Effects of Brain Breaks on Educational Achievement in School Settings: The Break4Brain Project
- Conditions
- Physical Activity
- Registration Number
- NCT06319833
- Lead Sponsor
- University of the Balearic Islands
- Brief Summary
A total of 600 children between 10 and 12 years of age will be randomized among two experimental conditions: physical activity interacting with a video (n = 300), and sedentary activity (n = 300). The experimental condition will take place in the school settings during the school day through a between-subject design with a total of two measurements, pre, and post-test. Using the latest advances, the transient effects of the experimental conditions on cognitive and academic performance will be measured. The experimental condition was crafted through a qualitative design involving semi-structured interviews with teachers (n = 41) and members of the management team (n = 16), along with questionnaires administered to students (n = 600). To enhance and ensure its sustainability, the same process will be replicated after the intervention. Interviews and questionnaires were meticulously crafted by the RE-AIM framework, and subsequently validated through a rigorous process involving an expert panel (n = 30) utilizing the Delphi methodology. This project has the potential to substantially contribute to the field of acute physical activity and could have a meaningful transference on the educational system. This method might be prescribed as an effective teaching strategy.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 600
- Children aged 10-12 years.
- Children who have serious physical or mental disorders (autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and cerebral palsy) that would impede participation in the experimental conditions.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Academic achievement 8 weeks Only the general academic fluency index was administered, consisting of the reading, mathematics, and writing fluency subtests. Reading fluency assessed the participant's capacity to read simple sentences rapidly, mathematical fluency gauged the ability to quickly solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems, and writing fluency measured the skill to formulate and write sentences promptly.
Working memory 8 weeks The measurement of working memory through "The Digit Memory Test," specifically focusing on auditory attention and verbal memory.
Design of active breaks: semi-structured questionnaires 2 months (november and may) Pre- and post-intervention, to guarantee a proper design and future sustainability of the experimental condition, semi-structured questionnaires are administered to students. The responses are systematically categorized.
Design of active breaks: semi-structured interviews 2 months (november and may) Pre- and post-intervention, to guarantee a proper design and future sustainability of the experimental condition, semi-structured interviews are administered to teachers and the management team. The responses are systematically categorized.
Selective attention 8 weeks The measurement of selective attention within a limited timeframe was carried out using the "D2 test."
Inhibition-attention and cognitive flexibility 8 weeks The assessment of inhibition-attention and cognitive flexibility was conducted using the "Trail Making Test".
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Student's behavior 8 weeks The behavior of students in a regular classroom setting was examined using the "Child and Adolescent Behavior Inventory", inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity parts, for teachers.
Body composition 8 weeks Parents self-reported the body composition. In this case, parents will just report height (cm) and weight (kg).
Self-report physical fitness 8 weeks The level of physical fitness was assessed using the self-administered IFIS questionnaire.
Self-report physical activity patterns 8 weeks Physical activity levels over the preceding seven days were assessed using the PAQ-C.
Socioeconomic level 8 weeks The socioeconomic status was assessed through the Family Affluence Scale-II.
Physical activity patterns 8 weeks Physical activity patterns will be measured through accelerometry using the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT. Additionally, the intensity of the brain breaks will also be calculated with the same tool.
Self-report sedentary patterns 8 weeks Sedentary patterns over the preceding 7 days were assessed using the YAP-S.
Creativity 8 weeks Participants were required to complete the maximum number of unusual uses for two objects within a 5-minute timeframe.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University of the Balearic Islands
🇪🇸Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain
University of the Balearic Islands🇪🇸Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain