10-year partnership benefits public schools , UK Kinesiology and Health Promotion
A 10-year partnership has generated a vibrant give-and-take cycle that benefits students and physical education staff in Fayette County Public Schools and in the University of Kentucky College of Education ’ s Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion . By exchanging ideas Beighle and practicing new approaches , both sides benefit from a perpetual stream of innovative classroom strategies .
Last year , the UK team collaborated with the physical education / health teachers at Rosa Parks , Stonewall and Southern elementaries . They gathered data via accelerometers , Fitbits and pedometers . Dr . Aaron Beighle , an associate professor in UK ’ s College of Education , also videotaped physical education classes to study the children ’ s levels of physical activity and the teachers ’ group-management efficiency . For instance , one goal is to streamline verbal instruction so the students spend more time in motion . “ We hope to show that some of the behaviors we ’ re teaching are working and to take this information back and put it into the training we do ,” Beighle said .
In the community partnership , UK offers quarterly professional development sessions ( PD ) for the school district ’ s physical education / health instructors in grades K-12 . The topics relate directly to the common curriculum ’ s upcoming series of lessons . “ It ’ s the baseline we work off of . We ’ re on the same page , and we ’ re building the same types of skills . The idea is to make exercise fun for a lifetime ,” said Rosa Parks ’ Billy Noble , who also serves as the district-wide content leader for health and physical education . Noble finds helpful elements in the dynamic PD sessions and in the occasional breakouts on specific health issues . He also appreciates how the curriculum ensures continuity as a student progresses from elementary to middle to high school , and especially in cases of school transfers . “ They ’ re not overlapping and doing the same content again ,” he noted .
Beighle stopped by Rosa Parks one day recently to monitor Noble ’ s classes and collect data for the UK study . During a 55-minute period with fifthgraders , Noble led the charge through a half-dozen exercises and games with little wasted motion or excess words . The students also arranged themselves quickly when he called out for pairs or teams of five , and they dashed to pick up equipment for the next activity with minimal transition time . Noble paused occasionally to ask about their teamwork efforts and praise their spirit of cooperation . He also reminded students how those factors lead to success as they lined up outside the gym for their next class . Then , with no break , Noble welcomed another group and repeated the circuit .
“ A big push is how much are the kids moving versus me talking . We see them so little ( in a six-day rotation of special classes ), we ’ re trying to increase that activity time ,” Noble said .
Beighle , co-author of “ Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children ,” periodically revises his widely used curriculum based on what his research indicates works best . “ I spend a lot of time in schools , and it ’ s essential we do that . We can ’ t do what we do without these teachers ,” he said . “ It helps us inform how we train teachers as well . It just keeps getting better and better .”
out words like resistance , architecture , lurk and selfabsorbed through Word Jam . They also jogged in place , danced , and sang along to a catchy video called “ Pop See Koo .”
“ We chose this as our platform because it ’ s very interactive for kids ,” Fedewa said of GoNoodle . Two schools are assigned to the free version , and two can access the Plus version , which UK pays for . The former is pure movement – unrelated to instruction . The plus version allows teachers to customize activities with their own class content . For example , Livingood ’ s students use their arms and motions to present spelling words .
“ We ’ re really curious if there ’ s any difference in those breaks ,” Fedewa added .
Livingood said her students look forward to the action . “ I have a lot of kinesthetic learners , and GoNoodle is a great way to keep them engaged and motivated throughout the day ,” she said . “ It promotes a healthy , fun classroom environment . Research has proven that if kids can get up and get involved , then they learn better . It also helps get the wiggles out . You don ’ t even have to leave the classroom . You just pull it up on the SMART Board , and then you can get refocused and back into the lesson .”
Fedewa is optimistic about this round of studies in Fayette County Public Schools , saying , “ We are predicting , based on prior research , that the more movement the children have , we will see gains in achievement and better behavior .”
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