The Effects of Dance-Based Exergaming on Mental Rotation, General Motor Coordination, and Math Achievement in...

Exergaming can promote adolescent health by encouraging repetition of game-related tasks, potentially contributing to academic success by developing motor and cognitive skills. Studies have highlighted the influence of exergaming on motor skill learning but have not clarified its effects on general motor coordination. Other studies suggest that exergames may influence math success, particularly with nonmathematical, dance-based exergames, possibly through mental rotation or general motor coordination training. However, the influence of a single exergaming sequence on these abilities and on math achievement in the same participants has not been studied.

This study aimed to determine whether nonmathematical dance-based exergaming (DEx) improves mental rotation, general motor coordination, and math achievement in adolescent students.

An experimental group (EG: 15 girls and 15 boys; mean age 14.0, SD 0.7 years) and a control group (CG: 14 boys and 12 girls; mean age 14.2, SD 0.9 years), with no contraindications to physical activity or special educational needs, participated in this nonrandomized controlled study. EG performed DEx involving varied locomotion and interlimb coordination, while CG performed precision ball-throwing exergaming (TEx), requiring catching and throwing. Only DEx involved mental rotation; neither of the two involved mathematical content. Both consisted of 5 weekly 45-minute sessions, implemented using the Lü platform. A pretest-posttest design compared effects on (1) a mental rotation test, (2) locomotion and sprint tests, and (3) quantity comparison plus simple and complex addition and multiplication tests. Each session led to noninstrumented observation, and sessions 3 and 5 included instrumented tracking of physical activity and situational interest.

Monitoring of the sequences highlighted a significant between-group difference in triggered situational interest in session 5 (multivariate analysis of variance: F_1,54=9.15; P=.004; η_p²=0.14). This variable was added as a covariate in the analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs), with generalized linear model approach performed further. ANCOVA results showed an advantage for EG over CG in terms of mental rotation (F_1,52=6.17; P=.02; η_p²=0.11), number of correct simple additions (F_1,52=8.26; P=.006; η_p²=0.14), and error rate in complex addition (F_1,52=8.40; P=.005; η_p²=0.14). No other significant results were found.

This study helps clarify the previously unexplored influence of the same exergaming sequence on mental rotation and math skills by showing the positive influence of DEx on mental rotation and only on calculations involving mental rotation, according to the literature. Further research on exergaming is needed to clarify whether such improvement in calculation is linked to mental rotation training itself and might be amplified by the development of general motor coordination. However, the study encourages consideration of integrating exergames into active learning approaches in schools.