New course “Sports, Exercise, and Health Science”

This school year, Year 12 – 13 students   were given the opportunity to begin studying a new subject, “Sports, Exercise, and Health Science.” Initially, only two students were interested: Alexandra and Alfie. Over the first two weeks, the number of students grew, then decreased, and then increased again. Eventually, the group finally formed and now consists of seven students: Alexandra, Alfie, Jiahe, Shizhuo, Abigel, Roberta, and Maxim.

In my opinion, this subject is quite challenging. Its curriculum consists of 50% human anatomy and physiology (athlete), 20% physics, 20% practical and project-based assignments, and 10% psychology.

Two months into the school year, I asked the students to answer a few questions.

You can read their answers below.

Question 1

Why did you decide to take this course?

Shizhuo: Because I like sports, and I want to study sports rehabilitation in the future.

Jiahe: Because I need to study at least one science.

Alexandra: Because my university requires it.

Abigail: I decided to take this subject because I’m interested in human anatomy.

Roberta: I like science, and it interests me. I originally planned to study anatomy, but classes were canceled, so I chose sports science as a replacement.

Alfie: I decided to take Sports Science because I already had a strong interest in Anatomy, endocrinology and other things related to Sports Science.

Question 2

What was your first impression of the subject?

Jiahe: Very difficult.

Abigail: Mostly positive, because it involves a lot of anatomy.

Shizhuo: It’s fast. We learn very fast, and you have to memorize a lot.

Alfie: I really enjoy it. It is an interesting subject and the lessons have been very interactive and productive.

Alexandra: I thought it would be quite easy and simple.

Roberta: My first impression was positive, because sports science does involve anatomy.

Question 3

What are your expectation for the subject?

Alexandra: That I should understand the terminology and I should be more confident.

Alfie: I am expecting to gain a very good base of knowledge so that I can study it further in university.

Roberta: To learn more about the body undergoing different conditions and the science of exercise.

Shizhuo: I want to have more topics about the sport motions.

Abigel: By the end of this course I expect to improve my knowledge about human physiology, and hopefully to get an A.

Jiahe: Pass at the end.

Question 4

What do you find most challenging about the course?

Shizhuo: The terms, I need to learn a lot of new words.

Jiahe: We have a lot of key words to remember.

Alexandra: Remembering the words, because when we are done with one topic, we start of with a different one and there are a lot of terminology and I learn different new words every day.

Abigel: The most challenging part is the memorization of terminology, since there is a large amount of it.

Roberta: It involves a lot of new terminology which is hard to remember.

Alfie: The frequency of tests while also receiving assignments,  however it is probably a good thing.

Question 5

What do you like about the course?

Alexandra: It is very interesting because the human body can be quite mysterious.

Roberta: New topics and anatomy.

Abigel: I enjoy learning different physiological processes happening in the human body, why, how and when do they occur.

Alfie: – the interactions of the classes;

– the way it relates to my personal life, I play competitive rugby and I train in the gym almost every day.

Jiahe: We can learn about human body, and how our body works.

Shizhuo: I like to learn the human body.

What conclusions can be drawn from analyzing students’ statements?

• Students enjoy the subject.
• Students need this knowledge in the future.
• The subject is complex due to the large number of new words and terms: biological, medical, and sports.

The teacher’s task is to find optimal and effective teaching methods for stress-free memorization of terminology and its practical, conscious use.