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e-Learning Opportunity: Classroom Physical Activity Video Series

In collaboration with the University of Nebraska Omaha’s School of Health and Kinesiology with funding from CHI Health, The Wellness Partners created an e-learning course for teachers and childcare providers for the purpose of increasing physical activity in the classroom. “While this information will always be applicable, special consideration was paid to current COVID-19 restrictions, including how to include physical activity in a virtual classroom setting.”

There are seven self-paced modules with supplemental videos:

  1. The Importance of Physical Activity
  2. Classroom Set-up and Design
  3. Behavior Management Planning
  4. Active Brain Breaks vs. Active Learning
  5. Additional Ways to be Physically Active
  6. Be the Physical Activity Advocate at Your School
  7. Virtual Classroom Physical Activity

Thanks to those involved in this project for disseminating these important, and timely, informational videos!

Check it out here: Classroom Physical Activity Video Series

Active Schools also provides some great video resources about classroom physical activity. Although they’re recorded prior to our current pandemic and don’t address the virtual classroom, they still offer beneficial ideas and insights. Check them out here: Active Classrooms Webinar Series Recordings and Presentation Slides

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Active Learning in a Web-Based Class

There have been many casualties, minor to monumental, surrounding COVID-19. Education, and the format in which we teach, has obviously been directly impacted. It is critical to support health and safety for protection and prevention, but the lack of face-to-face interaction and engagement during the learning process is distressing, both academically and psychologically. That said, with the restrictions put on face-to-face classes, there are benefits to facilitating real time web-based class sessions. While vastly different strategies are necessary depending upon the age of the learner, there are ways to enhance the effectiveness of web-based instruction. To capture some of the advantages of in-person education, teachers can implement online versions of active learning. Those with a social and/or movement component may be particularly beneficial to students during these challenging times.

Derek Bruff, the director of the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University, posted an informative article entitled Active Learning in Hybrid and Physically Distanced Classrooms that shares a multitude of techniques for engaging students in “meaningful learning” within current constraints. (Of particular interest is the sub-section on “Physical Movement” which includes an online version of an activity I refer to as Stand Up for Yes.)

Link to article: https://via.hypothes.is/https:/cft.vanderbilt.edu/2020/06/active-learning-in-hybrid-and-socially-distanced-classrooms/

You can also check out my interview on Integrating Physical Activity into Distance Education, available here.

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Staying Active during the COVID Pandemic

How to stay active during this quarantine? The simple answer here is to be active and to encourage activity. One positive result of the social isolation requirement is that people seem to be embracing the opportunity to go for a run, or a walk, or a bike ride. It is critically important to stay home and maintain social distancing, but our shelter-in-place regulations permit outdoor exercise. In the past few weeks, I have seen more people on the sidewalks than I have in the past few years. Children and parents are out for a walk. Children are on their bikes (wear a helmet!) and rollerblades while parents walk or run or push strollers. The multiple benefits gained from these activities extend past those specific to physical activity. Getting outside, especially when we’re cooped up indoors for a majority of the day, positively impacts mental health. Spending time with loved ones, away from media or screens, positively impacts social and psychological health. And, of course, engaging in physical activity is good for mental, social, psychological, and physical health.

When outdoor activity is not available, and to supplement those helmeted bike-rides, there are numerous resources available to parents and educators to promote physical activity during quarantine. (Updated September 2020)

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Fact Sheet for Classroom Teachers (by NCCOR)

The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) recently published a quick reference document that addresses physical activity for classroom teachers. It is based on the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities, which addresses energy expenditure for various activities. While I am always excited when materials are created for classroom teachers regarding physical activity and support NCCOR for their efforts, I’m a bit disappointed in this fact sheet. There are a lot of words that overwhelm the document and detract from its visual appeal; plus the activities presented seem impractical for classroom learning environments. For those teachers who are interested and able to offer their students out-of-class physical activity, this is great! Regardless, it is promising to see yet another resource specific to physical activity and classroom teachers, as it supports a positive trend for holistic health and wellness among students.

More on release of fact sheet: https://www.nccor.org/e-newsletter/enewsletter_2020_january/#spot2

Download the fact sheet: https://www.nccor.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NCCOR-Youth-Compendium-of-Physical-Activities-for-Classroom-Teachers.pdf

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New Year’s Teaching Resolutions?

Welcome to a new year, and a new decade! I just came across this blog, from Nicole Beard, and it got me thinking. While written for health courses, her strategies for student engagement can be applied across content areas. Further, the new year can serve as a marker for self-reflection, and a reminder that our teaching practices and classroom environment can always be enhanced and improved and that each new group of students offers a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth. The quick tips from Ms. Beard put the “active” in active learning – both for cognitive and physical engagement with content. Let’s all use this time as a chance to make changes – small or large – to recommit ourselves to effectively educating the next generation! (insert cheer here)

7 Best Practices to Keep Students Engaged in Health Class

  • Movement
  • Flexible seating
  • Student choice
  • Student focus
  • Teacher flexibility
  • [Effective timing and] transitions
  • [Class discussion]

SHAPE America Blog, Jan. 7, 2020

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Active Learning? or Active Learning?

Active learning is commonly included as a pedagogical strategy to enhance teaching effectiveness and learner engagement. Traditionally, active learning is defined as the opposite of passive learning, where the student is actively involved in the process. I recently attended a professional development workshop on interactive teaching methods, where a quote from Dr. Richard Hake (1998) was shared: Active learning is head’s on (always) and hand’s on (usually). I was struck by this concise description and excited that this session was disseminating the information to college-level professors who could apply it in their teaching. The session co-presenter, Dr. Catharina Laporte, went on to share a variety of strategies she uses in her own classroom (included the Walk and Talk, which she learned from me!).

In reflecting upon this session, I considered an addition to Dr. Hake’s statement on active learning. What if we were to add “…and body’s on“ to encourage incorporation of movement? Given the science that supports movement and cognition, expanding the ‘active’ component of ‘active learning’ has the potential to enhance student achievement. As with any pedagogy, it is important to acknowledge that one size doesn’t fit all, and that one approach is not universal.  Active learning without movement can be effective and worthwhile, and classroom movement unrelated to course content can be effective and worthwhile. Offering students an opportunity to think critically about a topic, to apply it to their own lives or connect it to other content, to interact with others to gain diverse perspectives, and to engage in learning experiences not limited to independent seat work has the potential to expand the outcomes of a traditional classroom framework.

So, should we promote active learning? Or active learning? The answer is YES.

For more on active learning from Dr. Laporte:
https://sites.google.com/a/tamu.edu/claporte/active-learning

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New Resource from CDC: Strategies for Classroom Physical Activity in Schools

Just released today, this 20-page document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a great resource for any school professional interested in learning more about classroom physical activity. It concisely overviews definitions, benefits, current status, and implementation strategies. Whether you are new to the topic of classroom physical activity, need a refresher or new ideas, or are a veteran movement facilitator, this document will likely have something for you!

Link to Strategies for Classroom Physical Activity in Schools

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The Cs of College – What I Want My Students to Learn

Content. This is the C that drives our education system. The content is the material that we want students to learn in our classrooms. Recently, I went to a college teaching conference and, along with the end of semester experiences, facilitated a reflection on what I want my students to take away from my classes. While I agree that the content is a critical component, I also acknowledge that if we teach students how to learn, they can look up content in the moment. Plus, necessary content is often specific to the situation and the environment, which may not be the same content that I offer in my curriculum. Therefore, I propose several additional important Cs…

Communication

Being able to communicate effectively via multiple mediums is a life skill that requires practice. Especially in a generation rife with electronic communication, providing students with opportunities to practice listening and to dialogue with peers, write professionally, and present orally sets them up for future success.

Collaboration

Ah, working with others! Being able to communicate is a sub-set of collaboration, but working in a group presents unique challenges, especially when you’re paired with someone who wants to do nothing…or everything. Navigating group-work situations while in schools enables students to gain perspective and experience that will inform the group-work that will inevitably present itself in professional life.

Conscientiousness

Being conscientious is often an intrinsic characteristic, but one that can be modeled and encouraged. As with communication, providing students with opportunities to practice may enable them to increase their awareness of how to be conscientious. This includes skills such as respect, time management, organization, consistency, punctuality, professionalism, and effective communication.

Compassion

Compassion is also an intrinsic characteristic that can be promoted. Sharing stories and information to broaden students’ perspectives may increase their ability to understand and respect differences. Compassion can also be modeled, both in teacher-student interactions, and by creating a safe and effective classroom climate that generates respectful dialogue. Compassion for self is also critical, and students should be encouraged to reinvent negative self-talk (ex: change “I’m not a good writer” to “I’m still working to improve my writing”). Interesting find: Wharton Commencement Speech 2018

Creativity

Too often in education, the content piece overshadows creativity as students strive to present the “right” answer. Innovation and creativity may be squashed in a system that offers a specific rubric that rewards students for linear responses to demonstrate knowledge and understanding. However, creativity is an integral part of problem solving and resourcefulness, both marketable traits for professional success, and should be cultivated.

 

 

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June is National Great Outdoors Month!

I will admit I was unaware, until today, that June is National Great Outdoors Month! I do think the outdoors are great, though, and am happy to promote this initiative. More information can be found here.

To commemorate the great outdoors, SHAPE has informed me about several helpful infographics provided by the CDC to promote activity. These great resources, Get Moving! Screen Time vs. Lean Time, offer age-specific activity ideas, many of which are outdoor pursuits.

For 8-10 year olds: Click here

For 11-14 year olds: Click here

For 15-18 year olds: Click here

This month, let’s all decrease screen time and GET MOVING. Then let’s keep it going all summer long!

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Let’s Move Interactive Infographic – Great Resource!

Let’s Move! Active Schools, the initiative to engage American youth in the recommended levels of physical activity at school, has recently released an interactive infographic that compiles resources, programming, training, and funding opportunities for all five realms of school-based physical activity: physical education, before and after school activity, staff involvement, family and community engagement, and, of course, during school activity.

The programs and resources listed in the “Physical Activity During School” component link to external sites, so that teachers can easily access information. While most of the listed programs and materials require purchase, it is a nice overview of available resources. (More of the resources are available at no cost than the programs, although some programs offer samples.) In addition, the options may spark ideas for increasing student movement that teachers could independently modify and implement in their own classrooms or schools. For those teachers who are interested in implementing activities that require funding, there is also a list of available grants to increase school-based physical activity.

This infographic is no longer available, as Let’s Move has been archived and replaced by Active Schools. For great infographics, check out the Active Schools “Tools to Make the Case” page, linked here.

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