Using the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy for Advanced Graded Exercise Testing in Clinical and Sport Performance Based Courses

Determining functional capacity (FC) is a critical aspect of performance and clinical measures. In this lab students will propose, complete, and evaluate the success of a graded exercise test (GXT) of their own design. This lab is intended for upper-level students who have been exposed to both maximal and submaximal exercise testing. Because of the nature of FC testing, this is an in-person activity; however, there may be ways to convert this into an online space as case studies or rely solely on submax estimations. Depending on the types of tests being performed, a 50-minute class can complete 2 tests per metabolic cart available. Lead-in preparation days will make the actual lab day more likely to succeed. These days will consist of students piloting different procedures and dialing in the stepwise staging of the test they are to develop. This activity is designed to engage higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, with the main benefit of this lab is to have students demonstrating their understanding of the underlying principles of exercise testing remembered from previous courses by applying it to unique situations and design appropriate testing for the challenge. They will need to defend their design choices after providing an analysis of the material learned from previous coursework as it applies to the current task. Evaluation of the activity begins with distinguishing whether criteria for a successful GXT has been achieved and ends with students critiquing the GXT they have developed after testing it.