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THE CURRENT ROUNDTABLE IS THE SECOND PART OF A TWO PART SERIES WHICH EXPLORES THE USE OF AQUATIC TRAINING METHODS BY ATHLETES. WITH THE INCREASED RESEARCH FOCUS ON TRAINING IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS THE CURRENT ROUNDTABLE IS DESIGNED TO EXPAND UPON THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THE FIRST ROUNDTABLE.

An e-service-learning teleexercise program, 5% Healthier, provided a remote experiential learning opportunity for students and a supervised exercise program for participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study retrospectively evaluated whether students achieved course learning outcomes and improved their ability to work in teleexercise and if the intervention was a successful exercise program for participants. Supervised by graduate students, undergraduate student coaches provided 10 weeks of personalized exercise coaching to participants. Pre- and postperformance assessments were collected on participants, and anonymous surveys were administered to students and participants. Twenty-two undergraduate students and nine graduate students participated. Students’ perceptions of the e-service-learning experience were generally positive, and almost all felt it allowed them to meet the course learning outcomes and improved their ability to work in teleexercise. Seventy-three participants completed the exercise program and showed improvements in all performance assessments (body composition (weight, BMI), shoulder and hamstring flexibility, upper and lower body muscular endurance, and overall function (p<0.01)). Participants rated the program highly and agreed that 5% Healthier helped them gain fitness (93%). The 5% Healthier e-service-learning program is a successful model for experiential learning in exercise physiology, and the teleexercise program improved participants’ performance outcomes.

Experiential learning pedagogies, including internship and service-learning experiences, are becoming increasingly popular in higher education. An internship engages students with hands-on experiences that enhance their learning or skills within their fields of study. In contrast, service-learning is a type of experiential education in which students participate in service, typically within the community, and reflect on their involvement to gain further understanding of the discipline as well as its relationship to societal needs. To date, no study has directly compared these teaching modalities. Therefore, the present study systematically evaluated a service-learning experience against an internship experience using a mixed-methods model with the primary outcome being student self-efficacy. Sixteen exercise physiology students (13 females) completed a community-based wellness internship with a subgroup (nine students, 7 females) allocated to a service-learning component of internship designed to improve self-efficacy. At the end of the semester, students completed a 15-item online self-efficacy and satisfaction survey. Three focus groups were conducted in which 3-4 participants responded to a series of nine questions that explored their experience. Overall responses to the self-efficacy and satisfaction survey were favorable for both groups, but the internship group was more likely to agree or strongly agree with statements of self-efficacy. Focus groups found that the internship experience reinforced classroom learning, but the ability to work with different populations and ability levels was mentioned only by the service-learning group. Themes from reflective assignments, such as engaging with community members and professional exploration, were evident only in the service-learning group responses. Therefore, the findings indicate that service-learning reflection assignments successfully connect the service experience to relevant course outcomes promoting student development but may not improve self-reported self-efficacy beyond that of a typical internship experience.