Experiential Learning in Kinesiology

Abstract

Overview Service learning is a form of experiential learning that pairs academic educational experiences and community organizations to promote training, civic engagement, and meaningful service by students to their community. Kinesiology programs have moved toward increasing experiential and service learning options in health promotion for their students, but few have evaluated the student perceptions of these programs. Purpose The purpose of the current study was to conduct a qualitative evaluation of a service learning course for Kinesiology majors located in a low-income urban area. Methods Ten recent graduates of a department of Kinesiology were enrolled in focus groups, stratified by gender, facilitated by a graduate research assistant not affiliated with their school. Focus group discussions were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed for themes. Results Nine themes were identified including: (1) Personal and professional experience, (2) decision to participate, (3) location decision, (4) self-efficacy, (5) perceptions of program members, (6) social interaction, (7) personal and program communication, (8) physical facilities and (9) program outcomes. Students positively evaluated the learning experience as valuable to their personal and professional development; noted changes in their perceptions of low-income communities and increases to self-efficacy and skill acquisition from the beginning to the end of the course; and observed significant needs and improvements in physical, emotional and social outcomes of community members. Conclusions This study demonstrated multiple and varied benefits of a service learning program for Kinesiology students. On-going evaluation of service learning programs in health promotion is needed to enhance student and community outcomes.

Application of Faith and Learning

“…Within a traditional classroom setting, addressing tangible societal issues with faith integration may be challenging. However, engaging students in service and partnership encourages realistic practice and reflection on experiences (de Groot, Alexander, Culp, & Keith, 2015). Creatively pursuing community engagement can enhance student learning and provide an opportunity for authentically exploring faith as students learn with and from community partners.…”

Fit for Fire: A 10-Week Low-Cost HIFT Experiential Learning Initiative between Underrepresented Kinesiology Undergraduates and Hypertensive Deconditioned Firefighters Improves Their Health and Fitness

“…According to Rogers [3], experiential learning refers to an active learning approach that allows trainees to use and critically process knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and experience gain via the educational process. Previous studies examining learning in a wide array of disciplines found that experiential learning effectively leads to better learning results [4][5][6][7]. Service learning (SL), a form of experiential learning [8], is designed to foster a collaboration between students and community or health organization(s) to provide an opportunity to eventually apply learned KSAs to meet the needs of a specific community [9].…”

“…Service learning (SL), a form of experiential learning [8], is designed to foster a collaboration between students and community or health organization(s) to provide an opportunity to eventually apply learned KSAs to meet the needs of a specific community [9]. Researchers from several studies examining SL programs in kinesiology have documented the benefits of students' participation, including enhanced levels of self-efficacy [10], moral development [11], deeper understanding of course contents [7], and greater interaction with culturally different individuals [12]. Accordingly, SL within the discipline of kinesiology could deliver an exercise intervention to community firefighters who are hypertensive and overweight.…”

Enhancing Graduate Practicum Project Development and Selection at Schools of Public Health: A Case Study

“…The promotion of student experiences in education was thus perceived as a means to enhance students’ capacity to participate in democracy (Kolb, 1984). In the present day, the prioritization of experiential learning in professional education is particularly evident among health professions, with many health professions, such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, exercise science, and public health, requiring their preprofessionals to engage in internships, practica, fieldwork, or clinical rotations (Brown, Heaton, & Wall, 2007; Gregorio, DeChello, & Segal, 2008; de Groot, Alexander, Culp, & Keith, 2015; Meurer et al, 2011; Montgomery & Johnson, 2015).…”