Embedding High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into the school day: The 'Burn 2 Learn' program for senior school students

The Burn 2 Learn intervention will involve the following intervention components and implementation strategies: 1) Intervention components: i) Professional learning: 1 x one-day (i.e., 5 hours) professional learning workshop will be provided to two teachers per intervention school who agree to act as 'school champions' and facilitate the Burn 2 Learn program in their school. The workshop will be delivered by members of the research team (i.e., the Principal Investigator and certain Chief Investigators), and will cover information and current evidence on the impact of vigorous physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness on cognitive functioning and academic performance as well as adolescent mental health. Teachers will participate in practical exercise sessions, where they will be taught about high intensity interval training (HIIT), and they will also be shown how to use the 'Burn 2 Learn' resources (i.e., HIIT task cards, smartphone application etc). A condensed online version of the workshop will be provided for any teachers that could not attend the face-to-face workshop. ii) Interactive student seminar: Participating students will attend 1 x interactive seminar (i.e., 2.5 hours) delivered by a trained 'school champion', but supported by a member of the research team (present on the day of delivery). The interactive seminar will provide an overview of the Burn 2 Learn program and will address relevant information regarding physical activity, mental health and cognition, using a PowerPoint presentation and embedded videos designed specifically for this project. During this introductory session, students will participate in a practical HIIT session using the Burn 2 Learn smartphone application (hereafter referred to as the ‘B2L app’) and commercial heart-rate monitors. iii) School-based exercise sessions: Sessions will be run at school during curricular time, supported by program resources and the B2L app. Schools will be encouraged to offer a minimum of 2 exercise sessions/week across 2 school terms (i.e., 16 weeks) during regularly scheduled lessons, and each exercise session will last approximately 10-15 minutes in duration. In addition, students will be encouraged to complete additional sessions before or after school, during recess or lunch, and during free/study periods using the B2L app. Students will also be encouraged to continue the exercise sessions during their 2-week school holidays, which falls around the middle of the intervention period. The sessions will involve a combination of aerobic (e.g., shuttle runs, jumping jacks, boxing, dancing) and body weight muscle-strengthening exercises (e.g., push-ups, squat jumps and walking lunges), and have been designed to be fun and engaging as well as vigorous in nature. Students will be able to select from pre-designed HIIT workouts, which may be delivered for between 8-16 intervals (30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest; 1:1 work to rest ratio). A shorter option (i.e., 8 intervals; 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest; 2:1 work to rest ratio; 4 minutes) will also be provided for when time constraints preclude a longer session. HIIT sessions will include variety and choice of activities to enhance motivation, and will be student self-directed. The school champions (i.e., classroom teachers) will facilitate exercise sessions, but are not expected to guide/deliver the sessions themselves. Students' attendance at the activity sessions will be tracked using the B2L app and via teacher recording. iv) Smartphone app: A smartphone app has been developed to enable students to complete the sessions at school and home. Android and iOS versions of the app are available. The app includes: (i) descriptions and depictions of exercise sessions, (ii) options for 'solo' or 'group' sessions (for up to 6 users per device), (iii) timer, audible prompts and display of heart rate using Bluetooth-synced commercial heart rate monitors (WAHOO brand) during HIIT sessions, (iv) personalised reports outlining heart rate (i.e., in bpm and % of maximum) achieved overall, and during each work interval across the session, (v) display of HIIT session log on app dashboard to aid self-monitoring and goal setting. v) Parental e-newsletter: Parents of intervention group students will receive two e-newsletters containing information on the benefits of physical activity for academic performance and mental health and strategies to support their children’s participation in physical activity during school holiday periods. The e-newsletters will include video content, and will be emailed to parents, unless there is a preferred parental contact method provided by the school. 2) Implementation strategies: i) Recruitment of school champions: 2 x teachers/school will be recruited as school champions. These teachers will attend the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) accredited professional learning workshop, and will facilitate the delivery of the B2L program during curricular time in their school. These school champions will also liaise with the research team to organise data collection, will deliver the interactive seminar for students (with support from the research team) and will act as advocates for the B2L program in their schools. ii) Delivery of tailored presentation to school faculty: The school champions will design a tailored presentation (approx.. 10 minutes), scaffolded by pre-designed program resources (i.e., videos, presentation slides), to be delivered to school faculty during a regularly scheduled staff meeting. The purpose if this strategy is to inform staff of the objectives and details of the B2L program, and to promote a supportive school climate. iii) Provision of equipment and resources: Schools will be provided with a small equipment pack to assist in the delivery of the Burn 2 Learn program (~AUD2500) including: 1 x heart rate monitor/student, 1 x Bluetooth speaker for playing music during sessions, Burn 2 Learn Technique cards (i.e., describing key components to perform each exercise) and Burn 2 Learn HIIT session cards (i.e., describing the various HIIT workouts), a small assortment of sports equipment (e.g., balls, cones). Measurement of on-task behavior: Schools will be invited to participate in a sub-study to determine the acute effect of the B2L intervention on students’ behaviour in the classroom. Classroom observations will be conducted by trained research assistants at baseline and mid-intervention (week 5 to 8) using established methods (Alberto & Troutman, 2003; Riley, Lubans, Holmes, & Morgan, 2016). During each 30 minute observation period (starting 5-mins after students enter the classroom), research assistants will assess the on- and off-task behaviour of six randomly selected students (5 min per student). For each lesson, two observers will randomly select 12 students (i.e., six boys and six girls) and the order in which they are observed (teachers and students will not know who is being observed). Observers will listen to an MP3 audio file via headphones, which will inform them when to observe and record (in 15-sec intervals). After each 10-sec interval, the observers will record the student`s behaviour by circling an appropriate code (i.e., actively engaged, passively engaged, off-task motor, off-task verbal or off-task passive) using an observation sheet. After 15 seconds, the observer will then focus on the next student and repeat this process five times until the six students have been observed 20 times. On-task behaviour includes times when the child is actively engaged in an academic activity (e.g., reading, writing, or performing the designated task) or passively engaged (i.e., sitting quietly and listening to the teacher). Off-task behaviour includes times when the student is not engaged in the designated task and can be classified as off-task motor (i.e., walking around the class), off-task verbal (i.e., talking) or off-task passive (i.e., passively not attending to the assigned academic activity). Time spent on- and off-task during the lesson will be expressed as a percentage of total lesson time. Two trained research assistants will be responsible for conducting all observations and inter-rater reliability scores will be established in the training phase. Assessors will be consisted of trained research staff who will observe students' on-task behavior during their lessons. Before assessments, they will participate in a 2-hour training to help them measure reliably and accurately measure on-task behavior. Vitality scale: The concept of subjective vitality refers to the state of feeling alive and alert--to having energy available to the self. Vitality is considered an aspect of eudaimonic well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2001), as being vital and energetic is part of what it means to be fully functioning and psychologically well. The vitality scale consisting of 6-items will be distributed and completed by students at the beginning and at the end of the lesson (at two time points: baseline and post-test).