ACTIVE SCHOOL - Effects on Academic Performance of Novel Approaches to Increase Physical Activity in School-children

Overview

The overall aim of ACTIVE SCHOOL is to investigate the effects of two different physical activity (PA) interventions on academic performance (AP), cognition, wellbeing, health and motivation. The two different approaches to PA in schools are based on; 1. 'Embodied cognition' focusing on fine and gross motor PA closely related and highly relevant to the learning task. 'Embodied cognition' builds upon theory suggesting that movement and performing actions leads to the construction of enhanced mental representations e.g. strengthening memory recall. This intervention is called 'MOVE \& LEARN'. 2. 'Exercise and cognition theory focusing mainly on gross motor movements (e.g. aerobic exercise) which is not relevant to the learning task and with no temporal connection to the learning task. The assumed positive effects are explained by physiological adaptations leading to changes in cognition, which potentially can affect AP. This intervention is called 'RUN, JUMP \& FUN'. Based on this, the aims of ACTIVE SCHOOL are to develop two types of school-based PA interventions in close collaboration with the participating teachers, students and schools AND to investigate the effects of these two interventions on AP in a large school-based cluster-RCT with an intervention length of one school year. The ACTIVE SCHOOL study consists of three phases: Phase 1) Development of the intervention, Phase 2) Pilot testing and, Pase 3) A three-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants will be students in 3rd grade (8-10 years-old) and their teachers/school pedagogues. The development phase started in August 2021 and is still ongoing. The pilot study will run in September-November 2022 and the RCT from August 2023 to June 2024. In the RCT, schools will be randomly allocated to one of three intervention/control arms: 1) 'MOVE \& LEARN', 2) 'RUN, JUMP \& FUN' or 3) control. Primary and secondary outcomes will be collected before and after the intervention period to assess the intervention effects. Both the pilot and RCT study has been granted approval by the local ethics committee, and all rules from the Danish Data Protection Agency and GDPR will be followed. The RCT study will follow the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines for RCT studies.