Quantitative data analysis revealed significant changes in all measures from pre to post sessions, but only the significant group effect was on arithmetic test scores. Content analysis of the teacher interviews revealed that although rating scores improved, teachers believed that most students had changed little during this time or they attributed the change to factors other than exercise. Teachers again completed the behavior rating scale and were interviewed for qualitative impressions of changes in participants' performance.
At the end of five weeks, participants took the tests again. For five weeks, the groups met each morning for 15 minutes of the designated activities. All were assessed on three cognitive measures: a verbal fluency test, an arithmetic operations test and the d2 Test of Attention©. From the triads, participants were randomly assigned to one of three activity groups: Brain Gym® exercises, light aerobic exercises, or social activities, which served as a non-exercising control. Based on those ratings, and Stanford 9 Achievement Test© scores, participants were ranked for behavior and achievement and placed in matched triads. More specifically, two teachers rated each student's behavior using the Conner's Short Teacher Rating Scale-Revised. To test the efficacy of the Brain Gym® program, 30 fourth graders were assessed on a battery of behavioral and cognitive measures before and after intervention. Although many researchers have found modest support for the notion that exercise promotes cognitive functioning, the Brain Gym® claims remain largely uninvestigated. Proponents of the commercial program Brain Gym® claim that their regiment of physical exercise enhances learning and thinking.
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