Physical Activity and Time-on-Task

This action research project explored the effects of physical activity to time-on-task. The participants in this study were 24 sixth grade students in a language arts classroom at a PK-8 Christian elementary school in the mid-western states. Students were observed to determine time-on-task for the first twenty-five minutes of class. A no-treatment period was observed in order to create a baseline, followed by a treatment period to demonstrate any increase or decrease in overall time-on-task. Three-minute activity breaks were implemented at the beginning of the class time during the treatment period. These breaks included a combination of cardio- and skill-based exercises. A trained observer used a running record to note time-on-task data for each student. The students were also surveyed following the observation period. The survey results reflected a positive attitude toward the activity breaks. The results of this study indicated an improvement to overall time-on-task as a result of implementing the activity breaks. Due to the positive results, both quantitative and qualitative, the teacher in this study continued the implementation of activity breaks following the observation period