their off-task and fidgetiness levels below their pre-recess levels.This part of the study shows that children think and work more effectively when there is a break in the instructional period. As a whole the study showed that more children were renewed by the break than disrupted by it.Individually boys and girls benefited similarly, though it may be for different reasons. Children participating with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) benefited from recess and it did not appear at all counterproductive. The research found that some children are less on task, and in one case, more fidgety, when they have had recess. The more active children become more off task and the more sedentary children more on task. The study concluded that significant benefits can be had from recess, and that only a minority of children had difficulty settling down after recess. Some children who had trouble were from transient housing and it may be that their lives are already so chaotic that they do better in a structured environment. The results suggest that for most children uninterrupted instructional time may be an inefficient use of instructional time.The impact that recess has on children is to be expected. Most adults can not go through the day without stopping for a ‘coffee break’, this is the equivalent to an adult recess. It can’t be logical to think that children, who have so much more energy than adults, could sit patiently for six hours without becoming restless. It seems obvious to me that recess is a very beneficial part of the school day.The research suggests that recess is crucial for the learning process to remain at a high level. The data shows that with a brief transition period but no recess that the level of attention in the classroom goes down considerably. It is indicated that adding a short recess to the daily schedule could increase attention level. I would agree that the attention span of the class and ...
