RecessQuest:
How Essential is School Recess to Children's Well-Being?

A WebQuest for PSY-A490: Advanced General Psychology
Saint Louis University

Designed by Janet E. Kuebli, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
and
Miriam E. Joseph, Ph.D., M.L.S.
Reference Librarian

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

Introduction

Last year, some parents in Horry County, South Carolina, made news about their children’s recess. In fact, they petitioned their school district to provide two 20-minute recess periods each day. This RecessQuest is designed to help you critically consider the question faced by members of that community: How essential is school recess to children’s well-being?

Very likely, different people may conceptualize recess and child well-being in different ways. Therefore, before you can answer this question, it is necessary to clarify more precisely what is meant by recess and by well-being. In terms of recess, for example, what type of recess activity is under consideration? How long will it last and how often will it take place? When, with whom, and where will recess take place? Likewise, child well-being might be defined strictly academically, or might include other dimensions of interest (e.g. social benefits).

Your task is to collaborate with your team in the formulation of an Action Plan summarizing your team’s consensus about the best and wisest way for Horry County to deal with this issue.

Task

To complete the RecessQuest, you and your classmates will assume the roles of elementary principals in the Horry County School District. As school principals, you will be asked to demonstrate your collective capacity for wisdom and critical thinking about this question. To meet this general objective, you will need to learn more about the issue, both in general terms and with respect to the particular significance of this issue for Horry County. This objective will require that your team:

• Explore different views and opinions about school recess. Specifically, in addition to considering the issue from your own perspectives as elementary school principals, you will inform yourselves about the views of others who are stakeholders in this issue: teachers, parents, school board members, and students. Considering your own needs, the needs of others, and of the community as a whole will help you to reach a wise decision about this issue. [Critical Thinking Aim: To demonstrate your understanding of an issue from different points of view – i.e., identifying diverse values and assumptions and their implications for making decisions and taking action.]

• Review relevant psychological theory and research. This will ensure that your understanding of the recess question is empirically-grounded. [Critical Thinking Aim: To take into account empirical research in your analysis of the problem.]

• After discussion among yourselves, you will reach a consensus (as principals) about the recess question and then formulate in writing a preliminary policy recommendation to submit to the district superintendent. [Critical Thinking Aim: To demonstrate your capacity to reach consensus and to develop a persuasive, research-based message.]

Process

GENERAL INFORMATION

• You will work in a team of 4 students corresponding to your capstone project team.

• You will work together on this RecessQuest during class time. You will also carry out some steps on your own time as indicated below.

• You will use the resource links provided below and any other helpful Web sites you may find to critically think about the recess problem in Horry County.

• You will have about 2 weeks in which to become better informed about the issues, reach consensus, and then prepare and defend a written Action Plan representing your team’s policy recommendations. Your RecessQuest Action Plan is due in class on February 9th and is worth 30 points of your final grade.

• Step-by-step instructions for conducting the WebQuest are provided below. Before you begin the first step, everyone should read through the entire process. Take time NOW to ensure that you understand the general task and the specific steps. Seek clarification as needed in class on January 26th. On this date, class will meet in Pius LL7.

1. Read the original newspaper account of the recess problem in Horry County, SC, learn more about the Horry County School District, and read the principal profiles. Complete this step before class on January 26th.
   • "Parents Press for More Recess Time" from The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC) -- May 20, 2004 -- (Electronic Reserve)

   • Community Affairs: Horry County Schools: Quick Facts
   • Quick Tables – American FactFinder
     • DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 – Horry County, SC
     • DP-2: Profile of Selected Social Characteristics: 2000 – Horry County, SC
     • DP-3: Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics: 2000 – Horry County, SC
     • DP-4: Profile of Selected Housing Characteristics: 2000 – Horry County, SC

   • Principal Profiles
     • Principal A is 50 years old, and male. His school is determining if there will be any money left in the budget to repair the playground that is in disrepair and needs new playground equipment that meets current safety standards. Before earning his Masters’ in Educational Administration, Principal A’s undergraduate minor was psychology combined with a major in economics.

     • Principal B is 52 years old, male, and a former high school baseball coach who remains a fitness and sports enthusiast. In college, Principal B double-majored in psychology and physical education.

     • Principal C is 49 years old, and female. The district hired her last year to improve standardized testing scores at her school where performance has been alarmingly low for the past decade. She was also very active in the teachers’ union at her former school district in another state. She also minored in psychology in college.

     • Principal D is 35 year old, and female. In college, she majored in psychology and took extra courses in child development. She is also the only one of the four who still has children in elementary school.

2. You will complete this step in class on January 26th. Each student should assume the role of one of the four elementary school principals described in the Principal Profiles. Imagine that you four were asked by the superintendent of the Horry County Schools to play a leadership role in resolving this problem. Review the Principal Profiles and decide as a group who will assume which principal role. Then continue.

   Recalling her days as a psychology major, Principal D suggests that the group first explore and clarify their thinking (i.e., values and assumptions) about “recess” and “children’s well-being.” To this end, Principal D should guide the group in brainstorming a variety of possible ways to define “recess” and “children’s well-being.” For example, consider possible parameters (e.g., duration, frequency, type) that might define recess and consider various specific dimensions that might constitute well-being.

   You will be given 20 minutes during class for this preliminary discussion during which everyone should remain true to their particular principal role (A, B, C, or D). Do not select any set definitions for these two constructs at this point in time. Use your discussion to comprehend the problem more fully. At the end of the period today, hand in a team summary of your discussion. Be sure everyone who participated signs this summary.

3. Complete this step before class on January 31st. Go to the Web links below to learn more about what other “stakeholders” think about this issue. Come to class on January 31st well-prepared to discuss in detail the merits and limitations of the diverse perspectives you find with these links (and any additional Web sites you happen to find on your own).

   Debate: Is Recess Obsolete? (NEA Today; 1999) (Electronic Reserve)

   Elementary School Recess: Then and Now (Clements & Jarrett; 2000)

   Federal Education Law Squeezes Out Recess: Downtime Vies with Extra Math, Reading (Mathews; 2004)

   No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Amendment to 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act) -- PL 107-110

   Text (large file): HTML PDF

   Landmark Education Bill Signed (Electronic Reserve)

   No Child Left Behind - ED.gov

   No-Recess Policies Being Implemented in U.S. School Districts (Ramsberg; n.d.)

   On the Elimination of Recess (Schultz; 1998) (Electronic Reserve)

   Recess and the Importance of Play: A Position Statement on Young Children and Recess (NAECS; 2002)

   Recess in Elementary Schools (COPEC; 2001)

   Recess in Elementary School: What Does the Research Say? [ERIC Digest] (Jarrett; 2002)

   Recess: Is It Needed in the 21st Century? (Sindelar; 2004)

   Recess: Necessity or Nicety? (Bafile; 2001)

   Recess News (IPAUSA)

   Should Schools Take a Break from Recess? (Cromwell; 1998)

   Supervision + Recess = Injury Prevention (Olsen, Hudson, & Thompson; 2004)

4. You will complete this step in class with your team on January 31st. The four principals reconvene to understand the variety of stakeholders’ views on the recess problem. Your objective is to ensure that you fully understand the issue by comprehending the problem from as many different perspectives as possible. At the end of the period today, hand in a team summary of your discussion. Be sure everyone who participated signs this summary.

5. Complete this step before class on February 2nd . At the suggestion of Principal B, the principals agree to each read the relevant empirical study (i.e., the required reading) on recess found in the link below. Their objective is to use empirical research as a way to become better informed about the problem. Come to class on February 2nd prepared to discuss what you think are the implications of this empirical article for the problem in Horry County. Bring to class your independent summary (TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACED) of the article and what you think its implications are for the recess issue in Horry County.

   Required reading:
   The Effects of Recess Timing on Children's Playground and Class Behaviors (Pellegrini, Huberty, & Jones; 1995) (Electronic Reserve)

   Recommended reading:
   The Role of Recess in Children's Cognitive Performance (Pellegrini & Bjorklund; 1997) (Electronic Reserve)
   

   Recommended reading:
   The Fourth R: Recess and Its Link to Learning (Waite-Stupiansky & Findlay; 2001) (Electronic Reserve)

6. This step will take place in class on February 2nd. You again meet with your fellow principals. Principal A leads a 20-minute discussion in which the group should reach a consensus about how to resolve the recess problem in Horry County. Your recommendations should demonstrate your best effort to reach a “wise” resolution as described in Sternberg’s Balance Theory of Wisdom.

   Supplemental readings:
   So You Think You're Smart, Stupid? (Gold; 2002)

   Wisdom, Schooling, and Society (Sternberg; 2002)

7. The last step is to write your RecessQuest Action Plan. This step is to be completed individually on your own time. Your action plan should be 1-2 pages long (TYPED, 10 or 12 point FONT, with 1 INCH MARGINS). It should include these components:
   • A concise but complete summary and analysis of the problem.
   • Your team’s recommendations.
   • A rationale in support of your recommendations based on the information provided in this RecessQuest.

   NOTE: This Action Plan should be written independently and in your own words. Since you will be reporting the consensus of your group, a degree of similarity is to be expected among team members. However, papers that are too similar will lose points. Your RecessQuest Action Plan is due in class on February 9th. It is worth 30 points of your final grade.

Evaluation

Action Plan Components and Point Values

Problem Analysis/Summary (10 points)
Recommendations (10 points)
Rationale (10 points)

Each of the components will be evaluated as being "Above Satisfactory," "Satisfactory," or "Less Than Satisfactory."

Conclusion

This RecessQuest has required you to demonstrate and apply critical thinking skills to a contemporary, real-life problem with relevance for psychology. It has exposed you to a diversity of Web sources of varying content and caliber as well as to empirical literature. It has required you to assimilate this information into succinctly-written documents and to make a brief oral presentation to others with a stake in the issue. Furthermore, this RecessQuest has provided you with an opportunity to work in a collaborative team environment. This experience should enable you to conduct your primary course project with more confidence, at both the individual and group levels. Hopefully, too, it has left you asking more questions than you have answered about the constructs of recess and well-being.

Credits

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.