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Active Bodies, Healthy Minds

PED-909
3 Credits
Online
4.79/5.00
PED-909
3 Credits
Online
4.79/5.00

What is the Active Bodies, Healthy Minds course?

Teachers will be provided a wealth of information and practical activities for movement-supported learning. Educators will earn 3 graduate-level PD units. Take up to one year to complete this online course!

Who is Active Bodies, Healthy Minds online course for?

This physical education online professional development course is for PE and classroom teachers, grades K-12, who want to help their students become physically fit and in turn, active learners. Recent studies provide compelling evidence that the physical well-being of students has a direct impact on their ability to achieve academically. Research supports the idea that quality daily physical activity can be a factor in improved overall learning. Physical exercises such as spinning, crawling, rolling, tumbling, swinging, and jumping strengthen those areas of the brain that are related to mental concentration, planning, and decision making while aerobic activity seems to assist in memory.

What will you learn in this online PD course for coaches and PE teachers?

The textbook introduces you to 66 activities and games and shows you how to easily modify and extend those to create numerous additional games. Learn techniques to create an endless supply of brain-compatible physical activities while helping your students build cognition, health-related fitness and physical skills. In each activity, students are put in situations where they have to think critically—they learn how to think while they have fun moving. This movement–learning relationship is bolstered by research showing that movement enhances comprehension.

Other topics covered include:

  • Creating lesson plans
  • Activity projects
  • Integrating a thinking curriculum
  • Student-centered teaching style

National Standards

This course is designed to meet the objectives identified in the SHAPE Standards. These national standards are embedded in the activities of the course. Participants will be asked to make connections between their work and these standards or the standards of their own states. The curriculum is aligned with two national standards:

  • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
  • SHAPE America's National PE Standards

The required book must be acquired separately.

This course is applicable towards the Physical Education Teaching Certificate.

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Anita Young

Instructor
My family emigrated to America from Holland when I was nine. My siblings and I were active in many sports and excelled in them while we were learning English. In college, I chose to study to be a teacher and imitate the teachers who had given me confidence and direction. I have been a teacher for 30+ years and have taught all levels and many teachers. I find that passionate teachers are invested in their students' learning as much as in their subject. One of my fondest memories is a parent who told me that her son had chosen to be a pastor and credited me with inspiring him to serve. After sharing my faith testimony with my 9th graders, their responses were that I should speak in chapel; then they organized themselves to clean up the campus to show an example of Christ-like leadership. Some of the finest compliments ever given me were the student teachers assigned to me from Fresno State after my students had repeatedly scored the highest in the district on the STAR tests. Through Fresno Pacific, I get to work with teachers and share their experiences and stories.