Effects of physically active maths lessons on children's maths performance and maths-related affective factors: Multi-arm cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) may benefit academic performance, but it is unclear what kind of classroom-based PA is optimal for learning. AIM: We studied the effects of physically active maths lessons on children's maths performance and maths-related effects, and whether gender and previous mathematical or motor skills modify these effects. SAMPLE: A total of 22 volunteered teachers and their pupils with signed consent (N = 397, mean age: 9.3 years, 51% females) participated in a 5-month, teacher-led, multi-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial. METHODS: The intervention included a PAL group (20 min of physically active learning in each 45-min lesson), a breaks group (two 5-min PA breaks in each 45-min lesson) and a control group (traditional teaching). Maths performance was assessed with a tailored curriculum-based test. Maths-related enjoyment, self-perceptions and anxiety were measured with a self-reported questionnaire. The individual-level intervention effects were tested via covariate-adjusted linear mixed-effect models with school classes serving as random effects. RESULTS: Changes in maths performance or self-perceptions did not differ between the intervention groups. Maths anxiety in learning situations increased in the PAL group (effect .28, 95% CI = .01-.56); there was no change in the other groups. Subgroup analyses suggested that maths anxiety increased in the PAL group among children in the two lowest tertiles of motor skills. It decreased in the highest tertile. Enjoyment decreased in the breaks group among pupils in the lowest motor skill tertile. CONCLUSIONS: Physically active maths lessons did not affect maths performance or self-perceptions but had divergent effects on maths anxiety and enjoyment, depending on motor skills.

Longitudinal and situational associations between math anxiety and performance among early adolescents.

Studies have found math anxiety and achievement to be related from the beginning of formal schooling, but the knowledge regarding the direction of the relationship is vague. The purpose of the present study was to study this relationship. We investigated math anxiety from two points of view: trait and state anxiety. In the first substudy, we investigated the longitudinal relationship between math anxiety and performance from sixth to seventh grade (n = 848) with cross-lagged modeling. In the second substudy, we investigated the situational relationship of anxiety and performance by giving the participants (n = 149) challenging and nonchallenging math tasks adapted to their skill level, and then examining the association between anxiety and the performance. The results suggest that math anxiety has a small longitudinal effect on performance: High anxiety in sixth grade predicted low performance in seventh grade. Anxiety also had a situational association with performance: when anxiety was aroused, the participants performed more poorly compared to their skill level. The results adduce the two-fold effect of anxiety on achievement: math anxiety seems to have both a real-time association with performance and a long-term effect on the development of basic arithmetic skills.

Sand Play for 0-8-Year-Old Children's Health and Development: A Systematic Review Protocol.

Sand play may be a significant determinant of health and development in early childhood, but systematically synthesised evidence is absent in the literature. The main objective of this study was to present a planned methodology to systematically review, and synthesise, the evidence regarding sand play and its associations with 0-8-year-old children's health and development. The systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols statement was registered to PROSPERO (CRD42021253852). Literature searches will be conducted using information from eight electronic databases. Studies will be included when participating children were aged 0-8 years, settings provided children with exposure to sand environments and/or materials, and child-level outcomes related to physical, cognitive, and/or social-emotional health and development. The search results will be imported to software; duplicates will be removed; and independent double screening, and study quality assessments using appropriate tools, will be conducted. Synthesis without meta-analysis will be conducted for quantitative studies similar in exposure, outcome, and content analysis to qualitative studies. Our overall confidence in each review finding will be assessed. The findings of this systematic review can inform policy makers and early childhood education teachers about the associations between sand play and children's health and development, and its impact in practice.

Benefits of Integrating an Explicit Self-Efficacy Intervention With Calculation Strategy Training for Low-Performing Elementary Students.

This study examined the malleability of math self-efficacy (SE) among children with poor calculation fluency via an intervention that targeted four sources of SE (mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, and emotional and physiological states). The effect of pure strategy training was contrasted with an intervention that integrated strategy training and explicit SE support. Moreover, the changes in SE source experiences and their relation with math SE, as well as the relation between math-SE profiles and calculation fluency development, were examined. In a quasi-experimental design, 60 Finnish children with calculation fluency problems in Grades 2 to 4 participated in strategy training (N = 38) or in an intervention that integrated SE support with strategy training (N = 32) for 12 weeks. The results showed that the explicit SE intervention integrated with strategy training enhanced math SE among children with poor calculation fluency and low SE (effect size, r = 0.61). Changes in mastery experiences and social persuasions were positively associated with changes in math SE among children who received the explicit SE intervention. An initially high math-SE profile and a profile indicating an increase from low to high math SE were related to growth in calculation fluency that approached the children's average age level during the interventions. In conclusion, an integrated approach that combined skill training and SE intervention was especially beneficial for children with poor calculation fluency and low math SE.

Does Multi-Component Strategy Training Improve Calculation Fluency Among Poor Performing Elementary School Children?

The aim of the present study was to extend the previous intervention research in math by examining whether elementary school children with poor calculation fluency benefit from strategy training focusing on derived fact strategies and following an integrative framework, i.e., integrating factual, conceptual, and procedural arithmetic knowledge. It was also examined what kind of changes can be found in frequency of using different strategies. A quasi-experimental design was applied, and the study was carried out within the context of the school and its schedules and resources. Twenty schools in Finland volunteered to participate, and 1376 children were screened in for calculation fluency problems. Children from second to fourth grades were recruited for the math intervention study. Children with low performance (below the 20th percentile) were selected for individual assessment, and indications of using counting-based strategies were the inclusion criteria. Altogether, 69 children participated in calculation training for 12 weeks. Children participated in a group based strategy training twice a week for 45 min. In addition, they had two short weekly sessions for practicing basic addition skills. Along with pre- and post-intervention assessments, a 5-month follow-up assessment was conducted to exam the long-term effects of the intervention. The results showed that children with dysfluent calculation skills participating in the intervention improved significantly in their addition fluency during the intervention period, showing greater positive change than business-as-usual or reading intervention controls. They also maintained the reached fluency level during the 5-month follow-up but did not continue to develop in addition fluency after the end of the intensive training program. There was an increase in fact retrieval and derived fact/decomposition as the preferred strategies in math intervention children and a decrease of the use of counting-based strategies, which were the most common strategies for them before the intervention. No transfer effect was found for subtraction fluency.

Math anxiety and its relationship with basic arithmetic skills among primary school children.

BACKGROUND: Children have been found to report and demonstrate math anxiety as early as the first grade. However, previous results concerning the relationship between math anxiety and performance are contradictory, with some studies establishing a correlation between them while others do not. These contradictory results might be related to varying operationalizations of math anxiety. AIMS: In this study, we aimed to examine the prevalence of math anxiety and its relationship with basic arithmetic skills in primary school children, with explicit focus on two aspects of math anxiety: anxiety about failure in mathematics and anxiety in math-related situations. SAMPLE: The participants comprised 1,327 children at grades 2-5. METHODS: Math anxiety was assessed using six items, and basic arithmetic skills were assessed using three assessment tasks. RESULTS: Around one-third of the participants reported anxiety about being unable to do math, one-fifth about having to answer teachers' questions, and one tenth about having to do math. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that anxiety about math-related situations and anxiety about failure in mathematics are separable aspects of math anxiety. Structural equation modelling suggested that anxiety about math-related situations was more strongly associated with arithmetic fluency than anxiety about failure. Anxiety about math-related situations was most common among second graders and least common among fifth graders. CONCLUSIONS: As math anxiety, particularly about math-related situations, was related to arithmetic fluency even as early as the second grade, children's negative feelings and math anxiety should be identified and addressed from the early primary school years.

Adolescents' school-related self-concept mediates motor skills and psychosocial well-being.

BACKGROUND: The health benefits of exercise participation and physical activity for mental health and psychosocial well-being (PSWB) have been shown in several studies. However, one important background factor, that is, motor skills (MSs), has largely been ignored. In addition, most of the existing research focuses on poor MSs, that is, poor MSs are often connected to poorer PSWB. The mechanism linking MSs and PSWB is unclear. However, a preliminary suggestion has been made that self-worth or self-perceptions might mediate the association between MSs and PSWB. AIM: We investigated whether the self-concepts (SCs) of school-related physical education (SCPE), reading (SCR), and mathematics (SCM) mediate the relationship between MSs and PSWB in adolescence. METHODS: The study sample consisted of a second-grade female cohort (N = 327), ranging in age between 12 and 16 (years) in a municipality in Central Finland. PSWB was measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the school-related SCs by the SC of ability scale adapted for use in Finland. MSs was assessed by a self-reported adolescent version of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire. Structural mediator modelling was used to test the associations between MSs and PSWB with SC as a mediator. RESULTS: First, MSs was strongly associated with school-related SCPE and SCM. However, a mediator role was observed only for SCPE, which weakly mediated peer problems. Second, MSs and PSWB, especially conduct problems, showed a very strong direct association. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that MSs is connected to PSWB in adolescent girls. Enhancement of MSs could be a preventive strategy for supporting PSWB in adolescent girls.

Are balance problems connected to reading speed or the familial risk of dyslexia?

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the connection between balance problems and reading speed in children with and without a familial risk of dyslexia by controlling for the effects of attention, hyperactivity, and cognitive and motor functioning. METHOD: The prevalence of balance problems was studied in 94 children (48 females, 46 males) with a familial risk of dyslexia (at-risk group) and 85 children (38 females, 47 males) without a risk of dyslexia (comparison group). Further, the relationships between balance problems (at age 8y 6mo), reading proficiency (at age 9y), attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (at age 8y), and cognitive (at age 8y 6mo) and motor functioning (at age 6y 6mo) were examined. Inclusion criteria for the at-risk group were that at least one parent had a confirmed reading problem and one or more of the parents' close relatives also had a reading problem. The Good Balance System was used to assess static standing balance, word-list and text reading tasks were used to measure reading proficiency. The Behavioural Assessment System for Children - Parent Rating Scale was used to assess attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children was used to assess cognitive functioning, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to measure motor functioning. RESULTS: Balance (F((1,177)) =4.82; p=0.029; =0.027) and reading (F((1,176)) =11.95; p=0.001; =0.064) problems were more common in the at-risk group than in the comparison group. Furthermore, attention, hyperactivity, IQ, and motor functioning were not related to balance problems. However, attention (F((1,154)) =10.80; p=0.001; =0.066) and IQ (F((1,170)) =22.08; p<0.001; =0.115) were individually connected to reading speed. INTERPRETATION: Balance problems alone could not produce any differences in reading skills. Instead, both balance problems and reduced reading skills were mainly associated separately with a familial risk of dyslexia. This indicates that there may be a shared genetic mechanism between balance and reading problems.

Suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low fitness in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: This prospective longitudinal study investigates whether suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study sample consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986) composed of 5,767 children whose parents responded to a postal inquiry concerning their children's motor skills at age 8 years and who themselves reported their physical activity at age 16 years. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with a cycle ergometer test at age 16 years. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the level of physical activity and fitness were obtained from multinomial logistic regression and adjusted for socio-economic position and body mass index. Low preference for active play in childhood was associated with physical inactivity (boys: OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.42-4.53; girls: OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.36-2.36) and low cardiorespiratory fitness (boys: OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.27-2.74; girls: OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.09-2.11) in adolescence. Suspected gross (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.33-3.49) and fine (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.35-2.60) motor problems were associated with physical inactivity among boys. Children with suspected motor problems and low preference for active play tended to have an even higher risk of physical inactivity in adolescence. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Low preference for active play in childhood was associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence. Furthermore, children with suspected motor problems and low preference for active play tended to have an even higher risk of physical inactivity in adolescence. Identification of children who do not prefer active play and who have motor problems may allow targeted interventions to support their motor learning and participation in active play and thereby promote their physical activity and fitness in later life.

Effects of multidomain risk accumulation on cognitive, academic, and behavioural outcomes.

This longitudinal study examined the predictive associations between cumulative multidomain risk factors and cognitive (IQ), academic (reading fluency), and social adaptive outcomes at 8 to 9 years among 190 children with or without familial risk for dyslexia. Other risk factors included parental and neurocognitive risks assessed when the children were 1 to 6 years of age. Risks accumulated more among children with familial risk for dyslexia than among children without familial risk. A higher number of risks was associated with poorer performance in all outcome measures as postulated by the cumulative risk model. However, when the effects of individual risk variables were controlled for at the outset, the cumulative risk indices did not have incremental effects beyond those of individual risks. This suggests that the detrimental effect of several risks was due to the content-specific effect of individual risks. Children with familial risk were not differentially affected by the number of risks.

Early motor development and later language and reading skills in children at risk of familial dyslexia.

Relationships between early motor development and language and reading skills were studied in 154 children, of whom 75 had familial risk of dyslexia (37 females, 38 males; at-risk group) and 79 constituted a control group (32 females, 47 males). Motor development was assessed by a structured parental questionnaire during the child's first year of life. Vocabulary and inflectional morphology skills were used as early indicators of language skills at 3 years 6 months and 5 years or 5 years 6 months of age, and reading speed was used as a later indicator of reading skills at 7 years of age. The same subgroups as in our earlier study (in which the cluster analysis was described) were used in this study. The three subgroups of the control group were 'fast motor development', 'slow fine motor development', and 'slow gross motor development', and the two subgroups of the at-risk group were 'slow motor development' and 'fast motor development'. A significant difference was found between the development of expressive language skills. Children with familial risk of dyslexia and slow motor development had a smaller vocabulary with poorer inflectional skills than the other children. They were also slower in their reading speed at the end of the first grade at the age of 7 years. Two different associations are discussed, namely the connection between early motor development and language development, and the connection between early motor development and reading speed.

Development of early motor skills and language in children at risk for familial dyslexia.

Differences in motor development and the relationship between motor and language development were studied in 88 children with familial risk for dyslexia (43 females, 45 males; at-risk group) and 88 children without familial risk for dyslexia (35 females, 53 females; control group; n=176) during the first two years of life. A structured parental questionnaire was used to assess motor development. Expressive language skills were assessed at the age of 18 months with the Reynell Developmental Language Scales and at 18 and 24 months with the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. At group level, the motor development of children in both the at-risk and control groups was similar. However, motor development showed a different pattern in these groups. Cluster analyses revealed three clusters in the control group: 'fast motor development', 'slow fine motor development', and 'slow gross motor development'. In the at-risk group, only two clusters were found: 'slow motor development' and 'fast motor development'. A significant difference (p=0.03) was found between the clusters in the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. Children with familial risk for dyslexia and slow motor development had a smaller vocabulary and produced shorter sentences than the all other children. Associations between motor and language difficulties are discussed.