How to Define Physical Education Classes in The New Era? Body-Brain Connection

The Emergence and Development of Lingdian Sports

At Naperville Central High School in Chicago. A new type of physical education class called "Zero Hours PE" ( Zero Hours PE ) was started that uses exercise to improve students' consciousness and prepare them for a day of study. This course is scheduled for It is the largest project in a series of educational experiments conducted by a group of maverick physical education teachers. This group of physical education teachers not only made the 19,000 students in Naperville School District 203 the healthiest students in the United States but also made them the smartest students.

The purpose of the zero-point physical education class is to determine whether extensive physical exercise before taking cultural classes can improve students' reading skills and learning abilities in other subjects.

Students who participate in zero-point physical education classes are active volunteers among freshmen. According to school regulations, to help freshmen's reading comprehension ability reach the standard, freshmen must take a literacy class. The exercise intensity of students in the zero-point physical education class is higher than that of students in other physical education classes in the school. According to the requirements, the heart rate of these students ( ●Heart rate (( heart rate )) is the number of times the heart beats per minute. The heart rate of normal adults at rest has significant individual differences, with an average of around 75 beats/min ( between 60 and 100 beats). Heart rate can vary with age, gender, and other physiological conditions.) should be maintained between 80% and 90% of its maximum heart rate. This approach attempts to prepare students for learning through rigorous physical training. In essence, they are sent to class after enhancing their state of consciousness.

The result of the experiment is that by the end of the first half of the semester, the reading and comprehension abilities of students who participated in zero-point physical education classes increased by 17%; in comparison, the reading and comprehension abilities of students who liked to sleep and participated in standard physical education classes improved 10.7%.

Research shows that physical activity triggers biological changes that in turn promote connections between brain cells. These connections must be made if the brain is to learn, and they reflect the brain's basic ability to cope with various difficulties. As more and more neuroscientists discover this process, the understanding becomes clearer and clearer: exercise provides a unique stimulus to the body, and this stimulus creates an environment for the brain, which An environment in which the brain is ready, willing, and able to learn. Aerobic exercise has a significant conditioning effect: adjusting systems that may be out of balance while optimizing those that are not yet —an indispensable tool for anyone who wants to reach their full potential.

The school management was greatly shocked by this incident, so they renamed the zero-point physical education class " Readiness PE " and made it the first class for all freshmen in the school every day, and it is continuing. All students taking literacy classes were divided into two classes: one class's literacy class was scheduled in the second period when students could still feel the effects of exercise; In the eighth class. As one might expect, students who took literacy classes in the second period learned best.

This experiment not only applies to freshmen who need to improve their reading scores but also provides suggestions for teachers to schedule the most difficult subjects for all students after physical education classes to maximize the effective impact of physical exercise.

The essence of physical education in Naperville School District 203 is that it teaches fitness methods rather than sports. The rationale is that if children can be taught through physical education how to monitor and maintain their health and fitness, then physical education will benefit them throughout their lives and they are more likely to live happier and longer lives. What physical education classes teach is a way of life. Students develop healthy habits, healthy skills, and interests while learning about how their bodies work. As students engage in a variety of sports, they can't help but discover sports that interest them. Naperville's physical education teachers are creating new vistas for their students by getting them hooked on sports instead of sitting in front of the TV all day. This is crucial, especially since statistics show that students who exercise regularly are likely to develop the same self-control as adults.

But the most fascinating thing is that this fitness-based approach has a huge impact on student learning. Its unusual form of physical education and its test results successfully demonstrate that the most important factor affecting students' academic performance is the school's emphasis on healthy physical fitness.

Extension and development of physical education experiment at Naperville Central High School

Doing Your Best is More Important Than Running Fast

Things are often like this. The establishment of Zero Point Physical Education Class started with half idealism and half self-conservatism. Phil Lawler was a visionary junior high physical education teacher at Madison Junior High School. When Lawler and his colleagues at Madison Middle School took a closer look at physical education classes, they saw that most students were not active. In 1990, after he accidentally saw an article in a newspaper about the declining physical fitness of American children, he created a new set of unique physical education courses: asking children to run 1,600 meters in a weekly physical education class. His decision was met with complaints from students, complaints from parents, and concerns from doctors.

To give less athletic people a chance to get good grades, students are allowed to earn extra credit by riding a bicycle. Students can participate in their spare time and can improve their credit level by cycling 8,000 meters. "In this case, any student who wants to get an A will be able to get an A as long as he works hard for it," which lays the basic principle of this teaching method. Lawler calls this approach "New Physical Education" ( New PE ): students are graded on effort, not skill. You don't have to be a gifted athlete to be in physical education class.

There is no necessary relationship between being fast and being healthy.

Statistics show that less than 3% of adults over the age of 24 maintain a healthy body shape by participating in group sports, and this data also highlights the failure of traditional physical education classes.

New physical education has successfully implemented the scientific principles that coincide with new research on exercise and brain health.

The Limbs are Well-Developed And The Mind is Not Simple.

To allow students to pass the exams stipulated in the No Child Left Behind Act, American public schools agree to increase the learning time for math, science, and English and reduce the number of physical education classes. Only 6% of public schools agree to increase the learning time for math, science, and English every day. Schedule a physical education class. Meanwhile, children spend an average of 5.5 hours a day in front of a television, computer, or portable electronic device.

About 30% of school-age children in the United States are overweight, more than six times the amount in 1980, and another 30% of students are close to obesity. What is incredible is that according to the Body Mass Index (Body Mass Index) released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( ● Body Mass Index ), a law signed by the U.S. federal government on January 8, 2002, aimed to Improve the quality of education in the United States. It stipulates that all 3rd to 8th-grade students in the United States must take unified reading and mathematics tests from state governments every year.) shows that in 2001, 97% of freshmen in Lawler's school district were of normal weight, and the same was true in 2002. In the spring of 2005, an independent assessment of student fitness in Naperville School District 203 came to a better conclusion. Exercise physiologist Craig Broeder of Benedictine University and his team of graduate students also joined in the review. They randomly selected 270 students from sixth grade to high school graduation for a test. Only one boy out of more than 130 people is overweight, which is incredible! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) height and weight standards, Naperville students have a body fat percentage well below national standards, and approximately 98% of students also meet other physical parameters. "

The new physical education program itself must have a strong appeal that encourages students here to meet standards in other ways.

A Virginia Tech study found that reducing physical education and increasing time in math, science and reading did not improve test scores as many schools expected. The most influential research comes from the California Department of Education ( CDE ). Over the past five years, CDE research has shown that students with good physical fitness scores also perform well on exams.

CDE combines standardized test scores for learning outcomes with the FitnessGram ( a comprehensive fitness test developed by the Cooper Institute and designated by the State Board of Education as required in California public schools). Quiz.) Record scores are associated together. The physical fitness test is a physical fitness assessment that more than 1 million students must take under California law. It includes six aspects: aerobic capacity, body fat ratio, abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength and flexibility, upper body strength, and overall flexibility. If students meet the minimum requirements in a certain aspect, they will receive 1 point. Therefore, the full score of the physical fitness test is 6 points. It is worth noting that it does not assess a student's physical fitness, but only whether he meets the requirements in each aspect. In other words, it's a pass-or-fail test.

In 2001, among 279,000 ninth-grade students in California, those who recorded a score of 6 on the physical fitness test took the Stanford Achievement Test (a standardized test used to measure the learning outcomes of primary and secondary school students in the United States. It includes mathematics, reading comprehension, and natural science). Science and other 11 aspects of content.) ( Stanford Achievement Test ) average math score ranks in the 67th percentile (statistical concept. The 67th percentile refers to a score higher than 67% of the scores.), The average reading score ranks in the 45th percentile. If those scores weren't impressive enough, consider the students who recorded a 1 on the physical fitness test: their average rankings on the math and reading tests were the 35th and 21st percentiles, respectively.

In 2002, when CDE conducted another survey, socioeconomic conditions were also included. The survey results show that students with higher living standards also have higher academic and test scores, while among students from low-income families, children with good physical fitness have higher academic and test scores than students with poor physical fitness. This is a strong piece of data from this study. It suggests that while parents may not be able to immediately improve their financial situation, encouraging their children to maintain a healthy and physical lifestyle can give them a chance of doing well.

In 2004, a panel of 13 renowned researchers in fields as diverse as kinesiology and pediatrics conducted a large-scale survey of more than 850 students on how physical activity affects school-age children ( most studies assessed the effects of physical activity on school-age children). Their research on the effects of moderate to vigorous-intensity exercise for 30 to 45 minutes a day, 3 to 5 days a week, involves a variety of issues, including obesity, cardiovascular health, blood pressure, depression, anxiety, self-concept, bone density, and academic performance . . ).

Based on a strong body of evidence and expert panel recommendations, school students should participate in one hour (or more) of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day. After a detailed analysis of academic performance, the expert panel publicly stated that physical activity has a positive impact on memory, concentration, and classroom behavior.

 A New Game: Let Your Children Win in a Physical Education Class

Naperville School District 203 in the United States has established a training academy called " PE4Life ", a non-profit public welfare organization. This institution adopts the concept of new physical education. Research has confirmed that it provides Setting goals for students is a great way to motivate them to stay healthy and fit.

This concept wants to tell people that it is not my job as a physical education teacher to make students healthy. It is my responsibility to let students know all the knowledge necessary to stay healthy. Exercise itself is not fun, it is just an act. So if you can get kids to understand it and tell them the benefits, that's a game-changer.

Physical education classes are designed to teach students concepts, experiences, and the importance of fitness. When students enter middle school, not only are they given an extensive list of options to choose from - from kayaking to dancing, rock climbing, and iconic team sports like volleyball and basketball - but they are also taught how to develop a personal fitness plan. These are all based on three physical fitness assessments. Starting in fifth grade (in some school districts in the United States, fifth grade is the first year of junior high school), students must complete such an assessment every year. They develop a personal fitness plan from the beginning and continue to improve it until they graduate from high school. At that point, they'll get a 14-page health assessment. The assessment takes into account their physical fitness scores and factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as lifestyle and family history findings, to predict disease risk and suggest preventive measures. This is an amazingly comprehensive document by any professional health standard, let alone one that an 18 -18-year-old could carry into the adult world. If only the rest of us could be so lucky! "Students can choose from 18 sports, " said Craig Bullard, an exercise physiologist who led the Naperville student fitness study. "You're bound to find that one of the 18 sports Being ignored by everyone, makes students who are good at it feel relaxed and happy." He said: "They thrive in sports. If you only give children limited options, such as playing volleyball and other sports, then the atmosphere will change. It's like punishment or boot camp, and students just don't stick with it. At Naperville, they give students a lot of options to highlight what they're good at; they design lifelong fitness activities for students." This is important to remember for adults who are considering ways to stay healthy.

There is a new leadership component in the physical education program at Naperville Central High School: a new class in the New Leadership Class. Take climbing as an example to illustrate the value of trust and communication: a blindfolded climber can only rely on the instructions of his companions to reach the next climbing point. The aim is collaboration and no competition, which is one of the most important lessons imparted to students.

“If you ask people, when kids graduate from high school, what knowledge and abilities do you want them to have?” “They’ll say, I want them to have communication skills, I want them to have the ability to work in small teams, I want them to have the ability to solve problems, and I hope they can resist risks.”

So where do children learn this?

It’s Good for Your Body And Your Brain.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about 217 kilometers south of Naperville, psychophysiologist Charles Hillman conducted a personal version of CDE research on 216 third- to fifth-grade students. A correlation between physical fitness and learning was also found. He and his co-author Darla Castelli found something interesting. Of the six evaluation indicators recorded in the physical fitness test, two seemed to be particularly important in their correlation with academic performance. "The relationship between body mass index and aerobic fitness did stand out in our regression equation."

But Hillman did more than just correlate the data. He wanted to find a neuroscientific basis for these results. So he selected a group of 40 students, half of whom had good physical fitness and half of whom had poor physical fitness. He assessed their attention, working memory (a system that provides temporary storage and processing of information needed for complex tasks), and how quickly they process information. In cognitive ability tests, electroencephalography ( EEG ) shows that students with good physical fitness have more active brains. This result shows that to complete a specified task, the brain involves more neurons in the attention process. In other words, better fitness equals better focus and, therefore, better results.

Hillman also found that certain factors played an important role in evaluating how subjects responded to errors. He used a method called a flanker test to measure brain activity. "Healthy students slow down to make sure they get it right next time," Hillman found. They pause to think about the answer before making their next decision and use a bad choice as a reference for experience. This is an ability that is related to executive functions, and the part of the brain that controls executive functions is called the prefrontal cortex (the cortical area located directly in front of the brain. As the least developed part of the cerebral cortex, the prefrontal cortex Supervision guides the formation of our human characteristics.).

If a child with ADHD takes a winger test, he may immediately press the wrong button without first pausing or taking more time to consider which is the correct button. Hillman's research shows that exercise (or at least the level of fitness achieved as a result) has a powerful impact on this basic skill.

Students at Naperville Middle School in the United States believe that sports have the power to create miracles, taking one of the students, Jessie Wolfrum, as an example. The self-described nerd was a straight-A student at Naperville Central High School. After graduating in 2003, she enrolled in the engineering physics department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Jesse said what helped her grow after attending Central High School was participating in kayaking. Jessie immediately fell in love with the highly technical sport and discovered she could be good at things other than academics, which was a real transformation for Jessie. The experience of kayaking gave Jess the confidence to enroll in a leadership course. The first thing the coach did was separate Jessie from her twin sisters and all the other tight-knit cliques. Students in the leadership class learn how to rock climb, and she joins the "Adventure Club," a special zero-point physical education class that allows students to understand how to improve their concentration through exercise and understand that exercise can increase brain activity.

It is A Physical Education Class And A Training Ground for Social Skills.

When growing up, everyone will think that physical education class is a very interesting thing, and having fun is the first condition. However, if you think about it carefully, physical education class has no special educational significance. As an adult, when I began teaching students about the positive effects of physical activity on mood, concentration, self-esteem, and social skills, I did not view physical education class as medicine. From my experience, PE class is not exercise. On the contrary, physical education classes do not encourage exercise. The cruel irony is that the timid, clumsy, fat kids who might be the biggest beneficiaries of sports are left out in the bleachers. Some children may be ostracized and she suffers alone in shame. The fringes of sports have become a breeding ground for all kinds of "movement will solve problems".

The transformation of Naperville Central High School's physical education teachers into body-body-mind-psychology sculptors is striking as they actively engage in redefining physical education. For example, one of the most innovative changes at Central High School was the addition of a required square dance class for freshmen. Maybe this doesn't sound like an effective approach, but the class is structured so that movement becomes the foundation for teaching social skills. This is an excellent idea on all levels. During the first few weeks of class, all students are given a script for an opening conversation with their dance partner, and partners are swapped after each dance. As the course progresses, the time given to students for impromptu communication is gradually extended from the initial 30 seconds. The final exam tests whether students can accurately remember 10 things related to a partner after 50 minutes of chatting.

Some students who lack social confidence never have the opportunity to learn to talk to people or make friends, so they avoid social interaction, especially contact with the opposite sex. Without being specifically selected or placed in a specific social skills class, square dance students can practice talking and interacting with others in a positive environment. This course not only provides entertainment but also builds students' self-confidence. Some people master this method, while others simply overcome their fears. It’s just that everyone does it, so the awkwardness is reduced.

Have devoted considerable time to trying to define and address the conundrum of what they call the "social brain," and have found a perfect prescription to help us overcome the increasing loneliness and isolation in modern life, with this platform, opportunity, and hope, those with Children with social anxiety are imprinted with helpful memories of how to approach someone, how far apart they should stand and when to let others speak. Exercise acts as a social lubricant, and it also relieves anxiety, so it is crucial to learn how to socialize. Exercise prepares our brains and builds memory circuits for the experience. The experience may be embarrassing at first, but that feeling fades away when the whole class shares the same experience. At this distressing age, every child will feel shy and restless, and this perfect, completely intuitive method will lead them out of their predicament. By bringing students together, giving them tools and courage, and helping them build self-confidence, square dancing makes the entire curriculum work.

It is precisely because of classes like this that so many Naperville parents report that physical education is the most popular class for their children. It's not just physical exercise, it's more of a motivational training that gives my kids confidence.

Invincible Exercise Plan

There are approximately 52 million students in U.S. public and private schools from kindergarten to 12th grade. They adopt and teach the concept and teaching methods of "fitness -not- sports". Training of around 1,000 teachers from 350 schools has been completed and many will start implementing their versions of the project.

One of the graduates who completed the training is Tim McCord. He is the physical education coordinator for the Titusville School District in Pennsylvania. Titusville is a declining industrial town of 6,000 people nestled in the rolling hills between Pittsburgh and Lake Erie. If we go back to 1859, the world's first oil well was successfully drilled here. But gas prices have always waxed and waned with the economy: The median annual income for residents here is now $ 25,000. Sixteen percent of the city's population is below the poverty line; a few years ago, 75 percent of kindergarteners received government-subsidized school lunches. All this shows that this is not a wealthy residential area.

In 1999, after McCord returned to his hometown after visiting Naperville, physical education in Titusville changed dramatically almost overnight. This school district has 1 high school, 1 junior high school, 4 elementary schools, and 1 preschool education center. The entire school district has 2,600 students. Titusville established fitness centers at two middle schools, purchased heart rate monitors, and purchased three pieces of physical diagnostic equipment with funding from local hospitals. Titusville even readjusted the class schedule, adding 10 minutes of physical exercise time and reducing the time for cultural classes. "It didn't cost us a dime to do this," McCord said, "and it's a big step forward for the No Child Left Behind movement, and others are doing it in other ways."

Today, Titusville’s middle school has a climbing wall and the fitness center has the latest training technology, much of it donated. For example, the interactive training system ( Cybex Trazer ) brought by Cybex is a brand-new device that looks like a standing computer, on which students can chase flickering light sources. In addition, in the cycling training game, students can race bicycles on the screen, or set a route for the Tour de France and compete with Lance Armstrong in the virtual world. McCord also promotes fitness in the community, opening the school’s fitness center to members of the senior center. He also invited teachers from other subjects in the school to participate: In English class, students wore heart rate monitors to give public speeches; in math class, students wore heart rate monitors to learn how to draw graphs.

McCord also noted that the psychosocial impact is equally important. Since 2000, 550 junior high school students have not been in a fight. The Titusville School District’s story of self-reliance soon attracted visits from state representatives and even the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During a public demonstration, as McCord led visitors past the junior high school's climbing wall, he noticed a girl named Stephanie who was halfway up the rock, inexperienced and a bit clumsy for everyone to watch. It can't be done without her. However, her classmates saw her hard work and began to encourage her: "Come on, Stephanie!" Finally, she climbed to the top. Later, McCord talked to her about this incident. “She started crying and couldn’t believe that other students were cheering for her.” McCord recalled the conversation, “She said it was the encouragement from her classmates. It inspired her to rely on her strength to climb bravely.”

Word spread among government officials that physical exercise had a demonstrable effect on students. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin recently hosted a hearing on the reopening of physical education classes in schools. The reason for holding the hearing was the news that a school in the inner city [10] that advocates "life sports" reduced violations and disciplines by 67%. At Wood Land Elementary School in Kansas City, Mississippi, nearly all students apply for government lunch subsidies. In 2005, the school's physical education teaching and research team expanded the weekly physical education class to 45 minutes a day, with almost all focus on cardiovascular exercises. By the end of the semester, students' physical fitness levels had improved significantly, and counselors reported that incidents of infractions, including violence, had dropped from 228 to 95 per year. For an inner-city school to undergo such rapid and sweeping change, it's almost a miracle, as is bringing a depressed town like Titusville back to its former prosperity. The McCords are trying to help all kids like Stephanie, not just build a football team. As children grow older, most continue to exercise and remain active. They're into kayaks or bikes, not gaming consoles. When they exercise, their minds will be more flexible and their emotions will be higher.

Change depends on young people, but it also requires absorbing new ideas and putting them into action the new era continues to advance, and we need to constantly pursue new ideas and put them into practice on how to define physical education classes in the new era. But as we have seen from the above examples, I hope to use these examples as a new cultural model to ultimately reconnect the body and brain. As you can see, they belong together.