Author : Melissa Dreisbach
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (12 download)
Book Synopsis The Effects of a Classroom Based Yoga Intervention on Test Anxiety, Academic Performance and Attention in Third Grade Students by : Melissa Dreisbach
Download or read book The Effects of a Classroom Based Yoga Intervention on Test Anxiety, Academic Performance and Attention in Third Grade Students written by Melissa Dreisbach and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With increased pressure on school districts to increase state test scores, time allocated for physical activity has been drastically decreased in order to provide more learning time for core subjects (Ardoy et al., 2014; Coe et al., 2006; Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011; Ma et al., 2014; Sallis et al., 1999). Thus, extreme pressure is placed on young students. This stress can lead to a high level of anxiety, an inability to focus, stay on task. Consequently, when students do not have a proper outlet to expend excess energy, there is great potential for classroom management problems for teachers ("Test + stress = problems for students," 2000). Therefore, students and teachers need a mechanism to deal with lessen these pressures. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of a classroom based yoga intervention on student's test anxiety, academic performance, and attention level within a traditional mathematics class. Forty-four third grade students in two different classrooms participated in the study. The study had a pre- and post-test phase. A pre-Measurements of Academic Progress (MAP), Children Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS) and Children's Stroop test was given prior to the yoga intervention. The yoga intervention was given 4 days a week for 6 weeks to the intervention group only. The control group had no modifications added to their daily lessons. A post-intervention assessment was given using the same aforementioned instruments. The classroom iv teacher was asked to report any observations she made about her students during the intervention. The participants were also asked to write about their opinions and experiences they had during the intervention. The intervention group was compared to the control group to assess the level of anxiety, academic performance, and attention level. It was found that the intervention group improved more academically on a state math test than the control group. The academic performance was statically significant. Anxiety levels decreased in the intervention group, while the anxiety levels increased for the control group. Overall for anxiety, the girls revealed a larger benefit from the yoga intervention with the intervention group. The attention results showed no difference between the intervention and control, but the boys did see a greater ability to focus after the intervention. The intervention grouped lowered their time on the test. The findings indicated that a yoga intervention can increase academic performance and lower anxiety. Further research is need to investigate the gender differences and the effect of a yoga intervention on attention level.