Physical activity in development of motor skills and cognitive processes in preschool children: consequences in school readiness.

A survey of the scientific literature shows that there is a large consensus in the scientific and education communities on the beneficial effects of physical activity on health; accordingly, recommendations on levels and types of activities to be performed by children and adults have been published by scientific associations and international organizations (WHO, NASPE, AAP, HAH). Good health is a fundamental right of children important for both well being and for school success; good health is also important for development of executive functions, which also contribute to well being and school readiness. Despite this correlation, the relationship between motor and cognitive development in children has not been extensively studied, also because the methodological difficulties occurring when the focus are rapidly developing human beings of age ranging from 3 to 6 years. Note that most of the studies addressing physical and cognitive competences in this population of children are based on parent's reports and interviews and that methods for objective and reliable quantitative and qualitative data acquisition have only recently been introduced. In addition, the classical view that children "mature by themselves" and that acquisition of skills depends on chronological age rather that experience, environment and cultural context is still very popular among parents and educators as well as among some components of the scientific community. On the other hand a new era on the science of development is approaching. Recent data from neuroscientific studies suggest a positive association between physical activity, physical fitness, executive functions and academic performance. In the international congress of Seattle (2013) on Child Development data were presented showing that the practice of physical activity can promote development of executive functions and school success in children; in line with these suggestions, new data were recently published (Verburgh, 2014) and more are now expected to appear. The ICSSPE (International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education) has organized a "by invitation only" symposium held in Berlin in September 2014 where a task of world experts of science, education, business and politics was asked to discuss on the scientific and practical aspects of promoting cognitive development with physical activity. In those two days of "brain storming", we concluded on the need of interdisciplinary approaches to promote both the growth of scientific knowledge and the identification and implementation of specific programs to develop school readiness in children. In that meeting some important different points of view by different cultural contexts also emerged, confirming that an ecological perspective is necessary to understand and promote motor and cognitive development. In this thesis I investigate the possible association between physical activity, physical fitness, executive functions and school achievement. In the first section I discuss the theoretical framework of development by reviewing past and recent theories of child development. In the second section I review the methodological aspects of my approach to the study of 3-6 years old children for acquiring both qualitative and quantitative information on their development. In the third section I present the data and the studies that I have performed during my PhD course addressing three basic questions: a) What is the role of the environment in developing physical activity in preschool children?” b) “How may we develop motor skills in children?” c) If and how may we develop cognitive processes by means of physical activity?". The last sections summarises and draws the conclusions of my studies that highlight the role of the environment (physical and cultural) in child physical development and proposes new approaches to physical education that may contribute to cognitive development and school readiness in preschool childre

Comparison of Manipulatives Effect on Academic Achievement in Preschool Math

Students in the United States tend to possess poor academic performance in mathematics compared to other developed countries. Despite the increased preschool enrollment and attendance, there are academic disparities among preschool students. Earlier exposure to mathematical concepts can positively affect student outcomes. Research supports the idea that early exposure and mastery of patterning skills and non-symbolic quantity knowledge are trajectories of math academic achievement during elementary and middle-level grades (Rittle-Johnson, Fyfe, Hofer, & Farran, 2016). Students who begin with mathematics deficiencies, without proper intervention, tend to continue to lack understanding of foundational math skills that are essential for proficiency in the following grade or skill. Using manipulatives in conjunction with classroom instruction has been shown to increase scores in some math skills significantly. Although many studies explored the effectiveness of physical and virtual manipulatives in mathematics, few investigate the relationship between the implementation of manipulative with preschool students and math learning acquisition. There is also a gap in the literature related to manipulatives’ effect on preschool students’ acquisition of patterning skills and non-symbolic quantity knowledge. The purpose of this study is to compare virtual and physical manipulatives effect on academic achievement when learning non-symbolic quantity knowledge and patterning skills in preschool. Ninety-one preschool students participated in the study and were randomly assigned into two intervention groups, physical and manipulative groups, and a control group. The Repeated Pattern and Panamath assessments were administered before and after instruction to assess patterning skills and non-symbolic quantity knowledge. A mixed ANOVA analysis found no significant difference between the physical and virtual manipulatives on patterning skills assessment scores. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the physical and virtual manipulatives and non-symbolic quantity knowledge scores in preschool students. Implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed

The Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education: Intellectual and attitudinal challenges

mathematics; education; curriculu

Investigating the Impact of Lessons Based on Marzanoʼs Theory of Learning on Student Attitude, Engagement, and Achievement in Grade 10 Academic Mathematics

Motivation is an important construct in education, both for its links to student learning and in its own right as a factor in student development. The relationship between motivation and student learning is particularly important in mathematics since numerous studies have demonstrated that motivation in mathematics is linked to student achievement, and that student achievement and student attitudes toward mathematics are reciprocally related. This study investigated the impact of an instructional intervention that specifically addressed two dimensions of motivation: engagement and student attitudes. Based on Marzano’s (1998, 2007) New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives©, a unit of study in Grade 10 Academic Mathematics was developed that utilized targeted activities and complete lessons to positively influence student engagement and attitudes. This mixed methods study used pre–post comparisons as well as treatment-control comparisons of 70 students in 3 classes of Grade 10 mathematics to investigate the impact of the instructional intervention on student engagement, attitude, and achievement in order to determine whether such an intervention could function as an exemplar for development of similar interventions that positively impacted student learning. The results of the study showed statistically significant changes in student engagement and student attitudes, but not for student achievement. Implications of these results pointed to directions for future research in this area

2014 - The Nineteenth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars

The full program book from the Nineteenth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 17, 2014. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/sssprograms/1013/thumbnail.jp