In pursuit of a healthy academic status and student experience : An approach to supporting academically fragile students in higher education

Student engagement in higher education institutions is a critical constituent that underpins organisational retention and the student experience. This study investigates the effectiveness of a four-step initiative designed to support academically fragile teacher education students at a regional Australian university. The initiative was framed upon behaviour change and goal setting frameworks designed to facilitate academic re-engagement at an individual level, guided by academic teacher education staff. Descriptions of four teacher education students and their re-engagement experiences during exposure to the initiative for a semester period are provided. Findings indicate that the elements of a structured and personalised approach, mutual agreement between academic staff and students towards study commitment, and regular communication with the students were fundamental in maintaining engagement. Three of the four students highlighted in this study completed the semester and experienced academic success that they had not achieved previously, suggesting that the initiative may hold value as an approach towards students academically vulnerable. The researchers discuss the multidimensionality of challenges associated with student engagement, identify possible implications of these, and make recommendations for strategies to address such challenges

Perceived value of work-integrated learning on the teaching efficacy and classroom management of pre-service teachers.

The aim of this study was to examine associations of teaching competence, autonomous motivation, and self-efficacy between two groups of pre-service teachers enrolled in a four-year Bachelor of Education degree program. One group participated in a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) pathway and one who did not participate in a Work-Integrated Learning pathway. Self-reports of basic psychological needs, motivational regulations, and self-efficacy were completed by 116 pre-service teachers. Findings indicated that pre-service teachers who participated in the WIL pathway had higher levels of efficacy in classroom management, and pre-service teachers who participated in the WIL pathway had higher perceptions of identified regulation, demonstrating that they perceived WIL teaching sessions as a useful way to develop other characteristics of themselves. These findings suggest that exposure to authentic and experiential learning encounters through practical WIL experiences has a favourable impact on pre-service teacher competence, autonomous motivation, and self-efficacy. Incorporating authentic and practical opportunities such as WIL into teacher education programs presents a valuable and feasible option to foster broad skill development and teacher readiness

'Just do some physical activity': Exploring experiences of teaching physical education online during Covid-19

This study aimed to explore teacher experiences of online delivery of physical education (PE). Research has noted the use of blended learning and flipped classrooms in PE, yet little is known about the delivery of fully online school PE. The move to online teaching required by Covid-19 suppression measures in 2020 provided an opportunity to explore the delivery of PE online. Data was obtained from teachers forced to shift to online teaching delivery of primary school PE in one Australian state during 2020. Semi-structured interviews occurred with 11 primary school PE specialist teachers providing qualitative data for analysis. The analysis of teachers' experiences indicated that in most cases PE did not happen, rather, physical activity provision was initiated or PE was marginalised to a movement break between subjects with perceived higher status and priority. The importance of teacher-student connection to the teachers and inconsistency surrounding the use of online learning platforms emerged as concerns of the teachers. The results show that the move to online provision of PE resulted in diminished educative purpose

Using interactive online pedagogical approaches to promote student engagement

The COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019 required a complete shift to online learning across all educational institutions, including universities. The rapid transition to online learning globally meant that many educators were suddenly tasked with adapting their classroom-based pedagogy to the online space. While this was undoubtedly challenging for teachers and students, it also opened up possibilities for reimagining the delivery of content, along with creating increased access for students who had barriers for studying remotely before the impact of COVID-19. The study discussed in this paper examines the experiences of students studying at a regional Australian university that already offered online courses, and whose instructors were already using a diverse range of online delivery tools. Specifically, the study sought to investigate how instructors used interactive strategies to promote student engagement, and how the interaction between learner and content influences student engagement. With research showing that online students typically have higher attrition rates than their on-campus counterparts, engagement has been identified as an important factor in online learning. Online interaction in particular is considered to be instrumental in influencing student engagement and positively impacting student satisfaction, persistence, and academic performance. Data collected from interviews conducted with two different cohorts of students, studying two different courses (mathematics education and Chinese language) at the same university, demonstrated ways instructors utilised interactive online pedagogies to engage students with potentially challenging course content. The study has implications for online educators who are looking for ways to adapt their on-campus courses to online delivery, with a focus on engaging and maintaining online students’ interest and ongoing participation in their courses

An e-health intervention designed to increase workday energy expenditure by reducing prolonged occupational sitting habits

Methods: Over a 13-week period participants (n=17) in the intervention group were regularly exposed to a passive prompt delivered through their desktop computer that required them to stand up and engage in a short-burst of physical activity, while the control group (n=17) was not exposed to this intervention. Instead, the control group continued with their normal work routine. All participants completed a pre- and post- intervention survey to estimate workplace daily energy expenditure (calories). Background: Desk-based employees face multiple workplace health hazards such as insufficient physical activity and prolonged sitting. Objective: The objective of this study was to increase workday energy expenditure by interrupting prolonged occupational sitting time and introducing short-bursts of physical activity to employees' daily work habits. Results: There was a significant 2 (Group) × 2 (Test) interaction, F (1, 32)=9.26, p < 0.05. The intervention group increased the calories expended during the workday from pre-test (M=866.29 ± 151.40) to post-test (M=1054.10 ± 393.24), whereas the control group decreased calories expended during the workday from pre-test (M=982.55 ± 315.66) to post-test (M=892.21 ± 255.36). Conclusions: An e-health intervention using a passive prompt was an effective mechanism for increasing employee work-related energy expenditure. Engaging employees in regular short-bursts of physical activity during the workday resulted in reduced sitting time, which may have long-term effects on the improvement of employee health

The effect of an e-health intervention designed to reduce prolonged occupational sitting on mean arterial pressure

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a workplace health intervention designed to reduce prolonged occupational sitting on the mean arterial pressure (MAP) of desk-based employees. Methods: This randomized controlled trial involved an experimental group who received an e-health intervention and a control group who did not. The 13-week intervention passively prompted participants to stand and engage in short bouts of office-based physical activity by interrupting prolonged occupational sitting time periodically throughout the workday. Mean arterial pressure was measured at pretest and posttest. Results: Between pretest and posttest the experimental group significantly reduced their MAP, whereas MAP in the control group did not. Conclusions: A workplace e-health intervention designed to reduce prolonged occupational sitting was effective in decreasing MAP in desk-based employees

School leaders reflections on their school's engagement in a program to foster health literacy development

Many health attitudes and behaviors formed during childhood are sustained through to adulthood, thereforechildhood is a critical time to develop health literacy. Primary schools provide an ideal environment to equipchildren with lifelong health skills, understanding and knowledge. Through semi-structured interviews, this studygathered primary school leaders’ reflections on the implementation of a program (HealthLit4Kids) designed tofoster health literacy development in their schools. The aim of this study was to determine how school leadersexperienced the HealthLit4Kids intervention. The results showed that leaders perceived the program had a positive effect on health literacy knowledge and understanding within the school community, as well as improvedhealth behaviors. School leaders’ statements indicated that key barriers such as parental engagement and anovercrowded curriculum would need to be navigated to ensure successful program sustainability

Is self-reporting workplace activity worthwhile? Validity and reliability of Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire in desk-based workers BMC Public Health

Background: Accelerometers can obtain precise measurements of movements during the day. However, the individual activity pattern varies from day-to-day and there is limited evidence on measurement days needed to obtain sufficient reliability. The aim of this study was to examine variability in accelerometer derived data on sedentary behaviour and physical activity at work and in leisure-time during week days among Danish office employees. Methods: We included control participants (n = 135) from the Take a Stand! Intervention; a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 19 offices. Sitting time and physical activity were measured using an ActiGraph GT3X+ fixed on the thigh and data were processed using Acti4 software. Variability was examined for sitting time, standing time, steps and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day by multilevel mixed linear regression modelling. Results: Results of this study showed that the number of days needed to obtain a reliability of 80% when measuring sitting time was 4.7 days for work and 5.5 days for leisure time. For physical activity at work, 4.0 days and 4.2 days were required to measure steps and MVPA, respectively. During leisure time, more monitoring time was needed to reliably estimate physical activity (6.8 days for steps and 5.8 days for MVPA). Conclusions: The number of measurement days needed to reliably estimate activity patterns was greater for leisure time than for work time. The domain specific variability is of great importance to researchers and health promotion workers planning to use objective measures of sedentary behaviour and physical activity

Learning the Words: Supervising Teachers and the Language of Impact in an Initial Teacher Education Programme

The language of “impact” has been foregrounded in the recent lexicon of Australian initial teacher education (ITE). How teacher education programmes and supervising teachers identify and assess the impact of pre-service teachers’ work with learners across a professional placement is a pressing issue for ITE providers. This paper reports on qualitative analysis of the language of supervising teachers’ summative assessments of pre-service teachers’ final-year professional experience placements in relation to impact. Analysis of written comments that addressed the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Graduate Standards revealed that the language of impact is still emerging within the discourse of supervising teachers. This has professional learning implications for all ITE stakeholders

Blood Pressure Response to Interrupting Workplace Sitting Time With Non-Exercise Physical Activity: Results of a 12-Month Cohort Study

Objective: To evaluate the blood pressure (BP) effects of a yearlong e-health solution designed to interrupt prolonged occupational sitting time. Methods: BP data of 228 desk-based employees (45.1 ± 10.5 years) were analyzed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Results: Systolic BP significantly reduced from baseline for the first 9 months (1.0 to 3.4 mmHg; P P P Conclusions: An e-health solution designed to increase non-exercise physical activity by interrupting sitting time in the workplace is feasible and produced long-term reductions in blood pressure