Not just another exercise course
By Kurt Kirner
Coordinator of the Recreation Center program
and head swimming coach
Lawrence
Today magazine, Spring 2006
It started three years ago in a meeting of the Wellness Committee. Actually,
it started bubbling in 1991, when I came to Lawrence as programming coordinator
for the Buchanan Kiewit Recreation Center,
but it came to a boil three years ago, when the Wellness Committee once
again addressed the question, “How
do we create more interest among students?”
In theory, the Wellness Committee is student-run, with some staff oversight
and funding from student activities fees, but it was falling short in the student-involvement
department. Student interest in organized wellness and fitness 
activities ranked
somewhere between slim and nil, and without students actively committed to
the cause, the committee had neither the personnel nor the resources to sufficiently
plan events or promote healthy behaviors.
Each year, the committee wrestled with that fundamental problem of student
non-commitment, but this time I had a challenging argument. My contention was
that campuses with successful wellness programs develop an active contingent
of students by offering either a degree-based program or a series of classes
that teach lifetime skills
or health/wellness-oriented topics. Planning began for such a resource at Lawrence.
The first step was to investigate what specific types of wellness and exercise-science
courses other institutions were offering, drawing upon the Lawrence list of comparison
institutions and searching
their websites.
All but two of the 23 institutions offer formally recognized physical-activity
curricular programs, defined as the school’s endorsement of the program
with either a curriculum of for-credit classes or a graduation requirement.
Some institutions have extensive curricula consisting of courses in exercise
science, health science, and coaching; others simply have activity classes
that teach lifelong fitness habits.
Since we were designing just one course, not an entire departmental curriculum,
it needed to be comprehensive, incorporating a solid science knowledge base
into a personal fitness program. With my graduate-level background in exercise
science, I wanted to make sure students would be exposed to the most current
published research in wellness and not just information based on popular media
or unsubstantiated opinions.
Additionally, our course needed to support the interests of both non-athletes
and athletes. Non-athletes would learn practical applications of basic wellness
principles, while setting up
healthy lifestyles. Athletes could increase their knowledge base concerning
their training and apply this knowledge, as appropriate, to their future careers.
The overall goal was and is to spark a commitment in all students to become
involved with wellness and health issues.
It was important that this not be just another exercise course — something
that one could pick up at the YMCA — but a course that would:
•
Fit Lawrence’s liberal arts philosophy.
• Incorporate individualized learning.
• Allow students to experience their learning through behavior change within
an environment of academic integrity and intellectual rigor.
The course, which was offered for the first time in Spring Term 2005, required
students to set goals; plan their own fitness programs; thoughtfully journal
their progress; apply their knowledge to teaching others; and, finally, research
and report on a topic that either relates to their major field of study or
has personal-health implications.
The resulting three-unit [1⁄2 credit, for those who attended Lawrence
before 2001] offering is titled Physical Wellness Dynamics, and its catalog
description reads like this:
Students will engage in a basic physical wellness program through physical conditioning, strength development, diet monitoring, and/or specific wellness activities. Students are tested (aerobic condition, strength, blood pressure, flexibility, and body fat) at the beginning and end of the term. Weekly seminar sessions offer a knowledge base of the physiological effects and adaptations of exercise, nutrition, and stress on the body while managing a fit lifestyle. In the second half of the term, students will engage in discussions of current wellness topics from a research perspective. This course of study is intended to give students better preparation to make informed lifestyle choices that can improve the quality of their health and wellness.
It is an applied course in exercise science in which students examine the physiological
effects and adaptations of exercise while engaging in their choice of fitness
activities over the course of the term.
To see the course syllabus, go here. Subject
matter includes basic cardio-respiratory conditioning, muscle physiology,
and nutritional science. Students base their fitness program around a pre-
(first week) and post- (last week) fitness assessment.
There also is an experiential nutrition unit in which students journal their
food intake for a week and then use specialized software to analyze its caloric
and nutritional value. They are required to go to local restaurants, investigating
entrée and menu content, and food stores, checking food labels and
comparing alternatives.
Finally, they are required to attend one additional workshop within the Rec
Center activities program, to learn how to apply their knowledge in a practical
setting: CPR certification, self
defense,
aerobic-instructor training, fitness-center-instructor training, or athletic
injury training. These workshops teach skills that can be applied to teaching
others or used to assist others in real-world situations. Other extra credit
choices include shorter workshops in interpersonal wellness dynamics (True
Colors®),
stress/time management, strength training and injury prevention for athletes,
and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training.
The long-standing question of student commitment is beginning to be answered.
Emma Sweet, a residence hall director and the health and wellness coordinator,
reports that she has a half-dozen students, representing several residence
halls, involved this year. During the Fall Term, committee members created
recyclable
wellness bulletin boards and supplied students with “wellness kits” containing
items such as tea and cough drops.
The hope, of course, is that, as more students complete the Physical
Wellness Dynamics course, committee membership will grow, along with an overall positive
wellness attitude in the entire campus community.