Movement integration in academic classrooms; a focus on secondary students' experiences

Physical activity during scheduled classroom time has been referred to as movement integration, and it can be implemented through movement breaks or academically infused activities. The movement integration strategy merges activities that are intentionally physical, at any level of intensity, into content-specific academic lessons with the goal of reaching academic learning outcomes in the classroom. However, most of the evidence of classroom-based physical activity interventions has been derived from primary school settings. Therefore, in this article, we focus on students in secondary education with the aim of describing their experiences of movement integration in the academic classroom. The empirical data consist of nonparticipant observations of seven academic lessons in secondary classrooms followed by focus group discussions with participating students (N = 21). Transcriptions of the student focus group interviews and classroom observations were thematically analysed following a four-step procedure. Our findings revealed that students considered movement integration an enjoyable and innovative pedagogical approach that interrupted their sedentary learning in classrooms. Students also indicated that physical activity should be integrated into the teaching and learning of the subject and that it is important for the teacher to have a positive attitude. Students’ academic well-being and learning were also affected. These students reported that the movement portion of the lessons helped them to feel more alert, focused, and better able to concentrate on what the teacher was discussing in class. As movement integration has positive implications for secondary students, we extend previous findings on primary students. Furthermore, this study underlines these students’ positive experiences and that subject teachers on the secondary level should consider integrating movement in their teaching practices.