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Published on: September 20, 2020
Physical activity intervention promotes working memory and motor competence in preschool children
Jing-Yi Zhang1, Qi-Qi Shen1, Dong-Ling Wang1
1College of P.E. and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Insights
Physical activity intervention significantly improved preschool children's working memory and motor skills. Enhanced working memory efficacy correlated positively with improvements in balance and overall motor competence.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Motor Learning
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Working memory and motor competence are crucial for preschool children's development.
- Physical activity is increasingly recognized for its role in cognitive and motor development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of a 12-week physical activity intervention on preschool children's working memory and motor competence.
- To explore the relationship between changes in working memory and motor competence following the intervention.
Main Methods:
- Preschool children were divided into an intervention group (physical activity) and a control group (usual routine).
- Working memory was assessed using the 1-back task, and motor competence using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, second edition (MABC-2).
- Assessments were conducted before and after the 12-week intervention period.
Main Results:
- The intervention group showed significant improvements in working memory accuracy and motor skills (manual dexterity, aiming, catching, total score) compared to the control group.
- No significant differences were found in static and dynamic balance between the groups.
- Positive correlations were observed between improvements in working memory (efficacy and efficiency) and improvements in static/dynamic balance and MABC-2 total score.
Conclusions:
- A 12-week physical activity intervention effectively enhances working memory efficacy and global motor competence in preschool children.
- Improvements in working memory are linked to gains in balance and overall motor skills, highlighting the interconnectedness of cognitive and motor development.
Objective:
This study investigated the effects of 12 weeks of specifically designed physical activity intervention on working memory and motor competence in preschool children and explored the correlation between working memory changes and motor competence changes by the intervention.
Methods:
Four classes of preschool children were grouped into an intervention group and a control group. Children in the intervention group received a 12-week physical activity intervention, while children in the control group followed their daily routine as usual. Before and after the intervention period, children were assessed with the 1-back task and Movement Assessment Battery for Children, second edition (MABC-2) to measure their working memory and motor competence, respectively.
Results:
Regarding working memory, the accuracy on the 1-back task increased significantly in the intervention group relative to the control group. The intervention group demonstrated a greater decrease in response time from pre- to posttest than the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Regarding motor competence, children's manual dexterity, aiming and catching and total score increased significantly in the intervention group relative to the control group, while no significant difference in static and dynamic balance was observed between the two groups. Furthermore, the correlation results showed that changes in the efficacy and efficiency of working memory were positively related to changes in static and dynamic balance and the total score on the MABC-2.
Conclusion:
These findings demonstrated that 12 weeks of specifically designed physical activity intervention could improve preschool children's efficacy of working memory as well as manual dexterity, aiming and catching and global motor competence. The improvement in the efficacy and efficiency of working memory was positively related to the improvement in static and dynamic balance and global motor competence.
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