Motion was the mission for Recreation Therapy students who recently took steps to increase physical activity among youth.
Called ‘Motion Mission,’ the initiative aims to teach elementary school students about the importance and value of physically active leisure and to increase their movement in a fun and interactive way. It was developed by more than 20 second-year students during the spring term, as part of their Leisure Education course. Using John Dattilo’s Leisure Education Model and the Ontario Physical Education Curriculum as a guide, they designed a suite of virtual resources – including online videos and learning activities related to the benefits of physical activity – which are being provided to elementary school teachers to use in their online or in-person classes.
Motion Mission was sparked by Recreation Therapy professor Erin Wilkie who became interested in increasing physical activity in the community as a project idea for her Leisure Education course. She applied for a ParticipACTION grant in March and subsequently the project received full grant funding.
“With life continuing in a pandemic and our community (especially children) having a significant reduction in physical movement, Motion Mission was designed to address physical activity concerns, and support elementary school teachers with resources that were flexible and convenient to build into an online/screen focused day,” said Wilkie.
Motion Mission is comprised of 10 ‘mini events’ which all focus on different topics to help children and youth better engage in physical activity on a personal level, noted Wilkie. Embedded into each mini-event, are virtual resources: five-minute animated videos, which introduce topics and inspire children to think about physical activity in various ways.
To participate, children would watch a video (five minutes), perform an activity (15 minutes), and then participate in a follow-up class discussion (five minutes). Teachers move through the 10 checkpoints at their own pace, participate in one or more sessions, and log the minutes of physical activity engagement with the Recreation Therapy students via email before moving onto the next checkpoint.
While her students typically design leisure education sessions as part of her course, Wilkie decided to centre the assignment on elementary school children this term – who are not traditionally a focus for the program – due to their increasing need for support in physical, mental, social and cognitive health due to the pandemic.
Students began working on the project at the beginning of spring term, and completed the resources by early June.
Four schools – in Niagara, Hamilton and the York Region– used the resources as part of ParticipACTION’s Community Better Challenge initiative, between June 7-18. Schools that participated had the option of reporting activity minutes to the Recreation Therapy students who logged them for ParticipACTION.
They also hosted a live event from June 21-25, which drew nine Niagara-based schools, as well as 13 individual participants (including participants in Niagara, Selkirk, and Sundridge, Ontario, as well as in Texas).
Motion Mission tracked 28,975 active minutes during the month of June. Active minutes were tracked by school teachers who logged use in their classrooms as well as Wilkie who tracked all the live participants during the week of June 21.
“That’s a lot of kids moving their bodies toward healthier lives,” noted Wilkie. “It’s a pretty significant impact for a student assignment.”
In addition to the scheduled events in June, the Motion Mission is also intended to be a more permanent resource for institutions that may wish to incorporate it into their own classes or programs in the future. To date, 15 schools have received the resources, including 12 from the District School Board of Niagara, one DSBN online, as well as one based in Hamilton and one in the York Region – as well as two children’s hospitals (Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and the Niagara Children’s Centre.
“With this being a virtual event led by teachers on their own class schedules, there is no limit to how many students/schools can participate,” said Wilkie. “In fact, the more the better! #EveryMoveCounts.”
Real-world experience
Recreation Therapy student Emily Bourque is seen in the top right corner of a screen as she presents the ‘Movin’ and Choosin’ activity she created for Motion Mission.
For student Emily Bourque (St. Catharines), working on the project was a rewarding experience. She created the ‘Movin’ and Choosin’ activity for the project, which allows students to make a choice and with each choice, they are faced with a quest that involves physical activity – such as doing as many jumping jacks as they can for 60 seconds, or dancing to the cha-cha slide. Once the quest is completed, the next set of choices are presented.
“Physical activity is something that is very near and dear to my heart and I think that it is extremely important to find new and fun ways to incorporate it into our lives no matter how old we are,” said Bourque. “This project provided a fun way to get children moving while also including that leisure education component.”
She valued the experience of developing a program for youth – a population she had not previously considered working with.
“It has opened my eyes to new possibilities as this was a lot of fun to create,” she said.
For Bailey Cooper, who graduated from the Rec Therapy program on June 24, the Motion Mission project turned into an opportunity for a part-time job. After completing her studies, she was hired to work alongside Wilkie from the beginning of May until mid-June. She assisted with the creation of educational videos for students across Canada, funded by the ParticipACTION grant.
“I found that being able to work as soon as I finished school was a very rewarding and motivating experience for me,” she said. “I am not sure which population I will be working with in the future or where my career will take me but I do know that no matter where I end up, that it will be a rewarding experience because of the work that recreation therapists are able to do. I have never worked with students before and I know now that I love and enjoy it.”
For information about Motion Mission contact Erin Wilkie at [email protected].
