Teachers Confident to Lead Physical Activity in Classrooms after Hands-on Workshop

Introduction: School districts and teachers in rural Minnesota are looking for easy-to-implement classroom physical activities. Classroom teachers and administrators understand there are academic and behavior benefits of increased student physical activity but lack education and training in leading physical activity. University of Minnesota Extension Educators created a short training module, adapted from materials developed by Be Active North Carolina, to equip teachers to lead Energizers physical activity in the classroom. The primary research question was: How effective is the workshop in training teachers to implement physical activity breaks in the classroom; and, did teachers perceive that physical activity breaks increase concentration of students?

Method: Sixteen 2-hour Energizer workshops were delivered to 432 classroom teachers and academic staff in 11 rural school districts and 1 large suburban school district (4 workshops) during the 2012-13 academic year. A post- survey was administered at the end of the workshop with a request to participate in a follow-up online survey. Willing participants (268) received a Surveymonkey link via email 90-days post-workshop.

Results: Teachers use the Energizers: 67% use them 2-5 days/week, 77% use them 4-10 minutes/day; 65% are very confident to use physical activity in the classroom. Teachers report increased student concentration: 97% use them to refocus on academics, and 73% report improved student learning.

Significance: After a 2-hour workshop, teachers are using physical activity and report increased student focus on academic tasks. This shows that a short, hands-on workshop can equip teachers to lead classroom physical activity.