Health/Physical Ed

What is the purpose of our department?
The Physical Education, Health and Driver’s Education Department at American Fork High School will teach the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle, by providing information, skills, and activities to improve overall lifestyle choices.

This establishes measurable targets that make a difference in student achievement.
Our vision is to instill in our students the importance of being physically active and fit by living a healthy lifestyle throughout their lives.

How must we behave to support our mission and vision? We value:
• Leading by example.
• Being sagacious in decisions.
• Sportsmanship and being well-balanced in all aspects of life (physical, mental, and social).

What are our fundamental beliefs?
We as a department have a strong belief in all the components of wellness. We want our students to know and understand all the aspects that go into being healthy physically, mentally and socially.

Physical
Understand the basic components of physical fitness and the importance of being physically fit including exercise, nutrition, and being active in all types of activities.

Social
Provide through physical activities the opportunity for social interaction and how to get along with others, have respect, and show sportsmanship.

Emotional
Provide an emotional outlet to relieve stress as well as creative opportunities to express themselves constructively.

Humanity
Develop a sense of connection to others.

Intellectual
Understand the basic anatomy and physiology of the human body. Understand the importance of planning and carrying out lifelong fitness and health goals. We want our students working toward wellness goals for a lifetime.

Focusing our MVVB on the Four Questions
Question #1 – What do we expect our students to learn?
• An overview is given to the students as to what we expect them to learn.
• The class disclosure documents inform students and parents of what we expect them to know and how they can obtain a grade in the class.
• The unit/chapter objectives point out what students will learn when they finish the unit/chapter.
• Objectives for the courses are given by all members of the Physical Education Department team.
• Our curriculum is based on the state core and adjustments are based on students’ learning needs.
• We want students to know and understand all the aspects of individual wellness.
Physical – Basic components of physical fitness
Social – Healthy relationships
Emotional – How to deal with stress
Humanity – Having a connection with others
Intellectual – Improving cognitive skills
Question #2 – How do we know what students have learned?
• We, as a department, use pre/post tests to evaluate improvement in knowledge and skills.
• Besides written and oral quizzes, we use review activities to assess a student’s knowledge and understanding of various concepts.
• Our Fitness for Life staff uses common assessments including standardized unit tests, standardized district fitness tests, and the Alpine School District’s final exam.
• The student’s demonstration of a particular skill also gives us feedback on retention and understanding of what they have learned.
• Besides written tests, quizzes, fitness tests, and skills tests, we also use self-evaluation and teacher observations that measure what students have learned.

Question # 3 – How will we respond to students who aren’t learning?
• Students are allowed to study and retake tests.
• Students are encouraged to practice skills, exercises, and lifestyle activities on their own time.
• Students are encouraged to study the material and do the work or activities over again when they are not successful in passing them. We feel that failure is not an option and so we give them every opportunity to pass the information and requirements of the class.
• We sometimes use peer tutors to help students who are struggling.
• We will sometimes reposition students in the classroom to meet physical and behavioral needs.

Question #4 – How do we respond to students who have already learned the material?
• Extra credit reports and more in-depth study of the subjects are provided.
• Additional assignments are given on various case studies of individuals in a variety of real life cases where the student can answer certain in-depth questions.
• Allow the students to set higher fitness and activity goals, etc.