My Experience in Physical Fitness: Exploring Effective Teaching Strategies

My Experience in Physical Fitness: The Swipe Right Fitness Class

The adult learning experience I participated in was the Swipe Right fitness class. This event occurred on September 29th, 2018, at eight in the morning. The morning fitness class focused on providing a sample of multiple fitness classes offered at Lifetime Health & Fitness Center. This event allowed consumers to experience classes that they might possibly want to participate in. Each instructor provided approximately 10-15 minutes of introduction to what their specific class had to offer.

The classes offered were Insanity, TRX, Group Power, Tabata, and Group Fight. Each instructor demonstrated diverse teaching styles to assist the consumers in understanding the class content and structure. Each class was unique, and certain classes were easier to follow than others. The goals I wanted to gain from this experience were to experience new fitness classes, increase my heart rate, and learn what areas of my body I was working on.

Pedagogical and Andragogical Techniques in Fitness

The first two goals were obtained during my fitness experience. I felt that each instructor engaged me in participating in the workout regimen and that my heart rate was elevated throughout each session. A mixture of andragogy and pedagogy teaching styles were used throughout this experience. Some strategies of pedagogy utilized during this experience were keeping teaching sessions brief, constant repetition, and positive reinforcement (Bastable & Dart, 2011).  Many of the athletic instructors kept it brief, no more than 15 minutes, only performed three routines, and allowed for continuous repetition to encourage consumer retention of workout routines. Many of the instructors also used positive verbal reinforcement throughout the session. Instructors would encourage me and other consumers to excel in a routine.

Engaging the Consumer: Strengths and Areas for Improvement

However, only some instructors picked up on the difficulty of some routines and graded the activity accordingly. This was a weakness of the instructors as I believe they began to lose interest from the consumers. Some instructors did grade the activity but did not grade it accordingly to engage the consumers that were struggling. I believe that this is a strategy, as an occupational therapist, that I need to increase in. Grading activities accordingly to meet my client/consumer. The just right challenge component is crucial for interventions and is something I can work on in the future.

Additionally, I believe that andragogy was evident in the motivational aspect of this experience. According to Bastable and Dart (2011), intrinsic motivation is more evident in andragogy. Many of the consumers had to be intrinsically motivated to continue with the continuous workout regimens. Many of the consumers would leave the class if it was too difficult or if they did not enjoy the workout routine. Another characteristic of adult learners is a concern about physical changes. I believe this class targeted that concern in older adults and used an andragogy approach to retrieve consumers. A teaching strategy of andragogy is also built on past experiences (Bastable & Dart, 2011). Many of the instructors would reference statements such as “Think about wearing that dress you always wanted to” or “Think about being able to pick up your children or grandchildren even as you get older.” I believe these statements from the athletic instructors were utilized to get consumers to contemplate past experiences and try to intrinsically motivate themselves to continue through rigorous fitness routines. The athletic instructors did perform a respectable job by incorporating both the pedagogy and andragogy teaching strategies to engage the consumers. I personally enjoyed the pedagogy approach and considered it a strength of the instructors. The workout regimen using the pedagogy approach was easier to follow and provided more demonstration and consideration of different learners.

Insights and Takeaways for Future Fitness Endeavors

While both pedagogy and andragogy strategies were utilized to teach multiple fitness consumers, adult learning principles were also utilized in the implementation of the Swipe Right fitness class. Adult principles I observed during this implementation were that consumers participated voluntarily, the instructor was a facilitator, consumers learned in a group, reinforcement was provided appropriately, and consumers were actively part of the learning process. The Swipe Right class was not mandatory, and the consumers participated voluntarily. I believe this first principle gained more voluntary and intrinsically motivated consumers to participate in their program. I also believe in having these voluntary and intrinsically motivated consumers. Their teaching styles were easier to implement as they knew people who attended wanted to be there. The second principle, the instructor as a facilitator, was evident through the teaching styles implemented.

The instructors would demonstrate the routine and work with the consumer on performing the routine. The instructors wanted to facilitate engagement and would grade the activity accordingly. For example, the instructors would direct the class on ways to keep the heart rate up but were easier in nature to perform. The instructor never singled anyone out, and I believe that more consumers engaged in the graded physical activities, as they were easier to participate in and felt part of the group. That principle also led to the third principle observed, learning in a group. The instructors did not need to provide a single demonstration for each individual. The consumers were able to view the demonstration and implement the routine. The learners were able to learn in a group and retain information provided by the instructor. The consumers also felt comfortable in the given group setting to take breaks and rest to their content. I believe that the instructors excelled in implementing this principle, as evidenced by consumer taking breaks and retaining routines without requiring constant verbal instructions from the instructor.

The last two principles, reinforcement provided appropriately and consumers integrated into the learning process (Bastable & Dart, 2011), were observed through how the instructors spoke to the consumers. The instructors would provide feedback to consumers through positive verbal reinforcement. Examples of how instructors used positive verbal reinforcement were statements such as, “Nice job,” “Good form,” and “You’ve got this.” Instructors never provided positive reinforcement unless warranted, which in turn increased the intrinsic motivational piece of the consumers. Consumers also were part of the learning process. The instructors would ask the fitness consumers what they felt the next step/routine should focus on. For example, the Group Power class focused on toning and weight lifting. The instructor allowed the fitness consumers to choose what muscle group they wanted to work on. This allowed the consumers to be part of the learning process and feel like an integral piece of the fitness class. I enjoyed this method as there were muscle groups I felt I needed to work on more than other muscle groups. This method also made me feel engaged, and I felt it was necessary to increase the adult learner principle of voluntary participation.

There were multiple skills I learned during this experience, and I believe I will be able to take them with me. The classes met the objective of piquing my interest and made me consider possibly attending more fitness classes at this facility. It was fast-paced, motivating, and challenging. I learned ways to stay mobile but keep my heart rate at an acceptable workout level. I have already contacted the facility and inquired about how much it would cost to attend the facility or possibly just get access to the fitness classes available.

This experience also increased my knowledge that a variety of teaching strategies can assist with implementing an effective program for multiple learners. The use of andragogy and pedagogy in the implementation of the Swipe Right fitness class provided to be an effective learning experience for me. Additionally, this experience assisted me in understanding how adult principles were implemented and how effective they can be when interacting with adult learners. I can take my experience and understanding of the implementation of adult principles and incorporate them into my future practice as an occupational therapist.

Reference:

1. Bastable, S.B & Dart, M.A. (2011). Developmental stages of the learner.
2. S.B. Bastable, M.A. Dart, P. Garmet, K. Jacobs, & D.L. Sopcyzk (Eds.). Health professional as educator: Principles of teaching and learning (151-198). Sudbury, MA : Jones & Bartlett Learning

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