Project details
Active learning (or “movement integration”) is an innovative method of teaching which incorporates physical activity within academic lessons. The past 5 years have seen the development of several Active lesson interventions developed by public health researchers that include either short activity breaks (often referred to as ‘fitness breaks’ or ‘energizers’), longer duration activity breaks that incorporate academic content through part of a lesson, or whole physically active academic lessons that deliver curriculum content through activity/movement. While preliminary evidence suggests that active lessons may enhance educational outcomes, there is a notable lack of a) evaluation of real world, grass roots interventions b) research from a mathematics learning perspective c) a focus on for whom, why and how changes occur (or do not occur).

In collaboration with Teach Active, the successful candidate will design a series of research studies to address these gaps and enhance our understanding of the role of active lessons on mathematics learning. Studies could include a literature review, an experimental study and/or an evaluation of an Active lessons programme.

The successful candidate will be supervised by a collaborative, multidisciplinary supervisory team across two funded research centres The Centre for Lifestyle and Medicine and Behaviour (CLIMB) and The Centre for Mathematical Cognition at Loughborough University. Each year the successful candidate will have a placement with Teach Active, an award-winning UK company that offers Mathematics and English active learning packages for UK primary schools.