The Effectiveness of Recess on First Graders’ Ordinal Scores Sarah Lewis Spring 2009

Research Question How will recess before math affect first graders’ understanding of ordinal numbers? As recess in schools continues to be a national debate, many researchers suggest that it is the best practice for students to learn. The controversial issue of recess was used as a basis of the research question. To track the success of recess one skill was chosen (ordinal numbers) as the indicator of achievement.

Background on Recess No Child Left Behind demands that students meet a set level on required standardized tests, which is continually raised each year until every student is scoring 100%.  Teachers are feeling the stress of these provisions along with other responsibilities.  Recess is being deleted from the daily schedule and is being replaced with educational instruction. 

Background on Recess Dictionary.com views recess as a noun that is a “temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity” and is “a period of such withdrawal”. Students are not given the adequate breaks and physical activity needed that are benefited from recess and are “considered essential for satisfaction and alertness” (Olga, ¶ 4). 

How did I conduct my research? Before the study took place, I gave three assessments on ordinal numbers.  The assessments were given to students individually on two different days.  While the first and third assessments were given at student desks, the second assessment was done one-on-one during the other two tests.  The study group had a twenty minute recess prior to their math instruction while the control group did not.

Materials Needed Three assessments are needed: The first assessment- an empty hundreds chart. The second assessment- a verbal assessment. Ordinal numbers cards 1st-20th. The third assessment, the students mark answers by circling the correct picture according to the ordinal given in both written form and numerical form. A space for students to engage in recess. 10 day lesson plan that consists of different levels of whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, student-led instruction, and individual activities.

The Participants The first grade class in the research study consisted of twenty-three students including subgroups of gender, economical status, race, and languages spoken.  13 females and 10 males.  15 economically disadvantaged and 8 non-economically disadvantaged.  22 Hispanics and 1 Caucasian 4 use both Spanish and English in the home, 14 only spoke Spanish in the home, and 5 only spoke English in the home

The Procedures 3 assessments on ordinals were given to students grouped by ability level. After the pretest, the students were grouped into three basic groups for Tier 2 time: high, medium and low. Each level included an individualized 10 day lesson plan that followed a 20 minute recess. At the end of the 10 lessons students were re-assessed with the original assessment to figure the success of teaching ordinal numbers after a 20 minute recess.  These scores were then compared to a control group that experienced the same lessons, but did not take a 20 minute recess immediately prior to their lessons.

Other Support Research says educational benefits have been found by giving students recess.  Many say that “high-quality recess experiences have immediate and deferred positive effects on children’s learning and development” (Kieff, 2001, p. 3)  Pellegrini & Bohn (2005) found many results in their research that confirms the idea that recess helps students’ achievement in the classroom.  It’s important for students “to have breaks from their increasing classroom rigors” to continue to learn and achieve (Schachter, 2005, p. 37). Many researchers agree that recess benefits children by making them “more on task and less fidgety” this “supports the view that most children, both boys and girls, are renewed by a break rather than disrupted by it”, which in-turn increases educational benefits (Schachter, 2005, p. 39).  

Results The final analysis of the two groups can be found in Appendix L.  In this graph the Control Group is directly compared to the Research Group.  In the Research Group 22% more students were scoring passing grades than in the Control Group. 

Appendix L This graph shows the amount of students, in both the control group and research group, meeting and exceeding (E/M) the standard on the Post-test in comparison of the number students who need improvement (I) as an overall grade for the standard of ordinals.

Conclusion The final analysis of the two groups showed that the Control Group had an overall rate of 74% of students meeting, or exceeding, the standard and 26% of students who still needed improvement. The Research Group had an overall rate of 96% of students meeting, or exceeding, the standard and only 4% of students who still needed to improve in the area of ordinal numbers.  Therefore, the strategy of using recess in the educational setting is a useful strategy and proves to be more successful for more students and their academic growth!

Works Cited Herrera, S. & Murry, K. (2005).  Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods, pp.102.  Isaac, J. (2008, September 5). Are schools in a recess recession? News-Journal.com. Retrieved from http://www.news-journal.com/‌news/‌content/‌news/‌stories/‌2008/‌09/‌05/‌09052008_recess_recession.html Olga, J. (2004). Recess in elementary school: What does the research say? ERIC Digest. Retrieved December 15, 2008, from http://www.ericdigests.org/. Jarrett, O. S., Maxwell, D. M., Dickerson, C., Hoge, P., Davies, G., & Yetley, A. (1998, November). Impact of recess on classroom behavior: Group effects and individual differences. The Journal of Educational Research , 92(2), 121.  Kieff, J. (2001). The silencing of recess bells. Childhood Education, 77.5, 319. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from General OneFile database. Parker-Pope, T. (2009, February 24). The 3 R's? A Fourth is Crucial Too: Recess. The New York Times, p. D5. Pellegrini, A. D., & Bohn, C. M. (2005, January/‌February). The role of recess in children’s cognitive performance and school adjustment. Educational Researcher, 34(1), 13-19.  Recess. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com Unabridged (Vol. 1.1). Retrieved November 11, 2008, from http://dictionary.reference.com/‌browse/‌recess Schachter, R. (2005, August 1). The end of recess: Higher standards are squeezing out playtime at schools throughout the country. Some educators not only disapprove, but they’re fighting to restore recess to the school day. District Adminstration, 41(8), 36-41. Szecsi, T. (2006, Summer). To have or not to have: recess from an international perspective. Childhood Education, 82(4), 226.