Exercise program hopes to jump-start brainpower

Date: November 5, 2009

ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP — Howie Barnes caught mad air as he raced over a steep incline on his four-wheeler.

“I’m flying!” exclaimed the Oakwood Intermediate School fourth-grader as he sat on an “exergaming bike” connected to a video game console. “Did you see that?”

Racing neighbor David Rozema, a fifth-grader, carefully maneuvered his motorbike across similarly rough terrain. Meanwhile, fourth-grader Mac Johnson was content on his more standard pedaling machine.

“I like riding bikes,” he said.

The students are among 14 at the school participating in a new district program aimed at boosting students’ brainpower by getting their blood flowing before class.

The students, in fourth and fifth grades, arrive about a half-hour before school begins and hit the “exerlearning lab.” Sporty music hits their ears as they move across stations that include jump-rope, treadmills and elliptical machines.

“Their attitude is totally different when they come for a jump start, as opposed to when they don’t,” physical education teacher Ryan Stevens said.

“We know that this exercise is all about connecting the brain — getting the brain ready for learning.”

Teachers select students who might be at risk for obesity, academic concerns and other issues, Stevens said. They meet three times a week.

“Some of them can’t sit still in class,” Stevens said. “Some of them can’t focus.”

Heart rates are taken at different intervals, and students are asked to complete a survey on how they feel. They spend a couple of minutes at each station.

“I don’t want them to go back to class and just be exhausted from it,” Stevens said.

Equipment for Oakwood’s program cost $44,419. It was purchased with funds from a bond voters approved in 2007. The Board of Education is expected to review a $53,881 request for similar units to equip the new middle school at its meeting on Nov. 9.

A Grand Valley State University professor is looking to partner with the district for a research project. Mike Roskamp, assistant professor of movement science, said he wants to measure the differences in reading comprehension between active and inactive students.

He said he planned to gauge the interest of Oakwood teachers this week.

Research suggests exercise has a significant impact on “executive functions” of the brain: staying organized and on task and paying attention, Roskamp said.

“What I’m hoping to look at is comparing kids’ reading comprehension scores to a situation where they’re sitting at their desk traditionally versus students who might be engaged in physical activity prior to reading to activate brain cells,” he said.

He said he also hopes to study a group that walks and reads at the same time.

This article can be found at MLive.com