RIC’s B.S. in Health and Physical Education program is a leader in providing innovative, skills-based teacher preparation. Our program is the ONLY higher education institution in RI with full approval by the Rhode Island Department of Education. Quality education and training leads to employment. Completing our 4-year teacher preparation program prepares students for certification in Health and Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education. Our faculty are dynamic educators and scholars who model best teaching practices, and our curriculum includes a wide variety of field experiences.
Teacher candidates are advised to familiarize themselves with the Program Advising Report which outlines all required coursework. Students should also consult with their program advisor and read the information found on the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development website in order to be informed about the path to student teaching and certification.
Rhode Island College is an exclusive member of the Common Application.
Here we provide information on course requirements, course descriptions and an Academic Rhode Map for each program, a semester-by-semester plan to help you toward graduation in four years.
Academic Rhode Map (will be posted when available)
Writing in health and physical education is vital in communicating with students, colleagues, families and the community. Writing is an essential skill in building health and physical literacy in PK-12 students. Health and physical educators use writing to describe their school community context and to create rationales for units they need to teach. Health and physical educators use writing to describe unit and lesson plans, to create assessment and evaluation tools and to craft reports of student learning outcomes. Writing is used to communicate between teachers and their professional organizations when presenting research and pedagogical strategies. Writing is used between teachers and administrators for many types of professional communication tasks.
The Health and Physical Education Program has designated the following as its WID courses:
HPE 200 is taken in the first year and is a required course for admission into the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (FSEHD). It is a WID course because students must practice and show competence in writing skills that are a foundation for their work in future courses and their teaching profession (National Health Education Standards [NHES]), and in order to be accepted into the FSEHD. HPE 200 provides these writing opportunities.
HPE 301 is taken in the student’s second year and is a required course to move on into the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (FSEHD). It is a WID course because teacher candidates must practice and demonstrate proficiency in writing skills that are a foundation for their work in future courses and their teaching profession (Society of Health and Physical Educators [SHAPE]) and is a prerequisite for all practicum courses.
HPE 414 is a WID course because teacher candidates are required to research and report on a variety of elements related to the district they were assigned as well as write a comprehensive unit plan. This is the Teacher Candidate Work Sample (TCWS) and it is a requirement for the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development Preparing to Student Teaching Portfolio for entrance into student teaching. The TCWS is a teaching unit plan and is composed of multiple parts that must be implemented in a school, and since HPE 414 is a practicum, teacher candidates must use this course for this applied writing assignment.
HPE 418 is a WID course because in this course teacher candidates are required to write a comprehensive unit plan applied in the school setting. This is the Teacher Candidate Work Sample (TCWS) and it is a requirement for the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development Preparing for Student Teaching Portfolio for entrance into student teaching. The TCWS is a teaching unit plan and is composed of multiple parts that must be implemented in a school, and since HPE 418 is a practicum, teacher candidates must use this course for this applied writing assignment.
HPE 423 is a WID course because student teachers must demonstrate competence in writing in several genres associated with teaching in order to be successful in student teaching and their future profession. The course requires teacher candidates to implement their writing skills with K-12 students, families and administrators, therefore this student teaching course is appropriate for WID.
HPE 425 is a WID course because student teachers must be in the field in order to write a comprehensive unit plan once again, showing growth in their writing from when they first wrote it in parts in HPE 413 and 417 to the first full writing in HPE 414 and 418, to HPE 425 when they demonstrate mastery of all parts of the TCWS.
In our WID courses teacher candidates will learn, practice and implement various types of writing. Genres include persuasive writing (rationales in HPE 200 and 425) procedural writing (lesson and unit plans in HPE 301, 414, 418 and 423), reflective writing (observation and teaching reflections in HPE 301, HPE 414, 418 and 423), analytical writing (the TCWS and video analysis in HPE 414, 423 and 425) and professional writing in all the WID courses (letters to families, administrators, creating a resume, cover letter, presentations, etc. HPE 423 and HPE 425). These genres align best with skills the teacher candidates will need in the health and physical education teaching field and provide depth and breadth to best prepare them for tasks in the profession.
The Health and Physical Education Program recognizes that writing is an on-going process that is practiced using both low- and high-stakes writing assignments. We prepare teacher candidates using best-practice models in the following ways:
Upon completion of WID courses, teacher candidates will use writing to:
Seek opportunities to share writing with professionals in the field of health and physical education.
Declaring a minor allows you to explore other areas of interest and make interdisciplinary connections. Minor areas at RIC complement and reinforce all major areas of study. By declaring a minor, you can set yourself apart as a candidate for job, internship and volunteer opportunities.
