Childhood physical inactivity is associated with a myriad of preventable health inequities among children, including greater prevalence and more severe childhood obesity, poorer cardiovascular and bone health, and lower levels of cognitive functioning, mental health, and self-esteem. While 43 states currently have laws mandating elementary school physical education (PE) to promote student public health objectives, most students do not achieve adequate PE participation because teachers (both PE certified and regular classroom teachers or paraprofessionals who teach PE) have limited or no access to easy-to-use and low-cost programmatic resources that address salient barriers for conducting effective, evidence-based, and standards-based PE.
The Pocket PE 3-5™ digital app (initially conceptualized as Aim to Play 3-5TM) is designed for 3rd - 5th grade teachers and students and works across common platforms and devices, online and offline, and provides simple, easy to use, standards-based PE lesson activities tailored by time, instructional setting (classroom, gym, outside), grade, student skill level, and equipment resources. The app is low-cost and includes brief teacher skill demonstration videos for each activity, along with printable activity cards, music, and audio cues to signal transitions to assist teachers and students with class management in 'real time' during PE. The program also includes embedded data tracking of PE minutes and completed instructional standards to assist with district and/or state-mandated reporting. Pocket PE 3-5 offers a technology-driven solution to promote the adoption of Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPs) by providing a scalable, evidence-based resource to schools to promote high-quality PE participation among students.
To evaluate Pocket PE 3-5, we will conduct a cluster-randomized trial in 24 elementary schools, with one identified 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade classroom teacher and their students in each school. Participating schools will be in California and Oregon and will be randomly assigned to receive Pocket PE 3-5 (n = 12 intervention schools) or not (n = 12 control schools) over a 12-week period. We anticipate that 72 teachers and approximately 1,800 students will participate. Assessments at pre, mid, and post program will primarily occur at the teacher level on PE class instruction, fidelity of implementation, and PE teaching self-efficacy. Teachers using Pocket PE (assigned to the intervention condition) will also provide feedback on the app, including usability, acceptability, and satisfaction. We will explore secondary student outcomes focused on objectively measured minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity achieved during PE and PE enjoyment, as well as program satisfaction and enjoyment.
Hypothesis: Intervention teachers will improve their PE teaching self-efficacy and teaching practices, and students will participate in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during PE and have greater PE enjoyment and satisfaction, relative to the control group.
