Train the Trainer

NDI New Mexico’s HIP to Be Fit® Train the Trainer program was developed with teachers, foundations, and school administrators to give public elementary school teachers the tools and training to incorporate physical activity into their classrooms through a multi-disciplinary curriculum. It also provides teachers with a new skill set, using kinesthetic teaching to improve classroom learning. Through the Train the Trainer curriculum and workshops, we are providing public school teachers with the materials to approach core curriculum through NDI New Mexico-style exercises and movement.

One of our primary objectives is to help teachers combat what is a serious obesity issue in New Mexico. Since many public schools in New Mexico do not have PE teachers, it is incumbent upon the classroom teachers to fulfill PE requirements with their students, regardless of their own training. Tied to NM State Education, PE and Dance Standards, the Train the Trainer curriculum gets kids moving while they learn core curriculum content.

A second objective is to work with teachers and schools to improve academic learning. Children with alternate learning styles, children with disabilities, immigrant non-English speaking children, and children with behavioral difficulties often do not succeed in the traditional classroom learning paradigm. Yet those same students often blossom when given the opportunity to learn kinesthetically. NDI New Mexico’s workshops provide an innovative approach that engages students, helping them learn and perform better in school.

In the fall of 2005, NDI New Mexico received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for implementation and evaluation of the Train the Trainer program. RMC Research Corporation evaluated the Train the Trainer workshops and training materials from September 2005 to March 2006.

In evaluation results, teachers reported that they learned innovative instructional strategies that could be applied in their classrooms, and were able to connect what they learned to content areas such as reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Participants' skills and confidence in getting students physically active in the classroom and other nontraditional physical education settings increased, as did their ideas about the use of physical activity and the arts to affect student achievement.

Results showed that:

• Train the Trainer instructors are very well prepared, engaging and fun,
• this training has a positive impact on teachers and students
• training materials are clear, well-written and easy to use
• 100% of teachers reported that they have implemented at least some of the curriculum in their classrooms.
• 81% reported that they are using half or more of the information.
• They are using the curriculum to teach: fractions; geometry; symmetry; math; literacy; P.E.; science; and to keep students focused.
• 100% of participants reported that the quality of the workshops, preparation of the instructors and usefulness of the information was above average or excellent.
• 100% stated that they learned new instructional strategies.
• Participants reported a 28% increase in their confidence and preparedness to use the material.
• One month after the workshop, 99% of teachers reported actually using the curriculum, with 92% using half or more of the techniques and exercises.

In 2010-2011, NDI New Mexico will provide Train the Trainer workshops and materials to 270 public school teachers and health educators.

Comments from teachers

"I had a blast learning new and exciting teaching techniques."

"Not only does it get our students moving, it gets us moving."

"This is a great way to increase retention of skills with kinesthetic application."

"It is a great way to learn how to teach your children through movement and rhythm."

"I can incorporate exercise with my content areas. It's often difficult to 'give up' teaching time to have P.E. and to come up with engaging activities. This allows me to cover content and get kids exercising."

"Children listen, participate, they are positive, they want to lead, volunteer."

"I often have the students who need to be active and talk constantly. This method stopped the chatter and got them moving without getting in someone else's space."