Current research projects

Promoting physical activity in Swiss paediatric oncology

Exercise programmes are increasingly regarded internationally as an essential component of paediatric oncology treatment. In Switzerland, however, sports therapy during cancer treatment has so far been little or not at all established. Physical activity during acute treatment and aftercare reduces the side effects of therapy and supports the success of treatment. Exercise also has a favourable effect on cognition due to changes in brain structure and function and improved neurotransmission. Children and adolescents with cancer often have cognitive impairments due to neurotoxic therapies or the disease itself. This research project therefore aims to investigate whether the cognitive performance of children and adolescents with cancer can be maintained or even improved through the targeted promotion of cognition with the help of physical activity. This is being done as part of the "KiKli Fit" sports and exercise programme for children and adolescents with cancer already offered at Bern University Hospital. The scientific monitoring of the "KiKli-Fit" project includes effectiveness testing, implementation research and the development of an exercise manual for the entire Swiss paediatric oncology department.

Self-regulated learning in the digital context. Conditions for success in learning and teaching (SELEKT)

In a digitalised educational society, self-regulated learning is increasingly supported by digital media such as learning platforms and applications. This development aims to individually optimise the learning process and promote the digital literacy of learners. The functional design of online learning environments and the evidence-based use of digital media play a decisive role here. Digital education goals include competences such as computer and information-related skills as well as technology-based problem-solving skills. In this sub-project, we are investigating technology-based options for supporting self-regulated learning of motor skills in the context of practical sports methodology training at universities. The focus is on the so-called calibration, i.e. the comparison of the actual state with the target state, which is necessary in order to uncover deficits in one's own skill level and relate them to the learning objectives. The valid self-assessment of learners is particularly challenging.

Active School: Sustainable promotion of physical activity in schools (2022-today)

As children and young people spend a large part of their day at school, schools have enormous potential to promote physical activity. The Institute of Sports Science at the University of Bern and the Didactics Centre at the University of Teacher Education Bern are therefore working with eight project schools from the canton of Bern to develop individual concepts for the holistic and sustainable promotion of physical activity in schools. Until now, efforts to promote physical activity in schools have lacked a comprehensive, systemic approach that takes into account the specific conditions of schools and the needs of all those involved. This is where the Active School concept comes in: Promoting physical activity is seen as a development process for the school. The school-based physical activity coordinators, who are paid by the canton, therefore attend four workshops a year to bring the knowledge they have acquired into the schools and implement it together with the working group and the entire staff. The integration of different movement options (e.g. movement before and after school, movement breaks, etc.), the remuneration of an internal school movement coordinator and the clear allocation of responsibilities with regard to goals and measures will make it possible to implement proven ideas from existing programmes in an integrated and sustainable way. At the heart of the 3.5-year project is the development, implementation and evaluation of a holistic physical activity promotion concept that is tailored to the individual needs of each school and takes into account the interests of all those involved.

Media use, physical activity and body-related self-perception (2023-today)

The processing and linking of physical signals from the environment (exteroception) and the inner world (interoception) plays a central role in the perception of one's own body. The integration of these signals contributes to the development of the body-related self-image and identity, which are strongly linked to mental health. The same perceptual processes are required to encode both internal and external signals. In concrete terms, this means that attention to external signals reduces the attention resources for internal signals and vice versa. If the perception of interoceptive signals is absent or reduced, it can therefore be assumed that one's own self-model is primarily generated exteroceptively, as suggested by recent studies. Young people today spend a large proportion of their time using digital media, which means that they are constantly exposed to external signals. Initial study results indicate that the use of these media is associated with a reduced perception of interoceptive signals. In contrast, sporting activity is shown to be a way of promoting access to one's own internal body signals (Wallman-Jones et al., 2021, 2022). Whether the use of digital media has an influence on interoception and the extent to which sport could act as a counterpart here has not yet been investigated. Based on these assumptions, this project will first analyse the connections between young people's media use, sporting activity and body-related self-perception in order to subsequently develop concepts for promoting body-related self-perception through sport.

Exergaming and cognitive functions (2020 - today)

Physically active breaks are seen as a way of restoring and even increasing cognitive performance after a strenuous work phase. Although the empirical evidence for this is steadily increasing, there are also some studies that have not been able to prove a positive effect of exercise breaks on cognitive performance at all, or even detected a negative effect. Differences in the characteristics of physical activity are postulated as one reason for the positive or negative effect of physical activity. For example, it is assumed that quantitative characteristics such as intensity and duration during exercise can have an influence on cognitive performance. Furthermore, it is also assumed that qualitative characteristics, such as the type of physical activity, can have a positive influence on cognitive performance. The dose-response relationship between qualitative and quantitative characteristics can be studied well in a controlled laboratory setting. Therefore, in these studies, exergaming (active video gaming) is used to test theoretical assumptions on underlying mechanisms, to systematically manipulate characteristics of physical activities and to investigate their influence on perception and cognitive performance. Initial studies were supported by a grant from the Burgergemeinde Bern.

CLEAR – Clinical Laboratory Evaluation, Assessment of Symptoms and Recovery in Patients with Post-COVID-19 Vaccination Syndrome