Bascom World: Breast Enhancement Therapy For Each Individual
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Bascom World: Breast Enhancement Therapy For Each Individual
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Competitive Sports as Lifetime Activities
Labels: Curriculum Development For Health Related Physical Fitness Education
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Overcoming Barriers to Participating in Lifetime Activities
1. Fear of the unfamiliar
Curriculum decision guidelines: Allow middle school students to sample a wide variety oi activities.
2. Expense
Curriculum decision guidelines: Respect economic diversity by helping students explore equipment and facility options (e.g., the YMCA is cheaper than an upscale fitness club and provides financial aid to those who qualify) as well as physical activity options that do not require equipment or special facilities at all. Point out the benefits of lifestyle activities to health and fitness (e.g., mowing a larger lawn with a push mower or walking briskly to school are certainly workouts).
3. Fear or dislike of competition
Curriculum decision guidelines: While people may naturally compete, physical education programs need not emphasize it. Instead, emphasize cooperation and intrinsic motivation over competition and extrinsic rewards. Make competition simply one choice for those who enjoy it.
4. Lack of skill or the perception one must be good at something to benefit from it
Curriculum decision guidelines: Help stu¬dents learn to recognize the need for skill utilization (e.g., dribbling competently with the feet to play better and to gain more aerobic endurance benefits in soc¬cer), rather than think they have to master them completely. Teach students to analyze their skills. Individualize skill development instruction. Allow older students to specialize more to develop feel¬ings of competence. Emphasize enjoyment can be had with competent but not excellent skills.
5. Lack of knowledge
Curriculum decision guidelines: Integrate the whys of health-related fitness pur¬suits into the fun activities that develop health-related fitness components.
6. Time
Curriculum decision guidelines: Work on a district wide basis to develop time man¬agement skills in students. Show students ways to make time for fitness in their lifestyle routines (e.g., taking stairs instead of elevators). Emphasize that the new health-related fitness guidelines vali¬date the effectiveness of several short bursts of activity; that is, you don't have to block out one large amount of time per day to achieve basic health-related fit¬ness benefits. Invite guest speakers (e.g., parents, community leaders) from many different walks of life to share how they keep fit within the framework of their responsibilities, resources, and interests.
Labels: Curriculum Development For Health Related Physical Fitness Education
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Taking an Age-Appropriate Approach
But how can you call a tag game a "lifetime activity?" It is not, but a kindergartner would almost certainly find a more adult like activity, such as jogging for 20 minutes, boring (and maybe dangerous). In addition, tag is an activ¬ity children engage in when they are playing on their own, so it makes sense to validate it in health-related physical fitness learning. Keeping our ultimate goal in mind, tag is one of the more appropriate ways to develop a love for aerobic endurance activity in the early grades, thereby feeding into the middle and high school programs. In short, students who enjoy aerobic endurance activities in the early grades are more likely to be open to developing themselves in this area in later school years and on into adulthood. The same is true for any component of health-related fitness. As another example, a high school student who has set a personal goal of playing more forcefully on her roller hockey team may find lifting weights interesting, while a second grader will benefit more physically and psychologically from developing muscu¬lar strength and endurance on playground equipment.
At the same time, remember to individual¬ize so that, within a developmental level, you are providing a range of appropriate challenges, giving the low-fit or low-skilled student a chance to enjoy your program as much as the average to high-fit or highly skilled student (see also chapter 13).
Another way to think of a lifetime activity curricula continuum is to consider a diamond shaped framework. Within the diamond curriculum f framework, elementary level students develop the basic skills and concepts (both fitness and movement related) they need to ultimately be able to enjoy lifetime activities (see Don't Forget Skills Development). Middle school students then use these skills to sample a wide variety of physical activities. This gives students the opportunity to form personal opinions about various activities and sports. Then high school students select a few physical activities in which to specialize and around which they may build personal physical activity plans. The foundation of basic skills in elementary school and development of proficiency in self ¬selected areas in high school forms a continuum that is likely to lead to positive adult health-related fitness behaviors
Labels: Curriculum Development For Health Related Physical Fitness Education
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Developing Activities For Teaching Lifelong Fitness
Carefully consider the level of the students for which you're develop¬ing the activity.
Write out the concept you wish to teach, using language appropriate for the level you are teaching.
Spell out the purpose of the activity. What do you want your students to learn?
Determine what equipment you'll need.
Define the relationship of this activity to the national standards. This helps you keep your curriculum fo¬cused.
Write a set induction- How will you prepare students to learn,?
Develop a step-by-step procedure P~ for leading the activity: You might modify this after you've done the activity a few times and worked the "bugs" out
Think about what teaching hints you'll need to be aware of. Write this down so when you have a substitute, the sub can take advantage of your experience.
Remember to include a closure and an assessment for the activ¬ity. Check for student understanding.
Finally, plan for ways of extending the lesson. If the activity goes well, you'll want to challenge your students to take it to the next level or further assimilate the learning.
My Body
Primary Level
Growth and developmental influences on body composition Your body is made of billions of cells that need all type of foods to live. Your body shape and share type and size are influenced by many factors, some of which you can control an which you cannot. The uncontrollable factors are your genetics (family history) age, and gender. Controllable factors are how much you eat, and how much physical activity you do.
Purpose
Students will understand the factors that influence their body shape, type, and size and understand the uniqueness of each person and how each person is different in his or her nutrient and physical activity requirements.
Equipment Needed
- Variety of balls, such as, playground, Nerf tennis
- Hula hoops
Relationship to National Standards
Physical Education Standard 3: Student exhibits a physically active life style. ¬Student will identify the benefits derived from regular physical activity.
Health Education Standard 1: Student will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention student will describe relationships between personal health behaviors and individual well-being.
Set Induction
If time allows use an ink pad and fingerprint each child. Have student compare the fingerprint with everyone else’s to show how everyone is different. The fingerprint are all different just like the bodies arc all different and come in all different sizes colors, and shapes.
Explain that etch student will choose the ball they will use fur thus activity. Explain that their choices am similar to their fingerprints and bodies, in that everyone has their own and that are not always the same as he other classmates.
Procedure
1. Place a variety of types and sizes of balls about the activity are in hoops and allow students to use any size ball they are comfortable with.
2. Take students through a series of manipulative skills (e.g., toss and catch, ball handling, bounce and catch, roll" catch, dribbling partner skills and soon) offering students two or three challenges in each of the skill categories.
3. Explain that we are not all the same size. Many factors influence our size and shape, such as what we do and eat and the family we come from (our parents).
Teaching Hints
Be sure to allow each student to select the ball he or she is comfortable with. Add claps, turns. and so on to the skills you're using to increase the level of challenge. Make sure that there are more than enough balls for every student in order that the majority get their choice.
Closure and Assessment
Written and Oral
- Ask “What lesson did I wart you to team at-out body composition by participating in today's activity?¬
Project
- Direct students to do the following: "Ask you- mom or dad for the following recent photos: of you, of your mom or dad, and of that parent’s parents. Try to get photos that arc of each person's whole body. Paste the photos side by side on a sheet of paper. Compare body shapes, type, and size. (Note: You may choose to make a sample photo array to use for comparison, rather than having all students bring in photos.)
Extending the Lesson
- Have each student draw a pic¬ture of her family involved in physical activity.
- Have each student draw a pic¬ture of himself doing his favorite activity or something he likes about himself.
Selecting Appropriate Lifetime Activities
Lifetime activity refers to activities that are accessible and enjoyable throughout one's life, especially those that adults are most likely to engage in regularly for recreational and health related fitness reasons over the course of a lifetime. What constitutes "accessible" and "enjoyable" will vary from individual to individual, of course, depending on an individual's interests, locale, and skills. Career and financial constraints may also play a role in an individual's choice of lifetime activities.
Labels: Curriculum Development For Health Related Physical Fitness Education
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Determine Unit Outcomes
It is important to take into account student interest when designing courses. If, for example, aversion of swing dance is popular with teenagers in your community, it might be a good choice for a dance unit include having the students form letters with their bodies, thereby integrating rereading skills, or a lesson on aerobic endurance can reinforce a science unit on the cardio respiratory system. Likewise, movement can be integrated into other subjects. For example, class¬room teachers can use movement to check for academic understanding (e.g., have stu¬dents divide the class into thirds, fourths, and so on) or to reinforce learning (e.g., moving through a simulated nervous system to understand how the brain and nerves work together to send and receive messages). Encourage older students to integrate fitness and movement skills and concepts into academic projects, such as creating and implementing a health-related fitness program appropriate for senior citizens as part of a service learning project.
Make logical and natural connections between subject areas; however, don't force them. They must make sense to everyone, especially the students. This will better simu¬late real-world approaches to problems, deepening student understanding.
Labels: Curriculum Development For Health Related Physical Fitness Education
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General Strategies for Developing a Curriculum
The Physical Best program uses the national standards developed by national orga¬nizations, including NASPE (AAHPERD), for physical education, health education (AAHE), and dance education (NDA) and their corresponding standards are also supported and reinforced by Physical Best programs. Collectively, these standards help determine exit outcomes and developmentally appropriate curricula that will help students achieve the ultimate goal of becoming adults who value and pursue active lifestyles. Remember, Physical Best is not intended to replace existing curricula, but rather to complement and support other programs. Appendix A also lists the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Guidelines for School and Com¬munity Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People (1997).
Labels: Curriculum Development For Health Related Physical Fitness Education
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Teaching Approaches Involving Learners in Many Decisions: Indirect Styles
At the primary level, an indirect approach can be quite effective in teaching lessons designed to vary movement patterns using the elements of movement (space, qualities, and relationships). Older children can explore relationships, direction, and variations using basic sport skills. Ex¬amples of movement problems for younger children and possible responses and extensions are presented in table 10.1. The problems and the extensions are designed from the movement con¬cepts presented in chapter 9. Movement problems for older children might be designed for a specific sport. Table 10.1 presents problems for soccer.
Guided discovery is an indirect approach used when the teacher wants the students to discover a solution through a series of questions. This approach is a convergent, problem-solving process in which a predetermined answer or response is wanted by the teacher. With a series of well ¬designed questions, the teacher leads the students to the desired movement response. Another indi¬rect approach used by teachers is exploration, which is an open-ended, divergent, problem-solv¬ing process. In this style, there are no predetermined or correct answers; the goal is for students to explore and create solutions on their own
Physical education teachers have recently been encouraged to promote a learning environment that will encourage students to think critically (Werner 1995). It is believed that the more indi¬rect styles of teaching are needed to accomplish this goal (Anderson, Reder, and Simon 1998). Critical thinking involves choosing from alternatives, applying knowledge in new situations, and analyzing and evaluating information. Students who think critically process information at a higher level.
Summary
A number of different teaching approaches can be used in physical education. Each one has a set of assets and liabilities. Students can become competent in many movement forms, can learn to ap¬ply concepts and principles to learning, and can achieve a health-enhancing level of physical fitness in classes using either a direct or an indirect approach. They can demonstrate responsible personal and social behavior, develop respect for differences
Labels: Organizing For Teaching
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Cooperative Learning
- Why groups fail to solve the problem (the problem is too difficult; group members fight with one another)
- How group members have their feelings hurt (others are not listening; they are unable to help)
- What makes groups successful (taking turns, sharing responsibility, respecting others)
- After the activity, discuss what worked and what did not with the class. Focus on groups with positive interactions and results.
- Describe a student who doesn't try in physical education.
- What should we do if some students don't try?
- What would our class be like if nobody tried'?
- How should we deal with Students who always want to argue with other students and the teacher?
- How should we deal with students who shove or hit other students?
Labels: Organizing For Teaching
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Individualized Teaching With Task Sheets and Contracts
Learning contracts provide an excellent way to begin shifting decision-making responsibility from the teacher to the learner. A teacher-student contract is a written agreement of what the student is to accom¬plish in a specified time period. There are several types of contracts; each requires a different amount of student responsibility. Contract teaching should allow varying amounts of time for completing tasks and should provide opportunity for independent work. The student choice contract provides a list of activities, and each usually has a point value. Students can choose from the tasks and work at individual rates, but they should be encouraged to select tasks that match beginning competency levels. Figure 10.6 shows an example of a student choice contract.
An open-ended contract gives the student the most responsibility: The student simply lists the skills to be mastered and the time needed to accomplish them. Figure 10.7 is an example of a contract designed for basketball by a fifth-grade student. Open ended contracts can also be used for doing physical fitness activities outside class
Labels: Organizing For Teaching
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Teaching Approaches With Some Learner Involvement
One example of a station learning arrangement. The tasks shown in the figure are appropriate for second-grade, children. Each station should have enough equipment for five children to participate at the same time. To make sure students understand what to do at each station, the teacher should explain and demonstrate. The task sheets, posters, and other remind¬ers at each station are also helpful. The same ac¬ivities can be used effectively for practice of sport skills in the upper grades. Ability grouping for sport-skill practice allows a range of skill levels within an age group. Usually, each station is planned with progressive tasks, but it is also de¬sirable to have some stations designed specifically for those students who would benefit from modi¬fied (lower-level) or extended (higher-level) tasks. In most sport-skill lessons, students tend to accomplish more if grouped with children of similar skill (Thomas 1994)
Labels: Organizing For Teaching
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Approaches With No Learner Involvement: Direct Teaching
The direct style is a good choice for teachers when the lesson involves introduction of a new skill or when safety is an issue. This format allows complete teacher control and is useful with classes that are difficult to manage. Often, after students spend some time in controlled practice, they should be able to manage their own behavior well enough to be provided with more opportunities for decision making and individualized practice. Several guidelines are important for successful use of direct teaching :
• Always have a signal (e.g., a drumbeat or a verbal command) to get the attention of the class.
Students are not involved in decision making
Direct approach Students are involved in some decisions
Students are involved in many decisions
Indirect approach
Try to provide for maximum practice (e.g., use small groups for drills). Never have chil¬dren stand in long lines.
- Most important, remember the responsibilities of the teacher in motor skill learning, discussed These include identifying the skill level of the child on a task and providing for developmentally appropriate practice so that every child finds success.
- The direct style can also be applied in lessons where students play a new game of low organization, learn an aerobic dance or jump rope routine, or practice a folk or square dance. In these situations, it is desirable to guide the class through the steps or sequence using a structured approach.
Labels: Organizing For Teaching
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Teaching Approaches
Labels: Organizing For Teaching
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Understanding What to Do About Body Composition
One thing we can do to help is to make sure children understand that bodies are different and that there is not one perfect or most desirable body shape. Some differences in body shape are attributable to genetics; others are caused by what we eat and by our activity patterns. Further, we can prepare children for the bodily changes that will occur during adolescence. Finally, we can avoid using a simplistic approach to a complex problem. For example, in addition to body weight or fat, other measures of health risk can be exam¬ined. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), which is the cir¬cumference of the waist at the narrowest point divided by the circumference of the hips at the widest point, is a predictor of health risk. Large WHR is a predictor of risk; WF1Rs above 1.0 and .9 are identified as points of increased risk for males and females, respectively. Estimating body fat us¬ing skin-fold calipers is another way to examine risk. Good equipment and practice are necessary to accurately estimate fat. Some experts recommend tracking the sum of skin folds rather than calculating percent body fat (Lohman 1992). In the absence of good calipers and training, teachers should probably not estimate body fat. Under the best of circumstances, teachers should use more than one technique. Consider discussing BMI, WHR, and physical activity together to develop a risk profile. Further, we can encourage all children to seek healthy bodies that are neither too fat nor too frail nor thin.
Labels: Physical Activity For Children
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Body Composition and Gender of Children
Labels: Physical Activity For Children
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Body Composition of Physical Activity For Children
As we can see, body composition is a complex issue. Often, by trying to take something complex and make it simple, we make mistakes. A height and weight chart is simple to use but may not be accurate in determining who is at risk. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a commonly used measure¬ment; basically, it is a height and weight chart. BMI is body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals is 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds; his BMI is 29.7, which would label him with grade 1 obesity. A BMI of 29.7 for a male is significantly higher than that recommended for health, yet in terms of appearance or performance Mark McGwire would not be considered at risk. The point is that with BMI, height and weight can be deceiving. Further, considerable stigma can re¬sult from careless use of norms.
Muscle and bone tissues weigh more than fat and are healthy Individuals who have large, dense bones and greater than average muscle mass are likely to appear overweight based on BMI or height and weight charts, yet they are probably not too fat. On the other side of the continuum are those who have little muscle and bones that are less dense than expected. Very low BMI is also un¬healthy, particularly before 20 years of age. Dur¬ing growth-specifically, before 20 years of age ¬bones gain density. Dense bones have higher fracture points, which means the bones are more difficult to break. Bone density is a result of three factors: genetics, nutrition, and exercise (Bailey 2000, 2001). Adequate calcium and weight¬ bearing exercise produce healthy bones. From about 20 years of age onward, bones lose density.
Two things can be done about this loss: First, the bones should start out as dense as possible, which means that during childhood and adolescence, physical activity and calcium are critical: Second, the rate of loss should be as slow as possible; again, the critical factors are physical activity and calcium. For bone health, being underweight especially of lean body mass-is a greater risk than being overweight.
Study show exercise, is the best thing you can do to live longer. A new study suggest that exercising may be the single most important fac¬tor in extending your life." NBC's Robert Bazell reports the lead story on the March 13, 2002, NBC Nightly News. "A new study offers the strongest argument yet for getting fit. California research¬ers found that the a'6ility to exercise-as mea¬sured on a treadmill test-is more important in predicting how long a person will live than even obesity, heart disease, or smoking."
Labels: Physical Activity For Children
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Musculoskeletal Function
Weight training for children is a controversial topic. The two most important issues are cost benefit trade-off and potential for injuries. Weight training takes a lot of time, and for prepubescent children, the gains are small (Faigenbaum, Westott, Loud, and Long 1999). Therefore, the time might be better spent doing something else, such as practicing skill (COPEC 1998). As children are growing, there is risk of injury; training regimens that are low intensity (low weight), however, can be safe (LePostellec 2002). Specific guidelines for prepubescent weight training are available (Kraemer and Fleck 1992). One critical component of weight training for children is involving a teacher or coach who is certified to coach young children (Kraemer and Fleck 1992). Generally, weight training is not a good use of physical edu¬cation time during elementary school.
Most children do well on the sit-up tests, al¬though practice and training are important. Scores often decrease from spring to fall, however, which suggests that practice during physical education improves performance. Girls are more flexible than boys in a comparison of test scores for the sit and reach. Again, practice is the most likely cause of these differences. Flexibility is the easiest compo¬nent of fitness to train and the first to deteriorate when we are inactive. Most of us have experienced a time when movement was restricted and flex¬ibility was significantly reduced.
Muscle strength, muscle endurance, and flexibil¬ity improve with training. While gender differences are observed in these components of fitness, no biological reason for the differences is evident before puberty. Therefore, teachers and parents should encourage and expect boys and girls to practice a variety of activities that will maintain or enhance skill performance, such as sit-ups, sit and reach, and pull-ups
Labels: Physical Activity For Children
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Biological And Physical Differences In Children
The second effect of exercise is production of heat. The body dissipates some heat by breath¬ing but most of it by sweating: The circulatory system increases blood flow to the skin, and the heat is lost by radiation and evaporation of sweat. Teachers need to be conscious of this process, particularly during hot and dry weather, when excessive sweating and evaporation may produce a loss in total body fluid. This can result in dehydra¬tion. Fluid lost should be replaced by regular water intake during heavy exercise In hot and dry weather. People of all ages are susceptible to dehydration. Children should always be permitted to drink as much water as they want to during and after exer¬cise. Water is as good a fluid replacement as any of the advertised commercial products. The USDA warns that children do not drink enough water and should be encouraged to drink water regardless of whether they are exercising, so encouraging children to drink water meets the demands of exercise and a more general nutritional need.
Children and adults handle heat and oxygen pro¬duction differently during exercise and physical activity. Children have higher resting heart rates than adults; this means that at rest children's hearts are working harder than adult's hearts. For example, a 6-year-old boy has a resting heart rate of 86 beats per minute (a girl's at the same age would be 88); by age 13, his resting heart rate would be 66 (hers would be 70). The maximum heart rate for a 6-year¬old is 215, as compared with 201 for a 13-year-old. The easiest way to estimate heart rate is to gently touch your fingers to the carotid artery and count the beats for 10 seconds, then multiply by 6. The carotid artery can be located by placing the fingers next to the Adam's apple (figure 6.2).
Blood pressure increases steadily during child¬hood and adolescence. Systolic pressure, the maximum pressure immediately after a heart beat, increases from 108 to 115 millimeters Hg during childhood and adolescence in boys, and in girls from 101 to 111 millimeters Hg (Hg is the symbol for the element mercury as read on the gauge). Diastolic pressure, the minimum pressure just before a heart beat, goes from 72 to 82 millime¬ters Hg in boys and 65 to 75 millimeters Hg in girls.
Respiration volume increases directly in relation to the intensity of exercise, but only about 50 to 60 percent of maximum aerobic power or maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max). Maximum aerobic power, maximum oxygen uptake, and VO2max are terms used to describe the upper limit of the cardio respiratory system in its ability to deliver oxygen to the body during exercise. At this point, respira¬tion increases very rapidly. The change from steady to rapid increase in respiration has been called the anaerobic threshold. The anaerobic threshold is the point at which the body can no longer keep up with the oxygen demands or the waste build-up in the muscles. The muscles are working without adequate oxygen, and in this state fatigue sets in very rapidly. Respiration response is the same for girls and boys. As children exer¬cise, respiration rate can provide information about level of fatigue. For example, a child who can talk easily while jogging is probably breath¬ing steadily; when respiration interferes with talk¬ing, the child is moving toward fatigue.
Anaerobic power, the ability to work without oxygen, is also lower in children than adults. This is because children have less of an important en¬zyme (phosophofructokinase or PFK) in their muscles; this enzyme allows the muscles to work without oxygen. Children will produce more PFK after puberty. Anaerobic power is important in activities such as sprinting.
Children also have a lower hemoglobin concen¬tration in the blood than adults. Since hemoglo¬bin is the part of blood that carries oxygen to the working muscles (e.g., in the heart and legs), chil¬dren transport less oxygen per unit of blood than adults. This means that children can do less work than adults. Hemoglobin content in the blood in¬creases at puberty; however, the increase is not as great in women as it is in men.
Children become more fit as a result of fitness training. The responses to training tend to be lower in children for several reasons:
- Children tend to be more fit at the onset, so training results in less improvement.
- Children have higher resting and maximum heart rates, which limits the intensity of train¬ing (.7 x maximum heart rate = training heart rate).
- Children have less hemoglobin, which limits maximal oxygen uptake.
Exercise training produces three benefits for children and adults. First, hearts become stronger as a result of training as stroke volume (the amount of blood the heart can pump in one beat) increases. Second, more capillaries develop as a result of training, which provides a better supply of blood to the heart and working muscles. Third, better extraction of oxygen from the blood leads to improved enzymatic reactions. Recall that in order to benefit from training, children must ex¬ercise 3 days per week for at least 20 minutes per day for 10 or more weeks at the training heart rate. Training or target heart rates for various age groups are presented in table 6.2.
The relationship between the type of cardiovas¬cular (aerobic fitness exercise) used for training and the type of testing used is critical. A child who has trained regularly as a swimmer will have trained cardiovascular endurance, but if that child is tested using the mile run, the benefits may not show up in the test results. There are two reasons for this: First, the muscles used- for swimming (arms) and running (legs) are different, so muscle endurance may be low in the legs and detract from the child's performance. Second, the knowledge of how to pace for the mile run is critical and learned through practice. Failure to pace carefully is one reason many children do poorly on the mile run test. You may remember a classmate running full speed for the first part of the mile run, then stopping or at least slowing considerably for the rest of tile mile. The object of pacing in the mile run is to maintain a relatively constant speed with enough energy remaining to run faster at the end. Practice creates immediate improvements in test scores, which are not related to improved fitness.
Aerobic fitness tests fall into two categories: norm referenced and criterion referenced. Norm¬ referenced tests are based on the normal (bell¬ shaped) curve and compare one person to the group. Criterion-referenced tests use a standard and generally place people into two groups (pass and fail, or master and non master). Early fitness tests were norm referenced and used the levels of the best 5 to 15 percent as criteria for an award. Recent tests tend to be criterion referenced, with the criterion selected based on predicting health risk. The concept is that a student who is 10 years old and can run the mile in 9 minutes and 48 sec¬onds or less will have less health risk than a stu¬dent who runs the mile in 9 minutes and 49 sec¬onds or more. Unfortunately, the various tests use different standards for passing (Morrow, Jackson, Disch, and Mood 2000). For example, a 9-year-old boy would have to run the mile at different speeds to pass the various tests: FITNESSGRAM (12 min), Physical Best (10:30 min), President's National (8:31 min), and Presidential Tests (<10 min), re¬spectively. This is confusing and leads to contro¬versy about the level of fitness of youth in our country (Blair 1992). Further, there are gender dif¬ferences at each age for all tests, beginning at G years of age. The times for girls are 48 seconds or more greater (meaning that girls run more slowly and still pass) than boys at each age for each test (Wilkinson,Williamson, and Rozsdilsky 1996).
Careful consideration needs to be given to test selection, use, and interpretation. If we maintain separate, lower standards, the message we send to girls as young as G is this: Is girls' health less important than boys' health? Is there a biological reason to expect girls to perform more poorly when compared with boys? The answer to these questions is no. Prior to puberty, boys and girls are similar in ability, and their performance should be similar as should our expectations. The pass¬ing rates on the four tests are very different: FfTNESSGf2AM (84%), Physical Best (51 or 52%,), President's National (G3 or G5%), and Presidential Tests (21%), respectively (the passing percentage for boys is presented first; the passing percent¬age for girls is shown second, where there are dif¬ferences). By selecting the test, a teacher can ma¬nipulate the passing rate for all children. If we want to demonstrate that most of our students are fit, we should use the FITNESSGRAM. However, if we want to demonstrate a need for fitness, we should use the Presidential Test. Interpreting test results for students, parents, and administration must be done in terms of the test characteristics and the purpose of testing. Often, it is best on any test to compare scores for a particular child rather than to compare scores between children or to test cri¬teria alone. In this way, maintenance or improve¬ment, rather than awards and comparisons to highly variable standards, will be the focus of the discussion.
We must take care in the use of fitness training and testing, since there is no evidence that being fit or training for fitness actually "carries over" to adult physical activity. Tracking is a term used to describe whether a behavior or characteristic re¬mains constant across time. Unfortunately, no re¬lationship has been demonstrated between physi¬cal fitness as a child and adult fitness or activity (Bouchard, Shepard, and Stephens 1994). Further, school programs that train for fitness in children have had little success in maintaining fitness (or activity) levels once the program ended. There is little carry-over from during-school programs to out-of-school activity. Clearly, there are many chal¬lenges when planning and implementing a fitness program. The fact that there are challenges does not suggest that fitness is not important or valu¬able. However, the role of fitness and fitness test¬ing in physical education must be kept in perspec¬tive. The goal is maintaining good long-term health and providing a challenge for those students in¬terested in taking physical activity to the next level.
Labels: Physical Activity For Children
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Physical Fitness of Children
Several other fitness tests have emerged to com¬pete with the Presidential Test; among them were FITNESSGRAM and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD) Health Related Fitness Test. The Physical Best Program was developed by AAHPERD during the 1980s. This program has several levels of awards and suggested activities to train for fit¬ness during the year. Recently, FITNESSGRAM has included a computer program to track physical activity. (FITNESSGRAM and AC"I'IVITYGRAM are available from Human Kinetics Publishers and the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research.) The changes in fitness testing reflect a change in fit¬ness philosophy during the 1990s. That is, physi¬cally active lifestyles are for everyone and provide the most benefit to health, whereas physical fit¬ness is for some people and provides additional benefits with small additional risks.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM 1995) describes three components of physical fit¬ness: cardiovascular endurance, body composi¬tion, and musculoskeletal health (which includes flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance). The most documented benefit from fitness is that from cardiovascular fitness because it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Body composition ¬specifically, maintaining a healthy body weight and healthy percentage of body fat-also contributes to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, adult onset diabetes, and cancer. Flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance reduce lower back pain and increase posture, functional capacity, and the ability to conduct daily activities.
The cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance components of fitness translate directly into fitness tests and training activities (table 6.1). Body composition does not have specific activities but is positively influenced by the activities training the other components.
Three terms are used to describe fitness train¬ing, which can be remembered using the acronym FIT :
- Frequency-the number of training sessions per week
- Intensity-the percent of maximum for the training
- Time-the amount training in minutes or rep¬etitions, also called duration
To meet the minimum for aerobic training (car¬diovascular fitness), you must exercise (swim, jog, cycle) three days per week, for 20 minutes at your training heart rate. This is calculated by subtract¬ing your age from 220 and multiplying the result by .7. The most familiar training activities for muscle strength and endurance are sit ups or crunches, push-ups, chin-ups, and pull-ups, Weight training also contributes to muscle strength and endurance. Muscle strength and endurance train¬ing also require a frequency of three days per week. Muscle strength is the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce at one time. To train strength, the intensity is usually high (close to the maximum) and the time (repetitions) is low. Muscle endurance activities are low intensity (50 to 70 percent of maximum) and high time (three sets of 10 repetitions or more). Some activities are considered muscle endurance for one person and muscle strength for another. For example, a per¬son who can do 10 chin-ups is training muscle endurance, whereas the student who cannot quite do one chin-up is working on muscle strength. Flexibility, defined as the range of motion in a joint, is increased by low-intensity stretching with many repetitions, done three or more days per week. As you can see, one issue complicating physical fitness in elementary schools is that many programs do not allow enough time for physical education (e.g., days per week and time per day) to train fitness in children. Clearly, to do so, pro¬grams would need three days per week for approxi¬mately an hour each day to meet minimum fitness criteria.
One of the challenges facing teachers and schools is to help children develop the compe¬tence (e.g., skill and knowledge) and initiative to be responsible for their own fitness, beginning in childhood. The challenge results from two factors. First, time is needed to train for fitness. Typically, physical education-whether taught by a class¬room teacher or by a specialist-is not offered daily. Although daily physical education might be ideal, it is not common. Even with daily physical education, the time demand of physical fitness training reduces the time available for skill acqui¬sition. Second, the optimal situation is for children to assume responsibility for their own fitness. Adults must decide to train and to continue to train for fitness, and children can begin to learn this habit, with the goal of lifelong fitness becoming a self-responsibility. Some individuals will choose to be active rather than fit. Skill is a predictor of physically active lifestyles, though, so allocating physical education time to skill development is important. How do teachers decide how much time to allocate? This will be partially a personal choice; however, all children need to understand how to train for fitness and need to have a variety of exercises designed for them that will meet fit¬ness goals. Further, all children need skill to par¬ticipate in a variety of physical activities that can contribute to a physically active lifestyle. The re¬lationship among activity level, health risk, and fitness compared with physically active is dem¬onstrated in the physical activity continuum in fig¬ure 6.1.
Being physically active is a goal for everyone, whereas physical fitness is a goal for some. To provide safe and effective programs, teachers need to understand some of the differences in the ways in which children and adults experience ex¬ercise. Just as children grow, mature. and have skills that evolve with time and practice, their bodies change in other ways that cannot be di¬rectly observed.
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Recreational Sport Program Planning
Evaluation is a crucial component of the planning process of any well-managed organization. The planning process involves a number of steps or phases that can be modified for most management circumstances. The following planning process phases are offered for consideration:
A mission or vision of accomplishment. This is a statement of what should be accomplished and how this fits into the conceptual and philosophical view of the organization.
Overview of the situation. A managerial analysis of the conditions and complexities of the task that will serve as a guide to set realistic goals is necessary.
Specification of goals. Goals must be realistic, reasonable, challenging, achievable, and quantifiable when possible (e.g., to increase the number of students with disabilities in the program from 16 to 50 participants). Goals may be long range, inter-mediate, or short term in nature. Growth, profitability, client satisfaction, retention, and social awareness are examples of areas in which organizational goals might be established.
Identification of constraints. A description of the conditions and barriers that may hinder goal attainment, including alternative pathways toward goal attainment, should be outlined. Constraints may be human, technical, environmental, economic, or sociopolitical.
Identification of resources. Closely Linked to the development of any plan of action is the establishment of criteria for information gathering to assist in the generation of sound ideas. Research, consultants', and student and community input is vital to this phase.
The plan. For any plan to be effective, the manager needs to involve all the workers (human resources) who are necessary for its implementation. Clearly defined tasks and rules, job descriptions and expectations, how the parts relate to the whole timetables, cost, individual feelings, and direct input are vital to "The Plan.".
Evaluation. Evaluation techniques will differ but generally should include (1) definition of the program goals, (2) data collection (e.g., number of participants, number of teams, games played), (3) an appraisal of players, coaches, officials, game scores, facility utilization, etc., (4) recommendations from internal and external review groups, (5) consultant visitation, and (6) participant opinion and rating forms concerning the overall program.
On completion of the evaluation phase of the planning process, the recreational sports director and the program staff may want to revise, modify, or institute new programs to further meet the cognitive, psychomotor, sosiocultural, and affective demands of the population being served. The realization of the need for careful and prudent planning, as well as the total involvement of all recreational sport program participants, leads to sustained and successful programs
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Recreational Sport Considerations
The goal of having persons with disabilities participate in the least restrictive environment and to join the regular recreational sport program is challenging, to say the least. Programs such as "Special Friends" and "Unified Sports" (a program instituted by Special Olympics International) should also be included. Special populations' participation in sports days, play days, and invitational days, which have long been traditional extramural recreational sports activities endorsed by the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport, should also be encouraged.
At the college and university level, recreational sport managers should not forget the graduate student (many older students arc now returning to school), faculty and staff, and those individuals' families and significant others. Research suggests that an attractive recreational sport program assists in retaining and recruiting both faculty and students. Inclusion of significant others will contribute to sustained participation in physical activity throughout the lifespan. Certainly these are worthy considerations for all managers of both physical education and recreational sport to not only address, but to actively promote
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Competttive Structuring
Various types of tournament competition have been employed extensively in recreational sports; descriptions of some competitive tournament structures will be included here.
The round robin tournament is probably one of the most widely used and one of the best types of competitive structures, because it allows for maximal play. It is frequently used in leagues, where it works best with no more than eight teams. Each team plays every other team at least once during the tournament Each team continues to play to the completion of the tournament, and the winner is the one who has the highest percentage, based on wins and losses at the end of scheduled play (Figure 4-2, A).
The single or straight elimination tournament is set up so that one defeat eliminates a player or team (Figure 4-2, B and C) This structure does not allow for maximal play the winners continue to play, but the losers drop out. A team or individual is automatically out when it or he or she loses. However, this is the most economical form of organization from the standpoint of time in determining the winning player or team. Usually a drawing for positions takes place, with provisions for seeding the better players or teams on the basis of past performance. Such seeding provides more intense competition as the tournament moves toward the finals. Under such a structure, byes are awarded in the first round of play whenever the number of entrants does not fall into units to the power of two (i.e., 2, 4, 8, 16. 32, 64, etc.). The number of byes is determined by subtracting the number of entrants from the next higher power of two. Figure 4-2, B has 13 entrants (16-13 = 3 byes). Although such a tournament is a time saver, it possesses a flaw because it does not adequately select the second and third-place winners. The second or third best player may meet the best player, and eventual winner, in the first round of play, which often dampens the enthusiasm for the remaining games or matches in the tournament. An-other weakness is that the majority of participants play only once or twice in the tournament.
The double elimination tournament does not have some of the weaknesses of the single elimination, because it is necessary for a team or individual to lose twice before being eliminated. This is also characteristic of various types of consolation elimination tournaments that permit the player or team to play more than once.
In some consolation tournaments all players who lose in the first round and those who, because they received a bye, did not lose until the second round get to play again to determine a consolation winner. In other similar tournaments any player or team who loses once, regardless of the round in which the loss occurs, is allowed to play again. There are also other tournaments, such as the Mueller-Anderson Playback, in which the competitors continue to play until all places of finish have been determined in the tournament (see Figure 4-3, C) and the Bagnall-Wild Elimination Tournament (Figure 4-3, D), which is a form of single elimination tournament that focuses on more accurately selecting the second- and third-place finishers. The theory is that it is possible for the second or third best player to be eliminated in an early round by the eventual winner. In the Bagnall-Wild, the players eliminated by each finalist participate in separate consolation tournaments.
The ladder tournament (Figure 4-3, E) adapts well to individual competition. Here the contestants arc arranged in ladder, or vertical, formation, with rankings established arbitrarily or on the basis of previous performance. Each contestant may challenge the one directly above or in some cases two above, and if he or she wins, the names change place on the ladder. When a contestant loses to a challenger from below, he or she may not immediately re challenge the winner, but must accept another challenge from below. This is a continuous type of tournament that does not eliminate any participants. However, it is not ideal, because it may drag and interest may wane.
The pyramid tournament is similar to the ladder variety (Figure 4-4). Here, instead of having one name on a rung or step, several names arc on the lower steps, gradually pyramiding to the top-ranking individual. A player may challenge anyone in the same horizontal row, and then the winner may challenge anyone in the row above.
The spider web tournament takes its name from the bracket design, which is the shape of a spider's web (Figure 4-5). The championship position is at the center of the web. The bracket consists of five (or any other selected number) lines drawn radially from the center, and the participants' names arc placed on concentric lines crossing these radial lines. Challenges may be made by persons on any concerntric line to any person on the next line closer to the center. A player must defeat someone on his or her own level after losing a challenge in the immediate inner tier of the web. This tournament provides more opportunity for competitive activity.
The type of tournament structure adopted should be the one deemed best for the unit, group, activity, or local interests. The goal should be maximal participation within facility and time constraints. Tournaments encourage participant interest and enthusiasm and are an important part of the recreational sport experience.
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Recreational Sport Programs in the High School
Personnel for the conduct of recreational sport programs should be well-trained professionals. Sound, creative leadership is needed if the programs are to prosper. Each school should be concerned with developing a plan in which proper supervision and guidance are available for after school hours. Recreational sport clubs may be initiated to help train students to take an active role in the planning and conduct of the high school program. Qualified officials arc also a necessity to ensure safe, equal, and wholesome competition. Facilities, equipment, and supplies should be apportioned equitably for the entire recreational sport program. No part of any group or any program should monopolize facilities and equipment, and a cooperative effort of the school and community is crucial to having a first-class high school recreational sport program.
Recreational Sports in Colleges and Universities
College and university recreational sport programs offer an ideal setting for both men and women to participate in a wide range of physical activity." These activities range from individualized activity such as weight training to a full complement of team and individual sports, from co recreational endeavor to carnival or special event days and from aerobic dance to outdoor pursuit. The recreational sports center on a college or university campus is a place to rather, work out, and socialize, and should offer a wide range of physical activity for the entire university community. It is a place that can and should being a "sense of community" to the institution.
At this level, the fastest growing area of recreational sport programming endeavor is in sport clubs. These organizations provide participants with opportunities for high-level competition in many different activities. The University of Minnesota offers a wide range of opportunities that may be available for the college sport club participant (Table 4-I ). Many club sports ranging from skiing to rugby and from rowing to soccer sponsor national championship competitions.
Sport clubs, however, are only one component of the college and university recreational sport program. Intramurals (e.g., Competitive A, B, and C; recreational and core creational leagues), extramural, open recreation (e.g., fitness, aerobics, weight training, running), faculty and staff leagues, and even summer sport camps are integral parts of the contemporary college recreational sports scene. Activities for men, women, co recreational sport, graduated students, staff and faculty, family and guest participation. fitness assessments and counseling, and instructional activities are all delicately woven into the collegiate recreational sports endeavor (Table 4-2): Safety, health status, eligibility, and responsibility for the conduct of the program and funding and facilities continue to be the salient is-sues to be addressed by sound management.
At many colleges and universities, student involvement in the management process is integral and ranges from the formulation of recreational sport constitutions to officiating. Many colleges still structure much of their recreational sport programming around units such as residence halls and dormitories, the Greek system (fraternities and sororities), or academic departments, although the traditional practice of competitions between teams that are arbitrarily formed at registration under "labels" ranging from the Nerds to MASH still seem to permeate "reports" registration.
Recreational Sport Programs in Other Organizations
Recreational sport programs play a major role in many organization outside the educational domain. For example, in the corporate setting there are many recreational sport langue for employees in a variety of sports and other physical activities. In many instances softball diamonds, basketball and volleyball courts, jogging areas, platform and lawn tennis courts, swimming pools, fitness centers, and even golf courses are provided. In some instances, employees are compensated for joining nearby public-sector fitness clubs, and in other situations, businesses subcontract their recreational sport commitment to a private sector enterprise. Employees usually take an active role in these programs, which contribute much to their morale, health, and physical and mental well being; research attests to the increased work productivity and reduction of absenteeism.
Recreational sport programs may also he found in YMCA’s, Boys' Clubs, community centers, park and recreation districts, church organizations, military installations, and other youth and adult serving agencies. The NCAA and many sports federations such as those of golf and tennis are also beginning to sponsor inter-city youth programs. Recreational sports represent an important part of many organizations curricular and educational offerings.
The same types of' formats for structuring multi-dimensional and creative physical activity and sport competition employed in schools and colleges arc used in these non-school organizations.
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Recreational Sport Programs in the Elementary School
The program should be well structured, properly supervised and managed by the school's physical education teachers, and "student-run." Challenges by homeroom, grade, neighborhood, academic interest area, or school club are often used as motivators for maximal student participation. Weekends, lunch hours, and special event days featuring faculty challenges should not be overlooked as a means of build-ing school pride, as well as healthful, whole some, physically active lifestyles which, it is hoped, will carry over into adulthood. The program should also be "open" to all students with any type of special need regardless of disability or physical limitation, and provision should be made for "inclusion versus exclusion."
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Policies And Procedures For Organization and Management
Policies and procedures for recreational sports should be developed in at least the following areas student involvement in program organization and management, health and welfare of all participants, activities that meet the interests and needs of the participants, officiating, protests, eligibility standards, fees, forfeits, postponements, point systems, and awards. Policies and procedures concerning user groups, guest fees, rental structure, noise, food consumption, key control, equipment control, and facility use should also be on record. The health and safety of the participants must be a top priority, and policies concerning emergency procedure, should be well publicized.
MANAGEMENT CONCERNS IN K-12 SCHOOLS
The management of recreational sports at the elementary, junior high or middle, and secondary school levels presents some problems that are peculiar to these programs. Whereas in many colleges and universities students live in dormitories and on campus, this is not the case in K-12 systems. Sonic students have to work after school or catch a bus to take them home and cannot stay after school to participate in recreational sports, whereas college students more often are able to participate because they are not faced with such a problem, at least in institutions with dormitory living. Also, many times the parents of elementary, junior high or middle, and secondary school students do not see the value of recreational sports and so do not encourage their children to participate after school. College students, on the other hand, make their own decisions in most cases. Another problem faced by managers of K-12 recreational programs is the lack of facilities. Most schools have limited gymnasium and out-door space. Varsity sports are often given priority in the use of these facilities, which causes a hardship on the recreational sports program. The question of financial and human resource support also exists in many schools.
In light of these problems managers of school recreational sport programs need to be creative "hen trying to initiate such programs. Some schools, for example, use community parks and centers, YWCA swimming pools, and Boys' Clubs to provide facilities that meet the programmatic needs of their students.'
MANAGEMENT CONCERNS FOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Recreational sport has grown so large on the college campus that it presents a different pattern of concerns and challenges than that of the school setting. It is estimated that 40% to 8096 of most college students participate in recreational sports. Despite this increase in participation, finances remain a prime concern. Most programs' primary sources of revenue are institutional funds and student fees. A trend in decrease of institutional funding has challenged many programs to create alternative sources of funding (e.g., opening facilities to the public, providing instructional classes, operating sport camps).
Facility development, however, remains alive and well-one just has to visit Central Michigan University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Vanderbilt University, or the Universities of Minnesota, Illinois, or Arizona to mention a few that have in-vested in architectural showcase facilities. Further-more, with the development of new and refurbished facilities there are myriad opportunities for qualified and well-trained professionals to provide leadership in recreational sport management.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
The organization of a recreational sports program involves selecting activities, scheduling, determining eligibility, establishing awards and point systems, maintaining records, planning health examinations, financing, and directing publicity and promotion.
Activities. The activities constituting the recreational sports program determine the amount of resulting participation. It is therefore important to select the most appropriate activities. The following are recommended management guidelines that will help in selecting activities.
- Activities should be selected in accordance with the season of the year and local conditions and influences.
- Activities should reflect the needs and interests of the students or the members of the organization. These may include faculty and staff.
- Coeducational recreational activities and recreational activities for students with varying disabilities should be provided.
- The activities included in the school physical education program should be coordinated with the activities included in the recreational spurts program, which could serve as a laboratory experience for physical education.
- Many desirable activities require little special equipment and do not require long periods of training to get the participant in appropriate playing condition.
- Consideration should be given to such recreational activities as field trips, dramatics, hiking, camping, bicycling, orienteering, and other out-door pursuit activities.
- Activities should be selected with special attention to the ability and safety of the participant.
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Management Personnel
The Director
Many larger schools, colleges, corporations, and other organizations have established the position of director of recreational sports. In some cases other titles arc used. The director is responsible for establishing programs, securing adequate funding, involving the community, and evaluating the success of the program. Some of the more specific duties of the director include planning programs; organizing tournaments and other forms of competition; supervising the maintenance of facilities, equipment, and supplies; attending and planning sports council meetings; interpreting the program to the member-ship, the management, and the public in general; supervising the program in action; preparing budget; and evaluating the worth of the program.
Place in management structure. The director or person in charge of recreational sports in an elementary, junior high, middle, or secondary school is usually responsible to the director of physical education or athletics. In some cases, not all of these various components are under the same department.
At small colleges the recreational sports department might also fall under the control of a director of physical education or athletics and in sonic in-stances a student activities director. These program administrators usually appoint one person to man-age the entire campus recreational sports program of which intramurals, extramural, and sports club activities are integral parts. In many cases partial responsibility for recreational sports activities is delegated to students themselves.
In larger colleges and universities, recreational sports departments maintain separate divisions, receiving consideration along with the physical education or athletic divisions concerning staff members, finances, facilities, equipment, supplies, and other departmental essentials. The department is usually headed by a director well schooled in physical education and sport or recreation management. Working with the director (when conditions warrant) should be assistant and associate directors, supervisors, student managers, and other staff members as needed, depending on the size of the organization. There should also be an adequate number of trained officials and support staff.
Student Leaders
Student involvement in all phases of education has been steadily increasing. Involvement in the management of recreational sports has been happening in high schools and on college campuses since the 1850s. Roles of student leaders may range from serving as board members to being managers, office assistants, and officials. For example, many colleges have "drop-in" centers where student supervisors are available to establish programs, reserve equipment, and arrange additional hours for the gymnasium or swimming pool. Some schools have student managers who also supervise recreational sports activities.
Student Directors and Unit Managers
In some school programs the director of recreation al sports appoints an upper-level student who has been involved with the program to be student director. This student director may have such responsibilities as contacting officials, working with managers, is-suing supplies, and scheduling.
Student unit managers have an important responsibility because they are in charge of a particular sport or activity. They usually work closely with the team captains and manage supplies and equipment, team rosters, and entry sheets, and notify teams of the time and date of contests, as well as clarifying eligibility rules.
Recreational Sports Council Members
An important feature of the overall management of a recreational sports program is a recreation sports council, which is usually an elected body with representatives from the participants, central ad-ministration, and recreational sports staff. The council is influential in establishing policy and practices for a broad recreational sports program. The council assists and advises the person in charge, as well as the staff numbers. In some cases it plays an important role in the decision-making process.
Councils usually consist of representatives from the various participating units who disseminate information to the participating teams or individual membership. The council also helps make decisions about program operation and serves as a sounding board for ways in which the program may be improved.
Officials
Excellent officials arc necessary for a quality recreational sports program. They should have special qualifications, including knowledge of the activity, the participants, the goals of the program, and the organization’s philosophy of competition. Some of the responsibilities of the managers of the recreational sports program are to find sources for competent officials and then to recruit, select, and train them so that they enhance the program. Some of the duties performed by officials arc to have game equipment read, before the contest, see that accurate score sheets are prepared, check for any safety hazards, prepare accident report if needed, and officiate the game or activity objectively and impartially. Some institutions put officials through training sessions, supervise them during the playing season, and evaluate their performance after the season is over. Whereas most colleges pay their officials, elementary and secondary schools usually do not have the budget to provide compensation. Many schools seek voluntary help from students, staff, parents, and community workers. At the same time it is recognized that these volunteers also need close supervision and should be offered some in-service training.
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Relation To Basic Instructional and Highly Organized Athletic Programs
The basic instructional program in physical education is viewed by many physical educators as the foundation for recreational and competitive sport programs. The instructional program includes teaching such fundamentals as skills, concepts, and strategies. Recreational sports programs provide opportunities for all students and others to employ these concepts, skills, and strategies in games and contests that are usually competitive. This part of the total Physical Activity and Sport Continuum is sometimes referred to as the laboratory where the individual has an opportunity to experiment and test what has been learned in the physical education program.
Whereas recreational sports are for everyone, varsity sports are usually for those individuals who are highly skilled in sport-specific activities. The intramural phase of the recreational sports program is conducted on an intra-institutional basis, whereas varsity sports and extramural are conducted on an inter-institutional basis.
Very little conflict should exist between these two phases of the sports program if the facilities, time, personnel, finance, and other factors arc apportioned according to the degree to which each phase achieves the desired outcome rather than the degree of public appeal and interest stimulated. One should not be designed as a training ground for the other. it should be possible for a person to move from one phase to the other, but this should be incidental rather than planned.
If conducted properly, each phase of the program can contribute to the other, and through an overall, well-balanced sports program the entire student body or all members of an organization will gain appreciation for sport and the great potential it has for improving physical, mental, psychosocial, and emotional growth.
The philosophical model illustrated the placement of recreational sports within the province of physical activity. This triangular model depicted interdependence and a building of skills from the basic instructional physical education level to the recreational sports level and, finally, to the level of varsity competition. This model conveyed the philosophy that instruction is basic to
the other programs and that recreational sports skills are essential to producing the high-level skills found in varsity play.
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Recretional Sports Programs
The objectives of recreational sports programs are an indication of why such programs have expanded greatly throughout the country. These objectives are compatible with the overall objectives of physical education and also with those of education in general.
The objectives of the programs may be classified under four headings: (1) health, (2) skill, (3) psychosocial development, and (4) recreation.
Health
Recreational sports activities contribute to the physical, social, and emotional health of the individual. They contribute to physical health through participation in activities offering healthful exercise. Such characteristics as muscular strength, agility, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, speed, and body control are developed. They contribute to psychosocial health through group participation and working toward achievement of group goals. Participation also contributes to emotional health by helping a person achieve self-confidence and improve his or her self-concept.
Skill. Recreational sports activities offer the opportunity for every individual to display and develop his or her skills in various physical education activities. Through specialization and voluntary participation they offer individuals the opportunity to excel and to experience the thrill of competition. It is generally agreed the an individual enjoys activities in which he or she has developed skill. Participation in recreational sports offers the opportunity to develop proficiency in group activities in which each person is grouped according to skill, thus providing for equality of competition, which helps guarantee greater success and enjoyment. These programs also enable many persons to spend leisure time profitably and happily.
Psychosocial development. Opportunities for psychosocial development are numerous in recreational sport activities. Through many social contacts, coeducational experiences, and playing on and against other teams, desirable qualities are developed. Individuals learn to subordinate their desires to the will of the group and to develop sportsmanship; they also learn fair play, courage, cooperation, group loyalty, social poise, and other desirable traits. Participation in such a program is voluntary, and people who desire to play under such conditions will do so by group codes of conduct. These experiences offer training for citizenship, adult living, and human relations.
Recreation.
Recreational sports programs help develop an interest in many sports and physical education activities; this interest carries over into adult living and provides the basis for many happy leisure hours. These programs also provide excellent recreational activities and support groups during school days, when idle moments have the potential to foster less than desirable behavior.
Labels: Recretional Sports
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Monday, October 26, 2009
Reducing Inequalities in Pupils' Psychological Outcomes
How may teachers prevent the development of self-fulfilling prophecies and thus create more equal possibilities for all pupils to experience positive psychological outcomes from P.E. Empirical research shims that creating a mastery-oriented climate in P.E. would be helpful. For example, Martinek and Karper (19S4) and, more recently, Papaioannou (1995) examined differences in teacher-pupil interactions and treatment of high and low ability pupils in P.E. They found that teachers' behavior in favor of high achievers occurred more often in a motivational climate characterized as ego/performance oriented. In contrast, in a task-oriented motivational climate, teachers' behavior indicating positive expectations for low achievers was observed more frequently.
Why should a task-oriented motivational climate be of particular importance for reducing inequalities in psychological outcomes for sloops pupils' Papaioanrou (1995)proposed interesting explanation by arguing that a teacher's different behaviors Howard’s high and low achievers focuses pupils' attention on issues of ability rather than on how to master the task. Thus, a positive relationship should exist between an ego/ performance oriented motivational climate and teachers' differential treatment toward high and low achievers. When an ego/performance oriented climate prevails, ability is valued most in the class. In this case, only pupils with high normatif ability are rewarded. In contrast, when the P.E. motivational climate is predominantly task oriented, issues of normatif e ability irrelevant. Then, differential treatment of low and high achievers becomes irrelevant as well.
To sum up, research seems to support the view that the PE. context, though differential teacher expectations, may create unequal opportunities concerning psychological outcomes of pupil subgroups. Encouraging evidence shows, however, that be promoting a task-oriented motivational climate, such unintended inequalities and a negative P.E. hidden curriculum can be prevented. A task-oriented motivational class climate may more easily benefit all pupils' intrinsic motivation and involvement. This may be attributed to the fact that when a task-oriented climate prevails, equality in communication and interest for all pupils, independent of their achievement characteristics, would possibly dominate.
Labels: Physical Outcomes
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