Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Kelly Clark

Abstract

Ongoing research has pointed to the human brain’s need for movement, yet the average student spends the majority of the school day sitting. Research links brain-based learning with improved student achievement. The intent of this study was to answer two questions: What is the impact of including planned purposeful movement in English language arts instruction on student achievement while using a district-mandated, scripted curriculum; and does planning for the inclusion of movement strategies in lesson plans impact the use of movement strategies in instruction? In this mixed methods study, qualitative data from teacher interviews were collected and merged with quantitative data from assessment scores, quarter grades, and teacher surveys to find the strength of the impact. Participants included three elementary, fourth-grade teachers at one elementary school in a large urban school district in North Carolina. This study introduced using planned purposeful movement within a district-mandated, scripted curriculum. Correlations between planned purposeful movement and student achievement in common assessments was not found (-0.075 Spearman’s rho). Correlations between planned purposeful movement and student achievement in quarter grades was found and is statistically strong (0.834 Spearman’s rho). Teacher interviews also pointed to a correlation between planned purposeful movement and student achievement. The descriptive data used to study the relationship of planning for movement and the use of movement in instruction found that teachers were likely to use movement when they planned for it.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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