Childhood is the time to begin the development of active and healthy lifestyles.
Present programs need to prepare children with basic movement skills that can be used in any activity. Systematic and properly taught physical education can help achieve the attainment of personal physical fitness, the development and understanding of movement competence, and contributions toward the total growth of each child. The purpose of this course is to introduce the pre-service teacher to practices that are both developmentally and instructionally appropriate for children in elementary school physical education. The UTM Teacher Education Model is designed to develop teachers who facilitate learning by engaging in methods and strategies which can transform students from passive recipients of information into active participants in their own intellectual growth. As a result teachers need to be reflective practitioners, capable of reviewing, instructing, reenacting, and critically analyzing their own and their students' performance.