Using the Step it UP! Game to increase physical activity during physical‐education classes
A five-minute team step contest doubled PE activity for third graders and won a 16-18 kid vote to stay.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Normand et al. (2020) tested a team step-count game in third-grade PE.
The class wore pedometers and tried to beat a daily team step goal.
The teacher flipped the game on and off in an ABAB reversal to be sure steps really changed.
What they found
Steps doubled when the Step it UP! Game was on.
Sixteen of eighteen kids voted to keep playing after the study ended.
The game took only a few minutes to set up each class.
How this fits with other research
Seward et al. (2023) later used the same game with adults with disabilities and also saw steps double, showing the idea works across ages and abilities.
Asaro et al. (2023) compared two styles of group prizes at recess and found any team prize beats no prize, backing Normand’s team approach.
Lancioni et al. (2011) used the older Good Behavior Game to cut high-school disruption with the same reversal design, proving the method travels from behavior to fitness.
Why it matters
You can run Step it UP! tomorrow. Pick a class step goal, split students into two teams, and reward both teams if they hit it. No extra staff or gear beyond cheap pedometers. Use the ABAB reversal if you need to prove it works for your PE teacher.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The Step it UP! Game is an interdependent group reinforcement contingency based on the Good Behavior Game. We evaluated the effects of the Step it UP! Game on the number of steps taken by 3rd-grade students during physical-education (PE) classes at a local public elementary school. We divided the class into 2 teams and awarded a "Step it UP! Champ" badge to the members of the team with the highest mean step totals at the end of each game. We used a reversal design to compare the mean number of steps taken while playing the game and during regular PE classes. Overall, participants took more steps while playing the game than they did during class periods without the game. When given the opportunity to choose playing the Step it UP! Game or having regular PE class during a follow-up session, 16 of 18 participants voted to play the game.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2020 · doi:10.1002/jaba.624