This course will expose students to the study of yoga. Yoga uses bodily postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation (dyna) with the goal of bringing about a sound healthy body, and a clear peaceful mind.
This course is a continuation into the study of yoga and will cover more in-depth the history, Sanskrit terminology, philosophy and movements appropriate for the intermediate yoga practitioner.
This course introduces the fundamentals and principles of the classical Pilates method of exercise. Students will focus on proper breathing techniques and will learn proper form and execution of all exercises to strengthen the core. Students will be introduced to using bands and Pilates rings.
This course will focus on breathing and spinal alignment while improving strength, precision and flow of the Pilates principles. Various props such as flex bands and Pilates rings will be used to enhance and intensify the Pilates workout.
This course will focus on developing cardiovascular fitness and general strength through a variety of exercises and conditioning methods. Students will learn proper technique and exercise variations on equipment such as stability balls, dumbbells, foam pads, medicine balls, and BOSU balls. Students will develop their own personal fitness and learn how to vary intensity based on changing resistance, duration and rest intervals.
This course is for students desiring to reach and maintain optimal levels of fitness. Specifically, the student will be introduced to a variety of aerobic equipment, including treadmill, climber, rower, elliptical trainer, recumbent, and upright bicycle ergometers. Students will learn safe and proper use of the equipment and how to vary resistance, duration, and rest intervals in planning a personal training program based on one's individual capacity.
With specially designed poles and easy-to-learn techniques, students will learn how to exercise every major muscle with each stride. Students will enjoy the safety, simplicity, and convenience of walking, and the total body fitness benefits of what experts call the world's best exercise, "cross-country skiing"- all year round.
This course investigates the value of fitness in daily life and its effect on total wellness. Through lecture, discussion, and laboratory experiences, students will acquire a general understanding of fitness principles according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines. Specifically, students will assess their current fitness levels and health behaviors, set health goals based on strengths and weaknesses, and devise a realistic plan to achieve this goal. In correlation to fitness and performance, students will also explore related content areas of nutrition, sleep, stress, disease prevention, weight management, and injury prevention.
This course is designed to improve health and fitness through training of the whole body. Training of the muscular, skeletal and nervous systems using the three energy systems of the body will be addressed. Students will be exposed to methodology of training that will include exercise: mode or type, frequency, intensity, volume, proper periodization and programming.
This course will focus on developing core strength through a variety of exercises. Core strength includes abdominals, postural muscles, balance and the posterior chain. Students will be exposed to different exercise equipment such as stability balls, dumbbells, medicine balls, and BOSU balls. Students will develop their own personal core strength, and learn the muscle groups targeted by each exercise. Students will also learn safety techniques, variations of each exercise, proper form and the importance of core strength.
Participants in the course will learn practical self-defense strategies and tactics designed to overcome modern day threats and assailants. Students will identify risks of personal safety; become aware of risk-reduction strategies; learn physical self-defense techniques and increase their technique skills through practice and study. This class offers a basic education of confrontation principles and personal defense. The program ranges from awareness, risk reduction, and avoidance, to basic physical defense.
This course offers a simplistic but quick-paced education on confrontation principles and personal defense. Students will learn about awareness, risk reduction, and avoidance, to basic physical defense. This course will also instruct students on the use of improvised weapons to get out of dangerous situations against a trained attacker.
This course will focus on developing cardiovascular fitness and general strength through a variety of different types of aerobic dance. Aerobic dance is a combination of traditional exercise movements combined with dance steps. For example, high knee running, grapevines, v-steps, ham curls and jumping jacks. Students will develop their own personal fitness and learn how to vary intensity based on changing resistance, duration, and rest intervals.
This course is designed to provide students with a foundational knowledge base of basic dance skills and concepts used in many recreational dance forms. Students will learn and perform a variety of line, contra and social dances as well as dance used in fitness such as Zumba, Pilates and Yoga. They will also be introduced to the history and culture of the dance forms. Movement concepts, locomotor skills and rhythmic activities will also be introduced. This course is a prerequisite for PED-3025 Enhancing Cultural Awareness Through Dance.
This course combines step aerobics and strength training, specifically designed to improve both muscular strength and cardio-respiratory endurance, and provides the opportunity to exercise throughout the entire semester with some variety. See PED-1310 and PED-1210 for descriptions. Students will acquire a general understanding of the basic principles and techniques involved in step training and weight training. The first eight weeks will focus on cardiovascular and muscular endurance as students participate in bi-weekly step classes, including warm-up, step aerobics, strength/ isolation training, cool-down, flexibility and relaxation. Each student will also have an opportunity to create her/his own step routine. The second eight weeks will focus on muscular strength as students learn the latest methods and techniques of weight training.
This course provides foundational knowledge of teaching K-12 physical education through understanding of major concepts, assumptions, principles, processes of inquiry, and theories that are central to the discipline. Introductory frameworks of professionalism, collaboration and advocacy are introduced. Principles of K-12 physical education are addressed through historical, philosophical and modern perspectives of content knowledge and pedagogical skills. Students will learn of the role of physical education in enhancing language acquisition (first and second), literacy development, reading, writing and oral communication, and how to integrate these components to increase content learning. Students will engage in assignments aligned with current teaching practices that meet the diverse learning needs of all K-12 students. Students must pass an FBI national fingerprint screening that encompasses passing a criminal background/sex offender check, as well as a TB test (cost incurred by student). In fulfillment of the course requirements, students will experience a day-long educational adventure near the George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The Outdoor Wisconsin Leadership School (OWLS) staff leads the teambuilding, ropes, courses and other outdoor activities.
Additional fee required
This course will address a specific area of study in Human Performance & Recreation not already covered by other course offerings. Prerequisites vary by topic.
This course is designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent and treat injuries effectively and safely. The course will follow the guidelines established for first aid and CPR by the American Red Cross. Throughout the course, students will gain knowledge and confidence in their skills by participating in practice scenarios. Upon successful completion, students who qualify will be certified in lay person first aid, adult CPR/AED, child CPR/AED and infant CPR.
Additional fee required
This course addresses the responsibilities and techniques of the official in high school sports. Sports covered will depend upon the term it is offered (i.e., fall: football, volleyball soccer; spring: basketball, baseball and softball.) The course is directed toward the achievement of an Illinois High School Association certification.
This course prepares students for recognizing, identifying, and accurately reporting sport statistics during a live game, for the major sports of baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball and volleyball. Students will become familiar with paperwork associated with NCAA score reporting forms and newspaper box scores.
This course is designed to provide an overview of the physical, cognitive, emotional and sensory conditions that qualify an individual for special services under federal law. The course covers content necessary for understanding the safety implications associated with working with special populations; accessing information regarding specific disabilities; modifying activities, equipment and the environment to ensure safe participation for all; and compliance with inclusive laws.
This course will provide opportunities for physical education majors to learn developmentally appropriate strategies for teaching health-related fitness activities that meet the diverse needs of children. They will also learn the concepts of training, health related fitness, skill related fitness and exercise science and how they are incorporated into physical education. Information on how to successfully plan, implement and evaluate a fitness/wellness program will be presented within the context of sound physiological principles and current trends in the field. Fitness activities will be considered in relation to readiness to learn from a physical, intellectual, cultural and emotional developmental perspective. Fitness activities will be created around the unique characteristics and abilities of a diverse student population. These activities will use a variety of strategies that encourage critical and creative thinking. Interdisciplinary themes will be incorporated into fitness activities in an effort to reinforce learning while respecting individual differences. Students will employ differentiated instructional strategies and techniques to create, and teach, lessons specific to health-related fitness. Students will participate in approximately 3-5 hours of clinical experiences. Open to physical education K-12 majors only.
This course provides opportunities to understand content and pedagogical knowledge for teaching a variety of sport activities through active participation. The goal of this course is to experience related instructional strategies (e.g., problem solving and guided discovery) that meet the learning needs of all K-12 students through peer teaching and skill mastery. Peer teaching experiences require the generation of lesson plans, skill tests, and a unit block plan to develop and create instructional opportunities that maximize learning by addressing the K-12 learner's needs, the community and cultural diversity. Teacher candidates will also learn appropriate formative and summative assessment techniques as evidence of student learning. Open to physical education K-12 majors only.
The essence of the study of motor development involves observing how movements change across the lifespan, then determining why they change. Students will examine why movements change to include the individual, environment and task, as well as interactions among these factors. The theoretical and historical roots of the field of motor development will be addressed. In addition, students will observe many facets of movement skills, such as growth, aging and perception, and discover how different constraints or factors can encourage or discourage different movements.
This course will address a specific area of study in Human Performance & Recreation not already covered by other course offerings. Prerequisites vary by topic.
This course offers essential information for successful teaching at the elementary school level in regard to the K-5 learner, the curriculum, and the teacher. The developmental approach advocated analyzes knowledge of children's growth and motor development in a comprehensive manner that recognizes the essential concept of the individuality of the learner in relation to the motor, cognitive and affective domains. Teacher candidates will understand how each K-5 student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical-thinking and problem- solving capabilities, within the perspective of diverse K-5 student characteristics and abilities that affect processes of inquiry and influence patterns of learning. Appropriate and varied instructional approaches will be experienced, including how physical education can help develop word knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and strategy use. Teacher candidates will learn about school laws and rules (e.g., mandatory reporting, sexual misconduct, corporal punishment) as a foundation for the fair and just treatment of all students and their families in addition to emergency response procedures that include school safety and crisis intervention protocol. Teacher candidates will engage in a 75-hour, supervised methods experience in an assigned school and participate in this course that links philosophy, knowledge and pedagogy to the authentic experience of teaching physical education in the elementary school. Open to physical education K-12 majors only. Students must apply two terms in advance through the School of Education for site placement.
The fine arts are an essential component of a comprehensive education and are necessary to accommodate the needs of students as they prepare to take their place in the 21st century global environment. Students will explore how the arts impact and enrich education; provide training in critical and creative thinking, communication and collaboration; and address the impact of diverse cultures within society. Students will learn methodologies for teaching a variety of dance forms, introduce the culture and history associated with each, and present strategies to establish a socially and emotionally safe environment for all K-12 learners. This course is designed for physical education K-12 majors.
This course addresses essential information for successful teaching at the secondary school level in regard to the 6-12 learner, the curriculum, and the teacher. The developmental approach advocated analyzes knowledge of 6-12 students' growth and maturation in a comprehensive manner that recognizes the essential concept of the individuality of the learner in relation to the motor, cognitive and affective domains. Teacher candidates will understand how each 6-12 student constructs knowledge, refines skills, and develops effective and efficient critical-thinking and problem-solving capabilities within the perspective of diverse student characteristics and abilities that affect processes of inquiry and influence patterns of learning. Appropriate and varied instructional approaches will be experienced, including how physical education can help develop word knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and strategy use. Teacher candidates will learn about school laws and rules (e.g., mandatory reporting, sexual misconduct, corporal punishment) as a foundation for the fair and just treatment of all students and their families in addition to emergency response procedures that include school safety and crisis intervention protocol. Teacher candidates will engage in a 50-hour, supervised methods experience in an assigned school and participate in this course that will link philosophy, knowledge and pedagogy to the authentic experience of teaching physical education in the secondary school. Students must apply two terms in advance through the School of Education for site placement. Open to physical education K-12 majors only.
This course will help teacher candidates to understanding the process of curriculum development which is critical for developing progressive, developmentally appropriate, and standards aligned physical education curriculums that span all grade levels. Teacher candidates will develop a scope and sequence, grade level benchmarks, and align lesson plans and assessments with district level benchmarks and national/ state standards as part of a collaborative learning process. This process of curriculum development will also help teacher candidates to development necessary leadership and advocacy skills necessary for advancing the field of physical education. Open to physical education K-12 majors only.
Understanding the theory, tools, and techniques of assessment and its application are crucial for effective teaching and accountability. Students will become familiar with current assessment techniques in health and physical education and learn how to select and administer the most appropriate tool for the task. Students will experience heart rate monitors, pedometers, software programs, and applications. Open to physical education K-12 majors only.
This course will address a specific area of study in Human Performance & Recreation not already covered by other course offerings. Prerequisites vary by topic.
The art of managing people productively and effectively is perhaps the most challenging task facing any professional. The art of managing others is a dynamic process that is ever-changing and evolving, just as people, professional environments, government, and the economy continue to change. Attracting, training, motivating, and retaining quality employees are critical in the fields of coaching, sport management and fitness, and exercise science. This course focuses on the interactive management skills necessary to develop effective teams of satisfied and productive individuals by creating trusting interpersonal relationships with employees. Open to sport management and exercise majors only.
This course will address a specific area of study in Human Performance & Recreation not already covered by other course offerings. Prerequisites vary by topic.