1. The effects of physical activity on third grade math scores
CBSE 7202
Malia Jabeen
Professor O’Connor

2. Statement of the problem
Children in elementary school do not receive enough time to exercise. They are verbally taught for long hours with little to no movement.
It is now that young children receive two days out of a week to exercise (gym class)
The problem is that children in schools need more time for physical exercise which in turn develops a stronger relationship between the mind and body and therefore develop deeper understanding of complex ideas and concepts.

3. Methods
Participants
The participants in this Action Research Project are 10 3rd grade students in high functioning urban public school x who are identified by the teacher as needing math support.
Participants are both male and female and range in age from 7 to 8 years of age.
Classroom populations is racially diverse.
2 African American/Black students
2 Latino
1 Caucasian
4 Asian
1 South Asian students.

4. Experimental design One-Group Pre-test Post-test Design. OXO
Pre-experimental design:
This action research will focus on how exercise can increase math test scores. This study will take place with 10 students in a mainstream classroom setting. My research design is based on a pre-test, intervention and post-test. After comparing the pre- test and post-test I will be able to determine whether or not exercise has an effect on cognitive ability primarily in math.
Symbolic design
OXO
One-Group Pre-test Post-test Design.
pre-test (o)
Variable (x)
Post-test (o)

5. Variables Independent Variables:
Have children exercise 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after math class.
Dependent Variable:
Scores in math tests.
Participants:
In this research project, the participants will be a group of 10 randomly chosen students from a group that needs a little more support in learning math skills and concepts. They are between the ages of 8 to 9 years old, and in a third grade class.
Instruments:
Math lesson, consent forms, tests, and a table of records.
1) The Pre-test will be given before the concept skill is taught to get a better understanding of what the children know and where they are.
2) The Post-test that will be given will be the same as the pre-test. This is to see if the students have mastered the topic after it is taught.

6. Threats to internal Validity
History: may be a threat to validity. A student may have test anxiety, they may be distracted by a noise in the hall or they may be ill.
Maturation: Maturation will not be a threat to the validity to this study because all of the participants are of the same age and the research will only last for four weeks.
Instrumentation: There may be a slight threat to the validity even though the instruments used will remain the same. There might be changes in observers or scorers that may produce changes in the outcomes.
Mortality: The chances of the students quitting the experiment are limited. However some students may be absent during testing dates.

7. Threats to external validity
Pretest Treatment: A pretest treatment might be a slight threat to the validity because it might increase or decrease a child’s responsiveness to the experimental variable.
Selection Treatment Interaction: The selection of the participants may be a threat because we are choosing children who need help with math skills and may not know how below they are from grade level.
Multiple Treatments: This might be a threat because the participants may receive other treatments/interventions in the form of Title I Math, help from home, or from an after-school enrichment program. If other or multiple treatments are given to the same participant, it can be difficult to control the effects of the research intervention.

8. Instruments: Consent forms Principal Teacher Parental Surveys
Math test pre and post (Assessment)

9. Sample survey preferences
Strongly Agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree
How important do you think it is to wake up early? _______
How often do you walk to school? _______
I exercise at least 3 times per week. _______
I watch TV every day for more than 2 hours. _______
It is easy for me to pay attention when the teacher is teaching math _______
Math is very easy. _______
I always get above an 80 on my Math tests. _______
I take extra time reading word problems. _______
I choose to play outside with my friends over video games. _______
Math is fun _______

10. Frequencies Never (0) Rarely (1-2) Sometimes (3-4) Often (5-6) Always
1.How many hours a week do you watch TV, games, movies, etc.
30min
2. How many hours a week do you do math problems?
30min
3. . About how many hours do you exercise per day?
20 min min 1hr 2hr 3hrs 4hrs 5hrs
 4. About how many hours do you sleep each night?
4hrs or fewer 5-6hrs 7-8hrs 9hrs or more
Never
(0)
Rarely
(1-2)
Sometimes
(3-4)
Often
(5-6)
Always
(7)
How often do you need help with your math homework? _______
How often do you understand the math in school ? _________

11. Demographics data Demographic Statistics Race graph
This chart shows the racial breakdown of the classroom

12. Gender and age graph Breaks down sex of class
Shows the age of the students

13. Frequency survey results
Average number of hours is 3 hours per day.
21 hours a week.

14. Exercise frequency
Average amount of exercise each day .605

15. Correlation between time spent exercising and pre-test scoresy
0.2 65
1.5 85
0.5 70
0.25 1 75 80 90
Mean
86.5
Median
87.5
Correl
Brief Analysis: This data shows a strong positive correlation (0.632) between the hours a student exercise and the students’ math pre test scores. In this graph we can see that the amount of time a student exercise may contribute to higher math test scores.

16. Pre-test and post-test resultsx y
student 1 65 75
student 2 85 90
student 3 70
student 4 95
student 5
student 6 80
student 7
student 8
student 9
student 10
Mean
86.5
Median
87.5 80
Brief analysis: We can see by these results that students did slightly better after receiving the hour of exercise. According to this data all students improved in their math scores.