Teachers from four Indiana middle schools will be trained this month to get their students TECHFIT.
The National Science Foundation-funded program, led by College of Technology professors from Purdue University, combines technology lessons with fitness activities.
The TECHFIT program (Teaching Engineering Concepts to Harness Future Innovators and Technologists) will teach middle school teachers how to deliver a 10-week afterschool program that uses technology to create fitness games. At the end of the program, participating teams will gather to show off their fitness innovations. Teachers who successfully complete and implement the program will be eligible for a stipend and professional development credit. The training takes place on the Purdue campus July 14-18.
Participating middle schools during the first year are South Adams Middle School in Berne, Fegely Middle School in Portage, Bremen Middle School, and Lakeside Middle School in Fort Wayne.
Brad Harriger, professor of mechanical engineering technology, and Alka Harriger, professor of computer and information technology, are leading the project at Purdue. They have partnered with Mike Flynn, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at the College of Charleston (S.C.), and Susan Flynn, instructor in the departments of Teacher Education and Health and Human Performance at the College of Charleston. The Flynns are former Purdue professors.
See coverage of the Purdue training session from WLFI TV.
South Carolina teachers were the first to be trained for TECHFIT this summer. See coverage on the Charleston, S.C., training.
Read the original announcement of the TECHFIT project.
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