| 358 | Thursday, April 14, 2005 |
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| 8:45 AM-10:00 AM | Convention Center:E271b |
| Research Consortium |
| Cognitive Processes, Fitness, and Motor Competency in Children |
| Since Piaget (1956), numerous researchers have attempted to associate psychomotor activity and cognitive development (Sheppard, 1996; Drowatsky & Geiger, 1993; Eckert, 1975; Hart & Shay, 1963). Two meta-analyses have concluded that physical fitness and physical activity have a small, but positive effect on cognition (Sibley & Etnier, 2003; Etnier et al., 1997). Large-scale physical activity/fitness interventions involving children have also concluded that children who have engaged in regular physical activity have demonstrated higher academic achievement (Sallis et al., 1999; Shepard et al., 1984). Likewise, learning complex movement sequences may improve learning, through stimulation of the frontal cortex (Jensen, 1998). The purpose of this symposium is to present findings from four studies that identified cognitive benefits (academic achievement, complex discrimination, neuroelectric function) associated with physical fitness (Fitnessgram) and motor competency (holistic scoring rubrics) in children. All of the studies attempted to examine fitness effects on children within the present context of the educational settings. The first study examines the relationship between fitness and complex motor tasks in children. The second study investigated the effect of fitness on academic achievement in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Findings on the effect of physical fitness on cognition (executive control) in children will be presented in the third study. The final presentation will introduce neurocognitive function and its relationship to fitness and children. A discussant, Jennifer Etnier, will summarize the findings of the four studies. |
Keyword(s): elementary education, exercise/fitness, research
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| Presider: Darla M. Castelli, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL |
| Panelist: Jennifer L. Etnier, University Of North Carolina A, Greensboro, NC |
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Speakers: |
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Complex Motor Task Relationships to Fitness and Physical Activity in Children
Heather E. Erwin and Darla M. Castelli, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL |
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Academic Achievement and Physical Fitness in Third-, Fourth-, and Fifth- Grade Students
Darla M. Castelli, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL |
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Physical Fitness and Cognitive Performance in Healthy Preadolescent Children
Sarah Buck, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL |
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Physical Fitness and Neurocognitive Function in Preadolescent Children
Charles Hillman, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL |
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