LRA Essay: The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance
Axel Corichi
City College of New York
Writing for Engineering Section A
Professor Rodwell
March 20, 2024
Lab reports are expected to follow a certain structure that allows them to perform in a way so that any audience can read their content and be able to grasp all of the information. In this writing. The common goal of the reports found in this paper was to create conclusions regarding the potential effects that physical activity has on the academic performance of individuals. These reports are expected to follow a set of criterias such as title, abstract, intro, methods, results, and conclusion, which will determine how effective they are at formatting a proper report. In this case, all reports shined in specific areas of the criterias, but still contained some flaws within their structure.
The first report, Physical activity, cognition and academic performance: an analysis of mediating and confounding relationships in primary school children, analyzes the correlation between physical activity and academic performance/cognition among primary school children. Physical activity was measured by pedometer step readings, cognition by measures from the CNS vital sign assessment and academic performance from the New Zealand Ministry of Education electronic Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning. Structured modeling was used to analyze the correlation between each one of these factors. Results proved that there is a stronger correlation between physical activity and academic performance.
The title of this report does a very good job at conveying the main idea of the report which becomes clear through the use of key terms such as “physical activity”, “academic performance”, and “cognition”. The abstract fully summarizes all the sections found in the whole report, states the problem, includes the methods and results portion, and how the information gathered was analyzed in order to draw conclusions from its outcomes such as correlations between the results. The introduction effectively provides the purpose of the study that physical activity can improve academic performance and cognitive skills by providing past studies that have contributed to this hypothesis over time. The methodology section of the report breaks down the methods into subtopics which cover participants, measurements, and statistical analysis. This makes it easier for readers to navigate through the procedures performed in the study. The report also provides a set of visuals that lists out the data gathered from participants. The results section effectively summarizes the findings of the procedures by explaining the relationships between physical activity and academic performance and providing tables like structured regression modeling to showcase this data. When it came to the values displayed on the charts and writing, it became confusing to understand what the numbers exactly meant since the report does not explain what the correlating values mean, but it also leads to believe that the targeted audience are individuals with this type of background knowledge. Starting the discussion section, it restates the hypothesis and concludes that there is a positive correlation between physical activity and academic performance and suggests a larger pool of participants for future studies in order to enable subgroup analysis. The report provides no appendices but provides a list of acknowledgements that are listed in an organized matter as well for their references. Overall, this report was effective at structuring a well written study report that allows the targeted audience to perceive the information clearly.
The second report, Physical activity improves stress load, recovery, and academic performance-related parameters among university students: a longitudinal study on daily level, conducts an experiment by examining the loads of stress that can be reduced through physical activity and how that impacts the academic performance of college students. Regression models were used to predict the variations of stress and academic performance based on the physical activity done during the student’s free time. Results showed that physical activity has an actual influence on academic performance and stress reduction of students.
The title of the lab report fully conveys the main aim of the study, which is to create conclusions in regards to the relations to the mentioned key terms such as physical activity, stress load, recovery, and academic performance. The abstract is broken down into an organized structure dividing the summary of the study into background, methods, results, and conclusion, however it is unable to cover enough content as it does not provide enough information about each individual hypothesis. The study breaks down the process of the study clarifying that the test subjects were examined during times of COVID-19. In the introduction, the report effectively states the significance of this study by emphasizing physical activity in university students as they are a particular group who have developed the most sedentary behavior. The introduction lastly introduces the three hypotheses within this study in detail which relate physical activity to stress load/recovery and academic performance. As for the methodology section, the report utilizes an organized structure which includes study setting, participants, design/procedures, measurements, and statistical analysis. While the data tables included in report 2 provide a clearer explanation of the values, there are still certain terms that don’t include a definition which may be confusing for some readers. This report effectively explains the results from the procedures considering it was analyzing three different hypotheses by breaking down the information gathered for the first two hypotheses by dividing them up on a table chart and explaining the analysis of each hypothesis in their own corresponding paragraphs. The discussion section thoroughly describes the final findings of the study including whether or not each hypothesis was supported or not based on the study results. The report provides two sets of appendices. The first one includes the parameters of stress load and recovery, which would have been more effective if it was included in the results section. The first and second hypotheses were supported, however, regular physical activity only proved to have an association with functional stress and perceived study ability.
The third report, Associations between Gross and Fine Motor Skills, Physical Activity, Executive Function, and Academic Achievement: Longitudinal Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, an experiment is conducted by examining the loads of stress that can be regulated through physical activity among college students and how it affects their academic performance. The study tracks the development of motor skills at 9 months, physical activity at 7 years, and cognitive assessments at 11 years. The results showed that early motor skills have a positive impact on cognitive outcomes, with gross motor skills improving spatial working memory and fine motor skills improving English and science achievements.
The title includes clear key terms such as “Motor skills”, “Physical Activity” and “Academic Achievement”, which allows any reader to know what to expect before reading it. Lab report 3’s abstract is complete but lacks some organization. The abstract is structured in a paragraph form rather than in a list format like report 1 and 2. The abstract states the problem being studied, which is the relationship between motor and cognitive skills. The introduction presents the main idea of the study that there is a relationship between physical activity involved in motor skills and the gaining of knowledge. Since report 3 used information about children that was gathered over the years of their development, the methodology section was broken down into organized sub-sections dividing the growth stages of the children. It also provides charts that display the regression models of the data collected. The results for this report have the largest amount of data analysis out of the three reports. The results are broken down into small sections explaining each relationship between motor skills and its correlation to physical, english, math, and science performance. The report discusses significant findings and the results of the study, stating that early development of motor skills can be linked to future cognitive skills. The report emphasizes the significance of identifying early motor skill delays in children in order to prevent negative effects on cognitive development. There are several math terms within this report that lack description as to what they extend for, making it difficult to read the results portion. Report 3 has a set of appendices that include regression tables, which were not too significant to be included into the writing as regression models were included instead. The report provides an acknowledgement section and an organized list of references. Overall this report lacks some more organization when compared to the first two reports, but it is still able to get the main topic across from explanation to procedure to conclusion clearly.
In conclusion, all three reports were able to effectively deliver the main purposes of their findings, which was to demonstrate relationships between physical activity and academic performance. Each one of the reports shined in certain areas of their structure, however there were some parts that could use some work in order to make it easier for any type of audience to fully understand these reports.
REFERENCES
McPherson, A., Mackay, L., Kunkel, J., & Duncan, S. (2018, July 31). Physical activity, cognition and academic performance: An analysis of mediating and confounding relationships in primary school children – BMC public health. BioMed Central. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-5863-1 Teuber, M., Leyhr, D., & Sudeck, G. (2024, February 24). Physical activity improves stress load, recovery, and academic performance-related parameters among university students: A longitudinal study on daily level – BMC public health. BioMed Central. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-18082-z Zhou, Y. (2024, January 24). Associations between Gross and Fine Motor Skills, Physical Activity, Executive Function, and Academic Achievement: Longitudinal Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/2/121
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