WHAT:
As the program facilitator at an exercise and fitness center, I am looking to promote the health and well-being of my students, clients, and athletes. In order to do this, I must be culturally competent and my programs must be inclusive and empowering to everyone.
SO WHAT:
The time and effort needed to be aware and have the ability to deal with each participant of a variety of cultural domains takes time. To become culturally competent won't happen over night and people shouldn't expect to see results and acquire the necessary skills to do so right away. As a professional, they need to have the experience and knowledge of society, in a big picture. Being able to identify and help participants effectively with and in a variety of cultural aspects; age, gender, beliefs, ethnicity, values, etc (Frenn & Malin, 2003). It's essential that we, professionals, are able to provide our participants with knowledge and experience to guide them. Having an array of experience with multiple cultural aspects, will benefit the professional in properly running and organizing a business, and in this case, promoting health and well-being to students, clients, and athletes. Another aspect in which should be recognized is the APA Multicultural Guidelines. These 6 guidelines play a key role of multicultural competencies in promoting health and well-being for sport and exercise psychology and kinesiology (Gill & Williams, 2008). A brief overview of the guidelines are as follow: (1) attitudes and beliefs can detrimentally influence a person's perception of and interaction with individuals, (2) recognize the importance of multicultural sensitivity and responsiveness, knowledge, and understanding of individuals, (3) employ the constructs of multiculturalism and diversity, (4) recognize the importance of conducting cultural-centered and ethical psychological research, (5) apply culturally appropriate skills in clinical and other practices, (6) use of organizational change processes to support culturally informed organizational development/practice (Gill & Williams, 2008).
NOW WHAT:
One of the most important steps when developing multicultural competencies is to study and observe your clientele (Frenn & Malin, 2003). By doing so I will be able to identify the variety of cultures that exist within my exercise and fitness center. This will give me a basic understanding of people's beliefs and values. Also, I will want to walk around interacting with as many people as I possible can. This will allow me to develop a better, more detailed background of everyone and what their beliefs may be, allow me to develop myself. Also, I will be able to use other sources to develop a better understanding of backgrounds. For example, the internet is a great tool to use, for one it's easily accessible, however, I will need to be careful where I get my information from. Like a stated the internet is a great tool, however, there is a lot of non-credible information that floats around as well. The use of the Respectful model gives me a good start and outline of what I should be looking to identify and/or understand when researching ethnicity information (Gill & Williams, 2008).
Not only will myself, the professional, be competent but as well as the business/company. In order for this to take place, first we will start off by observing, like I did for my self awareness, to understand and become aware of individual's background. To apply this, I will offer classes and programming that will be beneficial and supportive of everyone's beliefs and values, to the best of my ability. Also, I will offer special program/membership pricing for low income members be not only benefit us, but more importantly, benefit the individual. This will allow them to be able to take full advantage of what we as a business can offer. I'm trying to promote health and well-being to the community, and everyone should be given the opportunity to have access to the center, no matter cultural differences and income status.
CONCLUSION:
Being able to understand and withhold knowledge to be culturally competent can and well benefit a professional with there success, as well as the businesses success. This knowledge will allow them to develop a comfortable environment for all clientele, and allowing them to take full advantage of what is being offered. More importantly, they will be able to stay true to their beliefs and values. Clients will not have to stress or worry that they maybe persuaded to alter or change from their inherited background and cultural differences. The most important step as a professional is to study and observe your clientele, as well as interact with them. Develop an understanding of what they believe in and value. Your goal is to make sure everyone feels as though they are secure with their beliefs. Also, having the knowledge of different cultural background, broadens your skills and your clientele will realize this, strengthening your reputation as a professional.
REFERENCES:
Frenn, M. & Malin, S. (2003). Diet and exercise in low-income culturally diverse middle school students. Public Health Nursing, 20(5), 361-368.
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Team Building in a Physical Education Setting
WHAT:
As a middle school physical education teacher, I would like to try team building with my seventh grade classes. The main objective of PE classes is to enhance skills and physical activity in youth. Even though teamwork is more directed towards sport teams, team building skills may be beneficial in PE classes, developing and improving teamwork skills and values for these kids whether they are presently participating in sport or other after school activities (Carron & Spink, 1993). These skill will not only benefit these kids in class and in other activities, but also in future jobs or other classes where teamwork may be important to complete a project on time.
SO WHAT:
Team building is defined as "team enhancement for both task and social purposes" (Gill & Williams, 2008). Four aspects that stand out in the team building model are; group environment, group structure, group processes, and group cohesion. Each one has it's own specific role in developing teamwork/team unity. Group environment refers to the distinctiveness on the group. Group structure is the groups norms and positions on situations, event, etc. Group processes are the groups interaction and communication to solve a problem that may arise. And lastly, group cohesion is the groups attraction and integration towards task and social purposes (Gill & Williams, 2008). Also, another important aspect that should be noted and involved is group/team goals and individual goals (Senecal, Loughead, & Bloom, 2008). This allows the team (class) to set goals as a whole, as well as, allowing individual's to set specific goals directed towards self.
NOW WHAT:
In the effort to develop teamwork, throughout the semester the students will be given challenges and put into situations to allow team building skills to take place, requiring them to work together. Each person will asked to partake in different roles within the group, so everyone's given the opportunity to have a sense of accomplishment. My goal as an instructor is for the class to develop team cohesion and communication skills for other activities, whether it's in a sport, classroom, or work setting. By requiring everyone to partake in different roles throughout the semester, each student will be able to develop and further improve new and familiar skills, in hopes of developing comfortability in a variety of roles within a team/group.
CONCLUSION:
The incorporation of team building skills in a PE class will help enhance the development of communication, self-worth, and role ability. These skills will not only be beneficial in their present class, but also other activities; sports, classes, jobs, etc. The early development and improvement of these skills will allow the students to feel comfortable and have a sense of accomplishment when they are "thrown to the wolves" or put into a difficult situation. The confidence of being exposed to the similar challenges, no matter the role they played, will help them extract these skills and apply them.
REFERENCES:
Carron, A. V., & Spink, K. S. (1993). Team building in an exercise setting. The Sport Psychologist, 7(1), 8-18.
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Senecal, J., Loughead, T. M., & Bloom, G. A. (2008). A season-long team-building intervention: Examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 30, 186-199.
As a middle school physical education teacher, I would like to try team building with my seventh grade classes. The main objective of PE classes is to enhance skills and physical activity in youth. Even though teamwork is more directed towards sport teams, team building skills may be beneficial in PE classes, developing and improving teamwork skills and values for these kids whether they are presently participating in sport or other after school activities (Carron & Spink, 1993). These skill will not only benefit these kids in class and in other activities, but also in future jobs or other classes where teamwork may be important to complete a project on time.
SO WHAT:
Team building is defined as "team enhancement for both task and social purposes" (Gill & Williams, 2008). Four aspects that stand out in the team building model are; group environment, group structure, group processes, and group cohesion. Each one has it's own specific role in developing teamwork/team unity. Group environment refers to the distinctiveness on the group. Group structure is the groups norms and positions on situations, event, etc. Group processes are the groups interaction and communication to solve a problem that may arise. And lastly, group cohesion is the groups attraction and integration towards task and social purposes (Gill & Williams, 2008). Also, another important aspect that should be noted and involved is group/team goals and individual goals (Senecal, Loughead, & Bloom, 2008). This allows the team (class) to set goals as a whole, as well as, allowing individual's to set specific goals directed towards self.
NOW WHAT:
In the effort to develop teamwork, throughout the semester the students will be given challenges and put into situations to allow team building skills to take place, requiring them to work together. Each person will asked to partake in different roles within the group, so everyone's given the opportunity to have a sense of accomplishment. My goal as an instructor is for the class to develop team cohesion and communication skills for other activities, whether it's in a sport, classroom, or work setting. By requiring everyone to partake in different roles throughout the semester, each student will be able to develop and further improve new and familiar skills, in hopes of developing comfortability in a variety of roles within a team/group.
CONCLUSION:
The incorporation of team building skills in a PE class will help enhance the development of communication, self-worth, and role ability. These skills will not only be beneficial in their present class, but also other activities; sports, classes, jobs, etc. The early development and improvement of these skills will allow the students to feel comfortable and have a sense of accomplishment when they are "thrown to the wolves" or put into a difficult situation. The confidence of being exposed to the similar challenges, no matter the role they played, will help them extract these skills and apply them.
REFERENCES:
Carron, A. V., & Spink, K. S. (1993). Team building in an exercise setting. The Sport Psychologist, 7(1), 8-18.
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Senecal, J., Loughead, T. M., & Bloom, G. A. (2008). A season-long team-building intervention: Examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 30, 186-199.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Families Together and Active Program
WHAT:
Families are looking to spend quality time together. With today's society, families may be struggling to find quality time together, whether its due to parents working different shifts, children involved in an array of activities, or social and work relationships consume a majority of the time. By developing a family membership plan that will allow families to come, compete, and spend quality time together will allow these families to regain connections with each other and other families. Also, it will allow parents and peers to influence their beliefs and values on their children, assisting in the development of a strong, connected family outside of the recreation center.
SO WHAT:
Social facilitation can help the influence in the presence of others on performance, including audience and coaction effect (Gill & Williams, 2008). However, this needs to carefully observed and used because the presence of an audience can increase arousal, possibly impairing learning but influences performance of a task.
Social learning theory is an important factor to consider. This is the concept that someone may behave differently in a classroom than they would in a gym, or behave differently around their parents than they would around their peers/friends (Gill & Williams, 2008).
Social influence can be demonstrated in four ways; significant others, parents, peers, or coaches. Each one has a different effect on the behavior of children in a physical activity setting. Parents may influence their beliefs and values their children. For example, a father may value sport/exercise, and believe that his son or daughter may be better off participating in a specific sport over another (football vs baseball, or volleyball vs basketball) (Courneya & McAuley, 1995). Peer influences are believed to be important because children indicate that being with friends and being able to compare against one another is an important source of competence (Smith, 2003).
NOW WHAT:
The main focus of the Families Together and Active program is to positively influence children and develop performance through a wide variety of exercise and physical active, as well as a variety of influences through parents, peers, and coaches/instructors. I believe that by using a variety of ways to influence children will not only allow them to be competitive against friends but also their parents will be able to influence their beliefs and values of physical activity upon their children. Coaches/instructors will also influence these children to assist in the proper development of skills and performance tasks needed to enhance and improve performance. This is in an attempt to develop a well rounded athlete, student, and child, whether they are in the classroom, at home, or competing.
Throughout the week, kids and parents will be asked to participate in a variety of physical activity; racquetball, basketball, flag football, etc. The sports will be rotated through according to the season at which these sports are played. Along with partaking in a variety of sports, they will also be participating in a variety of exercise/fitness classes; yoga, martial arts, exercise programs, etc. The more variety offered, the less chance that kids will become bored. This will help insure motivation throughout the attendance of their membership.
We will have instructors/coaches run the activities. Demonstrating proper technique of skills and tasks, yet we will ask for there parents to demonstrate these tasks as well. Along with parents, we will have peers and children demonstrate tasks and skills to allow the other children to see and learn through visual observation and imagery.
CONCLUSION:
By allowing children to learn through a variety of influences; parents, peers, and coaches, it can assist in a well rounded development. Doing so will allow parents to influence their beliefs and values on their children, which will also help in the development of family relations. By putting these kids in an environment where these are influenced by peers, it will help develop a competitive edge, increasing arousal for performance, but by focusing on parent and coaches influence, it will also assist in the learning process that needs to take place. Since peer influences may impair learning, parental and coaches influence should help negate this impairment.
REFERENCES:
Courneya, K. S., & McAuley, E. (1995). Cognitive mediators of the social influence-exercise adherence relationship: A test of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18(5), 499-515.
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Smith, A. L. (2003). Peer relationships in physical activity contexts: a road less traveled in youth sport and exercise psychology research. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 4(1), 25-39.
Families are looking to spend quality time together. With today's society, families may be struggling to find quality time together, whether its due to parents working different shifts, children involved in an array of activities, or social and work relationships consume a majority of the time. By developing a family membership plan that will allow families to come, compete, and spend quality time together will allow these families to regain connections with each other and other families. Also, it will allow parents and peers to influence their beliefs and values on their children, assisting in the development of a strong, connected family outside of the recreation center.
SO WHAT:
Social facilitation can help the influence in the presence of others on performance, including audience and coaction effect (Gill & Williams, 2008). However, this needs to carefully observed and used because the presence of an audience can increase arousal, possibly impairing learning but influences performance of a task.
Social learning theory is an important factor to consider. This is the concept that someone may behave differently in a classroom than they would in a gym, or behave differently around their parents than they would around their peers/friends (Gill & Williams, 2008).
Social influence can be demonstrated in four ways; significant others, parents, peers, or coaches. Each one has a different effect on the behavior of children in a physical activity setting. Parents may influence their beliefs and values their children. For example, a father may value sport/exercise, and believe that his son or daughter may be better off participating in a specific sport over another (football vs baseball, or volleyball vs basketball) (Courneya & McAuley, 1995). Peer influences are believed to be important because children indicate that being with friends and being able to compare against one another is an important source of competence (Smith, 2003).
NOW WHAT:
The main focus of the Families Together and Active program is to positively influence children and develop performance through a wide variety of exercise and physical active, as well as a variety of influences through parents, peers, and coaches/instructors. I believe that by using a variety of ways to influence children will not only allow them to be competitive against friends but also their parents will be able to influence their beliefs and values of physical activity upon their children. Coaches/instructors will also influence these children to assist in the proper development of skills and performance tasks needed to enhance and improve performance. This is in an attempt to develop a well rounded athlete, student, and child, whether they are in the classroom, at home, or competing.
Throughout the week, kids and parents will be asked to participate in a variety of physical activity; racquetball, basketball, flag football, etc. The sports will be rotated through according to the season at which these sports are played. Along with partaking in a variety of sports, they will also be participating in a variety of exercise/fitness classes; yoga, martial arts, exercise programs, etc. The more variety offered, the less chance that kids will become bored. This will help insure motivation throughout the attendance of their membership.
We will have instructors/coaches run the activities. Demonstrating proper technique of skills and tasks, yet we will ask for there parents to demonstrate these tasks as well. Along with parents, we will have peers and children demonstrate tasks and skills to allow the other children to see and learn through visual observation and imagery.
CONCLUSION:
By allowing children to learn through a variety of influences; parents, peers, and coaches, it can assist in a well rounded development. Doing so will allow parents to influence their beliefs and values on their children, which will also help in the development of family relations. By putting these kids in an environment where these are influenced by peers, it will help develop a competitive edge, increasing arousal for performance, but by focusing on parent and coaches influence, it will also assist in the learning process that needs to take place. Since peer influences may impair learning, parental and coaches influence should help negate this impairment.
REFERENCES:
Courneya, K. S., & McAuley, E. (1995). Cognitive mediators of the social influence-exercise adherence relationship: A test of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18(5), 499-515.
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Smith, A. L. (2003). Peer relationships in physical activity contexts: a road less traveled in youth sport and exercise psychology research. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 4(1), 25-39.
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