The quirky approach to lectures forms part of Robert Gordon University¡¯s ¡°Fit for the Future¡± initiative, which launched this week with the aim of ensuring a high standard of health and wellbeing across the campus.

Other techniques include experimenting with throwing a football around lectures when getting students to answer questions and calculating how many of the Aberdeen steps need to be climbed to reach the equivalent height of Ben Nevis, Scotland¡¯s highest mountain.

Gil Barton, a lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, has been developing health promotion activities at the university for the last five years and is leading the initiative.

¡°Most of the published studies around this have only been conducted within primary school setting, and not expanded to the secondary schools or universities,¡± she said.

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¡°What we wanted to do was have a more active environment so students weren¡¯t sitting in rows of desks.¡±

This so-called ¡°active classroom¡± approach has seen gym balls introduced to physiotherapy classes, while in other classes students have been encouraged to walk around while completing their group work.

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¡°We¡¯d ideally like students in the School of Health Sciences to be exposed to at least one active classroom a week.

¡°Some classes are practical anyway, but it¡¯s around changing the way we teach, and the way students are interacting.¡±

The university has also dedicated a section of its website to showcasing students¡¯ and staff members¡¯ healthy activities, while information on a range of campus walks has also been developed.

¡°You can¡¯t do it all the time, and there are times when it would be completely inappropriate to introduce activities to a lecture. However there are other times when you can incorporate all these ideas to energise your teaching,¡± she said.

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RGU principal Ferdinand von Prondzynski launched the initiative on 30 April and said he hoped it would ¡°start the organisation¡¯s journey in becoming a truly healthy university¡±.

¡°I am determined that RGU will lead the way in this important matter,¡± he said.

chris.parr@tsleducation.com