Trial Review

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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
Help: Registration number
ACTRN12626001259336
Ethics application status
Help: Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
Help: Date submitted
29/09/2026
Date registered
Help: Date registered
19/10/2026
Date last updated
Help: Date last updated
19/10/2026
Date data sharing statement initially provided
Help: Data sharing statement date
19/10/2026
Type of registration
Help: Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Physically active micro lessons: Assessing the effect of a time-efficient solution for busy teachers on children's physical literacy
Scientific title
Effectiveness of microlessons on students’ foundational movement skills, fitness and mental health: The Burn 2 Learn junior cluster randomised controlled trial
Additional trial identifiers [1] 318497 0
Nil known
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
B2L-j
Related trial records
ACTRN12625000510448 – Burn 2 Learn junior (B2L-j) feasibility trial

Health condition
Health condition(s) studied:
Cardio-respiratory fitness 343671 0
Muscular fitness 343672 0
Foundational movement skill competence 343673 0
Mental health 343674 0
Condition category
Condition code
Cardiovascular 339790 339790 0 0
Normal development and function of the cardiovascular system
Public Health 339791 339791 0 0
Health promotion/education
Musculoskeletal 339792 339792 0 0
Normal musculoskeletal and cartilage development and function
Mental Health 339793 339793 0 0
Studies of normal psychology, cognitive function and behaviour

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of the intervention or exposure
The current project will examine the effectiveness of the Burn 2 Learn junior (B2L-j) intervention in primary schools. The study will be conducted across two cohorts, in 2026 and 2027. The B2L-j intervention involves 'microlessons', which are designed to be brief structured sessions that involve high levels of physical activity and opportunities for students to practice and refine their foundational movement skills. Microlessons have been designed to satisfy participants’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, to support autonomous motivation for physical activity.
Classroom teachers will receive training, resources, and support to deliver 2 foundational movement skill (FMS) microlessons per week (lasting ~15 minutes), for 6 weeks. Microlessons will be delivered by a classroom teacher during individual classes. A range of developmentally appropriate FMS microlessons and resources have been designed specifically for Stage 3 students (Grades 5 and 6; aged approximately 10–12 years), with a focus on developing students’ foundational movement skill competence and health-related fitness. Targeted skills include kicking, catching, overarm throwing, bouncing, straight drive and dribbling. Each microlesson follows a consistent format comprising a warm-up game (~3 minutes), skill instruction (~2 minutes), skill application (~8 minutes), and reflection (~2 minutes). Lessons are designed for students to work cooperatively in small groups, with up to 4 students per station to promote high active learning time, and are aligned with physical education curriculum and outcomes (i.e., focus on fundamental movement skills).
Schools will be provided with an equipment pack to support the delivery of microlessons (e.g., basketballs, cricket bats, tennis balls). Classroom teachers will be provided with training via a face-to-face professional development workshop that has been designed specifically for this study. The workshop will be facilitated by the research team, and take approximately 2 hours. One workshop will be delivered at each of the study schools, 1 week prior to the start of the intervention. During the intervention delivery, the research team will provide ongoing support to the study schools. This will include a weekly check-in via email and one lesson observation (approximately intervention week 3). Teachers will be provided with a logbook and asked to document when microlessons have been delivered. This will be discussed during the professional development workshop for teachers.
The concept of physically active microlessons was informed by the theory of expanded, extended and enhanced opportunities (TEO) proposed by Beets et al. (2016). For the current study, the provision of an entirely new opportunity for physical activity (i.e., expansion) was considered necessary, as few primary schools in NSW reach physical activity mandates.
Intervention code [1] 335396 0
Lifestyle
Description of the comparator or control
Schools allocated to the wait-list control group will continue their usual school practices during the 6-week intervention period and will not receive the B2L-j intervention during this time. Following completion of post-intervention assessments, wait-list control schools will be offered the B2L-j program.
Control group
Active

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 346968 0
Fundamental movement skill (FMS) competence
Timepoint [1] 346968 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [1] 468392 0
Cardiorespiratory fitness
Timepoint [1] 468392 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [2] 468393 0
Upper body muscular fitness
Timepoint [2] 468393 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [3] 468394 0
Lower body muscular fitness
Timepoint [3] 468394 0
Baseline and intervention end-point (6-weeks)
Secondary outcome [4] 468395 0
Perceived motor competence
Timepoint [4] 468395 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [5] 468396 0
Motivation for physical education
Timepoint [5] 468396 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [6] 468397 0
Well-being
Timepoint [6] 468397 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [7] 468399 0
Self-esteem
Timepoint [7] 468399 0
Baseline and intervention endpoint (6-weeks post baseline)
Secondary outcome [8] 468407 0
Affect
Timepoint [8] 468407 0
Immediately before and after selected FMS microlessons (approximately intervention Week 3)

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Stage 3 (i.e., Grades 5 and 6) students and their classroom teachers
Minimum age
10 Years
Maximum age
65 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Healthy volunteers
No
Key exclusion criteria
None

Study design
Purpose of the study
Educational / counselling / training
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Recruitment and baseline assessments will be completed prior to randomisation. Following baseline assessment, allocation will be conducted by an independent researcher, with schools then assigned to either the intervention or wait-list control group.
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Schools will be pair-matched based on school size, geographic location, and socioeconomic status (SES). Following baseline assessment, schools within each matched pair will be randomly allocated to either the intervention or wait-list control group using a computer-generated random number sequence.
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?


The people assessing the outcomes
The people analysing the results/data
Intervention assignment
Parallel
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis
Data will be analysed using linear mixed models to examine group (intervention vs control), time (baseline vs post-test), and group-by-time interaction effects. Models will include random intercepts for class to account for the clustered nature of the data, with students nested within classes. Analyses will be conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 29; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Statistical significance will be set at an alpha level of p < .05.

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
19/10/2026
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
24/09/2027
Actual
Sample size
Target
200
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
NSW

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 323074 0
University
Name [1] 323074 0
University of Newcastle
Country [1] 323074 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
Individual
Name
David R. Lubans - University of Newcastle
Address
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 326031 0
None
Name [1] 326031 0
Address [1] 326031 0
Country [1] 326031 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 321475 0
The University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 321475 0
Ethics committee country [1] 321475 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 321475 0
08/05/2026
Approval date [1] 321475 0
10/07/2026
Ethics approval number [1] 321475 0
H-2024-0332-03

Summary
Brief summary
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 153834 0
Dr Angus Leahy
Address 153834 0
Global Sport and Movement Collaborative (GSMC), The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308
Country 153834 0
Australia
Phone 153834 0
+61 2 4921 6242
Fax 153834 0
Email 153834 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 153835 0
Angus Leahy
Address 153835 0
Global Sport and Movement Collaborative (GSMC), The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308
Country 153835 0
Australia
Phone 153835 0
+61 2 4921 6242
Fax 153835 0
Email 153835 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 153836 0
Angus Leahy
Address 153836 0
Global Sport and Movement Collaborative (GSMC), The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308
Country 153836 0
Australia
Phone 153836 0
+61 2 4921 6242
Fax 153836 0
Email 153836 0
[email protected]

Data sharing statement
Will the study consider sharing individual participant data?
No


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided


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.