Paul Wright believes in the affirming power of promoting social and emotional learning (SEL) through sport and other physical activities to position students on better paths toward success. Sure enough, it’s the major focus of the Physical Activity and Life Skills (PALS)
Read moreNamaste: KNPE students design, market Clinton Rosette Middle School yoga club
Launching a new after-school club is a fount of valuable experience. Concept. Content. Recruitment. Delivery. Assessment. Modification. Enhancement. Some students of Marcella Otto and Victoria Shiver in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education can already claim that on-the-ground training on their
Read moreClever solution, good relationships allow P.E. majors to visit schools for clinicals
Getting pre-service teachers into K-12 schools for clinical experiences during COVID-19 isn’t easy. But Zach Wahl-Alexander, assistant professor of pedagogy in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, has engineered just that for NIU P.E. majors. Wahl-Alexander worked the phones this spring,
Read moreKNPE, Lorado Taft staff combine forces to keep field experience despite COVID
COVID-19 is not stopping P.E. majors in Gail Koehling’s KNPE 466: Field Experience at Outdoor Environments course from getting a taste of Lorado Taft training. Students in KNPE 466 typically visit the NIU facility in Oregon, Ill., for three days and two
Read moreBest of both worlds: Educate U.S. takes virtual trip to Houston during pandemic
COVID-19 could not cancel the NIU College of Education’s January 2021 edition of Educate U.S. with the Houston Independent School District. Even as the pandemic did prevent travel to Texas for the 14 teacher-licensure candidates chosen to participate in the real-world learning,
Read moreUncharted waters: KNPE alum leading COVID-prompted online public school
Families in the 15,000-student Thompson School District of Loveland, Colorado, were offered an intriguing and innovative option this fall as the COVID-19 pandemic barreled into another semester. Called Thompson Connect Online (TCO), it’s a completely virtual “school” created solely to enroll the
Read moreKNPE, College of DuPage sign 2+2 plan, smooth path to three bachelor’s degrees
Transferring to the NIU Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KNPE) is now an easy option for College of DuPage students who want direct routes to bachelor’s degrees and vibrant careers. Clear 2+2 pathways have been developed for all three undergraduate programs
Read moreNoted golf-swing guru Jim Suttie named Fall 2020 ‘virtual’ Educator in Residence
Jim Suttie was only 4 when he first encountered what has defined the rest of his life and his still-growing list of internationally celebrated accomplishments. “My dad was a physician – a pediatrician – in DeKalb. He played golf, and he got
Read moreAllan Vest comes ‘full circle’ in closing 50-year NIU career back where he began
During his 1970-71 senior year at Thornridge High School in suburban Dolton, Ill., Allan Vest played on a now-legendary basketball team crowned as state champions in the first of its back-to-back titles. Membership in a club like that offers bragging rights that
Read moreFuture teachers, high schoolers learn together during P.E. Leadership Summit
In times like these, it often becomes more obvious what we all have in common. Empathy and sympathy for friends, family and strangers who are suffering. Admiration for people courageously and selflessly serving on the front lines at their own risk. Material
Read moreUNESCO taps Paul Wright to lead forum prior to anti-doping convention in Paris
Sometimes, preventative medicine is the best medicine. Case in point: One day before the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization opens its seventh international convention against doping in sport, UNESCO will host a pre-conference forum on values-based education. Both events, which
Read moreRessler named Senior Faculty Fellow
Jim Ressler knew he was on to something good in February, when he and his colleagues from the NIU PALS Group played host to 70 students from West Aurora High School for the first P.E. Leadership Summit. Two months later, the associate
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