Abstract
Evidence suggests that acting mindfully, that is, by stressing the purpose of the action and monitoring its current state, may benefit health, wellbeing, and academic achievements. We sought to investigate the underlying motor abilities affected by mindful-movement (MM) intervention, and which mediate its effect on academic achievement among kindergarteners. To this end, 160 children aged 3–6 years participated for 145 days, which included pre- and post-intervention tests of verbal and non-verbal intelligence, namely language, mathematics, and Raven matrices. The three conditions consisted of MM (integrating movement in academic learning), MS (movement-for-its-own-sake; promoting movement without promoting awareness), and control (regular academic environment activities). Results indicated that, compared to MS and controls, MM improved verbal and non-verbal intelligence. The effect on verbal intelligence was mediated through static balance performance, whereas the effect on non-verbal intelligence was mediated by dynamic balance performance. Possible mechanisms accounting for these mediation effects are discussed.
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Appendix
Appendix
In order to confirm that motor performance data corresponded with static and dynamic balance, we submitted all motor performance data collected pre-intervention (standing on one foot, tandem stand, walking on bar, and jumping) to an exploratory factor analysis with Kaiser normalized Varimax rotation. All scores were Z-transformed prior to the analysis. Factor loadings and eigenvalues are presented in Table A.
Overall, the factor analysis showed a three-factor solution for the data, with a total explained variance of 71.80%. More important, Table 1 reveals that the solution was compatible with our apriori distinction between dynamic, static, and complex balance tasks. In particular, the first factor was loaded only with bar-walking tasks, hence may be conceptualized as a dynamic balance factor. The second factor was loaded only with standing tasks—either on one or both feet—hence may be conceptualized as a static balance factor. Finally, the third factor was loaded only with the jumping tasks, hence may be conceptualized as a complex balance factor. This solution therefore strengthens the validity of our data.
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Rosenstreich, E., Shoval, E. & Sharir, T. The Effects of Mindful Movement Intervention on Academic and Cognitive Abilities Among Kindergarten Children. Early Childhood Educ J 50, 249–258 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01150-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01150-5