Dr Nick Riley

The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention integrated into the workplace on physical and mental health outcomes in a sample of adults. The Work-HIIT intervention was evaluated at the University of Newcastle (March-July 2019). University employees (18+¿years) who self-identified as predominantly sedentary at work (n¿=¿47, 43.0¿±¿10.7¿years; 41 female) were recruited, screened, and randomized after baseline assessments into Work-HIIT (n¿=¿24) or wait-list control (n¿=¿23) conditions. Participants were asked to attend 2-3 researcher-facilitated HIIT sessions/week (weeks 1-8). Sessions included a 2-minute gross-motor warm-up, followed by various combinations of aerobic and muscular fitness exercises lasting 8¿minutes (using 30:30¿second work: rest intervals). Program feasibility was assessed using measures of satisfaction, compliance, adherence, fidelity, and retention. Physiological and psychological outcomes were measured at baseline and 9¿weeks. Feasibility data were investigated using descriptive statistics and efficacy outcomes determined using linear mixed models and Cohen's d effect sizes. Participant ratings showed high levels of satisfaction (4.6/5); 71% of participants attended =2 sessions/wk and averaged 85.9% HRmax across all sessions (including rest and work intervals). Small-to-medium positive effects resulted for cardiorespiratory fitness [+2.9 laps, 95% CI (-4.19-10.14); d¿=¿0.34] and work productivity [+0.26, d¿=¿0.47]. Large positive effects resulted for muscular fitness [push-ups +3.5, d¿=¿0.95; standing jump +10.1¿cm, d¿=¿1.12]; HIIT self-efficacy [+16.53, d¿=¿1.57]; sleep [weekday +0.76¿hours, d¿=¿1.05]; and autonomous motivation [+0.23, d¿=¿0.76]. This study supports the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of facilitator-led Work-HIIT as a time-efficient, enjoyable, and convenient workplace exercise option for adults.

Aim: This study examined the effects of different types of classroom physical activity breaks on children¿s on-task behaviour, academic achievement and cognition. Methods: Participants were 87 Australian primary school students (mean age 9.11¿±¿0.62¿years), recruited from one school. Three classes were randomly assigned either to activity breaks only (n¿=¿29), activity breaks and mathematics combined (n¿=¿29), or control conditions involving only mathematical content (n¿=¿29). Students were engaged in five minutes of classroom physical activity breaks, three times per week, for four weeks (divided into two minutes at the beginning of the usual mathematics curriculum lesson and three minutes in the middle of the lesson). Assessments were conducted at baseline and post-test. Results: Significant group-by-time effects were found for on-task behaviour (active engagement: activity breaks and mathematics combined versus control, p¿=¿0.001; activity breaks versus control, p¿=¿0.001; activity breaks and mathematics combined versus activity breaks, p¿=¿0.037; passive engagement: activity breaks and mathematics combined versus control, p¿=¿0.001) and mathematics scores (activity breaks versus control, p¿=¿0.045). Conclusion: Physical activity breaks with and without integrated mathematics content were effective in improving children¿s on-task behaviour and learning scores.

(1) Background: Test anxiety has been found to negatively affect students¿ mental health and academic performance. A primary explanation for this is that anxiety-related thoughts occupy working memory resources during testing that cannot be used for test-related processes (such as information retrieval and problem-solving). The present intervention study investigated whether physical activity could decrease anxiety levels and improve maths test performance in sixth-grade children. (2) Methods: Sixty-eight children of 11¿12 years from two primary schools in New South Wales, Australia were categorised as low or high anxious from their scores on a trait-anxiety questionnaire. After this assessment, they were randomly assigned to the activity break condition, in which they had to do several physical activities of moderate intensity (i.e., star jumps) for 10 min, or the control condition, in which they played a vocabulary game for 10 min. The outcome measures were children¿s anxiety levels at the beginning, during, and at the end of the test, invested mental effort, perceived task difficulty and maths test performance. (3) Results: Results showed that regardless of the condition, low anxious students performed better on the maths test than high anxious children. No differences were found for any of the variables between the activity break condition and the control condition. (4) Conclusions: Although test anxiety was not reduced as expected, this study showed that short physical activity breaks can be used before examinations without impeding academic performance.

Issue addressed: The dietary intakes of Australian children are not optimal, with few meeting recommended vegetable and fruit intake targets. Nutrition education in childhood is important for developing healthy eating patterns, with schools an ideal setting for a wide reach. The aims of this study were to examine nutrition education within the NSW primary school syllabus, explore how much time teachers spend teaching nutrition, what is taught, what materials are used, and to identify attitudes towards nutrition education. Method: An online survey consisting of 29 closed questions (with options for comments) was specifically developed for the purpose of this study. Teachers currently teaching at a NSW primary school were eligible to participate. Results: A total of 33 NSW primary school teachers completed the survey. Results indicate that limited time is spent on teaching nutrition with some important nutrition education components currently missed, resources perceived to be inadequate and lack of time reported as the largest barrier to teaching nutrition. Conclusion: In order to improve the quality of nutrition education in NSW primary schools, several important topics need to be integrated into the curriculum, and time constraints of teachers should be taken into account. So what?: Findings from the current survey will inform the development of future nutrition education programs and resources with the aim of integrating nutrition education within the primary school curriculum.

Developing effective methods for improving student learning in higher education is a priority. Recent findings have shown that feedback on student work can effectively facilitate learning if students are engaged as active participants in the feedback cycle, where they seek, generate and use feedback in the form of dialogue. This novel study investigates the use of peer dialogue assessment as an assessment for learning tool used in an existing undergraduate physical education course. Our findings demonstrate that when thirty six undergraduate physical education students were provided with instruction and practice using peer dialogue assessment after consecutive teaching performances, they exhibit significant improvements in perceived teaching confidence and competence, and teaching self-efficacy. Process evaluation results implying thatembedding peer dialogue assessment in higher education courses may be a feasible approach for facilitating learning, and that students were satisfied with using peer dialogue as a feedback method for improving teaching practices.

To evaluate the impact of a primary school-based physical activity (PA) integration program delivered by teachers on objectively measured PA and key educational outcomes. Methods: Ten classes from 8 Australian public schools were randomly allocated to treatment conditions. Teachers from the intervention group were taught to embed movement-based learning in their students' (n = 142) daily mathematics program in 3 lessons per week for 6 weeks. The control group (n = 98) continued its regular mathematics program. The primary outcome was accelerometer-determined PA across the school day. Linear mixed models were used to analyze treatment effects. Results: Significant intervention effects were found for PA across the school day (adjusted mean difference 103 counts per minute [CPM], 95% confidence interval [CI], 36.5-169.7, P =.008). Intervention effects were also found for PA (168 CPM, 95% CI, 90.1-247.4, P =.008) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (2.6%, 95% CI, 0.9-4.4, P =.009) in mathematics lessons, sedentary time across the school day (-3.5%, 95% CI,-7.0 to-0.13, P =.044) and during mathematics (-8.2%, CI,-13.0 to-2.0, P =.010) and on-task behavior (13.8%, 95% CI, 4.0-23.6, P =.011)-but not for mathematics performance or attitude. Conclusion: Integrating movement across the primary mathematics syllabus is feasible and efficacious.