Students pursuing a bachelor's degree typically must complete specific general education requirements. These courses are usually required of all students, regardless of major, and include such subjects as English, math, science and foreign languages. Some courses required for state teacher licensing, such as psychology and history, may also count toward general education requirements. These requirements vary from school to school and reflect each university's particular mission and values. For example, at Brigham Young University--Hawaii, a university sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the general education curriculum includes 14 credits of courses on Scripture study and other religious topics.
Students will typically spend most of their junior and senior years taking courses in their major. For a physical education major, these are likely to include classes such as human anatomy and physiology, first aid and CPR, and courses on how to teach physical skills to students. Students at the University of West Georgia, for example, take a class on teaching young students motor skills through the use of dance and gymnastics. In another required course for UWG's physical education majors, students learn about health matters facing teens and design lesson plans for a unit on a topic such as drug abuse or AIDS.
Physical education students are also typically required to take courses in educational pedagogy. These classes may not be directly related to teaching physical education but deal with general education principles. Common requirements include courses in student assessment, classroom management, technology, literacy, educational psychology and special education. As a part of these classes, students may be required to observe practicing teachers or create and teach lessons of their own at the observation site. For example, students in the classroom instruction and management class at Adams State College in Colorado spend two hours a week observing at a school. In the practices and assessment course, students prepare a lesson, teach it to the class and then design an assessment to measure their students' learning.
Student teaching is the final capstone experience for physical education majors. Student teachers spend anywhere from a semester to a year as an intern for a practicing teacher. Students begin by observing and assisting their master teacher and gradually take over all teaching responsibilities. Before beginning student teaching, students generally must have finished all other coursework with a minimum grade point average. Some students will spend the entire term with one teacher, but it is common for physical education students to split their time between an elementary and secondary school. Throughout the student teaching experience, students receive ongoing supervision from both their master teacher and a member of the university education faculty.