Here at The Literacy Site we're big believers in playtime. So is one school in Texas, following the tradition of many schools in Finland (芬兰). And now research is on board too.
Debbie Rhea, a researcher from Texas Christian University, designed the program now in place at Eagle Mountain Elementary, in which children have four 15-minute recess (课间休息) periods throughout the school day. She heard about the success of the Finnish school system and decided to take a trip there to study it. When she returned, she began working with schools here in the U.S. to do something similar.
At Eagle Mountain Elementary, students now get three times as much recess as they used to have; outdoor time has been swelled from 20 minutes to an hour each day. The program also focuses on helping kids develop character instead of just test-taking skills.
Since carrying out the program, teachers are noticing that their students are more attentive and less restless. They make more eye contact, have better test scores, and seem to be healthier and happier overall. They even need to sharpen their pencils less because they spend less time chewing (不停地啃) on them. Schools in three other states are starting a similar program after seeing this one perform so well.
In other areas of the country, however, schools have been cutting back on playtime to squeeze in (使挤入) longer lecture periods to prepare kids for standardized tests.
Cutting recess is, no doubt, a decision made with good purposes. But is the traditional lecture-and-test method really effective? Does reducing recess time make more learning happen? The results of recent research say no. A 2014 study showed that the benefits of high-quality recess programs include a drop in bullying and conflicts (冲突), and an increase in the amount of safety and happiness students feel. Children have even been shown to learn better immediately following a break like recess, according to research done by Robert Murray, an expert at Ohio State University.
"If you want a child to be attentive and stay on task, and also if you want them to understand the information you're giving them, you've got to give them regular (经常的) breaks, he said.
