Teaching Health-related Fitness to Children

Curriculum Guideline

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Course
SPSC 5391
Discontinued
No
Course Code
SPSC 5391
Descriptive
Teaching Health-related Fitness to Children
Department
Sport Science
Faculty
Science & Technology
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
201730
PLAR
Yes
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
25
Contact Hours
2 hours classroom 1 hour practical/lab
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lab
Seminar
Learning Activities
  • Lecture
  • Discussion groups (in class)
  • Practical Application
  • Student presentations
  • Problem-based learning
Course Description
This unique course investigates the different components of health-related fitness, the health benefits of physical fitness, and some methods of teaching and assessing health-related fitness. The current health and activity levels of Canadian children will be examined in order to establish the background for changes in the health-related fitness levels of elementary-aged children.
Course Content
  1. Physical Growth
    • Factors that influence physical growth
    • Relationship between physical growth and participation in physical activity
    • Concept of the growth curve and the implications for participation in physical activity
    • Concepts of developmental, skeletal and chronological age and their relationship to participation in sport and fitness activities
    • Use of growth standards and anthropometric measures within the context of physical education.
    • Effects of social conditions on growth and development
  2. Children’s Health & Fitness Issues
    • Health-benefits of physical activity
      • Quantity issues regarding physical activity and development – How much is enough?
      • Quality issues regarding physical activity and development
    • Ministry of Education policy on physical activity in schools
    • Characteristics, societal prevalence, and pedagogical implications of
      • Obesity
      • Type II diabetes
    • Multicultural issues in health and fitness teaching
  3. The Components of Physical Fitness
    • Health-related fitness including:
      • muscular strength
      • muscular endurance
      • cardiorespiratory (cardiovascular)
      • flexibility
      • body composition
    • Components of skill-related fitness, including:
      • Power
      • Speed
      • Agility
      • Coordination
      • Balance
      • Reaction time
    • Training concepts
      • Overload, specificity and progression
      • Reversibility and maintenance
      • Dose and response
    • Fitness prescription
  4. Physical fitness skills and attitudes
    • Stages in lifestyle change
    • Factors that influence change in health behaviours
      • Personal Factors
      • Predisposing
      • Enabling
      • Reinforcing
    • Self-management skills
  5. Physical Fitness Assessment
    • Discuss the role of physical fitness assessment with respect to exercise programs
    • Introduce relevant field tests of fitness assessment for school-aged populations
    • Describe the purposes of physical fitness assessment
  6. Applying Health-related Physical Fitness Curriculum
    • Selecting pedagogical orientation:
      • Innovative practices
      • Traditional practices
    • Assessing and creating warm-up and the cool-down phases of fitness activities
    • Applying physical fitness training principles for children
    • Identifying physical fitness demands of physical education units
    • Adapting physical education units to meet health-related fitness goals
    • Identifying factors associated with injury prevention
    • Adapting fitness curriculum for individual differences and students with special needs
Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. complete a comprehensive field analysis of a student’s fitness in relation to health criteria,
  2. analyze and adapt existing physical education units to meet health-related fitness goals,
  3. describe the risk factors and implications of childhood obesity and type II diabetes,
  4. describe key growth and maturation indicators and their relationship to participation in sports and fitness activities, and
  5. identify third party health and fitness resources relevant to ones teaching needs.
Means of Assessment

The selection of evaluation tools for this course is based on:

  1. Adherence to college evaluation policy regarding number and weighing of evaluations, for example a course of three credits or more should have at least three separate evaluations.
  2. A developmental approach to evaluation that is sequenced and progressive.
  3. Evaluation is used as a teaching tool for both students and instructors.
  4. Commitment to student participation in evaluation through such processes as self and peer evaluation, and program/ instructor evaluation.

The following is presented as an example assessment format for this course:

Curriculum Analysis Project 25%
Mini Research Assignment(s) 20%
Mini lesson(s) teaching and/or labs 25%
Exam(s) and/or Quizzes 30%
  100%

 

Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

A list of recommended textbooks and materials is provided on the Instructor's Course Outline, which is available to students at the beginning of each semester.

Which Prerequisite

SPSC 5495