Activity in Motion

 This is experiential learning at its best. With upwards of 40 preschool aged children playing the gym at Brock this past week, students were able to put their theory into action. Physical Education professor Dr. Nancy Francis teaches an “Active living through the lifespan” course in which students study a different population every week in order to become educated about quality physical activity programs. “In this week’s lab students learn and experience the nature of the preschool child and the characteristics of children in their early years” says Francis.

With a research focus on curricular development for physical literacy, Francis, like her students, has the ability to apply an assortment of teaching methodologies to execute effective, inclusive pedagogy for diverse populations in an array of movement contexts.

Focusing on the experiential aspects of learning, students are able to apply their knowledge to real populations and test out what they have learned in class. This course introduces students to activity programming from preschool aged children, all the way to seniors with dementia.

“You can sit in a classroom and listen to a professor tell you about working with all the different age groups, but until you actually engage with the different age groups you really don’t have the same experience” explains senior Physical Education student Danielle Mahler, “It really shows us how each child is different in their development, and teaches you how to teach the same skills in a variety of ways”.

 As a precursor to their future careers, this class enables students to discover the age group that really sparks their interest and ignites a passion. Furthermore, the students have an opportunity to make a genuine impact on the populations from the community.

“I want to be a teacher one day and this atmosphere allows me to interact with children at this age and help promote an active lifestyle”, said fourth year Physical Education student Cam MacLaughlan. “Teachers have to make their own programs and this introduces me to developing programs for different age groups, and opens my mind to the options that are available”.

The final assignment of the course requires students to develop a unique program for a specific population of their choosing. Having been exposed to the various populations gives students the practice and experience to accomplish this.

Maria Shany, the assistant executive director at the Rosalind Blauer Centre for Child Care commented that “this is a fun activity for the children to participate in; it helps them to develop their gross motor program, and this environment exposes the children to activities, equipment and space that are not available in our facilities.