Research Proposal

Olivia Mclean
Independent Research
2016-2017

Title: Learning Doesnt Mean Sitting

Introduction:
This research project is based on education and the best ways for kids to learn during
school. More specifically the research project is based on kids being too sedentary in schools
and what could be done to incorporate more physical activity and hands on learning for all types
of kids, to aid in their academic success. Tons of research has been done on many different
areas of education and how different learning styles can be incorporated into teaching styles for
all kids, which means kids who may be suffering from depression, ADHD, etc, and research has
also been done to help better explain why physical activity is useful. There will also be
interviews that will aid in the research process to help get a better understanding of why
physical activity helps students to retain more information. At the end of this research project it's
hoped that reliable information can be presented to teachers, parents, and administrators to
help explain and demonstrate the necessity of physical activity being incorporated into schools
throughout the day.

Background and Rationale:

Lots of research has been done on the effect physical activity has on the body. Overall
the research supports that physical activity helps the body in many ways. According to research
done the physical activity that someone participates in doesnt need to be vigorous/ intense
physical activity. It can be as simple as a stroll in the park every day. Exercise does a great deal
for the brain, by slowing the decay process that occurs to the brain. An experiment that helps to
support this, was an experiment done on mice testing the effect exercise has on their mental
state. There were different groups of mice receiving different things. For example one group
received different foods, an exercise wheel, toys, or a mixture of what's listed above, and there
was a group that received none of the above, the control group. According to the research
conducted by John Rhodes from Beckman Institute, Overall the experiment showed that the
mice with the exercise wheel was the only group that had an improvement with their cognitive
skills. The different tastes, smells, and even colors didn't affect their cognitive skills, just the
exercise that was done on the exercise wheel.Physical activity goes beyond the decay of the
brain, it helps kids struggling with self esteem issues or even depression. Different chemicals
are released when the body is involved in physical activity which in turn helps to calm a person
down. Physical activity not only helps with academic success but the whole body in general,
from the mind all the way to how someone may perceive themselves. All in all, physical activity
has more benefits that down sides to it, and once people become more invested in exercise and
health, their overall lifestyle will surely improve, whether it be academically or just physically.
Movement is proven to be one of the best ways to get all children neurotypical and
neurodiverse, to get better control over their body and also to learn more information as well as
retain it, because it causes them to be more engaged. Having scheduled movement breaks
throughout the day including in between lessons help to facilitate a classroom that has both
neurotypical and neurodiverse kids that may be in the same room. Many kids are being
diagnosed with behavioral problems such as ADHD and it is due to the amount of time kids
spend sitting. So the problem is less with the kids but more so with the organizations of schools.
In order for kids to participate and become engaged schools need to provide a path for this to
occur. Also schools need to consider how difficult sitting for long periods of time can be for
neurodiverse kids. Consistent movement decreases problems which may include fighting and
bullying. It is necessary for schools to incorporate more movement due to all the research
supporting how bad sitting for long periods of hours can be and how mentally taxing it can be.
School lifestyle affects students overall lifestyle as well, so if it is being taught to move around
and be more active but that is not what students do during school it won't become a habit, and
therefore they won't be more active outside of school. Schools don't necerasrrily need
equipment or a larger space. They can simply cut down a lesson by ten minutes to incorporate
something as simple as jumping jacks, stretching, or even running in place. It's not always best
for teachers to try and fit a lot in a lesson because if the information isn't being retained it is a
waste of time essentially.
This issue is significant for many reasons. For one, obesity has been a big issue in the
United States for years upon years, and Its understood that its not easy to just up and lose
weight, so the next step to helping this present generation and future generations is by advising
kids to get active and get involved during class. A fun and easy way for kids to get involved in
class is by teachers embedding physical activity into the lessons. Some students circumstances
do not allow them to participate in sports outside of school, so the only physical activity that kids
may be receiving is in gym class or the physical activity they get during class. Not all classes
are interesting and thats okay, but when kids arent interested in a class or struggle with a
subject they tend to not pay attention, which results in them falling behind. Teachers do all they
can to help their students succeed and there is no question about that, but the next step is
creating lessons that could get students heart rates up and getting them excited. It forces their
body and mind to do work. A big factor in students success is them actually wanting to succeed
and believing they can succeed. Its strongly believed by the author that including more physical
activity and maybe even requiring gym all years of school will aid in the academic success of
students. Physical activity is very beneficial for so many reasons, that not including it harms
students more than helping. This issue holds a great amount of importance for the present
generations and the ones to come.

Research Methodology:
Research Question:
How does being active during the school day impact a childs learning?
Research Hypothesis:
The greater amount of time kids spend sitting/ inactive, will result in a decrease in their
academic success. Physical activity, such as aerobic ones aids in the cell growth in the
hippocampus, which is a location in your brain that has the responsibility of learning and
memorization.
Research Design Model:
This research is being conducted with the use of Qualitative and Quantitative methods. A
case study will be used, which is getting an understanding of the impact of something on a
certain group. In this case, getting a better understanding of the effect incorporating physical
activity throughout the school day has on the students. A survey will also be done to get a better
understanding of how the students themselves actually feel about the idea of more physical
activity during the school and the impact they believe it will have on them. A case study was
chosen for the fact that in order for this idea or suggestion to be taken seriously or deemed as
successful, the variable itself needs to be tested to get an idea of how students react to it/ how it
affects them, because in the end it's for the benefit of students and their academic success. This
goes for the same reason as to why a survey was chosen. If students don't want more physical
activity incorporated into the school day it would just be forced upon them and therefore affect
the experiment itself.
Data Collection:
 Observations as well as interviews will be done in order to collect data. Observations
and interviews serve as the best two options for this specific research project, because
measuring academic success can contain many different aspects for each student. Students all
learn differently, retain information differently, and show what they have learned in all different
ways, so measuring academic success doesn't constitute as just one thing. For example some
students are better test takers than others but that doesn't mean that the person who doesn't
contain good test taking skills isn't going to be essentially successful in life. Interviews will be
conducted with professionals in the field of this research project in hopes that they can provide
answers to questions that will help move this research project along.
Product Objectives:
The products will consist of a powerpoint being created along with a brochure. The
powerpoint and brochure will include information such as what the researcher believes should
be done in schools, incorporating more physical education in the way that students learn and
teachers teach. Along with that, there will be background information to support the wants of the
researcher. Lastly there will be suggestions as to what could be done if teachers decide to try
and incorporate more hands on activities into their curriculums. There will also be explanations,
examples, and primary information from the researcher's experiment as to why these
equipments, exercises, stretches, etc will help students to become more successful during their
class and school in general. A presentation and a brochure was chosen as a product because it
allows an easy way for everyone to access and understand the information that's being
presented. In order to keep the audience interested these two products were chosen so that
there could be pictures as well as information.
The targeted audience is teachers as well as parents. This targeted audience was
chosen for a few reasons well. Teachers will be the ones that will hopefully be incorporating
more physical education into the way they teach. This means the information needs to be
presented to them in order for students to actually be able to benefit from what the researcher
suggests, and students need to be apart of an environment that has the suggestions.

Logistical Considerations:
The necessary resources include students from gym classes, as well as teachers.
Permission will be needed from the teachers to take part of their class to conduct an experiment
and distribute surveys as well. This research project does not include any extreme costs or
extra material that the school does not already have.
In third quarter, a timeline will be added that outlines the data collection, product
development, and audience distribution.

Timeline:

Many steps have been taken in this process in preparing for this research project and
the end of year presentation. Lots of background research was conducted and submitted
through weekly research reports and conferences were held each quarter in order to ensure
everything was going smooth. There has also been one interview that was conducted so far with
a personal trainer and that interview was transcribed as well. A website/ portfolio about this
research project has been created and updated as the year has gone on and will continue to be
updated, and papers have been written that withhold information from what the project is about
and why it's important (hypothesis paper), to how the research will be conducted (research
proposal), to support/background on the topic (synthesis paper).

February 27-2017
Conference with Dr. Kiehl: I had a quarterly conference with Dr. Kiehl, where we discussed
details about my project, such as who I planned on interviewing for my data collection and the
approval of my interview questions. During the conference Dr. Kiehl also recommended
someone else for me to interview at a school that is based entirely off of physical activity (the
basis of my research).

March 6-2017
Due date of updated research proposal with timeline: I will ensure my research proposal is up to
date with data collection, who my intended audience is, what my end product is, etc as well as
having fixed any prior mistakes and having added the timeline to my research proposal. The
timeline will consist of due dates up until the end of the year, with descriptions of what I have to
do and when I intend on doing so.
March 7-2017
Finalization of interview questions: I intend on interviewing five different people that all have
different backgrounds. It will be necessary that I alter my interview questions depending on who
I interview. I would like to have finalized all my questions by this date (five different sets of about
6-10 questions), and once that is completed I will ask Dr. Kiehl to look over them.

March 8-2017
Due date of synthesis paper: I will make all corrections suggested and necessary from the peer
edit of my synthesis paper and turn it in on this date. The synthesis paper is a compilation of
background research done that helps others as well as me further understand my research
topic. In this case, all the other elements relating to physical activity, attention span, ADHD, etc.

March 9-2017
Show Dr. Kiehl the email I constructed that I intend on sending out to Ms. Matthew, the teacher
who works at a school that is based off of physical activity.

March 15-2017
Practice Presentation: My final oral presentation will be made by April 6-2017 and I want to
ensure that I am as well prepared as possible. I need to start thinking about and possibly putting
together a rough draft of what I want in my presentation as well as putting together note cards
and just going over my presentation so that my final presentation is as smooth as possible.

March 12-24-2017
Interviews: This is when I hope to have all five of my interviews done by. I intend on transcribing
my interviews the same day they are done to ensure I transcribe them as accurately as
possible. I plan on interviewing Dr. Cockely, Mt. Hebron High Schools principal, Mr. Hannan, Mt.
Hebron High Schools physical education teacher, Ms. Victoria Mathew, a teacher who teachers
at a school that is entirely based off of physical education, a physical therapist, and a trainer.

March 31-2017
Analyze Data: Hoping that all my interviews have been done by this date and transcribed, I
would like to construct a chart that compares what the different people I interviewed said so that
it can easily be noted what they said as well as the similarities and differences of their
responses.

April 1-2017:
Completed brochure: My final product includes me presenting a brochure. I will have my
brochure with me during my final oral presentation. I want my brochure to be completed by this
date.
April 6-2017
Data collection and analysis due: I will turn in my transcribed interviews as well as my organized
chart that compares and contrasts what interviewees have said. As well as that being due, an
oral presentation will also be due. I will be presenting to a class, no class in particular, about my
research topic more specifically background information, data collection and analysis, what I
have learned/ done throughout the year, and most likely information on the class Independent
Research itself. My brochure will also be presented during this presentation. My hope is to pass
out my brochures to teachers around the school in hopes that they take a look at my point of
view of this project and take into account the importance of incorporating physical activity into
their teaching styles.

April 7-2017
Weebly site: This is when the updated weebly site is due. The weebly site is my portfolio which
is my personal website open to the public that has information specifically relating to my topic
and has everything that I have done throughout the year. For example it has my hypothesis
assignment, my reflections and goals, and it will have my abstract as well. As I continue on with
my research project, my website will continue to get updated as well.

April 8-2017
Display board: Begin working on display board, set up a layout of how I intend on organizing my
board, and acquire all materials needed disorder to finalize my board later on.

April 28-2017
Finalized display board: I hope to be finished with my display board. I need to make sure I have
everything required on the display board as well as a copy of my brochure. I would like to have
my brochure along side my display board as a way to get my intended message out.

Early May (Date TBD):

Completion of Display board: This is when my display board will be due, but I hope to be
finished with it well before May.

Every other Monday:

Objectives and Journals: Objectives and Journals will be completed every other monday in
which I will set goals for myself and reflect on the previous goals and see if I was able to meet
them or not. There is also journal sections to these, in which I just reflect overall on the research
process.
Works Cited Page:

How Should Academic Success Be Measured? Richmond Pulse, 27 Mar. 2013,

http://richmondpulse.org/2013/03/27/how-should-academic-success-be-measured/

"Physical Exercise for Brain Health." Brain HQ, 2016, www.brainhq.com/

brain-resources/everyday-brain-fitness/physical-exercise.

The Benefits of Movement in Schools. The Creativity Post, 8 Aug. 2014,

http://www.creativitypost.com/education/the_benefits_of_movement_in_schools