Theses and Dissertations Collection

Americans have experienced declining health for decades (National Center for Health Statistics, 2019) and these poor health outcomes may be the result of increased sedentary behavior at school, work, and home (Keadle, Conroy, Buman, Dunstan, & Matthews, 2017). Intervention to reduce sedentary behavior may be needed in each of these settings, but schools may be an ideal place to begin because health habits formed in childhood are likely to persist into adulthood (Naylor & McKay, 2009; Cassar, et al., 2019). A qualitative exploratory case study was conducted to to assess the potential health benefits of physically active canoe and paddle building lessons for elementary students at a rural charter school. The canoe project was designed to teach students about regional Native American history and culture by providing students with hands-on, physically active learning experiences that take place of the traditional classroom setting. Data were collected using individual interviews, focus groups, researcher observation notes, and photographic documentation of artifacts and reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the canoe project may be able to provide students with health-enhancing experiences while still meeting educational standards. Some of the health benefits reported during the canoe project included improved motor skills, stronger relationships, enhanced learning, positive emotional experiences, and character development. Since this study was merely exploratory, further research will be needed to more thoroughly assess the extent to which the canoe project or similar physically active lessons impact specific health outcomes for students.