Effects of a TAKE 10! Classroom-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Third- to Fifth-Grade Children’s On-task Behavior

BACKGROUND: Prolonged sitting at desks during the school day without a break may result in off-task behavior in students. This study was designed to examine the effects of a classroom physical activity intervention, using TAKE 10!, on elementary school students' on-task behavior. Nine classes (3rd to 5th grades) from 1 elementary school participated in the program (4-week baseline and 8-week intervention). METHODS: The students' on-task behavior was measured using systematic direct observation. Observations occurred once a week during weeks 1 to 4 (baseline) and weeks 8 to 12 (intervention). A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare on-task behavior between observation periods. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease (P = .001) in mean percentage on-task behavior from preno TAKE 10! (91.2 ± 3.4) to postno TAKE 10! (83.5 ± 4.0) during the baseline period, whereas there was a significant increase (P = .001) in mean percentage on-task behavior from pre-TAKE 10! (82.3 ± 4.5) to post-TAKE 10! (89.5 ± 2.7) during the intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: Furthermore, students who received more daily TAKE 10! were found to be more on-task than students who received less TAKE 10!. The TAKE 10! program is effective in improving students' on-task behavior in the classroom.