This report sets out research based on level of concentration a student gains which helps academic performance after having breaks during lectures. In essence the research proposal seeks to understand more about the effect and cause relationship to come out with precise results. The aim of the study is to see the level of student concentration on academic performance during lectures in relation to breaks they get.
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It has been (believed) that levels of concentration during studies tendto decrease and for this purpose teachers give breaks during their lectures so that students get refreshed and be more concentrated in their studies when they come back. This problem is also true for people working in corporate organizations and they get breaks during their office timings. However we will test only the students. The aim of this study is to see whether breaks help students and the teacher or not. Is the time spent on breaks is worth spending for students and the teacher or not.
This study will let us knowhow effective breaks are to the level of concentration need for academic performance of students. By breaks we mean that students were free to do whatever they want to do during lectures. Be it, having snacks, tea, playing or smoking. The important part is to measure concentration on academic performance after having a break during lectures so that we can reach to a sound conclusion. So that it adds to the knowledge of people and benefits them .
Objective :
This experiment aims to discover how intervals/breaks during lectures effect the level of concentration on academic performance of students during class.
Importance :
Many teachers and corporate people give breaks to students and employees so that when they come back from breaks they can concentrate more on lectures and work. If break have a relation with the level of concentration on academic performance then the time spent on breaks is useful. However if there is no relation between breaks and concentration on academic performance then the amount of time spent on breaks is totally wasted. So it is important to know the extent to which breaks help students, employees and the organizations.
Hypothesis Development
Null Hypothesis
H0 = The intervals during lectures have no effect on concentration of academic performance.
HO: p â° 0
Alternative Hypothesis
HA = intervals during lectures have an effect on concentration of academic performance .
HA: p = 0
Theoretical Framework
In this project we are trying to identify that there is a relationship between the concentration on academic performance and breaks taken during class lectures. The dependent variable here is the concentration on academic performance which varies after having a break. So, taking a break here is the independent variable.
Some intervening variable also interrupt the independent variable and create a discrepancy in the results.
Identification of Variables:
Independent
Breaks
Dependent
Concentrationon academic performance.
Intervening variables
Suchas load shedding, assignment given by the teacher during break, Limited freedom in break or strict rules and regulations of the organization, environment where they are having break, unfavorable weather, offensive environment created by friends or teachers during the break.
DIAGRAM
Dependent Variable
Independent Variable
Concentration
Breaks / Intervals
Intervening Variables
Assignment given by the teachers during break, Limited freedom in break or rules and regulations of the environment where they are having break, weather, offensive environment created by friends during the break
Background:
People need breaks during their work and their studies whether it is day or night. A person or a group cannot study or work straight for more than 3 hours, so in between he take short breaks then continue with the work he/she was doing previously. Our research is based on concentration of academic performance of students after taking a break. As students start studying or take lectures their initial performance is high and gradually it is believed that it diminishes and after having a break person feels fresh and regains level of concentration on performance. We all have the ability to concentrate, to improve concentration it is important to understand that the ability itself is dependent on several factors, such as the immediate environment, your motivation and your physical/emotional state but humans are not machines and a change is needed for a short time during whatever he/she is doing. That change in our research is the break .
Causes of poor concentration on academic performance include:
Lack of sleep
Poor nutrition
Depression
Negative feelings about work
Anxiety
Distractions
Negative feelings about yourself
Stress
Poor time management
Medication
Alcohol
To improve concentration on academic performance you will need to tackle some of these causes. As with any skill, this is something we learn and there are steps you can take to help.
Purpose and Rationale:
The purpose is to measure concentration on academic performance after breaks so that its affect is known. Break is the independent variable and concentration is a dependent variable. To measure concentration of students we will observe them and test them, we will observe the behaviors, attitudes and gestures of students before and after the break. The behavior will consist of day dreaming, yawning, absent mind, playing with pen, sleeping and class participation. We will also test the level of concentration by giving them the quiz of the same lecture to students before and after the break. If the performance of those students is higher than who took the quiz before the break then we would know that they were concentrating more on academic performance and are not diverting attention .After measuring test we will see whether the student’s level of concentration has increased or decreased.
Sample Size:
Our number of samples will be 70 individuals and we will use random sampling.
Subject:
In our research we are interested in all the students with different age, sex, courses and size making sure that ever person has an equal chance to be selected.
Apparatus:
We are using lab experiment as a research technique for the collection of data. We shall use notebook, Pen, papers, ruler, quiz, and calculator.
Methodology:
Our research methodology is based upon the randomization selection of the university students. The methodology will be based on lab Experiment research. We will select different students and people who would be willing to participate in our research we would conduct an experiment in which the individuals will be required to take a quiz. We will evaluate their performance before and after the quiz.
In order to conduct our research we have population of 70 students in this lab experiment. To start with we will start observing the lecture and see the behavior of student and teacher till the break. The lecture will consist of two phases one before the break and one after the break. We will at least observe three different lectures of different courses. The lectures duration would be of two hours, comprising a break in between. We will not only observe but also give quiz to experiment the students. We will record our observation carefully and evaluate the results of the quiz to get to a point. We will divide students into two groups of the same lecture.
FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=beforebreakafterbreak
/ORDER=ANALYSIS.
Frequencies
[DataSet1] C:UserstestDownloadsbrm project.sav
Statistics
beforebreak
afterbreak
N
Valid
70
70
Missing
0
0
Frequency Table
beforebreak
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1.00
5
7.1
7.1
7.1
2.00
14
20.0
20.0
27.1
3.00
20
28.6
28.6
55.7
4.00
15
21.4
21.4
77.1
5.00
8
11.4
11.4
88.6
6.00
3
4.3
4.3
92.9
7.00
1
1.4
1.4
94.3
8.00
3
4.3
4.3
98.6
9.00
1
1.4
1.4
100.0
Total
70
100.0
100.0
MEANS TABLES=beforebreak BY break
/CELLS MEAN COUNT STDDEV.
afterbreak
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
2.00
2
2.9
2.9
2.9
3.00
6
8.6
8.6
11.4
4.00
12
17.1
17.1
28.6
5.00
23
32.9
32.9
61.4
6.00
20
28.6
28.6
90.0
7.00
6
8.6
8.6
98.6
8.00
1
1.4
1.4
100.0
Total
70
100.0
100.0
Means
[DataSet1] C:UserstestDownloadsbrm project.sav
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Included
Excluded
Total
N
Percent
N
Percent
N
Percent
beforebreak * break
70
100.0%
0
.0%
70
100.0%
Report
beforebreak
break
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
15.00
3.5857
70
1.74865
Total
3.5857
70
1.74865
MEANS TABLES=afterbreak BY break
/CELLS MEAN COUNT STDDEV.
Means
[DataSet1] C:UserstestDownloadsbrm project.sav
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Included
Excluded
Total
N
Percent
N
Percent
N
Percent
afterbreak * break
70
100.0%
0
.0%
70
100.0%
Report
afterbreak
break
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
15.00
5.0714
70
1.24320
Total
5.0714
70
1.24320
MEANS TABLES=afterbreakbeforebreak BY break
/CELLS MEAN COUNT STDDEV.
Means
[DataSet1] C:UserstestDownloadsbrm project.sav
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Included
Excluded
Total
N
Percent
N
Percent
N
Percent
afterbreak * break
70
100.0%
0
.0%
70
100.0%
beforebreak * break
70
100.0%
0
.0%
70
100.0%
T-TEST
/TESTVAL=0
/MISSING=ANALYSIS
/VARIABLES=beforebreakafterbreak
/CRITERIA=CI(.95).
T-Test
[DataSet1] C:UserstestDownloadsbrm project.sav
One-Sample Statistics
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Std. Error Mean
beforebreak
70
3.5857
1.74865
.20900
afterbreak
70
5.0714
1.24320
.14859
One-Sample Test
Test Value = 0
t
df
Sig. (2-tailed)
Mean Difference
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
Lower
Upper
beforebreak
17.156
69
.000
3.58571
3.1688
4.0027
afterbreak
34.130
69
.000
5.07143
4.7750
5.3679
Randomization:
One group will be allowed to take quiz before the break while the other group would be allowed to take quiz after the break. The quiz will be on differentlecture as to measure concentration on academic performance. Students representing age groups of 19-25 will be taken. Both students who are weak and strong will be given equal chance and time.
Results:
Results were positive. Break does affect the level of concentration on academic performance. Students were given two quizzes, one before the break and one after and results showed that after getting a break students performed better. Not only did they perform better but we observed that just before the break students lost their concentration in studies, they started to yawn, look outside the window and their class participation was low .However after the break of 15 minutes they were refreshed and when the lecture was started all of them were listening carefully to the teacher and participating in class.
Thusour research suggests that breaks can play an important role in the learning of students. While there are arguments against breaks, no research clearly supports not having recess. However, more research is needed to determine the effect of breaks on students and their performances. Further experimental research could help clarify how often breaks should occur, whether indoor break can substitute for outdoor breaks, and how much involvement or guidance is needed by adults.
Discussion:
The effect of recess scheduling on the students in our research were both interesting and obvious. A task was given to 70 students composed of two quizzes one before the break and one after. When students are more on solving , more learning takes place. With this in mind, the results of this study suggest that scheduling recess breaks directly before or after an academic lesson promotes greater on during independent practice sessions.
The results of this study are also consistent with Pellegrini and Bjorklund’s (1997) research that suggests that distributed practice has a positive effect on student attention during school tasks. Jarrett and colleagues (1998) also suggested that instructional time without periodic breaks may be an inefficient use of precious instructional time. This creates a strong argument in favor of recess breaks and they have a direct relation with productivity.
So should students have recess, or not? How does a recess break help to prepare the brain for learning and to increase student performance?
Recent brain research strongly supports the link of physical activity to learning. A study by Dr. Michael Wendt from New York found that vigorous exercise helps students with ADHD to focus attention longer and self monitor behavior. The exercise put the brain into optimal function and its positive effects lasted 30 – 60 minutes depending on the student.) In a London study, a series of balance exercises similar to those found on a typical playground helped dyslexic students to improve reading skills at a greater rate. The results were said to be the closest thing to a cure yet. The Physical Education curriculum stresses factors to prepare the brain and set the framework for learning. Quality recess can include Physical Education TEKS to provide the tools that the brain and body needs for optimum performance. Here are just a few research summaries that support the need for daily quality recess and physical education.
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