The purpose of this position paper is to raise awareness of intriguing interdisciplinary intersections among physical activity, motor learning/development, creativity, and cognition. A major intersection is the potential of physical activity that involves the effortful learning of novel and/or complex movement actions to elicit cognitive…

When reevaluating the educational landscape and aiming to incorporate movement into the day, remember that all exercise is not created equal. We recommend creating a model to evaluate the level of student exercise within an organization. The four-level framework discussed in this column can be used to evaluate exercise and sedentariness within an…

Peripheral sensorimotor stimming activity, such as rocking and fidgeting, is widely considered irrelevant to and even distracting from learning. In this critical-pedagogy conceptual paper, we argue that stimming is an intrinsic part of adaptive functioning, interaction, and cognitive dynamics. We submit that when cultural resources build from…

Regular physical activity provides physical, mental and cognitive benefits for children. However, globally, only 20% of children meet the recommended levels of physical activity and, on average, students sit for three-quarters of the school day. Active breaks are a well-tested component of many school-based physical activity interventions, but…

Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease with several modifiable lifestyle factors. The Extension 'Live well, Eat well, be Active with Diabetes' curriculum provides four 90-minute sessions teaching individuals to live well, eat well, and be active with diabetes. Fourteen Extension educators implemented and evaluated the curriculum with 107…

Through this article coaches will learn how to collect rating of perceived exertion (RPE), interpret RPE data, and use it to make informed decisions about training load. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore the implementations of RPE and explain practical outcomes relating to load management and ultimately training effectiveness.

In this article, the authors analyze the ways literacy integration evolved in a multi-year interdisciplinary after-school program that supports youth through a focus on literacy, physical activity, and health. To deviate from the increasingly siloed assumptions around literacy education and attend to a more interdisciplinary, integrated…

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), the nation's first federal nutrition education program for low-income families and youths, remains at the forefront of providing nutrition education to improve the lives of historically underserved populations. EFNEP contributes to food and nutrition security as program families and youths…

The aim of this paper was to examine the influence of picturebooks on children's "physical literacy" (PL). Fostering PL in early childhood can promote a physically active lifestyle in children and later adults. Picturebook use is a great opportunity for movement exploration in physical education classes, and recent research findings…

Fitness testing and awards have been used in physical education classrooms for over 50 years. While their initial intention was to promote physical activity engagement, analyses show they are not achieving their goal. This article highlights fitness testing awards and the need to re-evaluate how they can help meet the physical activity guidelines…

Response to Intervention (RTI) has become prevalent in education recently, while the time youth spend being physically active has consistently decreased. Given the known physical, mental, and cognitive benefits of regular physical activity and the time youth spend in school, this article explores the use of increased physical education (PE) time…

The aim of this article is to improve physical education (PE) teachers' knowledge about working with children diagnosed with cancer. Physical activity (PA) in this population is extremely important. Not only do these children have an increased risk of co-morbidities compared to healthy peers, but cancer treatment has negative effects on fitness…

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an epidemiologic surveillance system that was established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems that can occur during…

This article investigates how particular conceptions of physical development (PD) are enacted in early childhood studies in Toronto, Canada. Following critical childhood studies scholars who emphasize the urgency of re-formulating relationships with taken-for-granted concepts in the field, we argue for a practice of noticing, tracing, naming, and…

The Step it UP! Game is an interdependent group reinforcement contingency based on the Good Behavior Game. We evaluated the effects of the Step it UP! Game on the number of steps taken by 3rd-grade students during physical-education (PE) classes at a local public elementary school. We divided the class into 2 teams and awarded a "Step it UP!…