Study results show stability ball benefits
File photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS in Robin Norsworthy’s class at Zippel Elementary School were among the 13 classrooms across Aroostook County participating in the WittFitt Pilot Project. Results of a formal study showed that sitting on stability balls instead of chairs had a positive impact on factors that led to improved academic performance, as well as health and wellness.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
Results of a formal study in Aroostook County public schools showed that sitting on stability balls instead of chairs had a positive impact on factors that led to improved academic performance, as well as health and wellness.
The study was conducted during the second half of the 2011-12 academic year. It assessed each student’s “squirminess,” task level and posture before and after using a WittFitt stability ball over a four-month period. It also assessed standardized test scores for each class, penmanship improvements and parental observations of their child. The results of the study indicate that incorporating physical activity into Maine classrooms is a realistic and beneficial measure that can lead to positive effects.
The project is a unique partnership between public health organizations and schools that kicked off in early 2012 and was funded by the United Way of Aroostook. The initiative replaced chairs with stability balls in 13 classrooms located throughout Aroostook County for the second half of the school year, after the completion of planning and training among the teachers during the first half of the year. Students in the classrooms spent part or all of each day sitting on the stability balls at their desks and in other parts of the room.
“When we began the project, we anticipated that the integration of stability balls would improve the classroom environment allowing students to move throughout the day, therefore improving facets that would lead to improved academic performance,” said Martha Bell, community transformation coordinator for the Aroostook Public Health District in collaboration with ACAP. “The results of this project provide great opportunity to integrate education and public health priorities for the overall health and well-being of the children in Aroostook County communities.”
WittFitt is an intervention designed to promote wellness in the classroom and enhance academic performance through active sitting and active learning, building on the positive relationship between physical activity and academic achievement. The study findings show that more than half of students demonstrated a reduction in squirminess, task level, and posture after switching from a chair to a ball. Students also reported overall satisfaction with using the balls as chairs.
Teachers at each location assessed their students before implementing the WittFitt balls, and then each student was measured for a custom WittFitt ball. For four months, the students replaced regular desk chairs with the devices, while teachers continued to assess the impact of the intervention on students’ attentiveness and posture in class, with supplemental evidence of handwriting and academic testing.
Healthy Aroostook, a program of ACAP, undertook this pilot project with WittFitt stability balls with a grant funded by United Way of Aroostook. Evaluation support came in the form of a $5,000 donation provided collaboratively by TAMC, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, and United Way of Aroostook. Houlton Regional Hospital and Northern Maine Medical Center were supporters of the project.
“TAMC was pleased to partner on this phase of the project to help analyze the data in order to really understand how the project made a difference,” said Jorge Pineiro, a TAMC pediatrician at Aroostook Pediatrics. “Several organizations, including TAMC, are interested in the overall well-being of our youth, and the analysis of the data is an important step in local efforts to curb youth obesity and improve the overall health of children and adolescents.”
“United Way of Aroostook has been a strong supporter of this project from the beginning,” said Claudia Stevens, executive director. “We feel that it’s important to learn more about approaches that can improve both academic performance and activity levels in the classroom. We are pleased that analysis of the data shows that it does indeed make a difference in the academic and physical well-being of the students. We hope these results will spur further growth of this and other related projects county-wide.”
Robin Norsworthy, a fifth-grade teacher at Zippel Elementary School, participated in the pilot project.
“The benefits are greater than I had ever imagined,” she said. “The kids are quieter when getting into groups and they move more quickly between tasks. People who come into my classroom are amazed at how quiet the kids are on the stability balls. There’s no scraping of chairs which is wonderful. They take great ownership of the stability balls and they love using them.”
Abigail Michaud, a student in Norsworthy’s class, said she really enjoys using her stability ball.
“It’s really cool because you get to have something different; you don’t have to have the chairs. It’s a lot quieter; you can hear the announcements when they come on,” she said. “It’s fun to get a little movement in the day.”
The Aroostook County WittFitt Pilot Project included students ranging in age from 6 to 18. Thirteen classrooms from seven different school districts completed the pilot project. Eight of the 13 classrooms were elementary classes, four were from middle schools, and one was high school level.
Schools participating in the pilot project were Ashland District School, Zippel Elementary School, Presque Isle Middle School, Presque Isle High School, Washburn Elementary School, Washburn Middle School, Houlton Elementary School, Houlton Southside School, Fort Fairfield Elementary School, Dr. Levesque Elementary School and St. Francis Elementary School.
