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SPORT ORIENTEERING

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ED5353 Module 3

Bridgette Kennedy

American College of Education

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My name Bridgette Kennedy and I am the program coordinator for the Sport Orienteering wellness program. I have taught for more than 20 years. This is a unique program and I am excited to teach my Adventure Education students about orienteering. Seven years ago my coworker and I set out to encourage our students to get outside. We developed a program called Adventure Education. We saw a need to teach a non traditional PE class for students that were not engaging in a traditional sport based PE program. We introduce our students to hiking, rock climbing, archery, basic survival knots, first aid basics, backcountry cooking, and outdoor fitness routines. We take ou students on four field trips throughout the year to make learning in the classroom become a reality. This year we are excited to introduce sport orienteering using grant funded SPORTident equipment.

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Did You Know?

Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago.
Children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive, and show better concentration.
Sixty minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health.
The most direct route to caring for the environment as an adult is participating in “wild nature activities” before the age of 11 (NWF, 2018c).

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What’s the Problem?

The average American child spends five to eight hours a day in front of a digital screen
Schools have reduced or eliminated school recess
Families have overscheduled lives
Parents are concerned about children’s safety
Kids do not take initiative to find the tools to be outside (O’Mara, 2018).

Researchers and health education specialist have noticed a trend in the activity levels of our youth. More and more teens are not staying active the older they get. Why are they less active? What is the problem? According to the National Wildlife Federation, National Parks Foundation, and the Washington Post:

The average American child spends five to eight hours a day in front of a digital screen-- youth are texting, talking, gaming, and watching videos on YouTube and Netflix to be entertained. “Children who spend much of their time indoors watching television or playing video games can become isolated and withdrawn, even if they think they are connecting online” (O’Mara, 2018).
Schools have reduced or eliminated school recess because of lack of funding and meeting the demands of state tests
Families have overscheduled lives. People are over scheduled and cannot find the time to get outside. They go from work to work, or from school to practice. Some even go from school to practice and then another practice.
Parents are concerned about children’s safety. The world we live in today is not as safe as it was in years past. I remember walking to the local park everyday after school for my sports practice and then walking home in the dark by myself, or riding my bike 2 miles to a friends house to play. Today kids stay inside after school or get picked up by their parents and brought straight home. When they do play with their friends its inside watching TV, playing video games or on the internet. Parents to do send their kids outside to play with their friends. They take them somewhere to do something. Very rarely is it to a park or outside activity to play in nature as it is.
Kids do not take initiative to find the tools to be outside. When they do go outside they are not sure of what to do. They are so programed by rules, expectations and guidelines to “just play” is difficult because they do not know what to do. They lack creativity and imagination when it comes to being outside. (O’Mara, 2018).

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Health Risks of not being outside

Vitamin D deficiency
Myopia/Near Sightedness
Childhood obesity
Mental health issues
Increase in ADHA among youth (NWF, 2018a)

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Youth staying inside can lead to many health risks. According to the National Wildlife Federation there are five health risks that youth can suffer from.

Vitamin D deficiency → With children spending less and less time outdoors, they receive limited doses of daily sunshine, leading to inadequate levels of vitamin D and setting them up for increased risk of bone problems, heart cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other health issues.19 In fact, a study of vitamin D levels in nearly 10,000 children found 9 percent of American children aged 1 to 21 were vitamin D deficient, representing 7.6 million U.S. children, and 61% were vitamin D insufficient, representing 50.8 million U.S. children. (¹NWF, 2018)
Myopia/Near Sightedness→ Myopia has become increasingly common among young children in recent decades, with indoor time spent reading up-close material, such as on an electronic screen, a potential cause.
Childhood obesity→ Risks associated with overweight and obesity include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, joint pain, and fatty liver disease—and most alarmingly, shortened life expectancy. (NWF, 2018a)
Mental health issues→ Many young people suffer from anxiety, depression, and social awkwardness due to lack of social interaction and isolated time spent alone indoors.
Increase in ADHA among youth → While not considered a cure, exposure to natural settings may be “widely effective” in reducing ADHD symptoms in kids. Sadly, children with ADHD may get even less outdoor time than their peers, as children with attention problems are more often held in for recess due to misbehavior in the classroom. (NWF, 2018a)

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WHAT CAN I DO

TO MAKE CHANGE

AT MY SCHOOL?

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SPORT ORIENTEERING??

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What is Sport Orienteering?

“Orienteering is a competitive international sport that combines racing with navigation. It is a timed race in which individual participants use a specially created, highly detailed map to select routes and navigate through diverse and often unfamiliar terrain and visit control points in sequence. Courses also can be enjoyed as a walk in the woods, with difficulty levels from beginner to expert offered at most events” (Orienteering Unlimited LLC, 2018).

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Benefits of Sport Orienteering

Builds self-confidence
Improves map reading
Teaches a lifetime sport
Provides mental challenges
Provides physical challenges (Orienteering Unlimited Inc., 2018)

There are several benefits that youth can gain from participating in sport orienteering. Orienteering will

Builds self-confidence by allowing child to explore in the natural world and learn from their surroundings.
Improves map reading→ by being able to identify common symbols and colors on a map
Teaches a lifetime sport→ this is an activity they can participate in with their families, by themselves, or with friends. They can walk, run, jog or even bike the course and no matter how young or old they are as long as they can read a map nad use a compass they can participate.
Provides mental and physical challenges→ encouraging youth to play and discover with the environment is just what nature ordered. Allowing students to and explore while moving challenges them to use their mind and bodies to figure out how to complete the course. There is no right or wrong when it comes to navigation as long as you know how to use a map and a compass.

(Orienteering Unlimited Inc., 2018)

Children are doing what comes naturally, having fun, and don’t see it as “exercising.”

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Health Benefits

BODY

MIND

SPIRIT

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Body

Much higher levels of fitness
Stronger bones
Improved eyesight
Better sleep
A longer life span and healthier adult life (O’Mara, 2018 )

Being outside can benefit the body by increasing fitness levels and developing healthy and active bodies. This is “an important strategy in helping the one in three American kids who are obese get fit.” Spending time outside also increases vitamin D levels that help protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes, and other health issues.(⁴NWF, 2018)

“In the last 20 years, the prevalence of obesity among young children aged 6 to 11 has more than doubled to 17 percent and more than tripled to 17.6 percent for adolescents aged 12-19.17 The odds of being obese are even higher in marginalized neighborhoods with few or no parks. Risks associated with overweight and obesity include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, joint pain, and fatty liver disease—and most alarmingly, shortened life expectancy” (⁴NWF, 2018)
According to the National wildlife federation and an article by the Washington Post youth that have more “green time” than “screen time” benefits their body by:
Much higher levels of fitness→ they are participating in organized sports, hiking, breathing fresh air, and much more.
Stronger bones→ Exposure to natural light helps prevent vitamin D deficiency, making outdoorsy children less vulnerable to bone problems, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health issues.
Improved eyesight→ Time spent outdoors can help combat increasing diagnosis of nearsightedness
Better sleep→ Exposure to natural light, and lots of physical activity, help reset a child’s natural sleep rhythms.
A longer life span and healthier adult life (O’Mara, 2018)
→ Active kids are more likely to grow into active adults

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Mind

Better performance in school
Less depression and hyperactivity.
Stress levels fall
“Green time” lengthens attention spans (O’Mara, 2018).

Exposure to environment-based education significantly increases student performance on tests of their critical thinking skills.” The activities that are designed for outdoor education are all developed around experiential education. Experiential education teaches students to make learning become a reality.
“Regular outdoor time can be a scholastic boom to children with attention problems, but research reveals connecting all kids with nature can help them excel academically. A 2003 study entitled “Environmental Education: Improving Student Achievement” compared 77 pairs of demographically equivalent schools and examined standardized test performance. Half of the schools had environmental education programs and half did not. The study concluded that in the schools with an environmental education component, students scored higher on standardized tests in math, reading, writing and listening—and this pattern of improved test scores persisted for five years” (NWF, 2018).

Being outside can benefit the mind by:
Better performance in school→ Time spent in nature and increased fitness improve cognitive function. “playing outside person-to-person allows young people to share, cooperate and resolve problems. Researchers have found kids who play together and organize games experience a constructive way to avoid social isolation. This type of group interaction also helps children learn teamwork and how to problem solve with others” (O’Mara, 2018)
Less depression and hyperactivity→ Time in nature is soothing, improves mood and reduces stress.Stress levels fall → being outside in nature is calming and gives the mind a chance to escape the everyday happenings of life
Stress levels fall→ people use nature as a place to reflect on what is going in their lives it encourages people to be in the moment. Listen to what is going on around you and be distracted by what nature has to offer, not what life has to offer.
“Green time” lengthens attention spans→ because things move at a slower pace than they do on the screen. It forces students to stop and react naturally to the environment. Most activities in nature are slower and in the moment. The pace is determined by the individual not the activity. (O’Mara, 2018).

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Spirit

More creativity
More friends
Improve social interactions
Nature also makes human beings behave more human—it makes you nicer (O’Mara, 2018).

A third benefit to being outside is how nature can impact the spirit of our youth. “Play protects children’s emotional development, whereas loss of free time and a hurried lifestyle can contribute to anxiety and depression.”

More creativity→ Outdoor play uses and nurtures the imagination.
More friends→ Children who organize their own games and participate in unstructured group activities are less solitary and learn to interact with their peers.
Improve social interactions→ Free play teaches kids to share, cooperate and resolve problems. Youth can engage in what is going on in nature free of rules, regulations, and guidelines that are typically used to structure the child's behavior and well being. Nature does not typically come with stipulations it comes with an open door, think outside the box concept. Explore, create, have fun at your own risk.
Nature also makes human beings behave more human—it makes you nicer → Connecting with nature can make children find compassion, they tend to care for their environment, and want to protect it. They can find ways to enhance their community through service projects and giving back, and in return it makes then feel good about who they are. (O’Mara, 2018)

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Sport Orienteering Program Support

LEADERSHIP and STAKEHOLDERS

Program Coordinator→ Bridgette Kennedy
SPORTident Sales Rep→ Ana Sophia Chavez
Adventure Education Students→ 350 7th grade students at James Workman Middle School
Teacher→ Phil Sanchez & Bridgette Kennedy
Joshua Tree National Park Rangers→ Alison Soup & Sarah Jane Pepper
PSUSD Foundation Grant Coordinator→ Ellen Goodman

In order for this program to be successful it needs the right program coordinator and a collaborative effort by all the carefully selected stakeholders involved.

I was selected as the program coordinator because I am planned, organized, and creative.
I also came up with the wellness program idea.
Ana Sophia Chavez will be a great asset to the team because she is an expert in the equipment he program will be using.
The 350 students in the Adventure program will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program because they will be the ones experimenting with the program.
The two teachers listes, Phil Sanchez and Bridgette Kennedy, work together as a team. They will design and implement the curriculum with the students best interest and be willing to adjust as necessary along the way.
The park rangers from Joshua Tree National Park have been with the Adventure Program for six years now. They are always looking for new and interesting ways to bring students to the park. The sport orienteering wellness program is a new perspective on what students and families can do at the park.
Ellen Goodman will be the wellness programs cheerleader. Aside from providing the financial support of the equipment she will get the word out about the program and keep community informed about the impact the program has made at James Workman.

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Curriculum Content

Navigation Introduction
SPORTident Introduction
SPORTident Challenge
Jog-A-Thon
Joshua Tree Field Trip
Saturday Parent Day

The curriculum for this program will be used over a six week period at school and then an opportunity to complete 3 different courses designed in the the community.

The teachers will begin the program with three of activities teaching students about navigation in general.
The concepts that will be taught are map reading, basic compass skills, and learning about the health benefits of being outside.
They will also learn about the health risks of staying inside. Once the basic navigation skills are developed through hands on activities using a map and compass students will then being learning about the SPORTident equipment and how develop the skills to participate in sport orienteering.
The teachers will then spend 3 weeks teaching the Adventure students how make orienteering sport based or competitive.
They will introduce SI cards, SI stations, the unique flags associated with the sport, and how to use all the equipment together and complete actual sport orienteering course. The teachers and students will use google maps to design their own courses on their campus.
The best course designed will be used in the Jog-A-Thon that the student will have a chance to participate in.
The students will also have a chance to complete a course on a field trip to Joshua Tree National park and really put their skills to the test on a course out in nature.
The last activity the students will have an opportunity to participate in is a Saturday Sport Orienteering event where the parents are invited to a community location to complete a course as a family.

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Equipment

SI CARD

SI STATION

&

CONTROL FLAG

MAP

COMPASS

Smart Device APPS

The equipment used for sport orienteering is easy to use and unique to the sport

The SI card is worn on your finger, you only need one. It is a timing device. As you complete the course the SI card is used to check in at the SI stations located on the course.
The SI Stations and control flags are distributed out on the course as designed by the map that helps you navigate through the course.
The Flags are always orange and white.
The SI station is attached to a stand or Flag so the participant can clearly identify where to check in.
The SI stations are used to help keep you on course. At the beginning of the course the participant checks in at the first SI station to begin their timer.
Then the participant will use the map and compass to navigate through the course.
The map is designed ahead of time and identifies where all the stations are located.
A compass is also required to help complete the course and keep you going in the correct direction. If the participant is correct in navigating the SI stations will beep and a red light will appear indicating they are correct and they should navigate to the next SI station.
At the end of the course the participant checks in at another SI Station and it stops the timer. When the participant is complete they will get a print out of their work and then clear their timer for the next person to use for the course.
Phone apps can be used with the SPORTident equipment for quicker results and monitoring Tobit and SI Droid are a few to check out.

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Formative Assessments

Google Map Project
Goal Setting
Partner Quizzes
One Minute Papers
Thinking Map

This wellness program needs data to help the program moving forward. These five formative assessments will be able to produce such data.

Google Map Project→ Students will learn about how to use google maps and create maps for them to use throughout the program. The best map created and voted on by their peers will be used in the Jog-A-thon event.
Goal Setting→ Students will set goals throughout the program and strive to reach and adjust as they move through program. Some of the goals will be short term goals and at least one of them will be a long term goal.
Partner Quizzes→ “pair students together and provide an open question to tackle. As they work to solve it, encourage them to give each other corrective feedback — identifying mistakes and explaining how to reach proper solutions” (Prodigy, 2018).
One Minute Papers → “One-minute papers are usually done at the end of the day. Students can work individually or in groups here. They must answer a brief question in writing” (Global Digital Citizen Foundation, 2018) .
Thinking Map→ can be used to help students organize their thought and display what they are thinking about the concept being taught. They can use a circle map to show what they have learned in a broad spectrum. They can use a treemap to demonstrate what they have learned about the equipment being used.

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Communication Plan

Google Classroom
Flyers
Instagram
Remind
Permission Slips
School Facebook Page
Class website

Google Classroom→ Student assignments and upcoming events can be posted here for students and parents to access information
Flyers→ Upcoming Events can be posted around the campus and Peachjar app can be used to push out information
Instagram→ Pictures of activities and upcoming events can be shared through the internet and controlled by the users
Remind→ is a great way to text students and parent Pictures of activities and upcoming events
Permission Slips→ will be used for Events the students must register for. Parent signatures are important for participation
School Facebook Page→ Is one more way to share Pictures of activities and upcoming events and get the community involved with the program
Class website→ Take time to set up originally but then Pictures of activities, upcoming events, permission slips and other information can be quickly accessed. It can also be a great place to display results of events and other exciting activities that will come up in the future.

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Implementation Plan

Grant Writing→ One to three weeks to write the grant and submit by the deadline
Curriculum Writing→ One week planning the 6 week unit
SILVA curriculum 2 weeks→ 3 weeks of in class and outdoor activities
SPORTident 2 weeks→ 3 weeks of in class and outdoor activities
Jog-A-Thon→ 3 one day events that are a part of the annual JWMS Jog-A-thon
Field Trip EVENT→ 2 one day trips to Joshua Tree National Park
Saturday School Parent Event→ Last Saturday of the unit to invite parents to come and play

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QUESTIONS

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Thank You

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References

Ewert, A., & Chang, Y. (2018). Levels of Nature and Stress Response. Behavioral Sciences, 8(5), 49. doi:10.3390/bs8050049

Global Digital Citizen Foundation. (2018, July 20). 10 Innovative Formative Assessment Examples for Teachers to

Know. Retrieved from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/10-innovative-formative-assessment-examples

National Wildlife Federation. (NWF) (2018a). Be Out There. [PDF file]. Retrieved from

https://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/~/media/PDFs/Be%20Out%20There/BeOutThere_WholeChild_V2.ashx

National Wildlife Federation (NWF). (2018b). Be Out There:Tech Report. [PDF file]. Retrieved from

https://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Be%20Out%20There/BOTTechReport85x11FINAL.ashx

National Wildlife Federation (NWF). (2018c). Connecting Kids and Nature. Retrieved from

https://www.nwf.org/Home/Kids-and-Family/Connecting-Kids-and-Nature

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References

National Wildlife Federation (NWF). (2018d). Health Benefits and Tips. Retrieved from

https://www.nwf.org/en/Kids-and-Family/Connecting-Kids-and-Nature/Health-Benefits-and-Tips

O'Mara, C. (2018, May 29). Kids do not spend nearly enough time outside. Here’s how (and why) to change that.

Washington Post [Washington D.C.], p. Perspective

Orienteering Unlimited Inc. (2018). What is Orienteering? - Orienteering Unlimited, Inc. Retrieved from

https://orienteeringunlimited.com/what-is-orienteering/

Prodigy. (2018, March 5). 20 Formative Assessment Examples. Retrieved from

https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/formative-assessment-examples/

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