Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Melissa Burow
individuals of all ages. While there are many benefits of adequate participation in physical
activity, there are also associated health risks related to lack of participation (Piercy et al., 2015).
While physical activity recommendations vary based on age, it is recommended that adolescents
participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on a daily basis, and at
least half of this should occur within the school setting (Hood, Colabianchi, Terry-McElrath,
OMalley & Johnston, 2014). Unfortunately, more than 70% of adolescent students do not
regular meet this standard despite participation in physical education courses within the school
day (Piercy et al., 2015). The Move Well program was created to educate students of the
importance of regular physical activity participation while providing additional opportunities for
participation within the school setting. Although the Move Well program was created to target
adolescent physical activity, the program seeks to educate and involve parents, families and the
community to support the importance of creating healthy habits related to physical education.
In the Pennsbury School District, middle school students have a 44 minute period of
physical education every day including time in the locker room. Unfortunately, this only allows
for 25 to 30 minutes of physical activity when time for instruction is also included. In order to
increase the opportunity for physical activity within the school day, Move Well has designed an
optional active lunch period. Students who chose to participate in active lunch will spend time in
the gym or outside for a portion of the lunch period. During the activity period, students will
have the option to participate in various types of physical activity for enjoyment. The last 12
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION: MOVE WELL 3
minutes of the active lunch period will allow students to eat their lunch. Active lunch provides
Because active lunch may not appeal to everyone, the Move Well program has taken
additional steps to increase physical activity within the school setting. The implementation team
of the Move Well program has designed professional development sessions to educate teachers
of the benefits of physical activity brain breaks within the classroom to enhance student focus.
In addition, the intramural program will be enhance for after school opportunity. Throughout the
school year, the intramural program will provide different physical activities, based on student
feedback, for students with varying levels of ability. This provides a safe environment with
professionally trained staff for increased physical activity. In addition, the health curriculum will
be enhanced to include education of the importance of physical activity and how students can
incorporate physical activity participation into their lives away from school. This piece of the
curriculum will seek to meet the needs of the students as individuals and as a whole.
The Move Well program will be closely accompanied and enhanced by an interactive
website including a blog. As the program develops, meaningful information for students,
parents, and community members will be added to the blog and other parts of the website as
additions to the program are made. Such additions, including special events, educational
sessions, and additional activities will be schedule throughout the school year and based on
student and parent feedback responses. The blog will be updated multiple times each week to
keep viewers engaged. Each week the blog will feature a physical challenge activity for students
and their families. In addition, the website will be used to gather data and student feedback to
enhance the program to meet student needs and desires. The use of technology engages students
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION: MOVE WELL 4
in a unique way, as the virtual world it creates is craved by students of the current generation
(Mears, 2012). Technology is a great way to reach and interact with students away from the
school day, while still being able to motivate them toward adequate participation in physical
activity.
Conclusion
promote, encourage and motivate adolescent students to participate in adequate amounts of daily
physical activity by providing opportunities within the school setting. The program was
designed to incorporate daily physical activity through not only daily physical education, but
opportunity for physical activity during lunch, physical activity brain breaks within academic
class settings, and a wide variety of after school physical activities for students of all ability
levels. Although the target population is adolescent middle school students, the program seeks to
educate parents, families, and the community as well to be sure that individuals are educated on
the importance of physical activity and how to incorporate it into their daily lives to meet
recommended standards.
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION: MOVE WELL 5
References
Hood, N. E., Colabianchi, N., TerryMcElrath, Y. M., O'Malley, P. M., & Johnston, L. D.
(2014). Physical activity breaks and facilities in US secondary schools. Journal of School
Piercy, K. L., Dorn, J. M., Fulton, J. E., Janz, K. F., Lee, S. M., McKinnon, R. A., ... & Lavizzo-
Mourey, R. (2015). Opportunities for public health to increase physical activity among