Title: The Effectiveness of Aerobic on Working Memory and Academic Performance of Secondary Girl Students

Students' academic performance not only reflects the effectiveness of schools, Educational Centers, but also determines the future of adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aerobic exercise training on active memory and academic performance of first grade high school students.

The method of this study was quasi-experimental (pre-test, post-test with control group) and the statistical population consisted of 4322 students, all female high school students of Marivan secondary schools during the academic year 2018-2019. Using multistage cluster sampling, two schools were randomly selected by clustering schools based on geographical areas. Then, 5 students in each school were randomly selected from each base and 30 in total. The samples were matched based on the average of the previous academic year, age and academic performance. One school was randomly selected as the experimental group and the other as the control group. Research instruments were Daneman & Carpenter (1980) working memory questionnaire, Dortaj students' academic performance questionnaire (2004) and eight session aerobic exercises. Both experimental and control groups responded to the questionnaires in the pre-test and post-test stages. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistical tests on two levels (ANCOVA) was used and with software of SPSS 24.

The results showed that aerobic exercise training was effective on active memory of female students (p = 0.01) and 40% of the variance of active memory was explained by aerobic movements. Aerobic exercise training does not affect the academic performance of these students.

Given the effectiveness of aerobic exercise training on students' working memory, schools can help students enhance working memory by incorporating exercise programs.