A010: The Effect of Coordinated Bilateral Movements on SelectiveAttention in Fourth Graders

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Selective attention is a core component of children and adolescents' intelligence and a source of individual differences. The status of selective attention of children and adolescents in China is not optimistic. In foreign countries, coordinated bilateral movement can help improve children’s and adolescents' attention. The fact that Chinese parents, schools, and society know little about coordinated bilateral movement, teachers in Chinese physical education and health programs almost never intentionally train students in this area. <bold>Objectives:</bold> The purpose of this study was to explore whether coordinated bilateral exercise can improve the selective attention levels of Chinese children and adolescents, so as to facilitate parents and schools to convey a healthy and effective learning and living method for students to carry out efficient exercise. <bold>Methods:</bold> In this experimental study, various measurement methods and mathematical statistics methods were adopted using the d2 attention test scale as a measurement tool. Fourth grade students of Shenzhen Longhua Central Primary School from class 1 to class 4 were selected as the experimental participants, with 49 students allocated to the experimental class (class 1 and class 2) and 49 students to the control class (class 2 and class 3), with a total of 92 students within the sample. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software to explore the factors affecting the changes in students' selective attention using analysis of variance tests (ANOVA), repeated measures ANOVA, and paired samples t-tests. <bold>Results:</bold> There were significant intervention main effects on centralized performance CP (F=6.73, p = 0.003, η^² = 0.149) and accuracy E% (F=6.94, p = 0.023, η^² = 0.11). There were also significant time main effects on processing speed TN (F=104.72, p &lt; 0.001), overall performance TN-E (F=118.90, p &lt; 0.001), focused performance CP (F=76.37, p &lt; 0.001), processing error rate E% (F=38.95, p &lt; 0.001), and attentional span FR (F=15.61, p &lt; 0.001). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> The inclusion of short bursts of coordinated bilateral movements to break up classroom routines helped children to maintain and improve their concentration. By helping children find better ways to learn, schools can reduce more self-control issues, which in turn improved the academic performance of all pupils. Engaging pupils in coordinated bilateral movements is an effective strategy for improving the selective attention of children and adolescents.