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WANTING
TO EXERCISE VS HAVING TO EXERCISE
Written
by: Don
Peterson, Lynn
Glover-Stanley, Patrick
Wempe, Carrie
Barber -- Henderson State University
Teachers have long known that children
are more likely to be intrinsically
motivated to learn at the age of six
than at the age of twelve. The purpose
of this paper is to serve as an advocate
for teachers, parents, and children
who lament this transition.
One of the most respected advocates
for re-infusing intrinsic motivation
into the teaching-learning process is
author, philosopher Mihalyi
Csikzentmihalyi 1.
Csikzentmihalyi’s
Flow has received much attention
for its potential application in the
areas of sports, business, and psychology,
yet the concept has received marginal
attention by educators. Most teachers
know the value of intrinsic motivation
to the teaching-learning process, and
most search for ways to insert it into
their lesson plans. When children engage
in the learning process because they
enjoy the process of learning (enjoy
the doing as Dewey might say),
children learn more effectively; further,
the extrinsic rewards of learning become
less important. As Csikzentmihalyi explains,
“… psychological theories
usually assume that we are motivated
either by the need to eliminate an unpleasant
condition like hunger or fear, or by
the expectation of some future reward
such as money, status, or prestige.
The idea that a person could work around
the clock for days on end, for no better
reason than to keep on working, lacked
credibility.” (Csikzentmihalyi,
1994)
No
Child Left Behind exemplifies
an educational system rooted in extrinsic
motivation. The teaching-learning process
is measured and rewarded by test scores.
We believe there is a pressing need
to develop an educational system where
teaching is an art, not a commodity,
and students learn because learning
is fun. As Csikzentmihalyi notes, “…teachers
intuitively know that the best way to
achieve their goals is to enlist students’
interest on their side. They do this
by being sensitive to students' goals
and desires, and they are thus able
to articulate the pedagogical
goals as meaningful challenges. They
empower students to take control of
their learning; they provide clear feedback
to the students' efforts without threatening
their egos and without making them self-conscious.
They help students concentrate and get
immersed in the symbolic world of the
subject matter. As a result, good teachers
still turn out children who enjoy learning
and who will continue to face the world
with curiosity and interest (Dickey
2002).”
There is a great need to develop physical
education teaching strategies which
focus more on intrinsic motivation than
is currently the case. Teaching children
to want to exercise is the key to increasing
physical activity levels throughout
the lifespan.
Mihalyi Csikzentmihalyi’s research
offers physical educators’ valuable
insights which can be incorporated into
their daily lesson plans. The premise
is simple. We know all living creatures
respond to pain and pleasure. We also
know these same creatures repeat behaviors
that result in pleasure and avoid those
that result in pain or discomfort. To
be precise, children will repeat behaviors
they enjoy and avoid those which cause
pain or discomfort. It is important
to develop programs which address this
simple truth. Attitudes toward physical
activity and exercise learned in childhood
directly impact adult activity levels
and lifestyles. Forcing children to
exercise is counterintuitive if the
goal is to have them become physically
active adults.
Many physical educators are already
teaching children to want to exercise
by infusing flow (herein also known
as enjoyment, fun, and intrinsic motivation)
into daily physical education classes.
They understand that, ultimately, the
most powerful justification for daily
physical education classes in K-12 schools
will be measured as a function of healthy
adult lifestyles.
The premise of this paper is: “Force
children to exercise, and you may make
them fit for now. Teach children to
want to exercise, and you have made
them fit forever.”
Physical education has a critical role
in shaping attitudes that impact the
development of healthy patterns of physical
activity over the lifespan. Sallis et
al. (1999) has written; “…
enjoying PE class was one of the strongest
and most consistent correlates …[and]
is related to physical activity out
of school.” Supporting this conclusion,
Grunbaum et al. (2004) states, “…
[enjoyment] could help prevent the large
decline in physical activity levels
that occurs during the middle school
and high school years. “…
schools focused on fun and enjoyment
can impact the way kids approach physical
activity and exercise outside the classroom”
( Dishman 2005).
The Good News
Physical Education is poised to take
advantage of a groundswell of support
from parents, politicians, students,
and advocacy groups to add daily physical
education to the K-12 curricula. The
American Heart Association; American
Cancer Association; American Diabetes
Association; National Association of
Sport and Physical Education (NASPE);
National Association of School Boards
of Education (NASBE); Center for Disease
Control (CDC) and the National Institute
of Medicine (NITM), American Academy
of Pediatrics, PTA … all recommend
a minimum of 2 ½ hrs of PE per
week for grades 1-6 and 2 ¾ hrs
of PE per week for both middle and high
school students. In addition, all recommend
PE classes be taught by certified physical
education teachers (SHPPS
2006).
There is also overwhelming support
from parents and students for expanding
the role of physical education in school
curricula. A NASPE (2003) study reports
that 95% of parents think daily PE helps
children do better academically; 61%
think PE is as important as science
(11% think it is more important); 56%
say PE is as important as math; and
54% say PE is as important as English,
and all think it will improve their
children’s health.
Another encouraging development is
the percentage of states which required
newly hired staff who teach elementary
school physical education to have undergraduate
or graduate training in physical education
has increased from 51% in 2000 to 65%
in 2006 (SHPPS
2006).
The Bad News
Incredibly, according to a CDC’s
School Health Policies and Programs
Study (SHPPS,
2006), only 4% of elementary
schools, 8% of middle schools, and 2%
of high schools provide daily physical
education for all grades for the entire
school year. Overall, 22% of schools
did not require students to take any
physical education… this comes
at a time when the percent of children
overweight or obese has more than doubled
in the last 30 years.
Not only are schools failing to offer
daily physical education, but the results
of a 2003 NASPE study suggests “teen
attitudes” toward PE need to be
addressed. When asked what they like
and dislike about PE, only 20% of teens
reported enjoying the opportunity to
exercise, 18% said they enjoyed getting
fit, 16% said they enjoyed it because
of the activities offered, 13% say they
don’t like PE because of the running,
9% say PE is boring, 7% don’t
like dressing/undressing for class…
and most disconcerting… only 16%
said they like PE because it is fun.
The Challenge to Physical education
The immediate challenge is to increase
the number of K-12 schools offering
daily physical education. There will
be strong (acrimonious) opposition to
lengthening the school day or re-allocating
time for physical education time currently
allotted to other disciplines.
A second challenge is to offer physical
education classes rooted in the goals
of the national standards movements
which lead to “…physically
educated individuals who have the knowledge,
skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime
of healthful physical activity”
(NASPE 2003).
The Csikszentmihalyi Solution
Physical educators are urged to explore
the full potential of Csikszentmihalyi’s
research and infuse it into their classes
as they, “…move away from
team sports; highly competitive activities;
laps and calisthenics” (NASPE
2003).
Biography
1
To listen to Csikszentmihalyi
in his own words go to: Csikszentmihalyi
or copy/paste into your browser http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html
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