Research

 

In BC, the government website lists a few website and refers to them as "staying active and learn about B.C.’s record of sports achievement" (Health and Physical Activity Tools for Teachers). I did not find a structured document or a simple resource that outlines some exercises/activities that students can do listing how much time they take to be completed.

 

Engaging in physical activity is mandatory for grade 10-12 and students need to record and document 150 minutes of exercise per week. However grade 9 and below are not required to do so and they do not have any mandatory physical activity to complete, but rather it is embedded in their Physical Education class.

 

A policy has been put into force/revised in BC in July 2017 which is great and outlines how schools should handle physical activity and that senior students need to record 150mins of physical activity per week as a graduation requirement. I believe that having students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 participate in 150mins of physical activity per week is important, but when students only start at grade 10 to participate in physical activity and record it could be a big change in their lifestyles and will not be favoured because of all the effort that needs to be put into the activity. But then students are brought up from as early as Kindergarten to engage in daily physical activity, then it becomes less of a burden and more of an enjoyable activity.

 

What I believe is lacking from the current school system, is enforcing daily physical activity suitable for each level and also physical disabilities, students with disabilities can benefit from physical activity too if the activity is performed in a safe manner.

 

Research has shown that short bouts of physical activity can help with attention, memory and cognition.

 

To help achieve that, I think creating a resource that has different types of activities, and how much time each activity needs to be completed will be a great resource for teacher and school officials to use. The resource will also include activities that physically disabled students can perform to maximize inclusion.

 

Then teachers can easily look at the resource and choose the activities they can complete depending on how much time they have in the effort to reach 5-10 minutes per class. They will also be able to do a different activity every time to keep students interested.