A Comprehensive Approach to Physical Activity at Euclid Middle School

With obesity rates climbing and students' MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity) time at an all-time low, it's super important to give students the tools and chances to lead a healthy and active life. Schools that follow a CSPAP (Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program) should use all the resources they have to build a solid program for their students. This includes getting staff, the community, and students involved before, during, and after school. Euclid Middle School (EMS) has knocked down a lot of these barriers to physical activity by creating a quality Physical Education program, involving the community and families through fun runs and other events, and adding physical activity breaks during the school day. However, one area that needs work is student involvement in physical activity after school. By setting up quality after-school activity clubs, EMS students will be more likely to hit those 60 minutes of MVPA each day and fight the rise of obesity.

Looking at the CSPAP Needs Assessment of Euclid Middle School, the reports show even fewer students participating in organized sports compared to the national average of 50-57%, according to the US Report Card. Only about one in three students at EMS join at least one sport during the school year, which is less than the US Report Card's 50-56%. CSPAP says a good before and after school program gives students chances to 1) practice what they learned in PE, 2) work toward the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity, 3) get more ready for learning, 4) join in safe, social, and supervised activities, and 5) find activities they like and might do long-term. Physical activity offered in a structured setting before and after school can help prevent kids from just sitting around waiting for the school day to start or end.

The Physical Education Extension Program (PEP) is related to PE and CSPAP. With PEP, I want to look at this question: What are the long-term effects of an after-school physical activity club on students' MVPA levels?

Review of Literature

We're a nation in trouble. According to the CDC, obesity rates were 18.5% for kids and affected about 13.7 million children. Obesity rates were 13.9% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 18.4% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 20.6% among 12- to 19-year-olds (CDC 2018). The adolescent group, or 12-19 year olds, includes middle and high school students. These alarming stats have even tripled since the 1960s-70s. "The average male and female adult in the U.S. has gained 25 lbs and 24 lbs, respectively, since 1962. The body mass index of the average adult has increased from 25 to 28. Among youth, the average body mass index has increased from 21.3 to 24.1 since 1963. This increase in body weight among adults and youth is partly due to lower levels of physical activity" (LaFontaine 2008).

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans encourage kids and teens to get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. This should include moderate to vigorous aerobic activities at least three days a week. Moderate activities should make the heart rate and breathing go up a bit, like a 5 or 6 on an exertion scale out of 10. Examples include biking slowly, canoeing, ballroom dancing, general gardening, using a manual wheelchair, arm cycling, brisk walking, and water aerobics (Appendix 1. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020). Vigorous activities should really raise the heart rate and breathing rate, around a 7 or 8 on an exertion scale. Examples are basketball, jumping rope, running or biking on hills, soccer, swimming laps, and martial arts (Appendix 1. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020). The guidelines also suggest adding muscle-strengthening activities, like weight lifting, calisthenics, resistance training, and body-weight exercises at least three days a week. Bone-strengthening exercises, like jump rope, running, hopscotch, basketball, and tennis, should also be done three times a week.

Before and after school physical activity clubs have proven effective in boosting MVPA in students. In one study with elementary students (third and fourth graders), a walking/running club was started to see if it increased MVPA. The results showed substantial MVPA gains. Participants reached an average of 1,502 to 1,731 steps and 8:30 to 10:02 minutes (50%-57% of program time) of MVPA per session (Stylianou, van der Mars, Kulinna, Adams, Mahar, & Amazeen 2016). These students got higher MVPA time without losing classroom instruction time.

In another study, research reviewed over 750 sources, and Mears and Jago found that after-school clubs added up to 10 extra minutes of MVPA in students from 5-18 years old (Mears & Jago 2016). In 2006, a similar study looked at skill improvements in middle and high school students. Most students improved in at least one skill and kept that improvement a year later (Barnett, Beurden, Morgan, Brooks, Zask, & Beard 2006). These studies show that students not only increase MVPA but also gain skills.

Methods

Intervention strategies

Fitness principles, concepts, and sports skills will be addressed, providing enrichment and intervention for students in PE classes. The goal is to give students more chances for physical activity and to practice and reinforce skills. In addressing cognitive factors, knowledge of skills taught and practiced in PE and self-efficacy, or a "person's confidence in their ability to perform a behavior that leads to an outcome," will be evident at PEP. Teachers will allow for individual practice time, partner and group work, and teamwork activities that offer multiple chances for success. Activities and modified activities will give students ample practice time, boosting their confidence in physical activity. To address socio-environmental factors, observational learning will occur, and physical barriers will be removed. The PE teacher will show examples of positive, safe, and skillful play, and students will observe other students. Peer-led drills and activities will make observational learning prevalent during PEP. PEP will also remove any physical barriers to PE, with several accessible areas and no fees. Equipment will be provided by the PE department. For behavioral factors, health-enhancing behavioral skills and intentions will be verbalized and written via goal sheets from the PE teacher (Glanz et al., 2015). Goal setting helps in realizing behavior intentions for behavior change. As students move to self-manage their health behavior, setting goals becomes crucial (Bandura, 2005). Each PEP lesson includes a short warm-up, various cardio and muscle exercises, cooperative/team-building games, and skills and strategies for gameplay. The goal is to build self-efficacy and confidence.

Participants

Participants include 50 students at EMS, a middle school in Littleton, Colorado. They are equally distributed by gender and aged 11-12. All are in 7th grade and in a PE class. 21% qualify for free/reduced lunch, 78% are white, 20% are Hispanic, and 2% are black. 9% are involved in school intramural sports, and 84% are active in other school clubs.

Settings

The study will include a Physical Education Extension Program (PEP) at Euclid Middle School. It will be held weekly on Tuesday afternoons from 4:00pm-5:10pm in the gym, fitness center, and wrestling/activity room.

Data collection procedures/timeline

Students in the PEP group need a 90% or better attendance rate. The aim is to extend learning and skills beyond PE and increase MVPA. Pretests will cover cognitive knowledge, strategy familiarity, physical activity, goal setting, and self-confidence. Posttests will be given at the initial meeting, during week 9, and at the end of the 18-week study. Question responses and video reflections will be analyzed for growth and differences. The focus is on the relationship between MVPA before, during, and after the enrichment club.

Data collection instruments

Data will be collected via Screencastify, Google forms/sheets, written reflections, and qualitative observations/interviews/field notes. Pedometers will also be used. Students will log their steps one day a week without PEP and on a day when they attend PEP. A Google form will be used to record data for comparison between club and non-club days.

Data analysis plan

Themes and patterns will be linked from pre, mid, and post reflections and surveys. Survey responses will be graphed and recorded throughout the club duration.