Does physical activity improve student’s concentration and performance in mathematics? : A quantitative study with students in fourth grade

Denna studie vill pröva hypotesen att fysisk aktivitet ger positiva effekter på elevers koncentration och matematiska prestation. Hypotesen testades kvantitativt genom en kvasiexperimentell design i årskurs 4. Data från 17 elever i en kontrollgrupp och 20 elever i en experimentgrupp användes. Försöket genomfördes under två veckor med totalt sex lektioner i vardera grupp. I studien mättes två parametrar, koncentration via självskattning och matematisk prestation genom att eleverna beräknade multiplikationsuppgifter under två minuter. Mätningar genomfördes precis i början av lektionen och precis vid slutet av lektionen. Inför varje lektion utförde experimentgruppen fysisk aktivitet under tre minuter till en dansvideo. Data från studien visade att elever självskattade sin koncentration högre i slutet av lektionen i jämförelse med i början av lektionen. Koncentrationen och prestationen i matematik ökade i båda grupperna men båda delarna ökade mest i experimentgruppen. Skillnaden är dock väldigt liten mellan grupperna. För experimentgruppen är ökningen i prestationen i genomsnitt strax under en halv uppgift mer i omfattning av två minuter. Skillnaderna mellan grupperna testades med statistiska metoder (t-test), men ingen statistisk signifikant skillnad kunde noteras. I diskussionen diskuteras faktorer som kan ligga till grund för studiens resultat. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that physical activity has positive effects on concentration and mathematical ability among students. The hypothesis was tested qualitatively through a quasi-experimental design in 4:th grade. Data was collected from a control group of 17 students, and an experimental group of 20 students. The experiment was conducted for two weeks with a total of six lessons in each group. In this study, two metrics were measured: concentration via self-assessment, and mathematical ability through two-minute-long multiplication exercises conducted by the students. The measurements were conducted at the very beginning and the very end of the lesson. Before each lesson, the experimental group performed physical activity by following a dance video. The results from this study show that students assessed their concentration higher at the end of the lesson compared to the beginning of the lecture. Concentration and mathematical ability increased in both of the groups, but the experimental group showed the largest increase in both metrics. However, the reported difference between the groups is very small. Students in the experimental group were on average able to correctly solve slightly less than one-half more exercises in the two-minute test, compared to the control group. The increase in the metrics between the groups was tested using statistical methods (t-test), which concluded that the increase is not statistically significant. Some possible factors contributing to the result of the study are discussed in the Discussion section.