Measuring Success
Hamilton-Wentworth District
School Board is measuring
the success of the program
on various fronts including,
fitness, executive functioning,
academics and attitudes towards
activity.
“We’re doing Woodcock-
Johnson tests in areas of
academic achievement including
reading fluency, calculation,
math fluency and writing
fluency,“said Trisha Woehrle,
Teacher Research Consultant for
HWDSB.
Jeannine and Tim are collecting measurements for full body assessments including muscular endurance, muscular power, cardiovascular fitness, agility, grip strength and flexibility.
They’re also collecting students’
EQAO assessments in grade
nine and OSSLT in grade ten.
“We really want to see if the
program is making a difference
compared to the grade nine
group that didn’t have this last
year,”added Woehrle, who is
working with the school Psychology
Consultant, Dr. Linda Hall, to interpret the data.
Best Practices
Educators are visiting from all
over to see Waterdown’s fitness-based
PE program in action.
“People are interested in how it
works,” said MacIsaac. “We’re
really at the grassroots of this
program in Canada.”
MacIsaac added there’s a similar program in
Barrie and she'd like to get out there
to see if there’s anything they
can implement at Waterdown.
Confidence Boost
There's considerable anecdotal data
in favour of this program, especially with respect to boosting self-esteem.
According to Tim Harvey, parents have noticed changes in the amount of energy their children have and their attitudes towards obstacles.
“I’ve noticed them talking
about their mental health,” said
Jeannine. “They have better
self-esteem and they can meet
challenges easier.”