Tag Archive for 'bambini'

Basket-Mathematics school program

New study with 756 first through fifth graders demonstrates that a six-week mashup of hoops and math has a positive effect on their desire to learn more, provides them with an experience of increased self-determination and grows math confidence among youth. The Basketball Mathematics study was conducted at five Danish primary and elementary schools by researchers from the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

 

In recent decades, there has been a considerable amount of attention paid to explore different approaches to stimulate children’s learning. Especially, there has been a focus on how physical activity, separated from the learning activities, can improve children’s cognitive performance and learning. Conversely, there has been less of a focus aimed at the potential of integrating physical activity into the learning activities. The main purpose of this study therefore was to develop a learning activity that integrates  and mathematics and examine how it might affect children’s motivation in mathematics.

Increased motivation, self-determination and mastery

Seven-hundred fifty-six children from 40 different classes at Copenhagen area schools participated in the project, where about half of the them—once a week for six weeks—had Basketball Mathematics during gym class, while the other half played basketball without mathematics.

“During classes with Basketball Mathematics, the children had to collect numbers and perform calculations associated with various basketball exercises. An example could be counting how many times they could sink a basket from three meters away vs. at a one-meter distance, and subsequently adding up the numbers. Both the math and basketball elements could be adjusted to suit the children’s levels, as well as adjusting for whether it was addition, multiplication or some other function that needed to be practiced,” explains Linn Damsgaard, who is writing her Ph.D. thesis on the connection between learning and physical activity at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

The results demonstrate that children’s motivation for math integrated with basketball is 16% higher com-pared to classroom math learning. Children also experienced a 14% increase in self-determination compared with classroom teaching, while Basketball Mathematics increases mastery by 6% compared versus classroom-based mathematics instruction. Furthermore, the study shows that Basketball Mathematics can maintain children’s motivation for mathematics over a six-week period, while the motivation of the control group decreases significantly.

“It is widely acknowledged that youth motivation for schoolwork decreases as the  year progresses. Therefore, it is quite interesting that we don’t see any decrease in motivation when kids take part in Basketball Mathematics. While we can’t explain our results with certainty, it could be that Basketball Mathematics endows children with a sense of ownership of their calculations and helps them clarify and concretize abstract concepts, which in turn increases their  to learn mathematics through Basketball Mathematics,” says Ph.D. student Linn Damsgaard

Active math on the school schedule

Associate Professor Jacob Wienecke of UCPH’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, who supervised the study, says that other studies have proved the benefits of movement and physical activity on children’s academic learning. He expects for the results of Basketball Mathematics on  and academic performance to be published soon:

“We are currently investigating whether the Basketball Mathematics model can strengthen youth performance in . Once we have the final results, we hope that they will inspire school teachers and principals to prioritize more  and movement in these subjects,” says Jacob Wienecke, who concludes:

“Eventually, we hope to succeed in having these tools built into the school system and the teacher’s education. The aim is that schools in the future will include “Active English” and “Active Mathematics” in the weekly schedule as subjects where physical education and subject-learning instructors collaborate to integrate this type of instruction with the normally more sedentary classwork.”

(Source: phys.org)

New Zealand: one project to change the youth sport approach

Youth sport, the need for multi-sports practice, the drop-out causes, the increase in injuries and the parents, coaches and managers role. These are the themes of one project developed in New Zealand to reconsider the approaches used up to day. It is an approach not used in Italy but I suppose that is the same in many others European countries. We need to be more responsible of the sports proposal we offer to our children and adolescents. We need to reduce sport drop-out  in order to promote their well-being, sense of belonging and good life habits.

Reading the following article will certainly be useful to open our minds to the problem of sports practice and drop-out and to receive good insights..

Sport NZ and five of the largest participation sports in New Zealand – Rugby, Cricket, Football, Netball and Hockey – have launched a major public awareness campaign calling for enablers of youth sport to reconsider their approaches. But why is the call to action so urgent?

The collaborative ‘Keep up with the play’ campaign zeroes in on the issue of why teens are walking away from sport in increasing numbers. Evidence gathered over time in Sport NZ’s Active NZ national participation survey shows that when comparing 12-14 year olds with 18-24 year olds, hours per week engaged in physical activity drops from 12 to 5. In addition, the number of activities drops from 6.4 to 2.5 and weekly participation drops substantively from 98% to 75%. The campaign calls on everyone involved in youth sport, specifically parents, coaches and administrators, to help turn this around.

Furthermore, Secondary School Sport census data shows that although school rolls have increased over the last three years, participation has dropped in inter-school sport. For Sport NZ this is disturbing, because habits formed in the teen years transfer to the adult years. Basically inactive teens become inactive adults.

Although some of the drop-off can be attributed to the inevitable changes that occur during the teen years including motivation, contention on time and the impact of technology, there are other factors that exacerbate this decline.

Sport NZ says that years spent studying the subject, and examining overseas models, shows young people are best served when their needs are put first. And the main motivation for young people to play sport is to have fun (76%) followed by hanging out with family or friends (44%). The fact is that sport is seen by many teens as another way to connect with friends and have a good time. And if the fun goes, because the pressure and time demands rachet up, they’ll be likely to follow.

Though some parents might be tempted to let their kids specialise early in one sport, perhaps encouraged by a coach or club administrator, the statistics show this is probably a bad idea. Australian studies demonstrate that the transition rate from being identified as youth talent to becoming an elite athlete is less than 10%.

And it won’t necessarily be worth it. Over training and over playing can lead to injury and burn out in young players. ACC statistics have shown a 60% surge since 2008 in sports-related injuries in 10-14 year olds – double the increase of any other age group. There are a number of reasons for the spike, but a growing concern is that too much of one sport can be just as harmful as not enough exercise.

For those looking for a helpful guide, ACC encourages the one hour for every year guideline, where the amount of organised sport per week – both training and competition – should not exceed the child’s age. Exceeding recommended hours increases the odds of a ‘gradual onset injury’.

All in all, the stats are sobering. And though every parent wants to support their child becoming a star on the sports field, too much too soon may have just the opposite effect.”

Risk of overweight and obesity in children with autism

The risk of overweight and obesity in children with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Kahathuduwa CNWest BD  Blume J  Dharavath  Moustaid-Moussa N Mastergeorge A

Obesity reviews. 2019 Oct 8

Multiple studies have suggested that autism spectrum disorders seem to increase the risk of overweight and obesity. We examined the pooled prevalence and relative risk of developing overweight or obesity among children with autism spectrum disorders in a systematic review and meta‐analysis. We searched PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases and subsequently screened the records to identify studies that reported prevalence of overweight and/or obesity in children with ASD and matched groups of neurotypical children. DerSimonian‐Laird random‐effects meta‐analyses were performed to examine pooled prevalence and relative risk of obesity in children with autism spectrum disorders using the “meta” package in R software. Among children with autism spectrum disorders, the prevalence of obesity was 22.2%. Children with ASD had a 41.1% greater risk (P = .018) of development of obesity. Non‐Caucasian race, increasing age, female sex, and living in the United States emerged as positive moderators of the association between autism spectrum disorders and prevalence of overweight or obesity. Autism spectrum disorders seem to increase the risk of childhood obesity. Increased awareness of this association may allow the implementation of early interventions to reduce obesity and prevent potential deterioration of quality‐of‐life in this population.

Give the streets back to the children to play

Do you want children to be able to play freely outside their own front door?

We are a parent and resident led movement restoring children’s freedom to play out in the streets and spaces where they live, for their health, happiness and sense of belonging. Here you’ll find all you need to start regular ‘playing out’ sessions on your street or other actions to spark change where you live. Also ideas, stories and inspiration gathered from people around the UK and beyond.

Children don’t play out like they used to, missing out on vital #physicalactivity, friendship, #community, freedom & independence. A growing movement of parents, residents and organisations is changing this and you can get involved. #playingout.

Risultati immagini per playingout

Should we let sports teach children moral and ethical values?

Do we teach ethic and moral values to the children and youth athletes?

Watch this interesting video.

Risultati immagini per Should We Let Sports Teach Children Moral and Ethical Values?

#Autism #Roma #football

AS Roma now has a special team. Not Dzeko and Di Francesco, but a small team of children with special needs playing football. It’s called “Football Together” the project of Roma Cares, the charitable foundation of AS Roma with sport association Integrated Football Academy. At the end of the first three years, they have already doubled in children between 6 and 16 years with disabilities of varying degrees enrolled in the program that aims to convey a football program appropriate to them: they were30in 2015, when the idea became real thanks to the work of persons as Alberto Cei, sports psychologist and scientific manager of ” Football Together”, today the young are 60.”

"Calcio insieme" a ragazzi con sindrome dello spettro autistico: la AS Roma scende in campo

Italy: + poor + cars – sports

From: The return of regional inequality, J. Rosés and N. Wolf

“A recent literature has explored growing personal wealth inequality in countries around the world. This column explores the widening wealth gap between regions and across states in Europe. This rise in regional inequality, combined with rising personal inequality, has played a significant role in the recent populist backlash.

Growing inequality in terms of personal income and wealth distribution is a major concern, as shown by the work of Atkinson (2007), Piketty (2014), and Milanovich (2016). Their work suggests that the post-war period, with high income growth spreading to all parts of society in OECD countries, was a historical exception rather than a guide to the global future. It all ended in the 1980s, with a sharp increase in top incomes, stagnating middle income, and a real decline for the poor.

There is growing evidence that this applies not only to inequality between people, with a widening gap between a few very rich individuals and all others, but also to regional differences within and across states. Rodriguez-Pose (2018) argued that regions across the world seeing declines are those that breed political tension and rising populism, for example in the US, the UK, France, Germany, and elsewhere.”

In Italy, a study published by Save the Children showed the same trend:

  • 10 millions of young and 37 millions of cars
  • +50% of adolescents do not practice sports
  • 259.000% (11%) young of 14 biggest city live in suburb areas with urbanist, educational and social problems
  • Roma and Genova: live in these areas the 70% of the youngest
  • Napoli and Palermo: 60%
  • Milano: 43%
  • Cagliari: 35%
  • 25% of the young live in apartment not adequate
  • poor education: in 2013, 3 millions and 200.000 of young between 6-17 (47.9%) had not read a book, outside of the school books
In Italy,  the investments in the public school system have been reduced from 4.6% to 3.9%, whereas in France and Germany they have been increased till 5% of GDP.

 

#accademiacalciointegrato

Risultati immagini per trendsmap.com/r/IT_ROM_rzwxga

#IncludeUsFromTheStart

Sport must be more and more an opportunity to integrate the differences.The Integrated Soccer Academy offers together with AS Roma  a path of integration through football of girls and children, 6-12 years old.

The world day dedicated to people with Down syndrome must do reflect on how far we are to do achieve the goal of integration.

Review: motor coordination, autism

The sport is increasingly getting closer to the world of youth with autism (ASD) and it can be of considerable help in improving their motor skills and their degree of autonomy, reducing the risk of acquiring a sedentary lifestyle. This review, although published a few years ago, provides valuable information to those who want to propose physical education and sports programs for young with ASD. They are not practical information but those theories, science-based, that who is approaching these young  should know (obviously along with many others).

Motor Coordination in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Kimberly A. Fournier, Chris J. Hass, Sagar K. Naik, Neha Lodha, and James H. Cauraugh

J Autism Dev Disord (2010) 40:1227–1240

The literature focusing on gross motor behavior and development in ASD is plagued by inconsistent findings.

ASD is associated with greater clumsiness, motor coordination abnormalities, postural instability, and poor performance on standardized tests of motor functioning

Several studies failed to detect differences between children with ASD and those with learning disabilities or mental retardation, general developmental delay and language disorders across reflexive, intentional, fine and gross motor tasks.

These studies provide critical information regarding the types of motor impairments seen in ASD, but the specific patterns and sources of motor deficits in this population remain unclear.

Other approaches to elucidating motor components of ASD include neural signaling. Abnormal transmission in the serotonergic, dopaminergic, and GABAergic systems, frequently observed in ASD, may potentially affect motor performance

Individuals with ASD have larger total brain, cerebellar and caudate nucleus volumes; however, the area of the corpus callosum is reduced.

Several related studies in which motor behavior was evaluated using home videos of children later diagnosed with ASD compared to typically developing children demonstrated motor differences within the first 2 years of age.

This review study showed:

Differences in motor performance observed are not dependent upon a specific diagnosis within ASD. Indeed, individuals diagnosed with autism, globally as ASD, or Asperger’s syndrome all possessed significant motor deficits compared to the individuals with normal neurologic development.

An immature postural system may severely limit the emergence and performance of other motor skills.

Movement disturbances such as akinesia, dyskinesia and bradykinesia may affect a person’s ability to initiate, switch, continue or effectively communicate, interact socially, or perform activities of daily living.

That motor coordination deficits were more prevalent in individuals diagnosed with ASD than in controls with neurologically typical development.

Consistent evidence for an increase in total brain volume as well as specific brain regions including the cerebral hemispheres, caudate nucleus, and cerebellum in autism. Conversely, the corpus callosum was consistently reduced in size. Moreover, post mortem studies have detailed increased numbers of altered cortical mini-columns that may lead to a less well-organized cerebral cortex and less integration among brain regions reported children with high functioning autism demonstrated diffusely decreased connectivity across the motor execution network relative to children with normal neurodevelopment.

Children with high functioning autism had significantly smaller grey matter volumes in subcortical, posterior cingulate, and precuneus regions than those diagnosed with Asperger’s. Compared to controls, smaller grey matter volumes in predominantly frontopallidal regions were observed in high functioning autism where as in Asperger’s less grey matter was observed in bilateral caudate and left thalamus. It has been found higher white matter volumes around the basal ganglia in high functioning autism than in Asperger’s or controls. Both ASD groups, however, possessed greater white matter volume than controls. Conversely, both ASD groups had less frontal and corpus collasol white matter.

Taken together these mechanistic findings suggest a broad, large area with disarranged neuronal organization and cortical connectivity across ASD.