. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , 2086-2094. Rasberry, C. N., Lee, S. M., Robin, L., Larris, B., Russell, L. A., Coyle, K. K., et al. (2011). The assoication between school-based physical activity, including phyhsical education, and academic performance: A systematic review of the literature. Preventative Medicine , S10-S20. Rassuli, A. (2012). Engagement in Classroom Learning: Creating Temporal Participation Incentives for Extrinsically Motivated Students Through Bonus Credits. Journal of Education for Business , 86-93. Roberts, C. K., Freed, B., & McCarthy, W. (2010). Low Aerobic Fitness and Obesity Are Associated with Lower Standardized Test Scores in Children. The Journal of Pediatrics , 711-718.e1.

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Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the CLassroom: Reciprocal Effects of Teacher Behavior and Student Engagement Across the School Year. Journal of Educational Psychology , 571-581. Stanley, R. M., Boshoff, K., & Dollman, J. (2012). Voices in the playground: A qualitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators of lunchtime play. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport , 44-51. Strong, W. B., Malina, R. M., Blimkie, C. J., Daniels, S. R., Dishman, R. K., Gutin, B., et al. (2005). Evidence Based Physical Activity for School-Age Youth. The Journal of Pediatrics , 732-737. Vitiello, V. E., Booren, L. M., Downer, J. T., & Willford, A. P. (2012). Variation in children's classrom engagment throughout a day in preschool: Relations to classroom and child factors. Early Childhood Research Quarterly , 210-220.

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Appendix
A - Literature Research Matrix

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B - Database Search Terminology

Search Terms
Education

Related Search terms

Physical activity Obesity Evidence Engagement Learning Academic Classroom Physical activity Obesity Evidence Education Academic Classroom Motivation Achievement Obesity Evidence Education Physical activity Obesity Evidence

Databases
EBSCO, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Education Research Complete, ERIC EBSCO, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Education Research Complete, ERIC

Motivation

Physical Activity

EBSCO, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Education Research Complete, ERIC

Academic Performance

EBSCO, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Education Research Complete, ERIC