Classroom active breaks show no reliable effect on mathematical fluency¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr?·q3·i0negligible
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i0 Pooled effects of active breaks on mathematical fluency were trivial and non-significant across both analytic approaches. → Melguizo-Ibáñez 2026
Evidence¶
Melguizo-Ibáñez 2026¶
Melguizo-Ibáñez, E., Zurita-Ortega, F., Tadeu, P., Ubago-Jiménez, J. L., & Alonso Vargas, J. M. (2026). Classroom Active Breaks as a Physical-Educational Intervention for Executive Functions and Mathematical Outcomes: a Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10146-3
q3 · i0 · quant-synthesis · r?
Meta-analysis of 6 mathematical-fluency studies (n = 1369): pooled g = 0.03 under RVE, p = 0.87; the article states "The convergence of null findings indicates that no reliable effect was detected."
"For mathematical fluency both the averaged (g = 0.02, 95% CI [− 0.36, 0.42], Z = 0.13, p = 0.89) and RVE models results (g = 0.03, 95% CI [− 0.38, 0.39], t(5) = 0.16, p = 0.87) yielded trivial and non-significant effects."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Effects of active breaks on mathematical achievement are small and lose significance under Robust Variance Estimation — related
- Classroom active breaks show no statistically significant effect on attention in schoolchildren — related
- Classroom active breaks show no statistically significant effect on inhibitory control in schoolchildren — related
- Pooled active-break effect estimates are robust to sensitivity analyses varying within-study correlation and excluding individual studies — related
- Classroom physical activity increases children's on-task behaviour, with no consistent gain on attention or other cognitive tests — related
- Classroom active breaks produce a small but statistically significant positive effect on working memory in schoolchildren aged 6–16 — related
- Classroom-based physical activity interventions improve attention and/or on-task behavior in most reviewed studies of schoolchildren aged 4–18 — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
active-breaks-null-effect-mathematical-fluency |
title |
Classroom active breaks show no reliable effect on mathematical fluency |
description |
Classroom active breaks show no reliable effect on mathematical fluency |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2026 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-20 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — melguizo-ibáñez-2026 |
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