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Career Description

Teach courses pertaining to recreation, leisure and fitness studies, including exercise physiology and facilities management. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What Job Titles Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Might Have

• Coach
• Professor
• Health and Physical Education Professor (HPE Professor)
• Physical Education Professor (PE Professor)

What Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Do

• Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
• Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
• Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
• Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
• Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
• Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
• Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
• Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
• Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
• Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
• Participate in campus and community events.
• Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
• Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
• Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
• Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
• Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department heads.
• Prepare students to act as sports coaches.
• Act as advisers to student organizations.

What Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Should Be Good At

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary Need to Learn

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.