Background/Purpose The time Physical Education teachers spend with their students is limited. Therefore it is important to maximize the time students are engaged in activity during class time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact a new curriculum, GenMove had on student's engagement in activity time.
Method Eight fourth grade classes from four schools of similar demographics were selected to participate. Classes were randomly assigned to the control (N=91) or experimental group (N=96). Pre and post fitness assessments were completed on all students using the PACER test – Fitnessgram. All students wore pedometers and the number of steps and the activity time were recorded at the end of each class. The experimental group participated in the GenMove curriculum for 10 weeks and the control group used teacher generated lessons using similar goals and objectives.
Analysis/Results The number of students that scored in the Healthy Fitness Zone on the PACER tested increased 14% in the experimental group and 6% in the control over the 10 weeks which was a significant increase between the two groups, p=0.037. The GenMove group completed on average 8546 steps (SD 482) compared to 6942 steps (SD 761) by the control group. The GenMove group spent on average 17.4 minutes (SD 3.2) engaged in activity whereas the control group participated on average 14.5 minutes (SD 5.8).
Conclusions Students that participated in GenMove increased the time engaged on activity and completed more steps which resulted in an increase in the PACER assessment over a 10 week period.
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