"Thinking while Moving in English": Evaluation of a school-based program that integrated physical activity across the primary school curriculum

The "Thinking While Moving in English" involves the integration of PA in primary school curriculum. Classroom teacher will be primarily responsible for the delivery of the program during normal English lessons. The program will run for 6 weeks. Primary school children will participate in active English lessons, that integrate physical activity during regular English lessons. The intervention lessons will run for 3 x 40 minutes per week over 6 weeks and will be delivered to the whole class during curriculum time. TWM-E involves the modification of Stage 2 unit of work that will be developed from the NSW Board of Studies k-6 syllabi to maximise and create opportunities to integrate physical activity and enhance learning. Teaching ideas and resources will be supplied by the research team. Following the randomisation of the participant schools all baseline assessments will be undertaken. Two professional development days will be carried out prior to the research project. All costs will be met by the University of Newcastle. Dr. Nicholas Riley, University lecturer with 20 years of Primary School experience will deliver the professional learning workshop alongside other members of the research team. The PL will consist of presentations and videos describing the benefits of including PA during learning, as well as examples of activities for teachers. Teachers will then plan and modify their existing unit of work with peer support. The PL will be delivered in all participating teachers as a group. A weekly email will be send to teachers to ensure the smooth delivery of the program. Additionally fortnightly fidelity checks will occur culminating in an open discussion between teachers and researchers. Overall, the PL workshops will focus on the key principles of teaching of movement-based learning activities. Control schools will receive this workshop on the completion of the program. All schools will be provided with all lesson plans and a physical activity equipment pack containing all teaching resources (balls, drill ladders, stop watches, tape measures.The project will use a group randomised control trial. Schools will be randomly allocated to intervention or comparison groups for the study duration. Students and teachers in the control group will be provided all program information and resources following the collection of post-test data. The following research methodologies will be used: Physical activity (PA): Accelerometers will be used to provide an objective measure of both PA intensity and duration. Accelerometers are light instruments, small and robust that measure physical activity ( Freedson, Prober & Janz, 2005). Accelerometers will be worn throughout the school day. On task behaviour: will be observed using a momentary time sampling procedure adapted from Behaviour Observation of students in Schools and Applied Behaviour Analysis for Teachers (Alberyo and Troutman) Students will be chosen at random and will be observed in 15 second intervals over a 30 minute period pre, during and post intervention Academic performance: Academic performance in English will be measured using an ACER Progressive Achievement test in English delivered by the classroom teacher (Written Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar). Enjoyment of English Survey: Students enjoyment of English will be evaluated using an attitude scale. Evaluation: All students will be asked to complete an evaluation survey at the completion of the program. Cognitive Assessments will be measured using the National Institute of Health (NIH) Toolbox for 7-17 years, which includes assessments of attention, cognitive control, episodic and working memory, language, and processing speed.