Heart Zones couldn’t be more thankful for Tom Horner and Mary Mann from Lincoln High School, Lake City Public Schools (ISD 813), and their use of the Heart Zones Move Solution in their 7th-12th grade PE classes.
Data driven, individualized physical education, aka Smart PE, has become a way of life at Lake City Public Schools, and we are thrilled to recognize them for their effort to revolutionize physical education over the past year and a half.
Lake City Schools in action
Tom and Mary share this awesome video showing off data driven Smart PE in action in the Lake City PE program.
Why the Heart Zones Move Solution?
Tom (pictured below) was at a TIES conference when he first ran into the Heart Zones Move Solution, and after visiting Stillwater (another showcase school), they were determined to find a way to have this be a part of their PE program.
Tom Horner, Lake City PE Teacher
How did you pay for it?
They applied for and received a grant through Covidien-Medtronic, and the Lake City Education Foundation, along with their district, kicked in to help fund the rest to get 60 Blink Heart Rate Monitors, the Heart Zones Move Solution, and multiple Wasp bridges (pictured below) to use for various locations.
Wasp bridges and Blink 3.0 Monitors
What do you like the most about heart zones?
The PE teachers at Lake City Public Schools appreciate how they can be confident in encouraging students to either work harder or slow down during a specific warm-up or fitness test. There is no more guessing, and grading is much easier for them to justify because of all the data that is provided after each class. Tom Horner elaborates saying how:
We also do consistent recovery heart rate tests, and have seen patterns with a few students that caused us to encouraged them to see a doctor. It turned out for that some of those students learned of personal heart and health conditions. With safety of students as top priority, this ability to recognize irregularities is invaluable for us as PE teachers.
Mary Mann & Tom Horner
What features have been most important?
For Tom Horner, the best feature has been the FIT points, he shares:
I love the FIT points. You can do so much with these. Starting with a consistent warm up, or competitions within class. I also like students to set goals using the FIT points, so they always have something to work for staying MVPA the majority of the hour.
What have students liked most?
After speaking and getting feedback from several students, three key points of impact stood out: the way that PE is now more individualized, how Heart Zones helps emphasize personal health and fitness, and allows for fair grading which makes a big difference.
Students enjoy learning and now have a solid understanding in which activities affect their heart rates. Without this real immediate data, it was teachers observing and guessing who is working up to their potential. They like that it is objective and levels the playing field. One Lake City student tells how:
I enjoyed being able to track my workout, and see how hard I’m working my body, or how much harder I need to try. It really put a perspective of how my heart is affected, and how important it is to stay in shape.
Big Board at Lincoln High School
Testimonials
" The use of Heart Zones heart rate monitors has transformed our Physical Education Department in Lake City! It is amazing to go into a classroom and see all students working extremely hard toward reaching their own personalized goal. This personalized approach to learning is a model for the direction that technology is taking us in all classrooms. "
" My kids love seeing the daily emails of their activity from PE class with how many calories they burn, and points they get in class. "
" I like being able to see my heart rate, and knowing when I’m working hard. They have points earned and we sometimes have a competition to see how can get the most points and it’s always fun because you are doing it with your friends. "
Learn more from the Lake City PE Program
If you have any questions, please contact Tom (thorner@lake-city.k12.mn.us) or Mary(mmann@lake-city.k12.mn.us), as they would love to share more about their experience with the Heart Zones Move Solution. As a showcase school, they are a great location to visit for any schools considering a Heart Zones Move Solution for themselves.
You can follow Tom Horner online at http://tomhorner.weebly.com/ or on Twitter via @hornerPE.
Want Heart Zones for your own PE program? Learn more