This course will examine the most effective means by which individual and team athletic performance can be enhanced. The focus will be on integrating scientific research based on cognitive and social psychology with real life case studies. Mental preparation strategies and performance techniques will be taught so that recreational and elite athletes can achieve optimal performance. Topics to be covered throughout the term will include: anxiety, arousal and stress; psychological skills training, motivation, confidence, focus, goal-setting, imagery, team dynamics, burnout and coach-athlete relationships.

This course will challenge the student to deal with the interrelationships between stress, health and physical activity. A holistic approach is taken to the integration of these concepts, to allow the student to better understand how stress affects the body, the optimization of health and prevention of stress disorders. Attention will be paid to theories of stress and coping, and selected stress management strategies and techniques will be analyzed, practiced and evaluated.

Three lecture hours per week, including some practical, experiential classes.

NOT OFFERED IN 2026-27

This course will examine the aging process using information from demography to physiology. Recognition of different perspectives of “successful aging” is a theme that runs throughout the course. The effects of physical activity and aging on functional capacity and how aging may change engagement in physical activity will be studied. The course will examine the evidence for physical activity in promoting healthy aging. Approaches to modifying physical activity in light of physiological, pathophysiological, psychological and sociological age-related changes will be discussed in lecture and through use of case studies. The course will emphasize communication about needs and goals for physical activity recommendations, assessments of function, safety precautions and exercise adaptations, including specific focus on common conditions (e.g., osteoporosis, osteoarthritis).

Mental well-being is a critical element of total health. There is a spectrum of mental states that range from clinically diagnosed psychopathologies such as depression and schizophrenia to total wellness that might be represented by constructs such as high self-esteem, subjective well-being, and life satisfaction. This course critically examines the evidence underpinning the role of physical activity in a) the avoidance of mental disorders, b) recovery from mental disorders, and c) the well-being and quality of life of those with or without mental disorders. The course will also address the definition and measurement of key psychological constructs that act as markers of psychological well-being. Initiatives to enhance mental health through physical activity will be discussed and implications for health service design and delivery will be identified.

This course is designed to provide students with knowledge in nutrition as it applies to exercise, fitness, health and human performance from athletes to the general population and across the life- and healthspan. The course will include nutrition topics related to fuel utilization during exercise, performance and recovery, fluid balance, energy balance and body weight regulation for exercise and performance. Emphasis will be placed on the interactions between exercise and nutrition. Special topics may also be presented.

This course is founded on the belief that if we give children the opportunity to engage in developmentally appropriate physical activities, at the appropriate time in their development, then more of them will develop foundational movement skills that will enable them to enjoy being active and to stay active throughout their lives. To this end, the building blocks for the development of physical literacy in children 0-5 years old will be examined in detail, with a focus on the preschool years. The pedagogy of physical activity experiences for this population will be explored through topics such as developmental milestones and needs, foundational movement patterns and motor skill development, teaching and learning approaches and lesson planning. Students will also have the opportunity to explore some Special Topics that are unique to the development of physical literacy foundations in the early years.

Note: Students enrolled in KPE329H1 will be required to obtain a valid Police Record Check if directly teaching preschool children. Students will receive an email confirming if a Police Record Check is required upon registration in this course.

This course will focus on the understanding of theoretical frameworks and psychological principles related to exercise. Emphasis will be directed towards the application of these theories and principles to the design, development and evaluation of interventions to encourage adoption and maintenance of exercise for individuals, groups and communities.

Sport analytics and game theory both attempt to use probability and statistics to understand and improve decision making in sports from talent identification to on-field play making. This course will introduce students to sports analytics and game theory. Both analytics and game theory will be used to better understand the fundamentals of tactics in a variety of sports.

Digital health and mobile health or mHealth utilizes the capabilities of any digital device including a mobile device such as a cellphone or smartphone to provide, disseminate, and measure health interventions and physical activity. Digital health has been used for disease management and prevention, physical activity monitoring and evaluation, monitoring of health status, providing access to health care services in remote areas, and for health and physical activity promotion. This course introduces students to the concepts, definitions, advantages, and limitations of digital health. This course will be relevant to those who wish to pursue careers as health care providers, physical educators, and those who have a future in research and critical analysis.

Historically educators have seen the playing of games as beneficial to the development of physical, psychological, emotional and social traits in children and adults. Recently the dropout rate of children playing organized games and the participation rate of adults playing organized sport has become a major cause for concern. This has brought into focus the traditional way that games and sport have been taught and coached. This course will enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of the concepts and methods of alternative games’ play approaches to teaching and coaching sports. Students will be introduced to the four main alternative games’ models of Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), Play Practice, Game Sense and Developing Thinking Players. Each of these 4 models use game centred activities to stimulate and motivate learning. The twin goals of understanding and personal satisfaction are emphasized jointly throughout the course. Students will be engaged in both practical and theory sessions to learn creative, innovative and exciting ways to teach and coach. You will be able to design and implement learning activities that are enjoyable, challenging, inspiring and cognitively and physically demanding.

This course combines theory and practice to introduce students to an integrated, biopsychosocial approach to physical activity participation for persons with disabilities. Students will be introduced to fundamental principles and theories in the field of adapted physical activity. Students will learn about a broad range of abilities and will be introduced to ways of providing physical activity opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Students will be given opportunity for learning of different physical activities developed for specific populations through in-class discussions, tutorials, assignments, and readings.

The course will be an introduction to global sports law. Students will explore how the rules and regulations of the Olympic Movement, the technical side of sport, and the anti-doping movement constitute private transnational legal systems where international sport organizations have regulatory autonomy that is often shielded from intervention by national legal systems. Students will learn how disputes involving these sport rules and regulations are resolved through private arbitration by reviewing key arbitral decisions issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, and by participating in mock arbitrations of disputes involving doping violations, team selection decisions, and competition outcomes. Finally, students will critically examine how certain sport rules relating to gender verification, out-of-competition doping testing, and doping sanctions impact the rights of athletes, and whether arbitration can provide the necessary oversight and accountability measures to protect those rights.

In this course, students will experience to the natural environment of Ontario in the context of outdoor physical activity and recreation. This course provides an overview of the field skills for the developing outdoor leader. Students are exposed to wilderness recreation and travel, outdoor living, navigation, environmental ethics, and leadership. Students will develop skills for planning and managing hiking activities to lead a one-day trip into basic hiking terrain.

Understanding health-related data is critical for advancing knowledge and practice in kinesiology and other health sciences.  This course centres on multiple case studies through which students will use statistical learning, combining statistics and computer science, to work with real-world data to better understand and address practical problems in health and kinesiology. Students will engage with data from areas such as physical activity, rehabilitation, chronic disease, and human performance, while developing analytical skills including data visualization, predictive modeling, pattern recognition, and others. Emphasis is placed on implementing statistical learning methods and interpreting results in applied health contexts. Lecture examples will use R.

This course introduces pedagogical and learning methodologies of working with children and youth in a physical activity setting. It explores concepts such as current levels of physical activity in children and youth; physical literacy and assessment practices; fitness considerations for children and youth and; current best practices for teaching physical activity. Physical activity models of instruction and organization will be explored including: Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and Long-Term Development for Sport and Physical Activity (LTDSPA) as well as lesson planning and student engagement. The Ontario curriculum for physical education at the elementary and secondary levels will also be introduced. In tutorials, students will have an opportunity to experience and apply physical activity pedagogy theory in practice. Course content can be directly applied to improve physical activity instruction across a range of settings including camps, recreational physical activity programming, coaching and future health and physical education teaching.

This course will be an introduction to the theory and practice of coaching. Through lectures, practical coaching sessions and in class presentations, students will become familiarized with the fundamentals of coaching and gain an appreciation of the diversity and complexity of the coaching process from an Athlete Centred Coaching perspective. There will be considerable links with KPE333H1 The Pedagogy of Playing Games. Various knowledgeable coaches and experts will talk about their coaching experiences.

Students who successfully complete the course will gain their National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Introduction to Coaching Part A.

This course will provide students an opportunity to develop their knowledge and competencies in interpersonal theory in Kinesiology and Physical Education. Topics covered in this course include, verbal and non-verbal communication strategies, active listening with patients/clients, reflective practice, managing conflict, decision making, teamwork, and leadership. This course draws upon previous coursework and integrates theory and practice across course learning activities to apply the course content to the breadth of populations and settings within the field of Kinesiology and Physical Education. As a part of the course, students will participate in a field experience (100 hours) with a mentor observing and engaging in interpersonal relations and participating in the planning and implementation of programs as appropriate. Course evaluation activities include weekly class and tutorial sessions, written assignments, presentations, and examinations. Notes: Classroom/tutorial sessions are two hours per week in addition to field experience. Please refer to the 'Fees and Financial Requirements' section of the calendar for information on ancillary fees.

This course provides students with an opportunity to expand upon topics introduced in earlier physiology courses, particularly KPE264H1, with a particular focus on cardiorespiratory function and control during exercise. Advanced concepts in cardiac performance, respiratory control and the vascular system will be addressed, while considering both acute and chronic responses to exercise. While each subsystem will be examined in detail, a key objective is to guide students toward developing an integrative understanding of exercise physiology. Specific topics will include: systolic and diastolic cardiac function, neural and humoral control of ventilation during exercise, factors influencing gas exchange, local and regional control of skeletal muscle blood flow, and autonomic control of cardiovascular function. Challenges to these systems, including heat and ‘excessive’ exercise, will be explored. Laboratory activities will provide students with an opportunity to integrate conceptual and practical knowledge pertaining to the assessment of cardiorespiratory function and control during exercise.

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the principles associated with the voluntary control of limb movements. These principles and theories will provide the student with selected concepts of human movement control and a framework for their application in research, teaching, rehabilitation, and coaching. The objective of the course is to build the student’s understanding of concepts, phenomena and theories associated with sensory, and central nervous system contributions to the execution of goal-directed limb movements.

This course examines the neural and cognitive processes that underlie human movement. Specific topics include: neural anatomy; neurophysiology; theories of motor control; movement disorders; and the neural substrates of reflexes, preprogrammed movements, and voluntary movement.

This course builds on knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics acquired in earlier courses to develop a systematic understanding of risk and mechanisms of injury; common pathologies associated with physical activity; and prevention, recognition, initial management and rehabilitation of injuries occurring in sport and physical activities. It also examines the topic of doping in sport.

Students will build-on and apply knowledge and skills acquired in the introductory biomechanics course to perform more sophisticated quantitative (mechanical) analyses of human movement. An overarching emphasis will be placed on developing numeracy and critical thinking skills necessary to evaluate and apply biomechanics research.

This course examines the elementary concepts of ergonomics. We will explore ergonomics in a variety of practice settings and discuss risk factors contributing to repetitive strain (cumulative trauma) at various ages focusing primarily on the spine and upper extremity and the consequential economic and human burden. We will discuss the stakeholders and measures to enhance ergonomics including adapting the work/activity and the elements of the environment to match the individual’s capacity, to reduce occupational injuries and enhance productivity, comfort, satisfaction and safety. Six hours of practical experience focused on manual material handling and work stations and technology will be embedded in the course.

An appreciation of biomechanics is fundamental to understanding why certain athletes are able to excel, how sport related injuries can be prevented, and how exercise programs should be designed to change movement behaviours. This course will provide students with an opportunity to apply the principles introduced in KPE263H1 to a range of controversial topics from the sport and exercise fields. Case studies and relevant research will be used to explore the application of each concept discussed.

This course will introduce students to the present-day conceptual understanding of concussion, a form of mild traumatic brain injury, and the relevant issues related to concussion and sport or physical activity. Lectures will cover theoretical, scientific, and clinical issues pertinent to this topic, including: current clinical practices, novel scientific approaches and modalities to document and monitor recovery, emerging rehabilitation strategies, as well as long-term health effects. The course content has been designed to provide students with the understanding and knowledge in preparation for research, teaching, coaching, or work in health care settings.

NOT OFFERED in 2026-27

This course is the complement to Human Physiology I and serves as an introduction to the fundamental principles of endocrinology, gastrointestinal and renal physiology, water and electrolyte balance, reproduction, immune function and the special senses. Physiological mechanisms underlying pathologies related to these systems will be explored. Additionally, scientific racism will be discussed, including examples relevant to the physiological topics covered and with a view to considering anti-oppressive practices in physiology. In conjunction with KPE260H1, this course will be of interest to those applying to second entry health sciences programmes and/or those wishing to extend their foundational knowledge of human physiology.

Sport performance can be improved substantially through structured, planned training. In this course, responses to chronic physical activity and exercise training will be examined and applied to the design of specific programs that improve sport performance. Both the science and current best practices in training design will be studied with an emphasis on application in various sports for athletes of all levels.

This course examines the metabolic dysregulation that occurs in adults with obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Special focus is on the underlying changes in carbohydrate and fat metabolism at the whole-body and tissue level (e.g., in blood, muscle and adipose) and how lifestyle strategies (e.g., acute or chronic exercise, dietary changes) can prevent and/or treat these metabolic diseases. Research-related skills and knowledge on topics of interest will be developed through analysis of peer-reviewed literature, written assignments and/or oral presentations. Special topics may also be presented.

This course is designed to expose students to the theory and application of injury and orthopaedic biomechanics. We will explore and quantify the underlying mechanics and behavior of musculoskeletal (MSK) tissues, how these tissues adapt to external loads, and how they fail and become injured. Time will be dedicated to assessing MSK epidemiology and interpreting injury prediction statistical models. This course will also introduce students to orthopaedic treatments (e.g., joint replacement, soft tissue reconstructions, etc.) for common injuries and diseases and how these interact mechanically with the MSK system to promote healing and improved mobility. Students will learn about the various research methods that are used to determine the biomechanical properties of biological tissues and orthopaedic devices; students will determine how to use these data to make informed decisions regarding the efficacy and appropriate application of these interventions.

Theoretical concepts specific to the assessment of mobility, physical literacy and fitness, and the design of personalized exercise programs will be explored. Through a combination of teaching styles, real-life case studies, small and large group activities, and hands-on experiences, students will be given an opportunity to identify and interpret the unique needs of healthy populations so that personalized exercise solutions can be created. An emphasis will also be placed on communication and students’ ability to think critically and problem-solve.