We are Mari Croze, HHS Director of Operations & Facilities, and Amy Stoakes, HHS Director of Operations & Facilities. The Fitness & Wellness Program has an IRB approved self-study called Cardio Exercise before Exam Initiative. The inspiration came from Dr. John Ratey, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard and his book, “Spark” along with Amy Stoakes’ Master’s thesis that she completed in 2010/2011.
Amy surveyed the students and most knew the physical and psychological benefits of cardiovascular exercise but not many knew that cardiovascular exercise had a positive effect on cognition, increasing GPA, and academic success. Fitness & Wellness made it their mission to share this information with LCC students and across campus. They piloted the Cardio Exercise before Exam Initiative in 2017 in a course called Total Fitness. They asked their students to complete at least 30min of cardio exercise (running, walking, biking, etc.) before taking a hard test, exam, quiz, or presentation. The students were then asked to complete a short survey. 85% of students reported they found it useful and we were finding non-passing students were now passing their courses. The biggest impact was seen in courses that had no perquisites. Students also reported it helped immensely with test anxiety, focus and remaining calm. In 2019/2020 AY – 2599 students have completed this initiative. Because of the impact it is a permanent initiative for a majority of Fitness & Wellness courses. In 2019, Fitness & Wellness was also the first program to go through and receive approval from LCC’s Human Subjects Institutional Research Board’s (HSIRB). Please visit “Activities for Success- A Fit Body Creates a Fit Mind” to hear from students and also to engage in with some Brain Breaks which are four breaks that lead you through a quick 1 – 2 minute activity that engages both sides of the brain. These activities are designed to improve your attention and increase your ability to focus, which are important components of learning; and Activity Breaks which are four breaks that lead you through ten minutes of physical activity designed to stimulate the learning centers of the brain. Once these centers are activated, you will have more energy and be able to focus your attention on your studies.
Mari Croze along with Dr. Karen Hicks, Director of Assessment have presented the findings across LCC’s campus including; Professional Activities Days, the Learning Commons, Student Life, small Math groups, Psychology courses, ELT, and the Board of Trustees. They have also traveled state-wide to present at conferences including; TRENDS, MDEC, and Shape MI. This project could not have been accomplished without the collaboration of Fitness & Wellness and the Center for Data Science. With support from the ELT it allowed Fitness & Wellness to open their 2 Fitness Centers and Weight Room for FREE to students and employees! We will continue to collaborate and share the data with colleagues and off-campus institutions/organizations.
