GET UP, GET MOVING, AND GET LEARNING!

Exciting Resources Help Teachers Promote Active Learning

written by Deborah Fast, Fizika Group

"We need to show kids it's important to get active," says Sue Massucci, principal of Holland Elementary School in Taylor, Michigan. "Getting active will help them become more physically fit, and will also make their brains more active."

This conviction led Massucci to embrace the EPEC curriculum (Exemplary Physical Education Curriculum) and its complementary products developed by the Michigan Fitness Foundation that give teachers and administrators the tools they need to foster "Active Learning" in their schools. "I felt it would be wonderful," she says of the introduction at a principals' meeting in spring 2009. "Video games, television and so many things keep kids sitting. They need to get up and get their bodies moving."

An Active Learning approach is based on the understanding, supported by increasing research, that quality physical education as well as physical activity in the classroom can play a significant role in enhancing learning and improving students' academic achievement. In a program called "PE-Nut" (physical education and nutrition education working together) EPEC is combined with classroom resources (i.e., Fit Bits and Healthy Classrooms, Healthy Schools) in a whole-school approach, involving physical educators, classroom teachers, students, administrators and even parents.

EPEC itself is a standards based curriculum, with a strong assessment component, geared to teach students lifelong skills. Fit Bits are dynamic activity breaks for the classroom, infused with nutrition and personal/social themes. The Healthy Classrooms, Healthy Schools set of resources helps every classroom become an environment where students can learn and practice healthy eating and physical activity habits. HCHS features healthy snack ideas and recipes, letters to families, school-wide nutrition announcements and a support CD.

Adam Brown, PE teacher at Holland Elementary, is in his second year of using the EPEC curriculum. Brown was actually introduced to EPEC while studying at university, where professors encouraged him to take a look at the curriculum. "It's very appealing for a new teacher; you couldn't ask for a better resource," explains Brown.

"EPEC is laid out with hundreds of lessons that are developed by master PE teachers and mirror national standards and benchmarks. The lessons are developmentally appropriate, and are laid out in a way that a new teacher could open the EPEC box on the first day of school and follow right along the whole year. Each skill and activity comes with assessment rubrics and step by step instructions with color posters and a CD with animated demonstrations."

"EPEC aligns with my approach to PE," says Brown. "I really focus on the acquisition of skills at an elementary level so that the students are prepared moving forward with their education. I have taught at the secondary level, and they tend to focus more on physical fitness and game play, so with a solid skill base I feel my students will be well prepared. EPEC also comes with assessment rubrics which has made tracking student progress fairly easy, and allows me to change teaching techniques if my students are not progressing."

"While the EPEC curriculum includes a lot of information, as well as complete lesson plans, it can also be used as a supplement to existing lessons, providing detailed content for a specific skill," says Brown. "EPEC is an outstanding resource to brush up on skill breakdowns and for new lesson ideas."

Brown also supports the use of Fit Bits and Healthy Classrooms, Healthy Schools by classroom teachers. "Daily physical education combined with classroom activity will help kids learn better, and have positive attitudes in the gym and in the classroom. Diet is also so important; many students don't have the energy they need to get through the day and to be physically active. The Fit Bits provide a nice break in the action for classroom teachers, and HCHS helps infuse healthy nutrition practices into the classroom.

Making Healthy Choices
Massucci points out that these resources, particularly Healthy Classrooms, Healthy Schools, are teaching students to make healthy choices. "We need to help kids see the reasons for making these choices. And it carries over into their homes," she explains.

HCHS promotes healthy snacks in the classroom, for example, "which changes thought patterns," says Massucci. And she observes changes in behavior in the cafeteria as well: "Kids are trying new things, like broccoli and carrots with dip and fresh fruit. It's positive peer pressure - which is better received than Mom serving it!"

Massucci enthusiastically recommends EPEC and related resources to other schools. "People fear the time constraints involved," she explains, "But I tell them, 'You need to fit this into your program!'"

For more information about any of these resources, contact us at info@fizikagroup.com or visit our website at http://www.fizikagroup.com/

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