Wellness Standards

Program Purpose

The purpose of the Wellness Program at IMSA is to promote lifelong patterns of behavior that will enable students to establish and commit to a wellness lifestyle in the development of the whole self. Learning experiences focus on a holistic concept of wellness. Concepts of physical education, health education, and life skills are integrated in a course of study which emphasizes harmony among the emotions, the body, the intellect, and the spirit. IMSA students are challenged to develop an in-depth understanding of who they are as individuals through self-reflection, physical activity, and wellness planning.

The mind and body should be educated together; the result being a complete individual with harmonious of parts. It is well-recognized today that healthy minds and bodies are basic to academic success.  High-quality wellness education gives young people a chance to learn the skills needed to establish and maintain a healthy physically active lifestyle throughout their lives (The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, 2010).

The wellness program at IMSA provides opportunities for students to develop their full potential as human beings. In addition, it serves as an integrative model for wellness, health and physical education programs in the state of Illinois and beyond.

Team Goals

• Ensure optimal teaching and learning conditions to enhance the wellness of all students;
• Provide multiple learning experiences that promote positive decision-making, self-responsibility, self-reflection, and positive risk-tasking;
• Offer learning opportunities, including a diverse range of noncompetitive and competitive physical activities, which will enable students to design, implement, evaluate, and revise a personalized wellness plan; and
• Support, promote, and provide professional services to students, educators, and organizations both internally and externally through such activities as presentations, workshops, and committee work.

Unifying Concepts and Processes

The IMSA Wellness Program promotes a holistic philosophy which views the human organism not as separate parts, but as the sum of all its parts; physical, intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual/philosophical and environmental. The following diagram represents these dimensions of wellness and suggests that the mind and body are one with constant interaction through the interconnectedness of each dimension and how they contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

Wellness Wheel: Physical, Intellectual, Social, Emotional, Environmental, and Spiritual/Philosophical Dimesions

By applying the six-dimensional model, a person becomes aware of the interconnectedness of each dimension and how they contribute to healthy living.

• Physical Dimension recognizes the need for regular physical movement.  Physical development encourages learning about diet and nutrition while discouraging the use of damaging substances and behaviors.  It also encourages learning about sleep and stress management for healthy living.
• Intellectual Dimension recognizes one’s creative, stimulating mental activities and expands their knowledge and skills while discovering the potential for sharing their gifts with others.
• Social Dimension recognizes one’s interactions with others and their contributions to their community and beyond.
• Spiritual/Philosophical Dimension recognizes one’s search for meaning and purpose in human existence and includes the development of a deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of life and forces that exist in the universe.
• Emotional Dimension recognizes one’s awareness and acceptance of feelings and includes the degree to which one feels positive and enthusiastic about oneself and life, the capacity to manage one’s feelings and related behaviors, and the ability to cope effectively with stress.
• Environmental Dimension recognizes one’s contributions to the environment and involves preserving the beauty and balance of nature.

Wellness

The unifying concepts of IMSA Wellness curriculum emphasize kinesthetic intelligence and help students understand that establishing and committing to a wellness lifestyle must include the development of the whole self.  Kinesthetic intelligence involves health-related physical fitness, movement skill development, self-responsibility, nutrition, stress management, and sleep.  These concepts also serve to connect the central ideas identified in the IMSA Wellness Standards and act as organizers in the curriculum development process.

Wellness curriculum is concept based with emphasis on physical activity.  The program promotes enjoyment of and regular participation in, physical activity, and healthy active living.  Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health.  The courses help students to understand how their personal actions and decisions will affect their health, fitness and well-being.  The following diagram reflects the integrative nature of these unifying concepts.

Kinesthetic Intelligence

Kinesthetic intelligence is the individual’s sense and understanding of the physical self both during movement and at rest, resulting chiefly from sensory nerve stimulation of the muscular system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and the immune system.  The following are attributes which are important to kinesthetic intelligence:

Health-related Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the ability to perform every movements with ample energy for recreational and leisure pursuits.  Health-related physical fitness promotion is the process of becoming aware of personal health issues and values in order to make informed decisions about certain risky behaviors which promote hypokinetic diseases, decrease energy capacity, and adversely affect the quality of life.  The following are components of health-related physical fitness:

• Cardio-respiratory endurance – the ability of the heart and lungs to uptake oxygen and transport it to the working muscles during prolonged exercise
• Muscle strength – the ability of a muscle or muscle groups to exert force against a resistance.
• Muscle endurance – the ability of a muscle or muscle groups to sustain a contraction or repeat a movement in succession
• Flexibility – the ability of a joint(s) to move freely through its full range-of-motion.
• Body Composition – the proportion of the fat-free mass (such as muscle, tendons, ligaments, connective tissue) as it relates to fat mass of the body.

Self-responsibility

Responsibility of self critical in helping to define who we are.  Refer to modes of behavior or combinations of acts, qualities, or skills regarded as characteristic of a person.  These behaviors must be repeated, observed, and evaluated over time.  Decisions are made regarding those behaviors which contribute to a quality of life which contributes to happiness and high-level wellness.  The following are examples of these attributes:

• Positive decision-making is the process of making healthy choices regarding lifestyle behaviors.  It involves the ability to weigh the pros and cons of options, recognize potential consequences, and evaluate the effectiveness of the choice.
• Goal setting is the process of establishing specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely achievable objectives based on individual needs, interests, values, and beliefs.
• Planning is the process of developing a method of action or procedure to reach a goal.  The activities designed in the plan should specifically connect to the desired goals and have timelines for evaluation of progress.
• Time management is the process of planning and carrying out one’s activities in relation to available time, tasks to be performed, and pre-arranged deadlines.
• Positive risk-taking involves the ability to distinguish between a hazardous situation or behavior and one which leads to innovation and/or creativity.

Movement Skill Development

Principles of movement are the best practices for attaining, improving, and maintaining total physical fitness.  These practices, which include the principles of training, biomechanical principles, and concepts of motor learning, when used properly will provide the most efficient and effective use of time, and reduce the risk of injury and illness.

Nutrition

Nutritional awareness is the ability to recognize the energy needs of the body based on activity level and basal metabolic needs.  It includes the ability to make wise food choices in an institutional or fast food setting.

Sleep

Sleep is the suspension of the voluntary exercise of bodily functions to facilitate recovery from mental, physical, and emotional fatigue.  It is important to know how much sleep one needs to maintain optimal alertness and to avoid chronic sleep deprivation.

Stress

Stress response is an automatic physiological response which is controlled by the hypothalamus and the sympathetic nervous system.  This response is the signal indicating a real or imagined threat which is disturbing the equilibrium of certain body systems.  The relaxation response is a learned response which is used as an intervention to mediate the effects of distress. The parasympathetic nervous system acts in opposition to the sympathetic nervous system to regulate all body systems. Stress Management is the process of alleviating the effects of distressful stimuli.  It includes understanding personal stressors, their holistic effects, and how to utilize appropriate interventions to mediate these effects.

• Physical Fitness
• Nutrition and Weight Management
• Sleep and Rest
• Stress and Stress Management
• Biomechanical Analysis
• Learner Responsibility
• Time Management
• S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting
• Planning
• Evaluation
• Peer and Self-Assessments
• Individual/Team/Dual Sports
• Recreational Pursuits
• Dance
• Aquatics

Learning Standards

IMSA Wellness learning experiences focus on a holistic concept of wellness.  Wellness curriculum is concept based with emphasis on physical activity.  The program promotes enjoyment of and regular participation in, physical activity, and healthy active living.  Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health.  The goal of the IMSA Wellness Program is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity.

These standards define what a student should know and be able to do as a result of IMSA Wellness program.

Students studying Wellness at IMSA will:

1. demonstrate competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of activities.
2. demonstrate an understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
3. participate regularly in physical activity.
4. achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness
5. exhibit responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.
6. comprehend the value of physical activities for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.
7. understand the role of nutrition, sleep, and stress management as behaviors which alleviate the effects of distress and assist us in developing and maintaining holistic wellness.

A. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will demonstrate competency in motor skills and  movement patterns needed to perform a variety of activities.

The intent of this standard is development of the physical skills needed to enjoy participation in physical activities.  Movement fundamentals establish a foundation to facilitate continued motor skill acquisition and give students the capacity for successful and advanced levels of performance to further the likelihood of participation on a daily basis.  Motor skills have evolved and are used in increasingly complex movement environments.  On the basis of interest and ability, students select a few activities for regular participation within which more advanced skills are mastered.  In preparation for adulthood, students acquire the skills to participate in a variety of leisure and work-related physical activities.  Students will:

1. Apply skills and knowledge in a variety of physical movements and movement patterns.
2. Provide appropriate support for a teammate with an object by being in position to receive a pass.
3. Maintain an object at moderate speeds, while maintaining control of the object, evading opponents, and protecting the object.
4. Demonstrate all elements of tactical problems, including off-the-object problems of scoring (e.g. maintaining a rally, setting up to attack, winning the point, attacking as a pair/team ) and preventing scoring, (e.g. defending space, defending against attack, defending as a pair/team) during modified games.
5. Demonstrate all elements of tactical problems, including on-the-object movements of scoring (e.g. maintaining a rally, setting up to attack, winning the point, attacking as a pair/team) and preventing scoring (e.g. defending space, defending against attack, defending as a pair/team) during modified games.

B. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will demonstrate an understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.

The intent of this standard is facilitation of the learner’s ability to use cognitive information to understand and enhance motor skill acquisition and performance.  It enhances the ability to use the mind to control or direct one’s performance.  This includes the application of concepts from disciplines such as motor learning and development, sport psychology, biomechanics, anatomy, and exercise physiology.  It includes, for example, increasing force production through the summation of forces, knowing the effects of anxiety on performance, and understanding the principle of specificity of training.  Knowledge of these concepts and principles and of how to apply them enhances the likelihood of independent learning and therefore more regular and effective participation in physical activity. Emphasis is placed on students’ independently and routinely using a variety of complex concepts. Students will develop sufficient knowledge and ability to independently use his/her knowledge to acquire new skills while continuing to refine existing ones.  Students will:

1. Develop specific, realistic, attainable, realistic and timely short-term and long-term personal fitness goals.
2. Develop an appropriate conditioning program for a self-selected game/activity to engage in for life.
3. Identify and discuss the basic anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system and muscular system its response to rest and exercise
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the three basic energy systems
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the conceptual basis of body composition and its relationship to well being.
6. Identify nutritional, exercise, psychological, and/or pathological factors influencing body composition and the principles of achieving/maintaining weight control.
7. Understand and apply specific training and conditioning in the development of health-related physical fitness components.
8. Analyze and identify skills that result in higher levels of performance.
9. Understand the role of physical fitness concepts in the development of a healthy lifestyle throughout the life span.
10. Analyze game play, synthesize skills or tactical problems of the game, or evaluate player performance of tactical problems, including off-the-object problems of scoring (e.g. maintain a rally, setting up to attack, winning the point, attacking as a pair/team) and preventing scoring (e.g. defending space, defending against attack, defending as a pair/team) during modified game play.
11. Analyze game play, synthesize skills or tactical problems of the game, or evaluate player performance of tactical problems, including on-the-object movement of scoring (e.g. maintain a rally, setting up to attack, winning the point, attacking as a pair/team) and preventing scoring (e.g. defending space, defending against attack, defending as a pair/team) during modified game play.
12. Explain appropriate tactical decisions in an invasion game (“what” to do “when,” including both on-the-object skills and off-the-object movements.

C. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will participate regularly in physical activity.

The intent of this standard is establishment of patterns of regular participation in meaningful physical activity.  This standard connects what is done in the classroom with the lives of the students outside of the classroom.  Although participation within the class is important, what the student does outside the class is critical to developing an active, healthy lifestyle that has the potential to help prevent a variety of health problems among future generation of adults.  Students make use of the skills and knowledge learned in class as they engage in regular physical activity outside of class.  They demonstrate effective self-management skills that enable them to articulate in physical activity on a regular basis.  Voluntary participation often develops from the initial enjoyment that is derived from the activity coupled with the requisite skills needed for participation.  As students develop an awareness of the relationships between activity and its immediate and identifiable effects on the body, regular participation in physical activity enhances the physical and psychological health of the body, social opportunities and relationships, and quality of life.  Students are more likely to participate if they have opportunities to develop interests that are personally meaningful to them.  Attainment of this standard encourages participation commensurate with contemporary recommendations regarding the type of activity as well as the frequency, duration, and intensity of participation believed to support and sustain good health.  Student will:

1. Willingly participate in a variety of physical activities appropriate for maintaining or enhancing a healthy, active lifestyle.
2. Accumulate a recommended number of minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity outside of class on a regular basis.
3. Use the Principles of Training for the purpose of modifying levels of fitness.
4. Monitor and adjust activity to meet personal physical activity demands.
5. Monitor physical activity through the use of a pedometer, heart rate, monitor and physical activity log.
6. Demonstrate effective time management skills that allow opportunities for physical activity to be created or found during a busy day.

D. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

The intent of this standard is development of students’ knowledge, skills, and willingness to accept responsibility for personal fitness, leading to an active, healthy lifestyle.  Students develop higher levels of basic fitness and physical competence as needed for many work situations and active leisure participation.  Health-related physical fitness components include cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.  Expectations for improvement of students’ fitness levels is established on a personal basis, taking in to account variation in entry level and long-term goal of achieving health-related levels of fitness based on criterion-referenced standards.  Students progress in their ability to participate in moderate to vigorous physical activities that address each component of health-related physical fitness.  Moreover, students become skilled in their ability to plan, perform, and monitor physical activities appropriate for developing physical fitness.  Students will be able to design and develop an appropriate personal fitness program that enables them to achieve health-related levels of fitness.  Students will:

1. Maintain appropriate levels of cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition necessary for a healthy and productive life.
2. Assess physical fitness status in terms of cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.  Identify personal strengths and weaknesses.
3. Develop a personal fitness profile on the basis of fitness assessment results.
4. Design and implement a personal fitness program based on information obtained from the fitness assessment and in accordance with appropriate training principles.
5. Achieve personal fitness goals after a period of training.
6. Monitor and adjust a personal fitness program to meet needs and goals to determine patterns of behavior which affect their quality of life.

E. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will exhibit responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.

The intent of this standard is achievement of self-initiated behaviors that promote personal and group success in activity settings.  These include safe practices, adherence to rules and procedures, etiquette, cooperation and teamwork, ethical behavior, and positive social interaction.  Key to this standard is developing respect for individual similarities and difference through positive interaction among participants in physical activity.  Similarities and difference include characteristics of culture, ethnicity, motor performance, disabilities, physical characteristics (e.g. strength, size, and shape), gender, age, race, and socioeconomic status.  Students initiate responsible behavior, function independently and responsibly, and positively influence the behavior of others in physical activity settings.  They participate with all people, avoid and resolve conflicts, recognize the value of diversity in physical activity, and develop strategies for inclusion of others.  Students begin to understand how adult work and family roles and responsibilities affect their decisions about physical activity and how physical activity, preferences, and opportunities change over time.  Students will:

1. Participate successfully in a cooperative learning group with a wide range of diverse members.
2. Provide best effort.
3. Willingly accept the responsibility of leader or follower in order to accomplish group goals.
4. Accept responsibility for their personal well-being.
5. Apply safe practices, rules, procedures, and etiquette in all physical activities.
6. Use equipment and facilities safely and responsibly.
7. Display constructive competition and sportsmanship through appropriate participation.

F. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will comprehend the value of physical activities for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

The intent of this standard is development of an awareness of the intrinsic values and benefits of participation in physical activity that provides personal meaning.  Physical activity provides opportunities for self-expression and social interaction and can be enjoyable, challenging, and fun.  These benefits develop self-confidence and promote a positive self-image, thereby enticing people to continue participation in activity throughout the life span.  Participation in physical activity provides enjoyment and challenge as well as opportunities for self-expression and social interaction.  As a result of these intrinsic benefits of participation, students will begin to actively pursue life-long physical activities that meet their own needs.  Students will:

1. Identify reasons to participate in physical activity.
2. Enjoy working with others in a sport or activity to achieve a common goal
3. Create self-rewards for achieving personal fitness/physical activity goals.
4. Reflect on reasons for choosing to participate in selected physical activities.

G. Students studying Wellness at IMSA will understand the role of nutrition, sleep, and stress management as behaviors which alleviate the effects of distress and assist us in developing and maintaining holistic wellness.

The intent of this standard is of the learner’s ability to use cognitive information to understand the role of each: nutrition, sleep and stress management as well as their interrelationship in healthy living.  Students will:

1. Realize the holistic nature of wellness.
2. Identify personal nutritional habits
3. Analyze personal dietary choices and behaviors
4. Establish a behavioral change and evaluate its affect
5. Monitor personal sleep patterns
6. Identify the major stressors in their lives.
7. Analyze the emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, and physiological reactions to the stress response.
8. Participate in positive behaviors that manage stress.

 

References

• American Association for Health Education (1995). National standards for health education. Reston, VA: American Association for Health Education.
• Gardner, Howard (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
• Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (1994). Standards of significant learning. Aurora, IL: IMSA.
• Illinois State Board of Education (1997). Illinois learning standards. Springfield, IL: ISBE.
• National Association for Sport and Physical Education (2005). Moving into the future: National standards for physical education. 2^nd Edition. Reston, VA: National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, January 2010.