What Do Children Think About Bouncy Bands

Purpose: To examine how bouncy bands put onto elementary students’ classroom desks influenced students’ physical activity and attention/concentration, in addition to exploring students’/teachers’ opinions of the bands. Methods: Students within both experimental and control groups wore pedometers to assess movement during instruction and completed the d2 test for attention. Results: The group with bouncy bands on the desks had significantly more movement compared to the control group. For d2 scores, there was no significant difference between the two groups, nor was there a significant linear relationship between movement and d2 scores. Interviews were conducted with the students in the experimental group and their teachers. The first theme “Perceived Benefits,” encompassed the potential benefits of having bouncy bands on desks and included four subthemes: (a) Universal Movement Outlet, (b) Energy Expenditure, (c) Improved Focus, and (d) Cope with Anxiety. The second theme “Potential Distraction,” explains the potential negatives of having bouncy bands on desks, which include two subthemes: (a) Noise and (b) Set-up. Conclusions: Despite the increased noise distraction, students in this study preferred desks that had bouncy bands because it facilitated movement.