Learning by Doing: Preparing Excercise Science and Kinesiology Students for Professional Practice
The Exercise Science and Kinesiology (ESK) program is built around a simple but powerful philosophy:
Students should not simply learn about exercise science—they should learn to practice it.
From their very first course in the program, students begin developing the professional skills they will ultimately use with clients, patients, community members, research participants, and other professionals. Experiential learning is intentionally embedded throughout the curriculum, allowing students to progressively move from classroom instruction, to peer practice, to community engagement, to professional internships and research experiences.
This progression gives students repeated opportunities to learn, practice, apply, evaluate, reflect, and improve.
By the time students graduate, they have accumulated hundreds of hours of experiences in which they have worked directly with individuals and groups in authentic exercise science, health, wellness, fitness, research, and professional settings.
A Progressive Model of Experiential Learning
The ESK experiential learning model can be viewed as a progression:
Learn → Practice → Apply → Evaluate → Reflect → Advance
Students begin by practicing fundamental skills with their classmates. They then apply those skills with community members, faculty and staff, research participants, and clients. As they progress through the program, they assume greater responsibility and encounter increasingly complex professional situations.
This creates a deliberate bridge between academic knowledge and professional practice.
Exercise Testing and Prescription: Learning to Perform, Not Just Describe
A central component of the ESK curriculum is the development of competency in exercise testing, assessment, and prescription. Students participate in laboratory-based, active-learning experiences in which they learn how to actually conduct a wide range of assessments including:
- Cardiovascular Assessment
- Muscular Strength
- Muscular Endurance
- Flexibility and Mobility
- Body Composition
- Exercise Prescription and Progression/Regression
Students progress from practicing assessments with classmates to conducting assessments with members of the USF and surrounding community, including faculty and staff.
Coaching That Accelerates Growth
A hallmark of the USF clinical model is individualized coaching and support.
Teacher candidates are supported by both a university supervisor and an experienced K-12 classroom teacher serving as a mentor teacher throughout their clinical experiences. Through these experiences, they receive:
- Actionable feedback that can be implemented immediately
- Goal-setting and reflection opportunities
- Guidance from experienced educators
- Developmental support tailored to their individual needs
Community-Based Senior Fitness Experience
One of the most meaningful examples of experiential learning occurs through the program's community engagement with adults aged 60 and older at the Temple Terrace Recreation Center in their Physical Activity for Diverse Populations class.
Students conduct an initial battery of assessments appropriate for older adults and then work individually with their assigned participant for eight weeks, twice per week.
At the conclusion of the program, students conduct post-program assessments using the same criteria established during the initial evaluation. This allows students to experience the complete cycle of professional practice:
Screen → Assess → Plan → Train → Monitor → Reassess → Reflect
The FIT Program: 12 Weeks of Faculty and Staff Training
Every ESK student participates in the Individualized Fitness and Wellness Program (FIT). Students gain experience working with USF faculty and staff over a 12-week period. They must learn to communicate with a client, establish meaningful goals, develop an individualized program, monitor progress, and modify the program when necessary.
Students conduct additional assessments at the midpoint and at the conclusion of the program learning appropriate progressions and regressions and also learning how to set appropriate and attainable goals. FIT reinforces the professional process of:
Assess → Set Goals → Program → Implement → Monitor → Modify → Reassess
The 300-Hour Internship: Transitioning to Professional Practice
The culmination of the ESK experiential learning model is the student's 300-hour internship. Students select an internship site aligned with their professional interests and career goals, move beyond the structured environment of the classroom, and assume responsibilities within an actual professional organization.
During a major project, students are challenged to identify a meaningful need within their internship organization and develop a project designed to benefit both the student and the facility. Students have an opportunity to contribute something meaningful to the organization while demonstrating what they have learned throughout the program.
Students Are Encouraged to "Get Involved"
Students are encouraged from their first semester to become actively involved in the profession. The philosophy is simple: Get involved. Explore. Ask questions. Build relationships. Gain experience.
Many students extend their experiential learning beyond required coursework through:
- Graduate and Professional School Shadowing
- Research Experiences such as The Human Performance Lab and Nate Parker's laboratory at Moffitt
These opportunities allow students to discover that exercise science is not limited to fitness or personal training. It is also a field of scientific inquiry, health promotion, clinical application, human performance, and research.
The ESK Experiential Learning Philosophy
In the Exercise Science and Kinesiology program, students are encouraged to move beyond the traditional classroom and become active participants in their education. From the first semester through graduation, students are encouraged to:
- Learn the science.
- Practice the skill.
- Work with people.
- Solve real problems.
- Reflect on the experience.
- Build professional confidence.
- Get involved.
The result is a learning environment in which students are not simply preparing to become exercise science professionals someday.
The ESK Difference
Experiential learning is not an add-on to the Exercise Science and Kinesiology curriculum. It is woven throughout the student experience.
- Students practice with peers.
- They work with community members.
- They train older adults.
- They train USF faculty and staff.
- They conduct assessments.
- They develop individualized programs.
- They establish SMART goals.
- They reassess clients.
- They visit professional organizations.
- They develop professional skills.
- They complete internships.
- They shadow healthcare and performance professionals.
- They participate in research.
- They solve real problems.
- And, perhaps most importantly, they are encouraged from their first day in the program to get involved.
This approach creates a powerful connection between classroom learning, experiential education, community engagement, professional development, research, and career preparation.
The ultimate goal is simple:
Prepare students not only to know Exercise Science and Kinesiology, but to confidently apply what they know with real people in real-world settings.
That is the essence of experiential learning in Exercise Science and Kinesiology.