Kinesiology 240: Principles of Biobehavioral Health
Monday & Wednesday from 9:10 AM to 10:00 AM in room C102 Wilson Hall.
Monday & Wednesday from 9:10 AM to 10:00 AM in room C102 Wilson Hall.
Basic principles, concepts, and issues surrounding the interaction among biological, behavioral, psychological, sociocultural, and environmental variables that influence health.
This is one of the core courses required in Kinesiology, serving to introduce students to the basic theoretical and practical concepts, topics, and issues that relate to biobehavioral aspects of kinesiology.
This course will cover aspects of physical activity and disease risk; principles of epidemiology; public health strategy and implementation; major disease states and concepts, body composition and obesity, as well as sleep and cognitive health.
3 Credit Hour Course
In-person lecture twice a week (50 minute periods).
In-person laboratory discussion section once a week. Some weeks may be as short as 30 minutes, others may use the full 110 minute period.
Approximately 5 hours of independent study and preparation time each week.
Professor
126E IM Sports Circle
308 W. Circle Drive
East Lansing, MI 48824
The best opportunity to meet with Dr. Pontifex is during the period 30 minutes prior to and following the lecture (in the lecture hall). Office hour sessions are also available via zoom by appointment.
Question and answer sessions (i.e., office hours) will be held weekly. The zoom link, password, and days-times are available on the KIN240 D2L page.
2nd year doctoral student focusing on pediatric physical activity and motor skill development.
3rd year doctoral student focusing on peer influence using various theoretical frameworks in youth sports and physical activity.
1st year doctoral student focusing on the influence of implicit motivational mechanisms on health behavior adherence.
2nd year masters student focusing on the effects of exercise based interventions on perceived fatigue in chronic conditions.
2nd year doctoral student focusing on infant motor development, with specific interest in the certified Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system and its relationship to tummy time implementation.
Wednesday
2:50 PM - 4:40 PM
305 Jenison Fieldhouse
Elton
Thursday
8:00 AM - 9:50 AM
208 IM West
Elton
Thursday
10:20 AM - 12:10 PM
203 IM West
Chung
Thursday
10:20 AM - 12:10 PM
1260 Anthony Hall
Burke
Thursday
12:40 PM - 2:30 PM
140 Natural Science Building
Chung
Thursday
12:40 PM - 2:30 PM
351 Natural Science Building
Hammel
Thursday
2:50 PM - 4:40 PM
215 IM West
Hammel
Friday
10:20 AM - 12:10 PM
215 IM West
Hagenbuch
Friday
10:20 AM - 12:10 PM
305 Jenison Fieldhouse
Burke
Friday
2:50 PM - 4:40 PM
203 IM West
Hagenbuch
There will be three exams in this class. Exams may include cumulative components and will cover readings, lecture notes, discussions, and related course material. Exams will be primarily comprised of objective items (multiple-choice, true-false, and matching type questions) and may contain a few short-answer essay questions. If you know in advance that you will have to miss the day of an exam, you must notify the instructor to set up a time for a make-up exam at least 48 hours prior to the exam. In the event of an emergency on the day of an exam, you must notify the instructor or departmental administrative staff as soon as possible. It is up to the instructor's discretion to allow a make-up exam. Documentation may be required. There is no Final Exam for this class. Students who fail to take the 3rd exam will be reported to the University, in compliance with University policy and federal regulations governing financial aid and veterans' education benefits.
We recognize that open-note style exams map onto looking up information about real world situations. However, the focus of this course is to develop students knowledge (note the difference between information and knowledge). The aim is to ensure that when you encounter real world situations that you have a foundational ability to apply basic understanding of core structures, functions, and theories to evaluate that situation. You need this understanding to effectively find additional information and without such an understanding it is easy to fall into the same trap of misinformation that is common within our fields. The exams in this course are closed-note/no-book so that we can evaluate the extent to which you acquired this knowledge.
Questions on the exam directly follow from the topics and concepts covered in the course. Questions generally fall into the following three categories:
~50% of questions are low-level definitions and concepts.
Example: What cognitive bias explains why a former collegiate athlete might be assumed to have expertise on a topic?
~25% of questions are mid-level that ask you to put structures/concepts in order or explain how things function.
Example: Using the natural history perspective of disease, which of the following reflects the correct sequence of prevention efforts?
~25% of questions are high-level that ask you to begin to apply basic understanding of core structures, functions, and theories.
Example: Atropine is a chemical that decreases parasympathetic activity on the heart. An injection of atropine would therefore cause heart rate to?
To study for the course, we encourage you to identify the critical structures, functions, and theories discussed in each section. Make note-cards, write example exam questions, use the dry erase/study boards to diagram them.
In addition, we encourage you to use the qizzer linked below. This web app provides sample exam questions specifically at the low-to-mid level of difficulty, so you should consistently be getting 100% of the questions correct on each topic. The questions are randomly pulled from a database of questions, so the more you practice the more you will see different questions on the topic.
The purpose of the laboratory discussion sections are to provide you the opportunity and forum to discuss selected topics relevant to the field of kinesiology. These sections will also provide you the opportunity for hands on research experiences and exposure to methods of evaluation within the field of kinesiology. Laboratory discussion sections are not a substitute for lecture, thus the content discussed during these sections will differ from that covered in lecture. Throughout the semester you will be responsible for completing a series of checks for understanding. The purpose of these checks for understanding is to provide an incentive for you to review your lecture notes and read the course materials on a regular basis. While the majority of these checks for understanding will be based on the previous weeks' lecture material, laboratory discussion/activities, or reading assignments; these will also serve as a means of enhancing your ability to find specific types of information and increase your exposure to potentially novel ideas and concepts.
Make-up check for understandings may be granted for grief-related absences, religious observance, a university-approved athletic event in which you are participating, or illness provided a doctor's note is given to your teaching assistant. Emergency-related absences and absences relating to voluntary or club activities will be approved at the discretion of the instructors. If you are aware that you may miss a discussion or check for understanding OR have questions regarding course-approved absences, then you must inform your respective teaching assistant through email before your scheduled class. Retroactive absence approvals will not be given. Once approved, make-up check for understandings must be completed within 2 weeks during office hours or at a time agreed upon by your teaching assistant. If your fail to make-up your check for understanding, then you will not be given another chance to complete it.
Showing up to lecture/discussion and contributing with personal perspectives, asking questions, and seeking clarification for things you do not understand is important. Students who attend and participate in class regularly are more than 6 times more likely to pass the class. Throughout the semester, you will be responsible for completing a series of participation tasks. The purpose of these is to provide an incentive for you to attend lecture and discussion. No make-up participation points will be granted.
The final grade will consist of the total number of points earned rounded up to the nearest integer (whole number), divided by the 510 points possible. The following scale will be used to calculate grades (the top row indicates minimum percentage, bottom row indicates the associated point grade).
90%
459 points
4.0
84%
428 points
3.5
78%
397 points
3.0
72%
367 points
2.5
65%
331 points
2.0
60%
306 points
1.5
55%
280 points
1.0
The Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree requires earning a grade of 2.0 or higher in this course.
Students will need a laptop/tablet to take assessments on that is compatible with Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor. Chromebooks and Netbooks are not compatible with this software (https://tech.msu.edu/about/guidelines-policies/computer-requirement/). For additional support please see the MSU D2L help page (https://help.d2l.msu.edu/node/4686).
Access to high speed internet connections will be particularly important for participation in any remote course content via Zoom or Microsoft Streaming services.
Course notes are provided to facilitate the acquisition of content knowledge. While the notes are comprehensive over the material covered, they should not be considered as a substitute for attending and participating in class. The notes represent the information covered and provide examples of how such information could be applied or interpreted in real world contexts. Having prepared for the material covered prior to lecture will allow students to focus more on obtaining the content knowledge rather than quickly writing down the information presented. It is recommended that these files be opened and printed using Adobe Reader as built in PDF readers (such as those provided by Apple or Google) may not print images correctly.
Monday
Wednesday
Discussion
January 19th.
No Class
In Discussion.
In Discussion.
No Class
Monday
Wednesday
Discussion
In Discussion.
No Class
March 2nd.
No Class
March 4th.
No Class
In Discussion.
No Class
In Discussion.
No Class
Monday
Wednesday
Discussion
In Discussion.
No Class
Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-7273 or on the web at http://www.rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a verified individual services accommodation form. Please present this form to your instructor at the start of the term and/or two weeks prior to the accommodation date. Requests received after this date will be honored whenever possible.
Attendance is an essential and intrinsic element of the educational process as it is hard to know what you don't know. However, students are expected to follow all orders from MSU Triage, Office of the University Physician and the Ingham County Health Department, including the length of isolation and when it is deemed safe to return to regular housing and day-to-day schedules. The nature of the accommodations provided in such instances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the primary course instructor. If a death in your family occurs, you should complete the University Grief Absence Request Form as detailed in the University Grief Absence Policy as soon as possible. It may be necessary to provide documentation.
Although it is permissible to share class notes on an individual basis. It is expressly prohibited to post or sell course notes in part or otherwise. Any student found in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action through the Student Faculty Judiciary process.
By enrolling in this course, you are indicating implicitly that you have read, understand, and accept the Universities' policies and procedures regarding academic integrity and dishonesty (https://ombud.msu.edu/). Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated and all university policies apply. If plagiarism or cheating is suspected then the student will be asked to meet with the instructor. If a violation of academic integrity and/or dishonesty is found to have occurred a written statement will be forwarded to the associate dean of the students college and all university academic integrity policies will be applied.
Consistent with MSU’s efforts to enhance student learning, foster honesty, and maintain integrity in our academic processes, instructors may use a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources. The tool compares each student’s work with an extensive database of prior publications and papers, providing links to possible matches and a “similarity score.” Work with a similarly score greater than 30 percent will not be accepted. The tool does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred or not. Instead, the instructor must make a complete assessment and judge the originality of the student’s work. All submissions to this course may be checked using this tool. Students should submit papers to Turnitin Dropboxes without identifying information included in the paper (e.g., name or student number), the system will automatically show this information to faculty in your course when viewing the submission, but the information will not be retained by Turnitin. Student submissions may be retained in either the global or local MSU Turnitin repository.
Once class begins, all personal communication and electronic devices (computers, cell/mobile phones, music players, headphones, etc.) should be turned off and put away. These devices should remain off for the duration of the class period. If you need to leave your personal communication device on for emergency purposes only, you must notify the instructor before the class period begins. If you are texting, talking, web-browsing, etc. on your personal communication device during class, you will be asked to leave the classroom and must meet with the instructor before re-admittance back into the class. The exception to this policy is electronic devices that allow for handwritten or stylus note taking, so long as they are used for that purpose.
Any behavior that disrupts the course (i.e., spamming students, attempts to inject polical strife, or general incivility) will not be tolerated, and your access to the course will be temporarily disabled. Access may be re-granted following meeting with the course instructor, with repeated violators subject to potential disenrollment in the course. Students whose conduct adversely affects the learning environment may be subject to disciplinary action through the Student Faculty Judiciary process.
All assignments are due by the start of laboratory/discussion on their respective due dates. In the event of a known absence, such as a non-emergency related University-approved absence, it is your responsibility to turn the assignment in on or before the due date. Late assignments may not be accepted or may be assessed a penalty.