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Fit Schools
Redmond, OR Vern Patrick Elementary School 3rd and 4th graders have something to dance about –
better success at reading and improved fitness. More than 200 research studies on the effect
of just 10 minutes of aerobic exercise before reading and math lessons inspired teachers to
look for partners to change the way their students prepared for school work.
(see our Photo Gallery)
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The following is the first part of a 12 week pilot project to measure the effects of dance
exercise on fitness and academic attitudes and success. Please contact us for more information.
We can help you replicate this study and obtain grant funding, Check out the recent
NEA Today article
for more about this issue. |
RedOctane, a Sunnyvale, CA company
manufacturing dance mats for popular games, coincidently
had been studying the same research. With guidance from teacher, Judy Shasek, a partnership
was formed with Mrs. Heather Renz's 4th grade class. This class had been studying Judy Shasek's
book, E-Wally and the Quest , when Shasek and Renz began collaborating on a unique plan for guiding
students to lead both their reading and fitness success.
With funds from a Wal Mart grant
Mrs. Renz purchased a PlayStation2 and a few
television sets. Sharing with the other 3rd and 4th grade teachers at Vern Patrick, a
mentoring team of 40 students was formed. Teachers do not have time to add all the enriching
learning opportunities they'd like to bring to students, so Renz and Shasek developed a student
mentoring team. Therein was the "magic" piece of
the Gen FIT plan.
In Early November, students began using the newest dance
game from Red Octane, adding 10-15 minute bursts of aerobic activity to prepare their minds for cognitive and creative
learning success. Vern Patrick students took pre-program surveys to measure their current
attitudes about fitness, various aspects of learning, their fitness level and knowledge of the
impact of exercise. Post program surveys confirmed -and surpassed- teacher expectation!!!
Results were measured as follows:
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The
figures noted when the teachers filled out a survey
are reported from just within the Generation FIT
student mentor team. The absenteeism among the
control group didn't change from the pre-program
quarter to the intervention quarter.
The results were:
Was there a decrease in this student’s absenteeism
during the program? YES - 52% NO- 48%
Was there a positive change in behavior? YES – 67%
No- 33%
Was there a growth in social skills? YES- 84% NO-
16%
Was there an increase of interest from the student’s
family toward a school activity? YES- 36% NO-64%
Was there an increase in the student’s leadership
skills? YES-93% NO-7%
Was there a change of attitude toward fitness and/or
exercise? YES- 93% NO-7%
In summary, 52% of the program mentors had a
reduction in absenteeism. If total numbers of days
in attendance were counted compared to the control
group - the Gen FIT mentors attended school 22.8%
more days.
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In a 9th and
10th grade program for at-risk students similar
results occurred among the the mentors. these
students used both dance mats and "Rock2Read
programming. Eagerness to learn and engagement
in reading and math classes were observed by the
teachers and self-reported by the students.
Many had a history of sleeping most of the day,
acting out or otherwise demonstrating negative
behaviors. Instances of positive behaviors
increased dramatically.
With teachers being too busy to breathe and pressure for increased improvement on standardized
test scores requiring lots of time and energy, this project could have been stopped cold.
What could teachers do to add the sort of leadership staff they needed to train kids to do
dance-mat game-exercise, monitor the kids while they worked out throughout the day and keep
records on progress?
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