Term

Fall 2023

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Betsy Parrish

Content Expert

Christina Bast

Abstract

Ballis, M. (2023). How does Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep, and Phone Addiction affect Elementary Student Learning? The research question addressed in this capstone is “How can elementary schools foster learning through the awareness of healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, and healthy phone use in low-income students and families?” This paper follows the research of me, Madeline Ballis, a fourth grade teacher, as I discover the importance of healthy lifestyle behaviors for elementary students, specifically those from low socioeconomic status (SES) families. The research was inspired by my past experience in studying psychology and personal experience with each of the lifestyle behaviors. Through my research, I found that student learning is affected by all of the lifestyle behaviors studied: nutrition, exercise, sleep, and phone addiction (Jirout, et al., 2019). Students from low SES families are especially vulnerable to the negative effects from inadequate nutrition, exercise, sleep, and phone addiction (Bellisle, 2004; Bosch, & Duch, 2017; Fang, 2020). It is essential to change lifestyle behaviors for students who are elementary school aged, because they are starting to form patterns and habits that may last them a lifetime (Olson, et al., 2011). With my learnings about lifestyle behaviors, I created a podcast for elementary students and families to listen to together, which includes information from my research, an interview with topic experts as well as biblical perspectives on each lifestyle behavior, and some discussion questions that will help promote conversations about changing lifestyle behaviors to become healthier. This podcast will benefit students and families, especially those who fit in the categories of: elementary aged, low SES, and having a Christian faith. Students and families can use what they have learned from the podcast to develop healthy lifestyle behaviors in their lives to be the best possible learners. Project Type Podcast Keywords Socioeconomic status (SES), Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep, Phone Addiction

Project Type

Healthy Lifestyle

Keywords

Socioeconomic status (SES), Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep, Phone Addiction

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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