Cara Christensen English 312 Section 8 Assignment #2 11/6/13 P. E.

Can Improve Your IQ Cutting funding for public school physical education has been a hot topic for the past decade or so. Many schools struggle to meet all state requirements within a severely deflated budget, and cannot afford to fund basic programs like music class and physical education. With the rise of childhood obesity, the issue of cutting physical education has been controversial. Not only is it cutting out childrens opportunities for much needed calorie-burning, it also decreases a childs ability to focus in the classroom because he or she doesnt have an outlet for energy release. Multiple studies have led to evidence that participation in physical activity improves a students ability to focus in the classroom, so how does that work? The link between physical activity and improved cognition is especially true for children in elementary school through middle school. In Massachusetts, researchers from Harvard Medical School studied a diverse group of fourth, sixth and eighth grade urban public school children to determine the relationship between physical activity and improved academic achievement. They measured the students physical activity through fitness tests, and cognition through the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Mathematics and English tests and found that there were statistically significant relationships between fitness and academic achievement, insofar as to say that the probability of successfully completing the MCAS test improved significantly as students passed fitness tests as well. The children in this study were chosen from a demographic with a variety of races, weight statuses, ethnicities, genders and socioeconomic

statuses. This shows that physical education is beneficial to the cognition of all students (Chomitz, 31). In addition, Joseph Donnelly and Kate Lambourne from the University of Kansas found that there is no evidence to conclude that extra time spent participating in physical education will have a negative effect on cognition, rather, multiple studies show that it either improves cognition or it maintains cognition, which are both positive results (Donnelly and Lambourne, 39). Further evidence from researchers at Furman University in South Carolina shows that physical activity improves the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein secreted in the hippocampus that supports the survival and growth of neurons and synapses in the brain. The BDNF augments cognition, memory and learning ability, and physical activity regulates this factor by promoting structural developments within the hippocampus that improve memory (Reed, 343). Students between age 4-12 are prime for improved cognition resulting from regular physical activity according to Adele Diamond, a representative from the University of British Columbia Childrens Hospital. At these ages, executive functions, which allow a person to make plans, evaluate ideas, connect ideas, consider responses and keep focus, are still developing. According to one study done in Vancouver, B.C., of the many different actions that improve executive functions, physical development is one of the most effective ways to improve executive functions and cognitive abilities (Diamond and Lee, para 1). As a result of budget cuts in many school districts across the nation, many schools have cut physical education programs, thus limiting students physical activity and ability to develop mentally. Many administrators justify cutting physical education classes from daily curricula on the basis of focusing more time on core curriculum in order to improve standardized tests. While it is true that physical education is not a traditional academic subject, it still has the utmost importance in

academia. Children who are sedentary all day in the classroom have a harder time focusing and recalling information. One solution to this controversial issue is for teachers to integrate more physical activity into learning within the normal classroom. A study analyzing the teaching styles of a random sample of 3rd grade teachers who included physical activity within their normal curriculum showed that the students who participated in 30 minutes of physical activity 3 days per week in conjunction with their core curricula performed better on fluid intelligence tests. Daryl Siedentop, a professor from The Ohio State University said, students learn through their involvement with the content. Integration of the subject matter allows for more student involvement in the learning experiences (Reed, 348). Rather than cutting physical education altogether, Professors Benjamin Sibley and Jennifer Etnier from Arizona State University suggest that educators ought to creatively implement physical activity into the regular classroom curriculum because this will allow students to expel pent up energy and focus more on learning objectives. When children learn through physical activities, their ability to remember and make connections to the new knowledge improves, which shows improved cognition (Sibley and Etnier, 253) Many P.E. teachers believe in the concept of the whole child, that the mind and the bod y are one entity and what improves one, improves the other. Thus, when a student enters the learning environment, they require both mental and physical training (Reed, 348). Living a more active lifestyle is beneficial to the learning experience. It is commonly accepted by many educators that young children learn best by moving and through active experience (Sibley and Etnier, 252). Physical activity has a positive relationship with cognition across all design types, for all participants and for all types of physical activity (Sibley and Etnier, 251). Regardless of the type of physical activity, it will always correlate to increased brain activity and improved cognition. This is

especially true for children with learning disabilities and special needs. Many people do not believe that physical activity can improve cognitive abilities for children with disabilities, however, when tested more accurately in a larger sample, statistical evidence has been found to prove that physical activity is just as beneficial for children with learning disabilities as it is with normal children and, in fact, suggests that the inclusion of physical activity for learning-disabled children may be an important component of their education program (Sibley and Etnier, 252). So what are the consequences of physical education on students ability to focus in school? The consequences are all positive, because physical education actually enhances students ability to focus in the classroom because physical activity increases brain function, which improves cognitive ability. Focus is important for young students to be able to fully engage in the learning process; when students have pent-up energy and no release for it, they are not being as well prepared as they could be if physical activity was a regular part of their school day.

Word count: 1050 Enthymeme: WATCO: (A) Physical Education (B) students ability to focus in school CLAIM: (A) Physical Education (ATV) enhances (B) students ability to focus in school Because (A) Physical education/activity (ATV) improves (C) cognitive ability. IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION: Whatever enhances students ability to focus in school (B) improves cognitive ability (C) Audience: My audience is school and school district administrators considering cutting physical education classes at the elementary and middle school level. These administrators are highly concerned with school budget; student academic success and helping each child develop to his or her best ability. They may not understand the importance of physical education because it is often the most expensive program, and it is appealing to use that budget for different purposes. Reflection: Reformatting this for a new audience wasnt very difficult for me because a more formal audience is a more normal audience for me to write to. I feel like it was more of a process for me to write to the personal audience because I dont have a lot of experience writing that way, but this one was simpler for me because it is the type of audience Im used to writing to in my major.

Works Cited Chomitz, Virginia R., PhD, Meghan M. Slinings, MS, Robert J. McGowan, EdD, Suzanne E. Mitchell, MD, Glen F. Dawson, MA, and Karen A. Hacker, MD. "Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results From Public School Children in the Northeastern United States." Journal of School Health 79.1 (2009): 30-37. Wiley Online Library. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.17461561.2008.00371.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false>. Diamond, Adele, and Kathleen Lee. "Interventions Shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4 to 12 Years Old." Science Magazine. AAS, 19 Aug. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Donnelly, Joseph E., and Kate Lambourne. "Classroom-based Physical Activity, Cognition, and Academic Achievement." Science Direct. Elsevier, 1 June 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Reed, Julian A., Gilles Einstein, Erin Hahn, Steven P. Hooker, Virginia P. Gross, and Jen Kravitz. "Examining the Impact of Integrating Physical Activity on Fluid Intelligence and Academic Performance in an Elementary School Setting: A Preliminary Investigation." Journal of Physical Activity and Health 7 (2010): 343-51. Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Sibley, Benjamin A., and Jennifer L. Etnier. "The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Cognition in Children: A Meta-Analysis." Pediatric Exercise Science 15 (2003): 243-56. Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.