Contributing to our Health -- A Series About StFX Research Making A Difference In Our Communities
StFX is a leader in health innovation and entrepreneurship in Nova Scotia. In this ongoing series, we proudly shine a spotlight on our health research leaders, research and community health partnerships and their impact. For more on the Contributing to our Health series, click the link below.
Contributing to our Health series
“There is a drop in physical activity between Grade 3 and 7, which is part of the reason that I started Fit 4 Life. Fit 4 Life is now a program my students and I have offered to the community for about 20 years … where children in Grades 3 and 4 come to StFX for one to three days per week for an after school low-organized games program. It is a win-win-win situation.” ~ Dr. Angie Kolen
Promoting physical activity in children
Meet StFX human kinetics professor Dr. Angie Kolen
Dr. Angie Kolen joined the StFX Human Kinetics Department in 2001 and for the past 22 years, she has been actively promoting physical activity and physical literacy to children. At StFX, she teaches HKIN 425 Child Growth and Development, HKIN 426 Health Education and HKIN 226 Personal Health. She has received a StFX Outstanding Teacher Award, a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Atlantic Association of Universities, and a 3M National Teaching Fellow, Canada's most prestigious recognition of excellence in educational leadership and teaching at the post-secondary level. For the past two decades, Dr. Kolen has run Fit 4 Tots, an exploratory movement program for children under five, and Fit 4 Life, an inclusive after-school program for elementary school children where low-organized games are played. These programs are delivered each term by Dr. Kolen and involve about 60-70 student volunteers. Dr. Kolen has also been heavily involved in the StFX and broader communities delivering presentations/workshops, for many years organizing student research days, and contributing her expertise on numerous committees.
Tell me about your research.
My research primarily focuses on children and physical activity. We know that an active child is a healthier child. We also believe that a child that develops physical literacy is more likely to be physically active—and healthier as an adult.
What drew you to health research?
I think it is inherent in what I do, right from the get-go. Physical activity is sooooooo important for physical and mental health … for all of us!
What impact has this research had or what impact do you hope it will have?
The first major research project I was involved in when I came to StFX was the PACY study (Physical Activity of Children and Youth) where a team of researchers from Dalhousie, Acadia, CBU, and StFX collaborated with the Government of Nova Scotia to measure physical activity of students in Grades 3, 7, and 11. This led to the realization that there is a drop in physical activity between Grade 3 and 7, which is part of the reason that I started Fit 4 Life. Fit 4 Life is now a program my students and I have offered to the community for about 20 years … where children in Grades 3 and 4 come to StFX for one to three days per week for an after school low-organized games program. It is a win-win-win situation. The children are physically active for almost two hours, the university students get hands-on experience learning how to promote physical activity (among so many other things), and the parents/guardians have their children involved in something healthy after school, and we reduce some of the town-gown disparities.
Could you tell me about yourself and any awards/accomplishments?
I am a 3M National Teaching Fellow. I have also been a co-facilitator of the StFX Leadership Academy, the longest serving one in Canada, now in its 11th year.
How did you become a researcher?
It’s a usual component of graduate education. My path to becoming a professor started with my teaching, It is because I liked teaching so much that I pursued graduate education, and it was then that I learned about research and how to become a researcher as well.
What excites you about being a researcher at StFX?
The ability to work with students. In one of the larger projects I was involved in a couple years ago, the CAPL study (Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy), where we measured physical literacy in more than 1,000 children in and around Antigonish, I was able to involve 30-40 university students in the data collection. I loved that!
What’s something surprising about yourself that people wouldn’t know?
I am an introvert!! This one takes some explaining. But I am. I LOVE the classroom and working with children, you won’t notice it then. It is when I am in group settings. I prefer hovering off on the side and to wait for others to approach me. I also have three grandsons.
