The effect of life kinetic exercises on cognitive functions in children aged 11–13 years

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Life Kinetic exercises on the cognitive functions (problem solving, creative thinking, and visual memory) of children aged 11–13, the persistence of this effect, and the differences in cognitive function among groups according to various variables. Materials and Methods: In this study, a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test–post-test control group, one of the quantitative research approaches, was used. DG students practiced Life Kinetic exercises for 8 weeks. The “Problem Solving Inventory for Children”, “Creative Thinking Tendency Scale”, and “Benton Visual Memory Test” were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, t-test, two-way analysis of variance, and repeated measures analysis of variance were used in the analysis of the data. Results: In comparisons between groups, while there was no significant difference in the pre-test problem-solving scores except for the avoidance sub-dimension, the scores of DG were found to be significantly higher than those of KG in the post-test and follow-up assessments. While there was no difference between the groups in the pre-test regarding creative thinking tendencies, significant differences were observed in favor of DG in the post-test and follow-up assessments. In visual memory, a significant difference was detected in favor of DG only in the post-test. Analysis of variance showed that the effects of time and the time×group interaction were significant for problem-solving and creative thinking skills. Over time, significant increases were found in all measurements of DG’s problem-solving and creative thinking skills, while significant increases in visual memory levels were observed only at the first and second follow-up assessments compared with the pre-test. Conclusion: It was determined that Life Kinetic exercises had a positive and lasting effect on cognitive functions in children aged 11–13 years.