Walk away with practical, plug-and-play activities that get students moving, collaborating, and thinking about their own wellness. Designed for PE teachers ready to go beyond exercise, this session gives you the tools to build a classroom culture where healthy habits and lifelong fitness truly stick.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing education, but what does that mean for physical education and health teachers? In this session, participants will explore practical ways AI can support lesson planning, assessment, communication, differentiation, and student engagement in both PE and Health classrooms—without replacing the relationships and human connection that make great teaching possible. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use prompts, practical examples, and a framework for using AI responsibly to enhance instruction while supporting lifelong movement, wellness, and health literacy.
Professor/ Program Coordinator, Kansas State University
Dr. Mark Ellner is the Coordinator of the Physical Education and Health program at Kansas State University, where he leads curriculum development, student mentorship, and innovative teaching practices in teacher education. As the College of Education’s Distance Supervision Specialist, he has... Read More →
Thursday October 29, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT Room 215
Participants will learn about RUFTA5 and leave with a practical timeline and tools to implement a similar event in their own district. Are You Faster Than a Fifth Grader? (RUFTA5) is a district-wide experience where 15 fifth graders from each elementary school race against the superintendent in a two-mile run, while the remaining students participate in a one-mile walk, all culminating together at a shared finish. KCKPS believes students benefit from meaningful connections with district leaders, and RUFTA5 provides that opportunity in a powerful, visible way. This event serves as a culminating elementary experience that celebrates the whole child while promoting perseverance, school pride, and healthy lifestyles. Participants will also explore how cross-department collaboration and community partnerships can support successful implementation and long-term impact.
Are you ready to take your love of learning and movement beyond the gym? Join me to see how we built an outdoor learning classroom at our elementary school. I’ll show how we turned almost nothing into an inspiring space by writing grants, securing donations, and involving our school community. You’ll leave with practical ideas for activities that help students learn, move, create, and connect with nature—and with steps to start your own outdoor classroom.
When given multiple tools to assess health, people tend to choose the one that is most familiar, fastest, or easiest to interpret. Relying solely on weight can overshadow other important indicators of health, such as body composition, cardiovascular function, and muscular development. Understanding this preference, even when other tools are available, matters for both educators and fitness professionals. This study used naturalistic observation to assess gym-goers' usage of health and anthropometric assessment tools. Results indicated that while gym-goers initially showed interest in less commonly used assessment tools, they overwhelmingly used the scale. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
