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Trial registered on ANZCTR

Registration number

ACTRN12625000035426p

Ethics application status

Submitted, not yet approved

Date submitted

4/12/2024

Date registered

16/01/2025

Date last updated

16/01/2025

Date data sharing statement initially provided

16/01/2025

Type of registration

Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs

Public title

Strength in Numbers: A classroom based resistance training and mathematics intervention

Scientific title

Feasibility of a classroom based resistance training and mathematics intervention: Protocol and preliminary findings from the Strength in Numbers Pilot Study

Secondary ID [1]

Nil known

Universal Trial Number (UTN)

U1111-1316-4841

Trial acronym

SIN

Linked study record

Health condition

Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:

Maths anxiety

Attention

Condition category

Condition code

Mental Health

Anxiety

Mental Health

Studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour

Intervention/exposure

Study type

Interventional

Description of intervention(s) / exposure

1. Brief name: Strength in Numbers

2. What materials: The materials for the Strength in Numbers program include a series of eight 5-minute videos, designed to be delivered at the beginning of each mathematics lesson. These videos will integrate resistance training exercises with mathematics content, providing short, focused movement breaks that align with the curriculum.

3. What procedures: Access to the Intervention videos will be available to classroom teachers via email after the completion of baseline measures. Teachers will then deliver the video intervention at the beginning of the lesson to their Stage 5 mathematics class on two occasions throughout the week. The procedure that will be followed in the classroom is that teachers will:
- Allow students to enter the classroom with your regular procedure
- Ask students to place their bag away from their chair or under their desk
- No equipment, especially laptops should be removed from the student’s bag.
- Students stand behind their desk, with their chair behind them.
- Once all students are ready, play the Strength in Numbers video. The video lasts 5 minutes. During the video could you please encourage participation and ensure students perform exercises safely within their own desk area. You may also participate as this often encourages class participation.
- Record each completed session to monitor adherence to the program.

4. Who provided: The materials for the Strength in Numbers program are provided online as a video to increase consistency across classes. Each classroom teacher will play the video, and they are encouraged to use suggested strategies to promote student participation. The video prescribes body weight exercises such as lunges, chair tricep dips and isometric contractions.

5. How: Stage 5 Mathematics classes occur 2-3 times per week. Teachers can select the most suitable lessons to deliver the intervention but this must occur at least twice during the week.

6. Where: Participants will complete the intervention while at their own desk in the mathematics classroom.

7. When and how much: The Strength in Numbers videos are 5 minutes long. They are designed using a Tabata protocol (20 seconds exercising and 10 seconds break, Total = 4 minutes). At the completion of the exercise there is 1 minute to complete a numeracy question, relating to the topic as a class. The video will be delivered 2 x per week for 4 weeks (Total sessions = 8). The intensity of the sessions are designed to be moderate.

8. Tailoring: All participants will take part in the Strength in Numbers program. The introduction video advises students to modify exercises if they can't do them because of an injury or their surroundings. For example, if someone has an arm injury, they can do squats instead of chair tricep dips. Each exercise has different difficulty levels, and participants are encouraged to try the highest level they feel comfortable with.

Intervention code [1]

Treatment: Other

Comparator / control treatment

No control group for Phase 1

Control group

Uncontrolled

Outcomes

Primary outcome [1]

Examine the feasibility of the Strength in Numbers intervention. This will be assessed as a composite outcome

Assessment method [1]

Focus group discussions
Trained research assistants will conduct focus groups. The focus group is designed to assess participants' current thoughts and feelings about the Strength in Numbers intervention that they have been participating in over the past four weeks. Students who provided consent will be randomly selected to participate (n=2 per class, total n=4). The focus group discussion will take no more than 30 minutes. The focus group is semi structured and includes questions relating to three categories:
1. Research design E.g., How did you feel about the structure of the SiN program (4 weeks, 2 videos per week)?
2. Intervention Fidelity E.g., Did you find the resistance training exercises easy to complete in the classroom?
3. Acceptability E.g., How often would you choose to start your mathematics lessons with a SiN video?
Privacy will be maintained by removing names during the interview and recordings will be stored securely at completion. Transcriber AI will be used to convert audio to text. This program prioritizes your privacy with stringent security measures, encrypting all stored files and transcriptions, accessible only to the Chief Investigator.

Interviews
Trained research assistants will conduct interviews. The interview is designed to assess only the teachers thoughts and feelings about the Strength in Numbers intervention that they have been delivering over the past four weeks. The discussion will take no more than 15 minutes. The interview is semi structured and includes questions relating to three categories:
1. Research design E.g., How did you find the overall structure of the program (4 weeks, 2 videos per week)?
2. Intervention Fidelity E.g., How easy was it for students to follow the resistance training exercises in the classroom setting?
3. Acceptability E.g., Do you think you would continue using this program or a similar one in your classroom?
Privacy will be maintained by removing names during the interview and recordings will be stored securely at completion. Transcriber AI will be used to convert audio to text. This program prioritizes your privacy with stringent security measures, encrypting all stored files and transcriptions, accessible only to the Chief Investigator.

Survey
To evaluate the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation to deliver the Strength in Numbers program we will use a validated survey designed by Verdonschot et al., (2024). This survey sues the COM-PASS approach. The questions will be moved to Question Pro after ethics approval and delivered to participating teachers via email.

Timepoint [1]

Post-completion of 8-session program

Secondary outcome [1]

Evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the Strength in Numbers program on Stage 5 mathematics students' Acute Maths anxiety

Timepoint [1]

Acute Maths Anxiety will be measured before and after each session.

Secondary outcome [2]

Evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the Strength in Numbers program on Stage 5 mathematics students On-Task behaviour.

Timepoint [2]

This acute measure is completed at the end of each participation in the intervention.

Secondary outcome [3]

Evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the Strength in Numbers program on Stage 5 mathematics students' Chronic Maths anxiety

Timepoint [3]

Chronic Maths Anxiety will be measured before the start of the program and at the completion of the 8 sessions.

Eligibility

Key inclusion criteria

Typically developing Year 9 and 10 High school students studying mathematics.

Minimum age

14 Years

Maximum age

18 Years

Sex

Both males and females

Can healthy volunteers participate?

Yes

Key exclusion criteria

Students with severe learning disabilities.

Study design

Purpose of the study

Treatment

Allocation to intervention

Non-randomised trial

Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)

Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)

Masking / blinding

Open (masking not used)

Who is / are masked / blinded?

Intervention assignment

Single group

Other design features

Phase

Not Applicable

Type of endpoint/s

Efficacy

Statistical methods / analysis

Data analysis

In this feasibility study, data analysis will concentrate on evaluating the Strength in Numbers program's feasibility. Analysis will be conducted using research software including SPSS, R data and NVivo. Each measure is aligned with the project's objectives and will be analysed using the techniques mention in the next section.

i) Examine the feasibility of the Strength in Numbers intervention
Analysis of recruitment data will be mainly descriptive (means and SD, median and 25th to 75th centiles for non-normal distributions, or N and %) as appropriate. Loss to post test will be reported. Interviews and focus groups will be analysed using computer software NVivo v12. Thematic analysis will be used to analyse all focus groups and interviews. Triangulation of the survey data will be used to combine qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

ii) Evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the Strength in Numbers program on Stage 5 mathematics students Maths anxiety and On-Task behaviour.
Demographic characteristics will be summarized descriptively. Categorical data will be reported as frequency counts, while continuous data will be expressed as means and standard deviations. For the self-perception of mathematics, the responses will be categorized into groups (e.g., low, medium, high self-perception) for further analysis. On Task behaviour final scores will be reported as percentages of time spent on-task or off-task. Repeated measures ANOVA will be used to assess significant differences in on-task behaviour across recorded time points. Additionally, a correlation analysis will explore the relationship between on-task behaviour scores and self-perception of mathematics. Scores from the Maths Anxiety Measure 1 will be totalled. A paired samples t test will be conducted to compare the means between the two time points. Pre and post exercise scores from the Maths Anxiety 2 measure will be assessed using a repeated measures ANOVA. Additionally, a correlation analysis will explore the relationship between maths anxiety scores and self-perception of mathematics.

Recruitment

Recruitment status

Not yet recruiting

Date of first participant enrolment

Anticipated

24/02/2025

Actual

Date of last participant enrolment

Anticipated

Actual

Date of last data collection

Anticipated

Actual

Sample size

Target

Accrual to date

Final

Recruitment in Australia

Recruitment state(s)

NSW

Recruitment postcode(s) [1]

2308 - Callaghan

Recruitment postcode(s) [2]

2320 - Maitland

Recruitment postcode(s) [3]

2289 - Adamstown Heights

Funding & Sponsors

Funding source category [1]

University

Name [1]

University of Newcastle

Address [1]

Country [1]

Australia

Primary sponsor type

University

Name

Univeristy of Newcastle

Address

Country

Australia

Secondary sponsor category [1]

None

Name [1]

Address [1]

Country [1]

Ethics approval

Ethics application status

Submitted, not yet approved

Ethics committee name [1]

The University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee

Ethics committee address [1]

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/research/research-services/human-ethics/

Ethics committee country [1]

Australia

Date submitted for ethics approval [1]

03/12/2024

Approval date [1]

Ethics approval number [1]

Summary

Brief summary

Classroom activity breaks have gained traction as an effective strategy for increasing student on task behaviour and academic achievement. Despite these promising results, there remains a gap in the research regarding the effectiveness of activity breaks in secondary school environments. Strength in Numbers is an innovative educational pedagogy that integrates muscle strengthening activities into mathematics lessons. The intervention consists of a series of 5-minute videos that presents numeracy questions aligned with the NSW mathematics syllabus. Students indicate their answer by performing a corresponding muscle-strengthening activity. These activities are designed to be simple, quick, and effective and require no additional equipment or space. It is hypothesised that by combining movement and syllabus outcomes students will find learning less stressful and may improve on task behaviour for up to 30 minutes following the intervention.

Trial website

Trial related presentations / publications

Public notes

Contacts

Principal investigator

Name

Dr Katie Robinson

Address

V125, Callaghan Campus, University of Newcastle, NSW, 2308

Country

Australia

Phone

+61 412578572

Fax

[email protected]

Contact person for public queries

Name

Katie Robinson

Address

V125, Callaghan Campus, University of Newcastle, NSW, 2308

Country

Australia

Phone

+61 412578572

Fax

[email protected]

Contact person for scientific queries

Name

Katie Robinson

Address

V125, Callaghan Campus, University of Newcastle, NSW, 2308

Country

Australia

Phone

+61 412578572

Fax

[email protected]

Data sharing statement

Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?

No/undecided IPD sharing reason/comment

Feasibility data will not be made public due to the inherent possibility that even though data is unidentified participants may be able to be identified through other means.

What supporting documents are/will be available?

Doc. No.	Type	Citation	Link	Email	Other Details	Attachment
24383	Study protocol					388862-(Uploaded-04-12-2024-11-43-44)-V1_Research Protocol Strength in Numbers 2024.pdf

Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually

No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically

No additional documents have been identified.

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