Teaching Philosophy Example: Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
Introduction
My goal as an educator in the undergraduate program is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and leadership to become professionally competent in the health and fitness field. I have spent many years in the real world of the health and fitness industry and seek to constantly present a balanced approach of theory and applied exercise science in my classes. I want students to do critical thinking and problem solving as they apply the theories and concepts of exercise science. My testing format has evolved to include additional questions that involve synthesizing and interpreting the subject matter. I am encouraging and involving graduate and undergraduate students in independent research and writing projects. I want them to do perceptive interpretation and examination of the literature, while developing into highly qualified exercise scientists. I am engaging all students much more on a daily basis with topical questions and open discussion. I welcome students to ask questions regularly, which helps me to reflect on the knowledge and skills they are learning. At the beginning of each semester, I critically use the feedback I get from my students and colleagues and refine the learning goals and objectives of the courses I teach.

I also care about my students as young adults. These individuals are not just bodies in a room or numbers on a grade sheet. I have an open door policy in my office so students always feel welcome to come and discuss course topics, questions and issues.

Educational Strategies
The field of Exercise Science includes topics in Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology, Body Composition, Exercise Metabolism, Electrocardiography, Exercise Testing and more. Educational strategies that I utilize with these competency areas involve multi-media lectures, laboratory experiences, independent and group projects, class discussions, daily quizzes, and self-directed problem solving.

My daily lecturing is grounded into taking a very visual approach to presenting theories, concepts, and ideas. I have attended numerous workshops and courses in media technology and use these techniques in the classroom regularly. For instance, I often integrate digital camera photography and animated visuals into my multimedia lectures, thereby providing both the audio and visual learner with an illustrative perspective of the topic. More recently, I have learned how to integrate video technology readily with other multimedia. For instance, in the Fundamentals of Exercise Physiology (PE-P 326) course, I can now teach and show students complicated metabolic pathways with Quicktime video inserts integrated within a PowerPoint lecture.

Instructional Computer Center for Exercise Science
 In my first year, with the support of Division Chair, Dr. Mary Jo Campbell, and Johnson Center Manager, Roger Wrolstad, I created the Instructional Computer Center for Exercise Science students. In this computer center, located within the main offices of Johnson Center, we now have two computers dedicated for independent student learning with several instructional CD ROMs. Students from undergraduate courses such as Fundamentals of Exercise Physiology (PE-P 326), Designs for Fitness (PE-P 470), and Kinesiology (PE-P 277). I provide students with specific objectives for their self-directed learning. This in turn provides them with a risk-free environment to facilitate their understanding of core concepts. In addition, we also have a full human skeleton and other medical and health learning aids in the computer center. The skeleton is kept in a special locker and is easily accessed for use. This is particularly helpful to Kinesiology students, who spend the entire semester learning applications of applied anatomy and kinesiology.

Web-Enhanced Teaching
One main teaching goal I established for myself at U.N.M. is to supplement learning through the Web. One of my underlying objectives for this goal is to provide another means of interaction between myself and the students. With the accessibility of the Web, students can access this material at any time of day. A second objective of this Web-enhanced learning medium is to provide the educational material in two different formats. The first format is identified as “Scholarly Questions and Analytical Thinking.” The purpose of this format is to academically challenge the students with independent problem-solving concepts and ideas, to make sure they understand the interplay of facts, concepts, and principles presented in lecture. The second format provides a true interactive learning forum for the students. I use this interactive format in two courses, Fundamentals of Exercise Physiology (see at Exercise Physiology 326 link on web site: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz) and Designs for Fitness. I am particularly gratified with the positive feedback the format has received from students. I see the Web-enhanced instruction as a high benefit, low-cost addition to teaching that will hopefully lead to overall increased learning.

Student Technology Enrichment
Another educational goal I implemented in our program was to have the students use computerized technology in their presentations. In Exercise Science Seminar (PE-P 500), graduate students and upper division undergraduate students give presentations on scientific investigations, research reviews, or critical questions in the field. Each semester I give PowerPoint ‘how to’ presentations to Exercise Science students. The final outcome has resulted in 100% of our students using multimedia presentations in the Exercise Science Seminar course.

Laboratory Experience Learning
All of our Exercise Science courses provide a strong laboratory experience for the students. This is incredibly valuable to our program as it allows students the opportunity to come to the Exercise Physiology Laboratories in small groups and learn the necessary practical skills of the Exercise Science profession under the guidance of a competently skilled graduate student.
A new experiential learning program I developed in the Designs for Fitness Course (PE-P 470) is entitled, “I am my FIRST Client.” The goal of “I am my FIRST Client” is to provide students with the actual participatory experience of the exercise assessment process. It is hoped that by experiencing this process first-hand, students will be better prepared to explain and introduce these fitness tests to future clients.

End
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