Moving the Next Generation: Testing a motor skill assessment sensor wear App with teachers in schools
The Team: Dr Natalie Lander, A/Proff Eduarda Sousa- Sá, A/Prof Lisa Barnett, A/Prof Shady Mohamed, Dr Darius Nahavandi, Dr Steven Lewis, Prof Mike Duncan
Motor competence (MC) is positively associated with higher levels of social and cognitive development, self-perception, physical activity and physical fitness. The childhood years provide a critical window of opportunity to develop MC, as such, it is a priority of national and international Health and Physical Education curriculums. In spite of its importance, low levels of MC in children remains a global health concern. Existing MC assessment is challenging due to time, cost, resources and training needs, resulting in minimal application and limited remediation. A MC assessment using Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) has been developed by HASS scientists Dr Lander and A/Prof Barnett in collaboration with STEM scientists A/Prof Mohamed and Dr Nahavandi. This prototype uses four IMUs with a Windows surface tablet. Motion data is streamed in real time to the tablet highlighting specific areas in need of improvement. The proposed SSN funding will be used to i) refine the prototype for use by teachers, and ii) to test implementation effectiveness of the App when used by teachers in schools.
The Team: Dr Natalie Lander (lead CI, pictured), A/Proff Eduarda Sousa- Sá, A/Prof Lisa Barnett, A/Prof Shady Mohamed, Dr Darius Nahavandi, Dr Steven Lewis, Prof Mike Duncan