Smartphone applications (apps) are thought to be an adequate instructional strategy not only to improve the quality of the teaching in physical education (PE), but also to effectively promote leisure-time physical activity (PA) of adolescent students in this context. Although the use of smartphone apps has been generalized in PE, little is known about the curricular approach of smartphone apps to be implemented by teacher to teach specific curricular contents in PE lessons. Therefore, the aim of this research was threefold: a) to conduct a systematic search for smartphone apps focused on PA and sport; b) to assess the features, content and quality of every included smartphone app; and c) to analyze the relationships between every selected app and the secondary PE curriculum. Systematic searches were completed on Google Play Store from January 2021 to March 2021. Apps were included when they met: main goal focused on PA and sport; permitted use by underage; they are free; user scores of at least 4. The app selection process was carried out by several reviewers and concordance measures were estimated. Additionally, an app quality assessment was independently conducted by three reviewers. A total of 18 apps focused on PA were included. Particularly, eight apps were suitable for fitness, health and quality of life curricular content; two for sports content; four for body expression content; and four apps for outdoor PA content. The mean quality score was 4.00. Apps could be helpful for teachers to implement the secondary PE curriculum and effectively promote PA among adolescent students.

La etapa de Educación Infantil está directamente relacionada con el desarrollo personal y es crucial en el proceso de crecimiento personal. Las experiencias de aprendizaje no pueden ser desgajadas en áreas diferenciadas de desarrollo cognitivo, social, emocional y físico, sino que se encuentran integradas y son dependientes. Este equilibrio se puede lograr a través del juego creativo e interactivo, que soporta y proporciona andamiaje a todas las áreas de desarrollo y de contenido curricular. Desde esta perspectiva, el presente trabajo realiza una puesta en común entre legislación y conocimiento científico en relación al juego y la actividad física en Educación Infantil finalizando con una propuesta de aplicación práctica. Los objetivos de la investigación son: (I) Revisar el conocimiento científico y legislación en relación a la utilización metodológica del juego en educación infantil, (II) revisar el conocimiento científico y legislación en relación a la actividad física en Educación Infantil y (III) realizar una propuesta de aplicación práctica. Se concluye que el juego y actividad física son dos variables fundamentales para lograr una metodología globalizadora, significativa y motivante que aporte calidad al proceso formativo del alumnado en la etapa de educación infantil que puede complementarse con la utilización de recursos digitales y tecnológicos para el aprendizaje. A su vez, se presentan unas líneas generales de intervención, por áreas y bloques de contenidos, al objeto de mejorar la calidad del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. The stage of Early Childhood Education is directly related to personal development and is crucial in the process of personal growth. Learning experiences cannot be split into differentiated areas of cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, however they are integrated and dependent. This balance can be achieved by means of creative and interactive play, which supports and provides scaffolding to all areas of curriculum development and content. From this perspective, the present work brings together legislation and scientific knowledge in relation to play and physical activity in Early Childhood Education, ending with a practical application proposal. The research objectives are: (I) Review scientific knowledge and legislation regarding the methodological use of play in early childhood education; (II) Reviewing scientific knowledge and legislation in relation to physical activity in early childhood education; and (III) Making a practical implementation proposal. It is concluded that play and physical activity are two fundamental variables to achieve a globalizing, meaningful and motivating methodology which provides quality to the students’ formative process in childhood education stage which can be complemented with the use of digital and learning technological resources. At the same time, general lines of intervention are provided, in areas and blocks of contents, in order to improve the quality of the teaching-learning process.

La presente investigación centra su foco de interés en el estudio de caso de una práctica innovadora en Educación Infantil relacionada con el fomento de la actividad física como potenciadora del desarrollo cognitivo, concepto que representa una de las cuestiones más debatidas en la investigación educativa actual. Esto, unido al papel esencial de dicha etapa en el desarrollo y a la alta tasa de inactividad infantil, hace de nuestro tema una prioridad en numerosos países, pero para abordar esta problemática es preciso un cambio radical en los modos de enseñar y aprender. Nuestro objetivo es profundizar en el conocimiento de metodologías activas implementadas en Educación Infantil y descubrir cómo favorecen la práctica de actividad física entre el alumnado, instaurando hábitos más activos en las escuelas. Para ello estudiamos una experiencia basada en ambientes de aprendizaje desde una perspectiva analítico-descriptiva, empleando la metodología del estudio de caso junto con otras técnicas y herramientas de recogida y análisis de la información. Los resultados evidencian que esta metodología precisa de un continuo movimiento por parte del alumnado, tanto para acceder a las distintas propuestas como para realizarlas, por lo que parece oportuno considerarla como favorecedora de la actividad física y, por ende, de un óptimo desarrollo de las capacidades físicas y cognitivas de los niños y niñas. This research focuses on a case study of an innovative educational practice in Early Childhood Education related to the promotion of physical activity as an enhancer of cognitive development, a concept that represents one of the most debated issues in current educational research. This, together with the essential role of this life period in children’s development, and the high rate of inactive youth, makes our topic a priority in many countries; however, a radical change in teaching is required in order to address this topic, including the implementation of active and innovative methodologies. The objective of this paper is to deepen the knowledge of active methodologies that are being implemented in Early Childhood Education and discover how they favor the practice of physical activity among students, contributing to establish more active habits in schools. To do so, we studied an innovative experience based on learning environments, and we investigated the way in which it encourages students’ physical activity from an analytical-descriptive perspective, using the case study methodology together with other techniques and tools for collecting and analyzing information. The results show that this methodology requires students to move continuously, both to access the different proposals and to perform them, so it seems appropriate to consider it as an enhancer of physical activity and, therefore, of an optimal development of children’s physical and cognitive abilities.

Early childhood represents a crucial period for child development. Physical activity is essential in this process, but studies show that children are very inactive and do not meet the recommended minimums. Due to the large proportion of time they spend at school, it is necessary to examine active and sedentary behaviors in these environments. The aim of the study is to analyze the amount and intensity of physical activity in preschool children during the school day according to the methodology used. Using accelerometry, the amount and intensity of physical activity and sedentary behavior of 156 children aged 4–6 years at different times of the school day were evaluated. The results revealed that preschoolers spend most of their class time sedentary, with children participating in active methodologies registering the highest amount and intensity of physical activity. Recess and specific motor sessions are the most active times, although the latter should increase the time of intense activity that they imply. To increase physical activity during the school day, it is necessary to establish movement integration methodologies, while increasing the number and adjusting the duration of specific motor sessions and of recesses, so that the maximum possible use is made of them.

Social cognition is related to the so-called “Theory of the mind” and refers to the ability to understand the behavior of other people. It plays a transcendental role in the social relations cohesion. Knowing whether normal aging is associated with deficiencies in social understanding is a problem in characterizing the changes that occur in adulthood. The aim of this study was to examine whether the social cognition of the elderly is mediated by factors such as working memory, physical activity, body composition, or age, in elderly people. Sixty volunteers (mean age, 71.50 ± 4.84 years) were recruited from various locations in Malaga. Recognition of emotional expression, working memory, body composition, and physical activity were evaluated. Our results show that performance in emotion recognition is not affected by age in the range studied. Furthermore, we have not found a relationship with any of the body composition parameters. However, a significant relationship with performance in working memory has been revealed, as well as a significant relationship between vigorous/very vigorous physical activity and working memory. Therefore, physical activity could be positively related to the recognition of emotions by positively influencing working memory.

Los métodos educativos de integración del movimiento son reconocidos como potenciadores de la actividad física, de las funciones ejecutivas y del aprendizaje. Sin embargo, el impacto de estas metodologías sobre la cognición y la actividad física en Educación Infantil ha sido poco estudiado. El objetivo de la investigación fue analizar el efecto de un programa educativo de integración del movimiento basado en el juego en esta etapa, evaluando sus efectos sobre los niveles de actividad física de los niños. Participaron 134 alumnos de 5 años de la provincia de Málaga. Se diseñó e implementó un programa de integración del movimiento basado en actividades de juego motor semi-dirigido que cambiaban cada quince minutos, en las cuales se trabajaron contenidos académicos. Se evaluó la cantidad e intensidad de actividad física mediante acelerometría (Actigraph GT3X). Durante su participación en el programa, los niños realizaron una media de 45,65 minutos de actividad física moderada-vigorosa. El porcentaje más alto corresponde a la actividad sedentaria y a la actividad moderada-vigorosa respectivamente, lo cual concuerda con estudios que afirman que la actividad de los niños pequeños consiste en ráfagas cortas de actividad moderada-vigorosa intercaladas con períodos de menor intensidad. Los datos muestran que el juego como método de integración del movimiento contribuye a alcanzar los niveles de actividad recomendados por las organizaciones internacionales. Nuestros resultados apoyan el uso del juego semi-dirigido como una herramienta especialmente útil para la mejora del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en Educación Infantil y para el aumento de la actividad física del alumnado.