Donald Siegel

Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement

JOPERD • Volume 77 No. 2 • February 2006 What Was the Question? With increasing pressure on schools to improve students’ standardized reading and math test scores, the time allocated to other subjects, such as physical education, is often viewed as superfl uous. However, many have argued that a sound body is essential for promoting a sound mind, and, in fact, that it is inappropriate to think of mind and body as separate entities. While Grissom (2005) acknowledges that the positive health benefi ts of regular physical activity go well beyond having a positive impact on academic achievement, in the present climate of cutbacks to physical education, a positive relationship between physical fi tness and academic achievement would be an important fi nding to support program retention. The present study is an attempt to determine the relationships between a cluster of standardized physical fi tness measures with standardized tests of reading and mathematic achievement.

Higher education and the plight of the black male athlete.

The effect of athletic participation on the graduation rate of Black male scholarship athletes was examined. Data are reviewed and comparisons are made of Whites versus Blacks at “elite” schools and at the average Division I institution. The data indicate that although Black athletes trail Whites in graduation rate across institutions and sports, Black athletes tend to graduate at a higher rate than do their Black peers at elite institutions and across Division I schools. Such findings conflict with the common belief that athletic participation has a negative impact on the academic success of Black males. Nonetheless, the Black-White differences remain problematic. It has become apparent that the issues involved go well beyond athletics and that sports, once again, appears to highlight and reflect larger societal problems.

Fractionated reaction time and the rate of force development

The relationship between the rate of force development and components of fractionated reaction time were investigated in the present study. Subjects (N=9) were administered extensive practice before being required to produce 98N of isometric force on a hand dynamometer at a maximal rate, at 20% slower than maximal, and at 40% slower than maximal. Repeated measures analysis of variance followed by non-orthogonal Dunn planned comparisons demonstrated that pre-motor time and reaction time increased as similar peak forces were produced over longer durations. No significant differences in motor times were revealed. These data suggested that the manner in which force is expressed relates to the complexity of motor programming. The increased requirement of coordinating alpha-gamma coactivation, as well as the increased need for rate coding as a process underlying force development at slower contraction rates, are discussed in relation to programming complexity.

Movement Duration, Fractionated Reaction Time, and Response Programming

The purpose of this study was to determine how the manipulation of movement duration affects components of fractionated reaction time and presumably motor programming. Twelve subjects, in a simple reaction time paradigm, responded to an auditory signal by executing an elbow flexion movement in the sagittal plane through a range of motion of 100° in 150, 300, 600 and 1200 ms. Results indicated no changes in motor time but small increments in premotor and reaction time through the 600 ms condition. At 1200 ms, reaction time increased faster than premotor time, and this appeared to be predominantly a consequence of an increment in motor time. These data were interpreted to be supportive of the notion that movement duration is related to response complexity and the time required for motor programming.

Project Coach: Youth Development and Academic Achievement through Sport.

ions. (p. 5) Indeed, if sport involvement alone had such a potent power to nurture and develop the types of attributes alluded to by the Duke of Wellington, David Riesman, and Mike Krzyzewski, then the thousands of underserved youths in the United States who spend countless hours honing their basketball and football skills would be academic and business success stories rather than kids who dream of athletic stardom and have little else to show for their efforts. Refi ning and Reframing the Question Given the complexity of this issue, we began to rethink and reframe our questions. It became important to fi rst fi gure out what types of programs and interventions have proven successful in improving the academic and social development of children in high-need communities. This question redirected our inquiry toward the extensive and complex research literature that investigates the causes and consequences of the academic achievement gap that exists between higher and lower socioeconomic students and between white and black or Hispanic students. While a range of interventions have been developed over the past 30 years, the present focus has been on the federally mandated legislation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The NCLB movement is driven by an effort to increase the accountability structures in public education through the design of objective standards that are used to assess student achievement. Not surprisingly, the pressure to meet these standards has resulted in schools allocating more of the school day to targeted literacy and math skills. An unintended outcome of this policy has been the narrowing of the curriculum, resulting in the reduction or even elimination of many activities (Dillon, 2006). After-school programs, historically the province of highly engaging activities such as dance, art, music, and sports, are also being transformed into extended tutoring sessions in an effort to raise test scores (Afterschool Alliance, 2006; Perry, Teague, & Frey, 2002). Although this effort has produced successes (e.g., Chenoweth, 2007), data shows that the achievement gap has been fairly resistant to such interventions despite the amount of time, energy, and money allocated to this effort (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). According to the National Assessment of Academic Progress scores (the “gold standard” for tests of academic achievement), African American and Latino 17-year-olds’ math and reading skills are at about the same level as white 13-year-olds’ skills (The In Project Coach, neighborhood teenagers serve as paid sport coaches to younger children in an after-school program, resulting in a mentor relationship that benefi ts both. A ll p ho to s co ur te sy o f t he a ut ho rs

Attentional Load and the Reproduction of Physical Work.

Abstract The effect of attentional focus on the perception of physical work was examined by using a work reproduction design. Subjects performed a fixed interval of work at either 50 or 75% of their predicted VO2 max, during which they were required either to solve a continuous flow of arithmetic problems or to perform in an unfilled control condition. On a subsequent trial, without a concomitant attention-demanding task, subjects were asked to reproduce the amount of work that they had previously performed. It was found that individuals in the control condition produced a significantly greater amount of work on the reproduction trial, while those in the attentional focus condition performed about the same amount as on the previous trial. No interaction was found between attentional focus and work load.

Relating Physical Education and Activity Levels to Academic Achievement in Children

10 JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 1 • January 2007 What Was the Question? Despite the increasing number of overweight and obese children in the United States, many schools are cutting physical education programs or reducing physical education requirements in favor of offering more academic courses. Such curricular changes are aimed at increasing students’ academic achievement, but are not necessarily supported by research, as previous studies have shown positive relationships between academic achievement and physical activity or participation in sports. Coe, Pivarnik, Womack, Reeves, and Malina (2006) hypothesized that increased physical activity, including the activity from physical education classes, could lead to better classroom performance because of the positive effects it has on arousal level, concentration, and self-esteem.

Attention and Perception of Intensity of Work

The effect of attentional focus on the perception of intensity of physical work was examined. 15 untrained college women were given a set of arithmetic problems of varying difficulty, while simultaneously performing work at different loads on a bicycle ergometer. It was hypothesized that as attention was focused on the mental task, less processing of physical stimuli would occur, and the perception of intensity of work would be reduced with the exception of a heavy-work load condition in which physical stimuli would be too compelling to repress. While it was concluded that attention was manipulated during the physical task, analysis of the data showed no effect on the perception of work.

TRANSFER EFFECTS OF LEARNING AT SPECIFIC SPEEDS ON PERFORMANCE OVER A RANGE OF SPEEDS

The effect of learning a novel skill at specific speeds on performance over a range of speeds was examined on the pursuit rotor. Three groups of subjects were given three days of training: Group 1 at 30 rpm, Group 2 at 60 rpm, and Group 3 at 30–45.60 rpm. Group 4, a control, practiced on a pegboard task during this period. On Days 4 and 5, all four groups were tested for transfer at 30, 45, and 60 rpm. For the most part, Group 3 appeared to perform equal to or better across the range of speeds than any of the other groups.

Middle School Students’ Perspectives on Three Teaching Strategies

7 JOPERD • Volume 77 No. 8 • October 2006 What Was the Question? In order to maximize student achievement, teachers must use a variety of teaching strategies. Cothran and Kulinna (2006) discuss the wide range of instructional approaches available to teachers. The most widely used and accepted styles (strategies) in physical education come from Mossten’s spectrum of teaching (Mossten & Ashworth, 2002). The researchers wanted to know how student perspectives would contribute to current research on teaching strategies. Do teachers and students hold differing views of what constitutes good teaching? Cothran and Kulinna believe that understanding middle school students’ perspectives on teaching strategies can potentially increase student learning. Additionally, teachers would be better informed about the benefi ts and limitations of the various teaching strategies, so they could incorporate them into their own teaching.