Implementing Technology-Enhanced Quality Physical Education for Physically Active and Mentally Healthy Kids

A staggering 78.2% of Michigan youth do not engage in the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) each day. This lack of daily MVPA has significantly contributed to the prevalence of childhood obesity and has exacerbated mental health and well-being for youth. Currently, 31.4% of Michigan youth are overweight and obese. In a recent survey, lack of physical activity, stress, and anxiety emerged as top concerns for child health. Given the urgency of the situation, it is crucial to ensure that school-aged children participate in a minimum of 30 minutes of daily MVPA during school hours as they spend more than half of their waking hours there. Providing students with quality physical education (QPE) is the whole-school approach to promoting daily MVPA. One key QPE indicator is engaging students in MVPA for at least 50% of class time. Integrating technology into QPE lessons is essential to achieve this goal. Toward this end, we have developed and implemented the first year of our two-year large-scale funded project: Sustaining Quality Physical Education for Health Kids. The purpose of this keynote presentation is to share findings from our first-year study in four key areas.