| 146 | Tuesday, April 1, 2003 |
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| 10:00 AM-12:00 PM | Convention Center:113C |
| Research Consortium |
| Pedagogy Symposium - From Health to Facilitation of Cognitive Functioning: Changing the Rationale for Supporting Physical Education in the Schools |
| In an ongoing attempt to stem the erosion of physical education requirements in schools, it has been common to use a "preventive medicine" or "fitness for life" rationale. This symposium is designed to point out the limitations of this rationale in convincing policy makers such as school administrators or school board members of the "central" importance of physical education in the schools. Policy makers surveyed believe that if school budgets were cut their primary responsibility would be to protect the "core" curriculum (e.g., math, English, science, etc.) and non-core subjects like physical education and health would primarily be the parents' responsibility. Justifying physical education with content from another expendable non-core subject may not be the best long-range strategy. For school policy makers, who are primarily concerned with student performance in core subjects, a more viable rationale is one that stresses that physical activity is necessary for kids to "think and learn effectively." The papers in this symposium will address this alternative rationale by first presenting survey data on the views of school policy makers toward physical education, followed by reviews of the scientific literature that show that physical activity is related to biochemical and structural changes in the brain that facilitate learning in animals and humans. Finally, the final presentation will focus on examples of cognitive elements that have been incorporated in physical education programs to enhance thinking skills that can benefit the learning of "core" subjects in the school curriculum. |
Keyword(s): advocacy, physical activity, research
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| Presider: Daniel M. Landers, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ |
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Speakers: |
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School Policy Makers' Views of the Importance of Physical Education in the Curriculum
Daniel M. Landers, Brandon L. Alderman and Tracie J. Rogers, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ |
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The Relationship Between Exercise and Enhancement of Brain Function and Maze Learning in Animals
Brandon L. Alderman and Daniel M. Landers, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ |
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Exercise and Cognitive Functioning in Humans
Benjamin A. Sibley, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ and Jennifer L. Etnier, University Of North Carolina A, Greensboro, NC |
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Physical Activities in the School Curriculum That are Designed to Enhance Thinking and Learning
Robert P. Pangrazi1, Paul W. Darst2, Connie J. Pangrazi-Orlowicz3 and Daniel M. Landers3, (1)Arizona State University, AZ, (2)Mesa, AZ, (3)Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ |
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