| It has been suggested that physical movement is related to one's development and ability to learn. The use of movement in school classrooms is widely applied by teachers and therapists and yet not extensively researched. Although previous research and literature suggest a link between the movement of children's bodies and their behavior, the specific effect of movement on children's ability to attend in a classroom setting has not been studied. This research study examined the relationship between movement breaks, consisting of two Brain Gym exercises conducted by classroom teacher-research assistants, and children's scores on The Conners' Teacher Rating Scale-Revised (S) (CTRS-R:S) over a six week period of time. It was hypothesized that there would be a difference in the children's scores on the CTRS-R:S during the weeks in which they received movement breaks in their classrooms signifying that there is a relationship between movement breaks and children's attention. The current research provides insight into pupils' classroom attention levels both with and without the use of movement breaks and has potential to add to the current body of research regarding children's attention and the possible application of movement in educational settings. A time-series design and repeat measures ANOVA was used to gather and analyze data. |
