Girls Opting in to Senior Elective Physical Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Gibbons ◽  
Viviene A. Temple ◽  
Louise Humbert

It is well documented that many young women become discontented with physical education in their high school years. The purpose of this investigation was to gain insight into the characteristics of nine senior elective physical education courses that were specifically designed to accommodate the needs and interests of female students. Data collection methods included focus group interviews with students; individual interviews with teachers; and analysis of course documents. The following themes are presented: (a) choice in what to learn and how to learn it; (b) all-female learning environment; (c) lifetime physical activities; (d) personalized assessment; and (e) responsive and flexible planning. Findings offer considerations for the development of physical education curricula that will gain and hold the interest of female high school students.

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Williams ◽  
Mary Martinasek ◽  
Katie Carone ◽  
Steve Sanders

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Jer Lou ◽  
Huei-Yin Tsai ◽  
Kuo-Hung Tseng ◽  
Ru-Chu Shih

This study aims to explore the application of STEM-I (STEM-Imagination) project-based learning activities and its effects on the effectiveness, processes, and characteristics of STEM integrative knowledge learning and imagination development for female high school students. A total of 72 female high school students were divided into 18 teams. Students were provided with a place to discuss, share, and integrate learning activities. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were conducted for data collection. The results show that STEM-I project-based learning activities can promote the development of diverse abilities and effectively expand STEM knowledge integration and learning for female high school students as well as enhance their imagination in the project-based activities. Additionally, the STEM-I instructional model with the process of initiation, development, expression, alternative, and links (IDEAL) is confirmed. Finally, some suggestions are proposed for future studies on STEM education and imagination integrative instruction.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Phillipp ◽  
Neill F. Piland ◽  
Jerry Seidenwurm ◽  
Howard L. Smith

Educators are challenged to create conditions under which instruction has a reasonable probability of improving students’ knowledge and behavior. In high school physical education courses this problem is accentuated when adolescents are not highly receptive to traditional methods of instruction. The answer may lie in curriculum design wherein courses are better packaged to maintain student interest and involvement. The Albuquerque Public School System explored this concept during two consecutive summer terms. An innovative physical education course incorporating unique field experiences, high levels of participation, and reinforcement of individual responsibility was designed and implemented in a pilot project. When compared to traditional physical education classes, mixed results were obtained for various physical fitness measures and knowledge scores. The implications for designing physical education courses are discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary D. Kinchin ◽  
Mary O’Sullivan

While there have been frequent calls for reform in secondary physical education, little research has focused on the implementation and assessment of curriculum from the perspective of students. Drawing upon the theoretical frame of student resistance, the purpose of this study was to describe how high school students demonstrated support for and resistance to implementation of a 20- day curricular initiative termed a Cultural Studies unit. This approach consists of an integrated practical and theoretical study of sport and physical activity. Data were collected through student focus group interviews, student journals, nonparticipant observations, and informal conversations. Students responded favorably to the principles of Sport Education and the opportunities to critique issues of social justice. Such content was considered appropriate for physical education. Resistance to some aspects of the unit was both overt and covert. Meticulous and careful planning of content and choice of pedagogy to facilitate delivery is crucial to positioning a Cultural Studies unit in a high school program.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Saad Althobaiti

This interpretivist research aimed at exploring students’ opinions regarding two spelling instruction techniques, Copy, Cover, and Compare (CCC) and Flip Folder. Twenty high school students who previously received spelling instruction using one of these two techniques participated in semi-structured focus group interviews to give their opinions about each technique. They were divided into three groups for which three questions were asked to collect feedback about each technique. Student responses varied and included suggestions for improvements to these techniques: introducing a revision plan to memorize the learned words, creating word spelling lists, increasing the repetition of words, and taking a weekly test to assess their learning achievement.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrika Müssener ◽  
Marie Löf ◽  
Preben Bendtsen ◽  
Marcus Bendtsen

BACKGROUND Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as insufficient physical activity, unhealthy diet, smoking, and harmful use of alcohol tend to cluster (ie, individuals may be at risk from more than one lifestyle behavior that can be established in early childhood and adolescence and track into adulthood). Previous research has underlined the potential of lifestyle interventions delivered via mobile phones. However, there is a need for deepened knowledge on how to design mobile health (mHealth) interventions taking end user views into consideration in order to optimize the overall usability of such interventions. Adolescents are early adopters of technology and frequent users of mobile phones, yet research on interventions that use mobile devices to deliver multiple lifestyle behavior changes targeting at-risk high school students is lacking. OBJECTIVE This protocol describes a participatory design study with the aim of developing an mHealth lifestyle behavior intervention to promote healthy lifestyles among high school students. METHODS Through an iterative process using participatory design, user requirements are investigated in terms of technical features and content. The procedures around the design and development of the intervention, including heuristic evaluations, focus group interviews, and usability tests, are described. RESULTS Recruitment started in May 2019. Data collection, analysis, and scientific reporting from heuristic evaluations and usability tests are expected to be completed in November 2019. Focus group interviews were being undertaken with high school students from October through December, and full results are expected to be published in Spring 2020. A planned clinical trial will commence in Summer 2020. The study was funded by a grant from the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare. CONCLUSIONS The study is expected to add knowledge on how to design an mHealth intervention taking end users’ views into consideration in order to develop a novel, evidence-based, low-cost, and scalable intervention that high school students want to use in order to achieve a healthier lifestyle.


Author(s):  
Lynn Hoffman

I conducted surveys, focus group interviews, and analyzed the yearbooks of fifty four yearbook students from five rural high schools to investigate students process of yearbook construction and to determine what was meaningful and memorable to them throughout their high school experience. Changs (1992) construct of an adolescent ethos, including the elements of getting along with everyone, being involved, and being independent, provided a conceptual framework, and was affirmed by students responses. References to rites of passage and intensification embedded in the high school program as described by Burnett (1969) confirmed these students perceptions of high school as a four year passage experience.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1062-1082
Author(s):  
Shi-Jer Lou ◽  
Huei-Yin Tsai ◽  
Kuo-Hung Tseng ◽  
Ru-Chu Shih

This study aims to explore the application of STEM-I (STEM-Imagination) project-based learning activities and its effects on the effectiveness, processes, and characteristics of STEM integrative knowledge learning and imagination development for female high school students. A total of 72 female high school students were divided into 18 teams. Students were provided with a place to discuss, share, and integrate learning activities. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were conducted for data collection. The results show that STEM-I project-based learning activities can promote the development of diverse abilities and effectively expand STEM knowledge integration and learning for female high school students as well as enhance their imagination in the project-based activities. Additionally, the STEM-I instructional model with the process of initiation, development, expression, alternative, and links (IDEAL) is confirmed. Finally, some suggestions are proposed for future studies on STEM education and imagination integrative instruction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-41
Author(s):  
Sei Jin Ko ◽  
David M. Marx

Women and ethnic minorities (e.g., Latinos) continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In an attempt to understand why these STEM minorities are underrepresented, we explored high school students’ cost perceptions about pursuing STEM in college. Past research has grouped cost into three dimensions: effort, loss of valued alternatives (LoVA), and emotional. Focus group interviews with Latino high school students confirmed the three cost dimensions, but there were some cultural sources of cost unique to our sample. Consequently, we modified and refined existing cost items to create a STEM-specific and culturally contextualized cost scale. We utilized our scale to examine how high school students at the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and math identification differ in cost perceptions. Results showed that high, compared with low, math-identified students had lower effort and LoVA costs. Among high math-identified students, we also found that STEM ethnic minorities had lower emotional cost than STEM ethnic majorities.


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