The Fitness and Wellness IQ: Measuring College Student Learning in Campus Recreation Fitness and Wellness Programs

Collegiate campus recreation departments are held to increasingly higher levels of accountability, particularly as to whether recreational programs and activities have impact on student learning. This pioneering study found that students who participated in selected fitness and wellness programs offered by a certain four-year, public institution of higher education in the Mid-west scored significantly higher (t= 3.865, α = .000, sd = 2.68) on an exam (the Fitness and Wellness IQ) designed to test their knowledge and understanding of appropriate fitness and wellness practices. Certain demographic categories (gender, age, and residence) produced significant differences in mean scores. These findings have important ramifications for campus recreation departments, divisions of student affairs, and institutions of higher education in general based on the impact on student learning from traditionally non-academic institutional programming. 1 Milton et al.: The Fitness and Wellness IQ Published by Digital Commons @ Kent State University Libraries, 2012 Milton, Roth, Porter and Hutton 92 The concepts of fitness and wellness have become increasingly important in the administration of campus recreation programs at universities and colleges across the country and have been made ever more so by the recent interest in and impact of Learning Reconsidered 2 (Keeling, 2006). Fitness and wellness knowledge has gained in interest among university and college campuses, especially campus recreation programs. Most university and college administrators would acknowledge that students learning good fitness and wellness practices, and leaving the institution with such knowledge, is an important contribution that recreational sports makes to a student‘s well-being, if not their overall education. Organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) support and promote the importance of fitness and wellness practices among colleges and universities. Furthermore, institutions of higher education are expected to be more accountable than ever; not just for financial resources, but also for impact on student learning (Keeling, 2006). The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) released its most recent standards for recreational sports programs with a mission, ―to promote the improvement of programs and services to enhance the quality of student learning and development‖ (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, 2008). These standards guide recreational sports programs in learning and assessment outcomes and were inspired by Learning Reconsidered (Keeling, 2004) and Learning Reconsidered 2 (Keeling, 2006). Specific CAS outcomes for recreational sports wellness programs state that wellness programs should ―encourage achievement of one‘s full health potential. These programs should provide an opportunity to work cooperatively with professionals in health services including counselors and physicians, and may be accomplished in concert with others who are similarly oriented‖ (CAS standards, 2005). Even traditional service-oriented units, such as multicultural student affairs and campus recreation departments are expected to have a positive influence on student learning through 2 The Journal of SPORT, Vol. 1 [2012], Iss. 1, Art. 4 https://digitalcommons.kent.edu/sport/vol1/iss1/4 The Fitness and Wellness IQ 93 CAS standards. This is done primarily through the identification and development of learning outcomes and the tools to measure them. In today‘s higher education environment, developing learning outcomes has become an important consideration at all institutional levels, including departments of campus recreation. Student Affairs units have generally accepted the concepts put forth in Learning Reconsidered (Keeling, 2004), and more recently Learning Reconsidered 2 (Keeling, 2006). Learning Reconsidered 2 was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the development of assessments that would further reveal and even justify the role of student affairs programming in enhancing student learning. The concepts addressed in Learning Reconsidered 2 provided a foundation for the concepts of student learning outcomes, especially for student affairs oriented departments. NIRSA plays a major role in making sure that the tenets espoused in Learning Reconsidered 2 are promulgated in campus recreation programs across the United States through providing recommendations and supporting research to its member institutions. Related Literature There has been a plethora of research conducted regarding the impact of a campus recreation program on students. These studies typically address retention, socialization, and student development from a student affairs mindset, but do not specifically deal with how a campus recreation program contributes to a student‘s basic knowledge of fitness and wellness, or contributes more generally to student learning. Henchy (2011) discussed the impact of campus recreation programs on student retention in regard to building a sense of community and student involvement in oncampus activities. It was found that involvement in campus recreation programming contributed to overall student satisfaction with the university (Henchy, 2011). This involvement led to increased student retention rates, yet no discussion on the academic impact of such programs was addressed (Henchy, 2011). Lindsey, Sessoms, and Willis (2009) also discussed the impact of campus recreation programs on African American student recruitment and retention. The findings in this study were consistent 3 Milton et al.: The Fitness and Wellness IQ Published by Digital Commons @ Kent State University Libraries, 2012 Milton, Roth, Porter and Hutton 94 with Henchy (2011) in that the availability of campus recreation programs played a significant role in the student‘s decision to attend the particular university population studied. According to Lindsey et al. (2009) ―Forty-seven percent of the students surveyed reported that the availability of recreational sports was important/very important in deciding to continue at college‖ (p. 29). Moffitt (2010) added to the literature regarding the relationship between student retention, academic success, and campus recreation programming. The results of this study indicated that campus recreation program participation had a statistically significant effect on student academics (Moffitt, 2010). These findings support the contentions of both Henchy (2011) and Lindsey et al. (2009), however, little research has been conducted in relationship to the overall impact of campus recreation programs on the basic fitness and wellness knowledge of students. In addition to the lack of student learning research in campus recreation, there has been little research on specific learning outcomes established by campus recreation programs within divisions of student affairs. The current research provides extensive discussion on the process of developing learning outcomes for campus recreation departments, but little research has been done on the potential gains in fitness and wellness knowledge among participants in campus recreation programs. Present learning outcome research for campus recreation programs has placed a general focus on the student‘s ability to effectively contribute to society upon graduation. For example, Cooper, Flood, and Gardner (2009), outlined the following learning outcomes for a campus recreation program, time management, social competence, achievement motivation, intellectual flexibility, task leadership, emotional control, active initiative, self-confidence which all stem from the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire-version H (LEQ-vH). There is little consideration given to student academic learning within the article, rather, a general focus placed on development of basic life-skills as described in Cooper et al.‘s (2009) learning outcomes. Fortman and Haines (2011) developed the Measuring Outcomes from Recsports Experiences (MORE) based on Keeling‘s 4 The Journal of SPORT, Vol. 1 [2012], Iss. 1, Art. 4 https://digitalcommons.kent.edu/sport/vol1/iss1/4 The Fitness and Wellness IQ 95 (2006) Learning Reconsidered 2 to include learning outcomes such as effective communication, enhanced self-esteem, realistic selfappraisal, leadership development, life skills, healthy behaviors, and satisfying and productive lifestyle. These learning outcomes describe the overall development of student participation in campus recreation programs, but do not specifically address the impact of these programs on the fitness and wellness knowledge of students participating in these programs. The amount of fitness and wellness knowledge that a student could obtain from participation in a campus recreation program potentially contributes to overall socialization. However, there are a number of other benefits to the student that can be derived from this knowledge. These benefits include the ability to take control of one‘s life, manage stress, experience physical fitness gains, and contribute to the economic status of the nation by lowering health care costs and paying fitness and wellness professionals for these services (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2011). Student learning through institutionally provided campus recreation fitness and wellness programs has not been researched though there are a number of benefits to the student by learning about fitness and wellness through participation in these programs. As Keeling (2006) indicated in Learning Reconsidered 2, "Student affairs educators...want to demonstrate that there must be an assessment of quality and value---in terms of student learning---in every program and activity" (p. 2) . It is important to take research conducted in a program most often housed in student affairs, campus recreation, and conduct research that tests whether learning has occurred during in any of the activities offered by such a program. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was twofold: 1) To develop and deploy pedagogy to student participants in institutional provided fitness and wellness programs, and 2) to compare their fitness and wellness knowledge to that of students who did not participate in institutional provided fitness and wellness programs. 5 Milton et al.: The Fitness and Wellness IQ Published by Digital Commons @ Kent State University Libraries, 2012 Milton, Roth, Porter and Hutton