Adolescent Health Exhibition
OVERVIEW:
Currently our school has no physical education, that is no health class, or mandatory physical activity class or elective. The goal of this project (and our Exhibition piece) was to conduct research studies, surveys, interviews and analyze readings to conclude if and how we should implement a physical education.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
These were the essential questions we asked and answered through the course of this project:
PROCESS:
We gathered information and data on these questions and topics through a variety of means: surveying and interviewing parents, facility, medical experts, education experts and students. Two experiments were also conducted through the course of this project involving our team as a whole. The experiments were started simultaneously and began with us examining how long it took us to run one mile and how long it took after that for our breathing rate to return to normal. We did this before and after the experiments, comparing the post result to the pre result to see how the experiments made an impact which would further our understanding of implementing an ideal physical education. Each experiment lasted one month.
One experiment was done through each class. Each class was given a slight change in schedule: one class would do physical activity for about 20 min for a few days during the week. Another class did the same but substituted the physical activity for meditation exercises. The last class was our control group, whose schedule had no changes. This experiment was done to see if these changes would affect our post test (of running the mile) heart rate recovery and mile time.
The other experiment was an individual one. After gathering information about our own personal physical conditions (ex: heart rate recovery time, mile time, weight...) we set goals for ourselves and explained why we made them. We had to change our diets and do a certain amount of physical activity, four hours per week at least. We also had to intake a certain amount of calcium and vitamins. Everyday we marked on the calendars we made for ourselves whether or not we met our goals. Again the same goal of this experiment was applied as the other experiment: This experiment was done to see if these changes would affect our post test (of running the mile) heart rate recovery and mile time.
Once all this data and results of the experiments were gathered, it was organized and analyzed to answer the essential questions and to see the affect of physical education on students. As a team we created posters, charts and literary analysises to combine and present all the results of this project study, along with some groups leading different challenges according to the "station". A group presenting about weight bearing activities or heart rate lead an activity connecting to that topic. We presented these posters and analysises at Exhibition, on top of a few other smaller branches of the project: pig dissections, genetics and DNA, A-Z Book of Adolescent Health Terms.
WHAT I DID:
In Math class, I created a poster, which I presented at Exhibition, comparing my class' BMI (Body Mass Index) scores to the US' average and the healthy fitness range. We actually fall in the healthy range of 17-25 at a 21.5 average.
I was apart of the Meditation group, which presented about the benefits of mediation and how it was apart of our project, and also discussing the results of the experiment that we found regarding mediation. We set up our area to look similar to a mediation space, with potted bamboo plants, candles, pillow and rugs on the ground. We invited people in and gave the option for us to lead them through a very short meditation session, which many people took part in. I had a really good time presenting to the audience about what I had to say and really got into the evening, even though it may not be my favorite thing to present about. I was still very proud of the work I had done and really felt like we had something worth presenting about and sharing. We had done a project study that is very practical to our school and will hopefully change it for the future.
Currently our school has no physical education, that is no health class, or mandatory physical activity class or elective. The goal of this project (and our Exhibition piece) was to conduct research studies, surveys, interviews and analyze readings to conclude if and how we should implement a physical education.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
These were the essential questions we asked and answered through the course of this project:
- How do choices about the food you eat and the amount of activity you have now prevent disease later?
- What can schools do to improve teen health? How much of your activity should come out of schools and in what form?
- How does a healthy lifestyle improve mental health?
- What steps can be taken to address the issues (anxiety, depression, etc.)
PROCESS:
We gathered information and data on these questions and topics through a variety of means: surveying and interviewing parents, facility, medical experts, education experts and students. Two experiments were also conducted through the course of this project involving our team as a whole. The experiments were started simultaneously and began with us examining how long it took us to run one mile and how long it took after that for our breathing rate to return to normal. We did this before and after the experiments, comparing the post result to the pre result to see how the experiments made an impact which would further our understanding of implementing an ideal physical education. Each experiment lasted one month.
One experiment was done through each class. Each class was given a slight change in schedule: one class would do physical activity for about 20 min for a few days during the week. Another class did the same but substituted the physical activity for meditation exercises. The last class was our control group, whose schedule had no changes. This experiment was done to see if these changes would affect our post test (of running the mile) heart rate recovery and mile time.
The other experiment was an individual one. After gathering information about our own personal physical conditions (ex: heart rate recovery time, mile time, weight...) we set goals for ourselves and explained why we made them. We had to change our diets and do a certain amount of physical activity, four hours per week at least. We also had to intake a certain amount of calcium and vitamins. Everyday we marked on the calendars we made for ourselves whether or not we met our goals. Again the same goal of this experiment was applied as the other experiment: This experiment was done to see if these changes would affect our post test (of running the mile) heart rate recovery and mile time.
Once all this data and results of the experiments were gathered, it was organized and analyzed to answer the essential questions and to see the affect of physical education on students. As a team we created posters, charts and literary analysises to combine and present all the results of this project study, along with some groups leading different challenges according to the "station". A group presenting about weight bearing activities or heart rate lead an activity connecting to that topic. We presented these posters and analysises at Exhibition, on top of a few other smaller branches of the project: pig dissections, genetics and DNA, A-Z Book of Adolescent Health Terms.
WHAT I DID:
In Math class, I created a poster, which I presented at Exhibition, comparing my class' BMI (Body Mass Index) scores to the US' average and the healthy fitness range. We actually fall in the healthy range of 17-25 at a 21.5 average.
I was apart of the Meditation group, which presented about the benefits of mediation and how it was apart of our project, and also discussing the results of the experiment that we found regarding mediation. We set up our area to look similar to a mediation space, with potted bamboo plants, candles, pillow and rugs on the ground. We invited people in and gave the option for us to lead them through a very short meditation session, which many people took part in. I had a really good time presenting to the audience about what I had to say and really got into the evening, even though it may not be my favorite thing to present about. I was still very proud of the work I had done and really felt like we had something worth presenting about and sharing. We had done a project study that is very practical to our school and will hopefully change it for the future.