Effects of Videos with Whole-Body Movements on Young Children’s Geography Learning

ERCT Criteria Breakdown

• Level 1 Criteria

  • C

    Class-level RCT

    • The study allocated individual children (not intact classes or schools) using visit-order block allocation, not class-level randomisation.
    • "Participants were randomly assigned to either the embodied cognition or the control group based (i.e., block allocation) on their time and order of their visit." (PDF p. 17)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Seventy-five children (Mage=5.61; SD=1.03) were randomly assigned to either an embodied cognition group, where they watched videos and performed simple full-body movements mimicking animals from different continents, or a control group, where they watched the same videos while seated." (PDF p. 2) 2) "Participants were randomly assigned to either the embodied cognition or the control group based (i.e., block allocation) on their time and order of their visit." (PDF p. 17) 3) "This randomisation was conducted in blocks of four, with the first block allocated to the intervention group, the next to the control group, and so forth)." (PDF p. 17) Detailed Analysis: Criterion C requires randomisation at the class level (or stronger, such as school/site level), to reduce contamination from students sharing the same instructional setting. The paper describes assignment of individual children recruited at a children’s museum, with allocation based on the "time and order of their visit" and conducted "in blocks of four". This is not class- level or school-level randomisation, and the intervention is not a tutoring/one-to-one exception where student-level randomisation would be acceptable under ERCT. Criterion C is not met because randomisation was at the individual child level (block allocation by visit order), not at the class (or school) level.
  • E

    Exam-based Assessment

    • Outcomes were measured with study-specific pre/post geography tasks, not with a widely recognised standardised exam.
    • "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20) 2) "The pre-test lasted 1 minute. Post-test: each participating child completed two different tasks: a free-recall test and a cued-recall test:" (PDF p. 20) 3) "Children received 1 point for each correct answer, with a maximum of 6 points in each individual sub-test (12 points in total)." (PDF p. 20) Detailed Analysis: Criterion E requires a standardised, widely recognised exam-based assessment (e.g., a national/state test), rather than a researcher- created measure tailored to the intervention content. The paper explicitly states that the assessment covered geography knowledge "on the content previously taught in the videos" and then details custom free-recall and cued-recall tasks with a study-defined scoring system. This indicates the outcome measure is a study-specific instrument rather than an external standardised exam. Criterion E is not met because the study used custom pre/post tasks aligned to the videos rather than a recognised standardised exam.
  • T

    Term Duration

    • Outcomes were measured immediately after a single 10-15 minute session, not at least one academic term after intervention start.
    • "Immediately after watching the videos, either with or without performing full-body movements, children in both groups completed the learning assessment about geography." (PDF p. 19)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Children in both groups completed the same task, watching the videos with the continents appearing in the same order, with a duration of 10- 15 min." (PDF p. 18) 2) "Immediately after watching the videos, either with or without performing full-body movements, children in both groups completed the learning assessment about geography." (PDF p. 19) 3) "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20) Detailed Analysis: Criterion T requires outcomes to be measured at least one full academic term (roughly 3-4 months) after the intervention begins, or at minimum a term-long follow-up from the start. Here, the learning activity is described as a single session lasting "10- 15 min", and the post-test was administered "immediately after" watching the videos. No term-long interval exists between intervention start and outcome measurement. Criterion T is not met because outcomes were measured immediately after a brief single session rather than after at least one academic term.
  • D

    Documented Control Group

    • The control condition is clearly described and the paper reports group demographics and baseline/outcome descriptives by group in Tables 1-2.
    • "In the control group, children were arranged to only watch the same videos in a sitting position and then were asked to repeat the names of the continents." (PDF p. 18)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "In the control group, children were arranged to only watch the same videos in a sitting position and then were asked to repeat the names of the continents." (PDF p. 18) 2) "Parents also completed a demographic questionnaire (see Table 1)." (PDF p. 17) 3) "Table 1. Summary of participant characteristics per group." (PDF p. 34) 4) "Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics v29.0. Descriptive statistics are displayed in Table 2." (PDF p. 21) 5) "Table 2. Means (M) and standard deviation (SD) of outcome variables per group." (PDF p. 36) Detailed Analysis: Criterion D requires a well-documented control group, including what they received and sufficient descriptive/baseline information to judge comparability. The paper describes the control group procedure (same videos, seated) and explicitly points to Table 1 for participant characteristics and Table 2 for baseline (pre-test) and outcome measures by group. This provides clear documentation of the control condition and group-level descriptive information. Criterion D is met because the control condition and group baseline/ descriptive information are documented (including via Tables 1-2).

• Level 2 Criteria

  • S

    School-level RCT

    • The study did not randomise schools/sites; it recruited children at a museum and allocated individual children to conditions.
    • "Seventy-five children (intervention = 37; 36 females; Mage = 5.61; SD = 1.03) were recruited from the Science Space at the University of Wollongong during their visit to the children’s museum." (PDF p. 17)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Seventy-five children (intervention = 37; 36 females; Mage = 5.61; SD = 1.03) were recruited from the Science Space at the University of Wollongong during their visit to the children’s museum." (PDF p. 17) 2) "Participants were randomly assigned to either the embodied cognition or the control group based (i.e., block allocation) on their time and order of their visit." (PDF p. 17) Detailed Analysis: Criterion S requires randomisation at the school level (or equivalent institutional/site unit implementing the intervention), not at the individual-child level. The paper describes recruitment of individual museum visitors and assignment of individual children to groups based on visit order. No schools, childcare centres, or other institutional sites are described as the units being randomised. Criterion S is not met because randomisation did not occur at the school/site level.
  • I

    Independent Conduct

    • The paper does not document independent third-party evaluation; the author team oversaw the study and authors performed data collection.
    • "LM and RN performed the data collection and prepared figures." (PDF p. 23)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Experimental procedures (see Figure 2) executed by three trained research assistants involved three separate but consequential orders: a pre-test, the activity/learning session, and a post-test." (PDF p. 19) 2) "MFM, SB, DL were responsible for conceptualisation and funding acquisition." (PDF p. 23) 3) "LM and RN performed the data collection and prepared figures." (PDF p. 23) Detailed Analysis: Criterion I requires that the evaluation be conducted independently from the intervention designers/providers to reduce bias (e.g., via an external evaluator or explicit independence statements). The author contribution statement indicates the author team led conceptualisation and funding acquisition, and that two authors (LM and RN) performed data collection. Although trained research assistants executed procedures, the paper does not describe an independent external evaluation organisation, nor does it provide statements insulating evaluation from the intervention designers. Criterion I is not met because the study does not document independent third-party conduct and authors performed data collection.
  • Y

    Year Duration

    • Outcomes were measured immediately after a single session, so the study does not meet the ≥75% academic-year duration requirement (and T is also not met).
    • "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Children in both groups completed the same task, watching the videos with the continents appearing in the same order, with a duration of 10- 15 min." (PDF p. 18) 2) "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20) Detailed Analysis: Criterion Y requires outcomes to be measured at least 75% of one academic year after the intervention begins. The paper describes a single brief session with immediate post-testing. Additionally, under ERCT rules, if criterion T is not met, criterion Y is not met; here, T clearly fails due to immediate post-test timing. Criterion Y is not met because the study is a single-session design with immediate post-test rather than year-long tracking.
  • B

    Balanced Control Group

    • Time-on-task and materials were matched (same videos, same duration); the difference was movement versus seated viewing as the intended treatment contrast.
    • "Children in both groups completed the same task, watching the videos with the continents appearing in the same order, with a duration of 10- 15 min." (PDF p. 18)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Additionally, participating children were instructed to engage in simple full-body movements, mimicking the animal movements shown in the video (e.g., jumping like a kangaroo, running on the spot, or stomping their feet on the floor pretending to walk like an elephant, while moving from one continent to the other on the map; see Figure 1)." (PDF p. 18) 2) "In the control group, children were arranged to only watch the same videos in a sitting position and then were asked to repeat the names of the continents." (PDF p. 18) 3) "In both conditions, each 5-min video was played twice to provide repeated exposure to the content and, in the intervention group, additional opportunities to practise the animal movements78." (PDF p. 18) 4) "Children in both groups completed the same task, watching the videos with the continents appearing in the same order, with a duration of 10- 15 min." (PDF p. 18) Detailed Analysis: Criterion B compares the nature, quantity, and quality of resources (time, materials, staff attention, budget) provided across conditions, unless extra resources are explicitly the treatment variable. Both groups watched the same videos, with the same repetition ("each 5-min video was played twice") and the same reported session duration. The intervention difference is that children performed full-body movements while viewing, whereas controls remained seated. There is no indication that the intervention group received extra instructional time, unique paid materials, or extra staff-delivered instruction that was not also provided to controls. The added movement is integral to the intended treatment contrast. Criterion B is met because instructional time and core materials are matched across groups, and the only key difference is the intended movement component.

• Level 3 Criteria

  • R

    Reproduced

    • No independent peer-reviewed replication of this specific study was found in the paper or via web search as of the ERCT check date.
    • Relevant Quotes: (No relevant quotes about independent replication were found in the paper.) Detailed Analysis: Criterion R requires an independent replication by a different research team, published in a peer-reviewed outlet, reproducing the same study (or clearly the same experimental claim/methods in a new context). The paper does not state it is a replication, and it does not report that another team has replicated this specific museum-based geography video + whole-body movement intervention. Internet searching (by DOI "10.1038/s41539-026-00408-8" and the full article title) did not identify any peer-reviewed independent replications of this specific trial published by other authors as of 2026-04-14. Criterion R is not met because no independent replication of this specific study was identified.
  • A

    All-subject Exams

    • Because criterion E is not met (no standardised exam), criterion A is automatically not met; the study also assesses only geography content.
    • "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20) 2) "The learning task focused on three world continents, with children learning to identify each continent." (PDF p. 18) Detailed Analysis: Criterion A requires all-subject outcomes using standardised exam-based assessments. ERCT rules specify that if criterion E is not met, then criterion A is not met. This study uses study-specific geography tasks (free-recall and cued- recall) focused on continents/animals, not standardised exam outcomes across core subjects. Criterion A is not met because standardised exams were not used (E is not met) and outcomes were limited to geography-related content.
  • G

    Graduation Tracking

    • Criterion Y is not met, so graduation tracking is automatically not met; no follow-up publications tracking this cohort to graduation were found.
    • "As limitations, we note the lack of direct measurement and the single learning session, which restricts the inferences that can be drawn about mechanisms and longer-term learning." (PDF p. 16)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "As limitations, we note the lack of direct measurement and the single learning session, which restricts the inferences that can be drawn about mechanisms and longer-term learning." (PDF p. 16) 2) "Children’s geography knowledge (i.e., naming continents and animals living in each continent, continents’ location on the map) on the content previously taught in the videos was assessed both before (pre-test) and immediately after the learning session (post-test)." (PDF p. 20) Detailed Analysis: Criterion G requires tracking participants until graduation (from the relevant educational stage) to assess long-term impacts. This study is explicitly a "single learning session" with immediate post-testing and no described long-term follow-up. Under ERCT rules, if criterion Y is not met, criterion G is not met; here, Y fails due to immediate post-testing within a single session. Internet searching for follow-up papers by the same author team tracking this specific Science Space museum cohort to later schooling milestones (including graduation) did not identify any such follow-up publications as of 2026-04-14. Criterion G is not met because the study has no long-term follow-up and (since Y is not met) it cannot satisfy graduation tracking.
  • P

    Pre-Registered

    • The paper provides an OSF link for data/code but does not document a preregistered protocol with a registration date before data collection.
    • "All data and analyses supporting the findings of this study are available and publicly accessible at OSF (https://osf.io/qr2un/overview)." (PDF p. 22)
    • Relevant Quotes: 1) "All data and analyses supporting the findings of this study are available and publicly accessible at OSF (https://osf.io/qr2un/overview)." (PDF p. 22) 2) "All data and analyses supporting the findings of this study are available and publicly accessible at OSF (https://osf.io/qr2un/overview). Analyses were conducted on SPSS Statistics v29.0." (PDF p. 22) Detailed Analysis: Criterion P requires a preregistered protocol (hypotheses/methods/ analysis plan) with a clearly identified registry record and a registration date that is before data collection begins. In the paper, the OSF link is presented under "Data Availability" and "Code Availability" and does not state that the study was preregistered, nor does it provide a preregistration DOI/ID and preregistration date. Because no preregistration statement, identifier, or preregistration timing is provided in the paper, and no preregistration record can be confirmed from the information given, this criterion cannot be marked as met. Criterion P is not met because the paper does not document a preregistered protocol (ID and pre-data-collection date).