The Musculoskeletal Effects of Obesity on Children: KINS 3592 Kinesiology and Biomechanics Fall 2008

Kinesiology and Biomechanics involves the scientific stuffy of movement. In this class the analysis of fundamental movements and mechanical principles were applied to human motion. Biomechanics involved the kinetics and kinematics of human motion.

This artifact is a research paper written over the musculoskeletal effects of obesity on different areas of the body in children. This was a group project and I was responsible for researching and producing the sections outlining the effects of obesity on the knee and foot structures as well as imputing appropriate figures for the paper. I chose to include this artifact because I played a key role in selecting the topic but also because it demonstrates my ability to write critically but it also demonstrates my ability to collaborate with fellow classmates to produce meaningful results.

Athletes or Non-Athletes: Who has the Fastest Reaction Time?: KINS 4573 Motor Learning and Development Fall 2008

Motor Learning was a class designed to cover the concepts of motor behavior from infancy to adulthood In this class we assessed the effects of personality traits, generic, and environmental factors on learning motor skills.

This artifact is a PowerPoint presentation on a group research project. The research project involved collecting data from 30 participants and performing statistical analysis. I included this artifact because I was accountable for collecting data from ten participants; I was also for responsible creating the PowerPoint and performing the statistical analysis with the use of Microsoft Excel.

This artifact meets the competency to demonstrate the ability to use technology due to the use of Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel. These programs are very important when navigating presentations and large amounts of data collection.

With this assignment I learned how to create a research topic and test a null hypothesis; I also learned how to apply statistical analysis learned from Measurement and Evaluations KINS 4593. I will be able to take the skills of creating an effective PowerPoint into a career, like Physical Therapy. The ability to produce a presentation will be useful at times when educating a large group of patients; it will be a helpful visual tool for patients as well.

Denton Detention Center Fitness Lesson Plans: KINS 2621 Motor and Aquatic APE Instructional Lab Fall 2008

The Motor and Aquatic APE Instruction Lab stemmed off of an Adapted Physical Education course. For this class I had the opportunity to have an internship at the Denton Detention Center. With this internship I was responsible for creating and implementing a fitness program for the females in the Post-Program at the detention center. I used the FITNESSGRAM to pre-test and post-test the individual in hopes of an improvement.

This artifact is a collection of the lesson plans and descriptions of each activity for the duration of 20 visits. Each visit was approximately one hour long. This artifact is a collection of work from myself and one other intern. We alternated creating lesson plans; I was responsible for combining all lesson plans and inserting the pictures. I included this artifact in my personal portfolio because a great deal of work and preparation went into creating an effective fitness program.

This artifact fully demonstrates my ability to build a fitness program because it was designed to increase the strength, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility of teenage females.

Creating this artifact and participating in the internship at the Denton Detention Center not only produced a source of personal growth and leadership for myself but it also allowed me to implement something of my own. I took personal pride in improving the fitness of the girls I was working with. It was an experience I would love to take part in again. I can knowledge from this artifact into a career in Physical Therapy. As a Physical Therapist I plan on creating fitness and rehabilitation programs for patients to improve their overall performance of daily living. This artifact provided practice for the future.

Skinfold Calipers: Which Caliper's Pinch Makes You Lose an Inch?: KINS 4593 Measurements and Evaluations Fall 2008

Measurement and Evaluation in Physical Education is a course that implements evaluation procedures used by researchers in the field of kinesiology. With this course the creation and construction of a research hypothesis as well as the administration of tests became a firsthand experience. Statistical analysis to interpret research results was also a major aspect of Measurement and Evaluation in Physical Education.

This artifact is a written report of a research project that was conducted for the Kinesiology Fall Research Symposium held in November of 2008. This project was a group project; on top of recruiting and performing skinfold measurements on 15 participants I was responsible for writing the abstract, introduction, calculating the results, writing the results section, and collecting all information to create the paper. As a group member I also played a major role in creating the poster for the presentation. The purpose of this project was to determine if there was a significant difference in the predicted percent body fat of three different skinfold calipers.

The artifact meets the competency to use collaborative skills. This report demonstrates my ability to communicate effectively and work as a team to successfuly compile all necessary information for the final product; the paper clearly represents the research, methodology, results, and discussion of our project. As a group we were able to combine our efforts to produce the report as well as distinguish between important and necessary information.

I learned how to formulate a research project from start to finish with this artifact. I also learned how to apply and perform appropriate statistical analysis on the data collected. This was an interesting research project because it allowed for me to actually have hands on experience and apply knowledge learned in the classroom. I feel that this artifact is applicable to the field of Physical Therapy because the ability to use collaboratice skill is a crucial aspect of working with other health care professionals.