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Gym + Math = Success?

Student at a chalk board understanding math

A secondary school in London, Ontario has started combining math class with gym class in an attempt to see if exercise really does have a positive impact on learning.

As reported in the London Free Press, Laurier secondary school teachers George Bullas & Erica Flynn have seen positive results so far in the hybrid math and phys ed course. Instead of having two separate 75 minute classes in math and gym over one semester, the hybrid class starts with gym and ends with math in one 75 minute class which students take for the whole school year.

Early results seem promising, with teachers and students reporting there are fewer behavioural problems, fewer distractions, and more opportunity for students to bond and come out of their shells. And with the pace of math class slowed down, students are better able to understand basic concepts and spend more time fully understanding material before moving on to more challenging concepts.

The class is not only educational, but fun, a word not generally used to describe math classes. So far the students have studied graph movement on a rock- climbing wall, completed a fitness circuit answering math questions during breaks, solved equations using numbers written on cue cards that are spread across a football field, and played basketball while answering multiple-choice math questions.

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