Project PEAK

Project PEAK - Presenter's Notes

Physical Education and Activities for Kids

 

Slide 1

The purpose of this project was to develop a multi-media motivational package designed to demonstrate the value of lifetime physical activity and the role physical education plays in maintaining healthy and active lifestyles. This project was sponsored by grants from the Human Kinetics Education Foundation and the University of North Texas.

Slide 2

Faculty members involved in the project were: Karen Weiller, Scott Martin, Allen Jackson, Miguel Perez, Patsy Caldwell, and Jim Morrow. The presentation is available on our Web site, which you see on the screen. We hope you enjoy the presentation. Thank you.

Slide 5

The importance of physical activity has been known for well over a thousand years. It is indeed impossible to read the scientific or lay literature without finding reference to the important role that physical activity and health play on quality of life. For example, you can see the statement here that Hippocrates made about 400 years BC: "Eating alone will not keep a man well. He must also exercise." The second quote, a more recent one is from Donna Schlala, the current Secretary of Health & Human Services. This is a quote out of the recent Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health. "We can team up to create a new physical activity movement in this country and in so doing we will save precious resources, precious futures and precious lives. The time for action and activity is now."

Slide 6

This slide indicates a number of professional associations and organizations that recommend physical activity for the benefit of health and quality of life. You can see the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Diabetic Association, the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Surgeon General of the United States, the World Health Organization, and many, many others. Indeed the question might be, not who recommends physical activity for health, but who doesn't recommend physical activity for health? Almost everywhere you go you will see physical activity recommendations from professional organizations.

Slide 7

Another quote from the Surgeon General's Report states, "Given the numerous benefits of physical activity, the hazards of being inactive are clear. Physical inactivity is a serious nation-wide problem. Its scope poses a public health challenge for reducing the national burden of unnecessary illness and premature death." In fact, one of the best ways to reduce health care costs is to remain healthy. The scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests an important way to remain healthy is to be physically active.

Slide 8

There are three broad categories that fall under health related physical activity or physical fitness. The first is cardiorespiratory endurance, the second body fatness, and the third, muscleoskeletal fitness. We will look at some of the evidence relating each one of these areas to quality of life and well being among youngsters and adults.

Slide 9

Evidence from the Surgeon General's report suggests physical activity patterns in young children are not good.

Slide 10

This slide illustrates the results of physical activity patterns in adolescents and young adults. Running from the age of 12 to 21, you will notice a couple of important things. There is generally a decline in physical activity as people age, from 12 to 21 and there is more physical activity among males than there is in females. There is something occurring at about age 15 or 16 where there is a significant decline in physical activity. Perhaps we can intervene in schools to impact this decline.

Slide 11

The decline in physical activity patterns illustrated in the previous slide here indicates that those people who are less physically active have lower passing rates on fitness tests, in this case, on the FITNESSGRAM health-related component, cardiovascular endurance. The top line represents the passing rates for males, and the bottom line, represents the passing rate for females. Just like what occurred with physical activity, the passing rate tends to decline with age, and the passing rates are less for the females than they are for the males. You will notice that at about age 15 for the males, there is an increase in the passing rate for the FITNESSGRAM standards. It may be that the youngsters who are completing the test at this age are those who are engaging in physical education because of athletic reasons, or other reasons. Physical education is no longer a requirement for them - it's a select group, a sub-sample of the entire population that we are probably looking at, particularly for the males, beyond age 14.

Slide 12

We have talked about cardiovascular fitness, let's look at body composition. This slide provides information about body composition assessment. There are a number of different colors seen. These are children, aged 6-9, and in general what is demonstrated here is that when you compare boys and girls from 1965 to 1985, two decades, looking across all the different colors, there is an indication that boys and girls in 1985 have more body fat (skin-fold thickness) than their age group peers of two decades ago. There are a number of reports in the literature that talk about the increasing levels of obesity in youngsters and adults.

Slide 13

Healthy People 2000 was a publication for the Public Health Service created in 1990 and it created 22 health objectives that dealt with a wide array of activities for promoting health with the desire of achieving these goals by the year 2000.

Slide 14

In 1995 there was a mid-course review of Healthy People 2000 to find out exactly where the country was with regard to meeting the objectives. The news that occurred in the 1995 mid-course reviews was particularly bad for physical education and physical activity. Essentially there was a failure to make progress toward the physical education and activity goals. In fact, in some cases, there were declines in our ability to achieve these goals.

Slide 15

These comments are from the Surgeon General's Report: "Daily enrollment in physical education classes has declined among high school students from 42% in 1991 to 25% in 1995". One of the goals in 1990 was to increase by the year 2000 the proportion of children who were involved in daily physical activity. The second point is that only 19% of all high school students reported being physically active 20 minutes or more in daily physical education classes. That is, those children who are involved in physical education classes, are not really active in those classes. There have been a number of reports published by Bruce Simons-Morton, Tom Baranowski, and others, indicating that those physical education teachers who are trained to specifically engage their children in activity during physical education class, result in having greater time-on-task in physical education. Jim Sallis and his group from project SPARK recently published a similar paper that shows the same kind of result. The last point made on this slide is that interventions targeting physical education in schools can substantially increase the amount of time that students spend being physically active in physical education classes. Again, traditional classes have less physical activity in them than classes where the teachers are specifically trained to help students in physical education engage in greater amounts of physical activity.

Slide 16

What are the goals, the types of things that people should emphasize in quality physical education programs? You will notice the first goal is enjoyment. We tend to continue engaging in activities that we enjoy. The second is positive attitudes - how do we modify people's behaviors and attitudes so that they will continue to engage in activities? We would like youngsters to initiate physical activity behaviors that they then maintain through young adulthood, into middle age, and as they become seniors. The last listed characteristic of a good physical education program is the health benefit. We are talking primarily about the physiological health benefit, but we should also consider the psychosocial benefit of physical activity. The Surgeon General's Report indicates that there are psychosocial benefits from engaging in physical activity. So why do we do this with youngsters?

Slide 17

This slide suggests physically active children and adolescents tend to be physically active adults. The concept here is to encourage children to become physically active so that they will maintain an active lifestyle throughout their lives. The concept of tracking has not been well studied. There are some studies out of Europe indicating physical activity does track from adolescence into adulthood. There are also a few studies in the U.S. that indicate tracking does occur. Perhaps most importantly, as you will notice on the bottom of the slide, overweight adolescents tend to be overweight adults. Evidence indicates that if you are an overweight adolescent, this tracks into adulthood, and this is related to debilitating diseases (e.g., obesity, hypertension and diabetes) that result as one ages with increased weight.

Slide 18

Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence: 1) improves strength and endurance - so we have to gear our programs specifically to those areas. 2) It helps build healthy bones and muscles. This is the third characteristic of health-related fitness. The first being cardiovascular fitness, the second being body composition, and the third being musculoskeletal function. 3) Physical activity helps control weight. In a recent national study on adults it was reported that the most often indicated reason that people engage in physical activity to help maintain their weight. 4) Physical activity reduces anxiety and stress and increases self-esteem. Again, one of the key reasons that adults engage in physical activity is that they feel better about themselves. The psychosocial component comes through very, very strongly. 5) Lastly, physical activity may improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Each of these components, each one of the "benefits" of a quality physical education program, is identified in the Surgeon General's Report and can be translated back down to activities and lifestyle behaviors that we want children to adopt and maintain into adulthood.

Slide 19

We just heard a variety of reasons why children need to be physically active, where the nation stands as far as physical activity and the need that we currently have in order to enhance physical activity levels among all population groups. One of the NASPE standards that is going to be discuss later during this presentation deals with respect for others, and that is the section that I am going to discuss.

The professional literature and the Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health suggest that physical activity have a positive impact on the health status of all population groups. Unfortunately, despite documented benefits, the literature also shows that physical activity among members of minority groups is not at its highest level.

Slide 20

Physical inactivity has been found to have a negative impact among all population groups, but because physical activity levels among certain ethnic groups in the U.S. tends to be lower than of the general population, they tend to be more affected by these items. This is important because the number of minority children in the U.S. continues to increase and we need to pay attention to this population group. Also, the literature shows that members of under-represented groups in this country are more likely to suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension, and some medical conditions that had already been discussed.

Slide 21

Members of minority groups are not only less likely to be physically active, but they are also more likely to engage in different physical activities than the majority population in this country. For instance, in a national study, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to have used a bicycle in the last week. Also, some studies (e.g., the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) have show that white students are more likely to participate in physical activity classes than members of under-represented groups, primarily African-Americans do. The same study has shown that of those students who are enrolled in physical education classes, white students are more likely than other ethnic groups, to exercise for 20 minutes or more. Finally, minority women are less likely than other groups in this country to be physically active, again going back to the ideal of different physical activities between the groups, whites have been found more likely than other ethnic groups to do stretch exercises.

Slide 22

What can we do to get members of under-represented groups to be a little bit more involved and more physically active? One of the suggestions that has been presented in the literature that has been tried, tested and has been found to be effective, is to market physical activity programs as recreational activities. It has been suggested that if people move away from the idea of exercise and instead think of it as a pleasurable activity they are more likely to be physically active.

Slide 23

Another suggestion that has been given for getting members of under-represented groups to be more physically active would be to promote team and individual activities. We do know that some members of under-represented groups do not ascribe to the idea of individual competition and prefer cooperative endeavors. Individual and group activities will reach population segments heretofore neglected.

Include "traditional" sports (e.g., soccer) that may be practiced by other ethnic groups.

People may respond more positive to outdoors recreational activities if they are familiar with them.

Slide 24

Another suggestion for getting members of under-represented groups involved in leisure time physical activity is the promotion of outdoor activity - things that may get people out and get a little social activities going with members of groups.

Slide 25

Finally, perhaps one of the most significant items that we have to remember as we try to reach members of minority groups is that unfortunately, a lot of children do not live in environments that are conducive to being physically active. This might be a direct result of unsafe environments. Therefore, instead of assuming that most or all members of ethnic minority groups do not wish to be physically active, we really need to take a look at environmental issues such as making environments safer. Making school facilities available in neighborhoods has been found to facilitate participation in leisure time physical activity.

Through implementation of these simple suggestions we will insure minority involvement in physical activity which is an important step in achieving the goals delineated in Healthy People 2000.

Slide 26

Developmentally appropriate programming - Corbin and Bengrazzi suggest that children should accumulate 30-60 minutes of age and developmentally appropriate physical activity on most or all days of the week, and some of this activity should be moderate to vigorous with brief rest periods. Extended in activity is discouraged. Those are important things to keep in mind when you are doing the programming as the physical education person, where you are trying to sell your programming to your administrators, or to your principal particularly.

Slide 27

COPEC, or the Council on Physical Education for Children is the largest professional association for children's physical education. In 1992, COPEC put forth a document which described quality, daily physical education that should be available to all children, the outcome of which would be children who are physically educated. Within this COPEC document, practices were identified that promoted developmentally appropriate programming for children's physical education. We will concentrate particularly on those aspects, which deal with physical activity and fitness for youth.

Slide 28

The purpose of the COPEC document was to describe, in a straightforward manner, the practices which were appropriate for children in physical education programs, and to provide specific guidelines for a variety of individuals - teachers, parents, administrators, and policy-makers - all those who were involved in the programming and delivery of physical education activity for children - to describe those practices for them so that all who are concerned would be aware that the responsibility lies within the physical education program itself and for those who are responsible in putting forth that particular program.

Slide 29

A physically educated person, according to the National Association of Sport and Physical Education, is an individual who has learned physical skills, one who participates regularly in physical activity, an individual who is physically fit, one who knows the implications and benefits of that participation in those physical skills and an individual who values physical activity. This is what we want for our kids through developmentally appropriate programming, so they in fact, can experience all of those things and understand what their role is in the process and what the role of physical activity is for them in their daily life.

Slide 30

Appropriate practices include: programs that are age-appropriate, as well as individually appropriate. These concepts are designed for children according to their age groups and according to their individual developmental level. Movement education, or the movement framework approach, is designed for children at a younger age so that when children are starting out in a physical education program, they learn a variety of loco-motor, non-loco-motor, and manipulative skills, again in ways that are presented in a developmentally appropriate manner. A program should have specific goals and objectives, and be presented in a sequential manner.

Slide 31

Appropriate fitness, particularly for children, includes the value and importance fitness, so that children understand the concepts of physical fitness and the contribution that fitness makes to their individual lifestyle. It is also important for children to understand why they are participating in activities and not merely participate in activities because "teacher told me to do so." It is particularly critical, according to the COPEC document, for children to understand the importance of fitness activities, and the relationship of fitness activities to the overall curriculum.

Slide 32-33

The COPEC states that it is developmentally inappropriate for fitness activities to be used as punishment in a physical education program. Appropriate activities are those in which the fitness activity or fitness program contributes to the overall healthy lifestyle. Fitness tests are generally are a part of a physical education curriculum. In some districts it is mandatory that particular tests are used and how many times a year those tests are given. Children, unfortunately all too often, participate in those as a requirement with a lack of application. COPEC states this practice is developmentally inappropriate. An appropriate practice is one in children have the opportunity to be part of the on-going process, including developing an understanding of all of the components of the fitness test. Children would also have adequate preparation for the administration of that fitness instrument, and would understand on a personal basis how their result affects them. It is also critical according to the COPEC document that test results are shared privately.

Slide 34

Why is this important to me, why is this important to you, the physical educator, why is this important to you the practitioner, you the administrator, or to you the parent? It is truly important to recognize those practices which are in the best interest of children. We want to be able to provide for children an opportunity that most greatly affects their health and well being. It is important for you to be able to sell your program, to those who are most concerned with what you are doing, as well as overall potential for children. It is also important for us as physical educators to be able to integrate our curriculum into other components of the school curriculum such as, in Texas we take the TAAS test (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills), physical educators are encouraged to state their objectives in a manner which correlates with the TAAS objectives. A recent document, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills manual, serves as a basis in providing for Texas physical education teachers a means of applying information from the National Standards.

Slide 35

The National Standards provide further clarification of the things a physically educated person can do. These standards were developed as part of the educational reform movement of the 1990s in all academic subjects. Physical education is not one of the basic subjects but professionals in this field chose to develop standards in order to identify what physically educated students should be able to do by the time they graduate from high school. These standards were developed by a committee under the direction of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and with input from many professionals teaching at the university, and public school levels.

Slide 36

The first standard focuses on ones ability to perform physical skills. Students develop competence in many movement forms and become proficient in a few of these. This means that physical education programs include a wide variety of activities and learning experiences are progressive in development from elementary school through high school. This begins with the development of fundamental motor patterns in the elementary school, exploration of a wide variety of sports, games, dance, aquatics, fitness, and adventure activities in the middle grades, and achievement of proficiency in a few of the activities selected by the students in the upper grades.

Slide 37

In addition to being proficient in movement forms, students are able to apply movement concepts and principles in order to change their movement skills or learn new motor activities. To achieve this standard students must know the rules of various activities and also have an understanding of physiological and biomechanical principles applied to the achievement of successful performance of motor skills.

Slide 38

An ultimate goal of physical education is that individuals exhibit a physically active lifestyle. The intent of this standard is that children become aware of the opportunities to participate outside the school and involvement in the extra activities is recognized in physical education classes. It has been found that regular participation is more likely to occur if students have developed interests and skills in a wide variety of activities in order to identify a few that have meaning to the individual.

Slide 39

A person achieves and maintains a healthy fitness status. The purpose of this standard is to recognize that the fitness needs vary with individuals but it is important for each person to achieve a level of fitness adequate to maintain good health. This standard has been attained when students accept the responsibility for development and maintenance of maintaining their own personal fitness program on a continual basis.

Slide 40

Students demonstrate responsible personal and social behavior in the activity setting. The intent of this standard is that individuals achieve self-initiated behaviors that promote personal and group success while participating in physical activities. This includes such behaviors as teamwork, good sportsmanship, and playing by the rules.

Slide 41

Children demonstrate understanding and respect for differences among people in physical activity settings. Students become aware of differences in ethnic and racial backgrounds and learn to appreciate the different cultures and are willing to participate together. They also learn that individuals with disabilities and varying physical characteristics can be active participants. Ultimately, students learn to appreciate the contribution that each individual can make to performance of activities.

Slide 42

Students understand that many benefits are derived from participation in physical activity and that each person their own reasons for participation such as enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and social interaction. Knowing that individuals participate for many different reasons may foster involvement in life-long activities.

Slide 43

What value do the standards have for the local school? In addition to describing the outcomes of a physical education program, benchmarks are provided as a guide for the establishment of a developmentally appropriate curriculum from kindergarten through high school. The publication of the standards also includes ideas for different ways of assessing skills, knowledge, and attitudes of students in order to enhance their learning experiences.

Slide 44

One example of this new approach to physical education is the one semester course called Foundations of Personal Fitness that is required of high school students in the state of Texas. This class is more than just playing various sports. There is an integration of cognitive understanding, attitudes about participation, and performance of many different fitness modalities in order to achieve a heathy status.

Slide 45

Many different approaches to learning are used in this class to empower students to apply skills, knowledge, and attitudes that lead to maintenance of a health enhancing level of fitness throughout their adult lives. The goals of this class are to develop an understanding of why it is important to be physically active, to have the skills to design a personal fitness program, and to establish a commitment to regular participation in vigorous physical activity.

Slide 46

In the cognitive part of the class students acquired knowledge of fitness concepts and principles necessary for the development of a personal fitness program. They also learn about the relationship between physical inactivity and the onset of certain diseases.

Slide 47

Enjoyment has been identified as an important prerequisite to continued participation, therefore; students experience many modalities of activity in order to identify those that are most satisfying to each individual.

Slide 48

Students participate in laboratory experiments in order to apply principles discussed in the cognitive part of the class. Some of the laboratory activities include analysis of their nutritional status, analysis of individual fitness status, development of goals based on the assessment, and analysis of the benefits of consumer products.

Slide 49

Through this presentation the need for involvement in an active life style was identified and an overview of an appropriate physical education program was outlined. Impacting lifestyle behaviors is not easy. It may involve attempts to modify behaviors that are well ingrained. Many people need to be involved. Let's look at who might be involved and what needs to be done. In the next part of the presentation we will outline three things that can help to change the participation levels of children. First is to identify who can help promote lifelong physical activity. Secondly, guidelines for promoting lifelong physical activity are presented and the last part includes some suggested action tips that are needed.

Slide 50

No single group can help promote physical activity. It involves the collaborative efforts of parents, teachers, school administrators, recreation leaders, community services, health professionals, and the students themselves.

Slide 51

It is recommended that children and adolescents should accumulate at least 30 to 60 minutes of age and developmentally appropriate physical activity most days of the week. Quality physical education programs can make a major contribution to achievement of this guideline for vigorous activity. In order to achieve this goal the programs must provide a variety of individualized activities. Children need to be given positive feedback during practice and the emphasis should focus on process rather than the product of performance in order to enhance positive attitudes toward participation.

Slide 52

It is known that most Americans are not physically activity and that physical inactivity is related to a number of adverse health reactions. The benefits of physical activity are that it increases the health status of the population, increases stamina, and enhances our mental health. Therefore, all children should be physically active nearly every day. This includes participation in play, games, recreation, sports, and physical education at a moderate to vigorous level of exertion.

Slide 53

Many reasons for not participating in physical activities have been given. These include the lack of time, ability, and desire. It is important that playgrounds, low-cost Agyms,@ and other recreational sites be made available so that all individuals can participate in a safe environment.

Slide 54

The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that Americans are not physically active. Things that all adults can do to encourage participation by children are to be active role models by exercising with our children, support developmentally appropriate physical education programs, encourage active participation in programs outside the school, take steps to ensure that children have a protected and safe environment where they can participate, and establish cooperative relationships

References and Acknowledgements