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About Eileen:
Eileen is a P.E. instructor at Neenah High School and the K-12 Physical Education department chair. She's been teaching for 20 years total, and has been using Polar technology in her lessons for the last 4 years. She's a member of AAHPERD and WAHPERD. Among many honors and awards she's received are the 2004-05 Neenah High School Teacher of the Year Award, and the 2005-06 Neenah Joint School District Passion for Excellence Award. She teaches for UW-Oshkosh Evaluation, Assessment and Technology for K-12 Physical Education.
About Neenah High School:
Neenah High School is part of the Neenah Joint School District in Neenah, Wisconsin. In this urban area, the typical P.E. class size is 28 students. Students in grade levels 6-12 currently use Polar E600 Heart Rate Monitors (HRMs) along with the TriFit700 system and students in grade levels K-5 use TriFIT software on their laptops.
Core Activities:
K-12 students in the Neenah Joint School District are educated on the 5 health-related fitness components and use TriFIT to receive feedback on their physical fitness assessments. At Neenah High School, students develop their own personal programs based on their fitness assessments, health risk appraisals and meal planning. TriFIT data is tracked from kindergarten to 12th grade. TriFIT is used in a lab setting for the high school students.
Using Polar:
A PEP Grant as well as matching funds from the district provided the resources for Polar technology. District funds provide sustainability. P.E. teachers at Neenah High School started using Polar Technology because they wanted to provide students, parents, PE staff, and administration a comprehensive tool that would complement the curriculum, provide feedback on students’ progress, and meet state physical education standards. Physical education teachers in grades 6-12 use HRMs in their P.E. classes at least three times a week. For Eileen, the most important reason to use Polar in P.E. is because “the technology provides the tools for students to lead healthier lifestyles.”
The Buzz:
Eileen likes how "the HRMs provide constant feedback to both the student and the teacher. The TriFIT systems allow for flexibility in using different assessments to better meet the needs of all students. Furthermore, we can match personal profile components to be level specific, again reflecting to the state standards and sequentially building on the student personal profiles. The personal profile reports provide valuable on-going information for the students, parents, teachers, and administration to continually meet the needs for all students."
Students "love the technology's instant feedback; it has assisted them with the intrinsic motivation needed to improve their health-related fitness scores and to become responsible for their overall personal wellness."
Administration likes that "Polar Technology helps in the effort to change the direction of our entire K-12 physical education curriculum. The focus is now on an individually based program leading each student to his or her personal fitness zone. All course activities have now become a means to that end."
Personal Highlight:
Since implementing Polar in Neenah's P.E. program, Eileen has witnessed "an increase in activity time and time on task, and an increase in student knowledge of the health-related fitness components and nutrition. It has been less than a year since fully implementing the technology; nevertheless, our fitness scores in the cardiovascular area have improved. Additionally, there has been an increase in student enthusiasm for physical education as validated through a student survey."
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