Physical Education

Last updated: August 15, 2017 at 10:32 a.m.

Objectives

Movement and activity are basic functions necessary for the human body to grow, develop, and maintain health. Realizing that good health is largely self-controlled, the physical education department's curriculum focuses on fitness, dance, and lifetime sports to encourage lifestyle changes in its students.

Brandeis prides itself on education of the body as well as education of the intellect. The physical education department curriculum focuses on cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, body composition (percent of body fat), the maintenance of muscular strength, and endurance.

Students should complete the physical education requirement by the end of their sophomore year. Transfer students may offer toward the requirement physical education courses that appear on the transcript of their previous institutions. Most physical education courses meet for two hours per week and are limited in size; preference is given to first-year students.

Any student who has served in the military, foreign or domestic, is exempt from the entire physical education requirement. Proper documentation must be provided to the physical education department.

Faculty

Lynne Dempsey, Chair

Carole-Ann Baer
Ballroom/Latin Dance.

Derek Carlson
Fitness – Power walking, cardio.

Denise Dallamora
Fitness—yoga, stability ball.

Danielle DelPonte
Team sports. Racquet sports. Golf.

Sinead Evans
Fitness – Running.

Stephen Flanagan
Team sports – indoor soccer.

Scott Foulis
Team sports—basketball and volleyball.

Michael Kotch
First aid. CPR. Aquatics. Swim for Fitness.

Ben Lamanna
Fitness—total body workout. Racquet sports.

Pat Lupowski
Fitness—Power walking, cardio.

William Shipman
Fencing. Racquet sports. Golf.

Jason Sliwoski
Fitness—Fit Camp.

Jim True
Personal Safety/Self-Defense.

Alesia Vaccari
Fitness—Yoga, Certified Personal Training.

James Zotz
Aquatics. Pilates. Stress management.

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Physical education is an undergraduate degree requirement. This requirement is satisfied by successful completion of two, semester-long, noncredit courses, participation on a varsity athletics team, or by passing a fitness test taken during the student's first two years at Brandeis.

Completion of one full season of participation on a varsity athletics team, as certificated by the Department of Athletics, is equal to the completion of one, semester-long, noncredit course. A student may satisfy the physical education requirement through the completion of two full seasons of participation on a varsity athletics team. Participation in club sports or intramurals does not count toward the physical education requirement.

All students have four opportunities during their first two years at Brandeis to exempt themselves from all or part of the physical education requirement by taking a battery of tests that measure muscular strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. A student unable to pass the fitness test should enroll in a course in the Personal Fitness Group.

A grade of 59-74% on the fitness test will exempt you from one physical education class or half of your requirement. A grade of 75% or better will exempt you from two physical education classes or all of your requirement. Physical education classes meet the first day of regular classes and attendance is mandatory. A maximum of two absences is allowed in a class that meets once per week and a maximum of four absences is allowed in a class that meets twice per week.

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

PE 2a Swim For Fitness
[ pe-sc ]
Explores using lap swimming as a mode of exercise. While having the opportunity to exercise twice a week, students will also learn to construct a swimming workout. By course completion, students will have been exposed to various training methods and sets that contribute to creating and executing productive lap swimming workouts. Students must already be able to swim in order to enroll in this class. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Kotch

PE 4a Beginner's Rowing
[ pe-1 ]
Learning to row indoors provides rowing instruction for new rowers. Students will learn the basics of the rowing stroke, practice rowing together as a ‘crew,’ gain familiarity with the challenging rowing-based workouts and rowing physiology and training zones. This class primarily uses the Concept 2 model C and D indoor rowing machines and does not include ‘on the water’ rowing.
Mr. DeIuliis

PE 5a First Aid and Community CPR
[ pe-1 ]
An instruction in the American Red Cross standard First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and AED (automated external defibrillator). Upon course completion, certificates will be given to students who successfully complete the skills test and pass the written test with scores of 80 percent or better. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Kotch

PE 7a Fundamentals of Running
[ pe-1 ]
Introduces the fundamentals of running, designed to improve students' fitness level. Each student will receive instruction about how to develop a running training program. The program is designed for the beginning runner who wants to build up to running a 5k. The program builds from run/walk to continuous running. Students will also receive instruction on basic stretching and core stability training for runners. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Evans

PE 8a Certified Personal Trainer Preparation
[ pe-1 ]
Covers all the components to prepare to become a Certified Personal Trainer. Topics will include Human Anatomy, Behavior Change, Teaching Techniques, Functional Training, and Programming. Upon completion of this course, individuals may complete the ACE Personal Trainer Certification Exam to become a licensed trainer! Classes will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and hands-on application. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Page

PE 8b Fit Camp
[ pe-1 ]
Designed around goal setting, self-improvement and teamwork, this course caters to all fitness levels. Classes will focus on a variety of exercises to build endurance, flexibility, core and overall strength. Individuals will be tested on the first day through a timed mile, the number of push-ups in 1:00 minute and the number of sit-ups in 1:00 minute. The individual will then work with the instructor to go over an obtainable goal to strive for at the end of the semester. At the end of the semester, the individual will retest. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Sliwoski

PE 9a Volleyball
[ pe-1 ]
An introduction to the fundamentals of volleyball--scoring, rotation, rules, and the basic skills of passing, serving, hitting, and setting. Methodology includes lectures, demonstrations, drills, but mostly play. Course is intended to be fun through active participation. Usually offered every fall.
Mr. Foulis

PE 10a Basketball
[ pe-1 ]
Structured to meet needs of students with an overview of offensive and defensive skills. Methods used are lecture, demonstrations, drills, and play. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Foulis

PE 11a Introduction to Weightlifting
[ pe-1 ]
Instruction of proper use of Nautilus, Body Master, and free-weight training. Classes also include aerobic activity such as use of Lifecycles and Tru-Climb 450. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Carlson

PE 14a Yoga
[ pe-1 ]
Hatha yoga is physical in nature and is based on proper body alignment and is distinctive in its use of props such as belts, walls, and blankets. Classes start with gentle stretches and work toward more challenging poses. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Dallamora and Ms. Vaccari

PE 16a Golf
[ pe-1 ]
A beginning golf group instructional course. Techniques such as grip, set-up, swing, chipping, pitching, and putting are covered. Some discussion on golf rules and etiquette is introduced. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. DelPonte

PE 17a Beginner's Fencing
[ pe-1 ]
Covers basic mobility, offensive and defensive strategy, and tactics. Competitive bouting is done, with a class tournament scheduled for the end of the semester. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Shipman

PE 18b Intermediate Fencing
[ pe-1 ]
Prerequisite: PE 17a.
Basic mobility and blade actions are reviewed, with advanced attacks and tactics, strategy, and more bouting included. Introduction to saber and epee. Usually offered every second spring semester.
Mr. Shipman

PE 20a Intermediate Tennis
[ pe-1 ]
Prerequisite: prior tennis experience.
Designed for the student who already possesses the fundamental tennis skills and knows how to play the game. Emphasis is on match play tactics and the integration of footwork, conditioning, and shot selection into a complete game. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Lamanna

PE 21a Tennis
[ pe-1 ]
Students must provide their own racquet.
An overview of grips, ground strokes, serve, return of serve, and net play. Basic singles and doubles strategy, rules, and scoring of the game are introduced. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Lamanna

PE 22a Squash
[ pe-1 ]
Students must provide their own racquet and protective eyewear.
Covers rules for squash. The serve, return of serve, grip, forehand, backhand, and other basic strokes are introduced. Strategy and play will be emphasized. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Lamanna and Ms. DelPonte

PE 26a Ballroom/Latin Dance
[ pe-1 ]
Fall semester will provide the basics in steps and technique in American style fox trot, mambo, swing, and cha-cha. Spring semester will provide the basics in steps and technique in American style waltz, swing, cha-cha and tango.
Ms. Baer

PE 27a Keeping Stress in Check
[ pe-1 ]
Designed to help students achieve wellness through exercise, nutrition, and health education. Students are taught to recognize components of their lifestyles that are detrimental to their health while developing a personal fitness program. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Zotz

PE 33a Walking for Fitness
[ pe-1 ]
Designed to improve your overall fitness level through walking. Emphasis is on improving cardiovascular endurance level. Instruction is given on how to develop a personal fitness program. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

PE 35a Power Walking
[ pe-1 ]
Designed to help increase the fitness level of students through a high-intensity, low-impact workout. The workout consists of walking with hand-held weights. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Luptowski and Mr. Kotch

PE 38a Indoor Soccer
[ pe-1 ]
An introduction to the fundamentals of soccer. This course will cover the rules of the game and will include skill development and scrimmages to improve overall fitness. This course is designed for all levels and the structure will include a warm up, followed by drills, then 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 scrimmages. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Flanagan

PE 40a Personal Safety/Self-Defense
[ pe-1 ]
Teaches students to assert themselves and deal with the natural excitement and fear that can cause a person to freeze up when faced with an aggressor. Students are led through simple but effective drills and scenarios designed to help them overcome the uncomfortable feelings and fear that can mark a person as an easy target for an attack. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. True

PE 41a Yogalates: A Fusion of Yoga/Pilates
[ pe-1 ]
Combines the common poses of an intermediate Yoga class along with the core-centric movements of a Mat-based Pilates class. Resulting in a low-impact workout that targets muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility, while boosting your immunity, helping you sleep better, reducing body fat, reducing distress and supporting mental well-being. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Zotz

PE 43a Dance Dance Revolution
[ pe-1 ]
Students play a video game that requires them to use their feet instead of their thumbs. Following the lighted arrows with their feet, Dance Dance Revolution is aerobic in nature and can burn as many calories as a Stairmaster or jogging. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

PE 44a The First-Year Experience: Spirit, Mind, and Body
[ pe-1 ]
Open only to first-year students.
Students will develop and utilize their interpersonal skills through experiential and community engaged learning. They are exposed to core values including: citizenship, integrity, respect, civility, lifelong learning and embracing diversity. Topics covered in the course include: values clarification, health and safety, time and stress management, skills for academic success including approaching faculty. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

PE 45a Stability Ball Class
[ pe-1 ]
The stability ball, a large round ball which provides a unstable surface, is used to strengthen the body as a unit. A combination of exercises with the ball builds core strength, as well as enhances balance, power, and flexibility. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dallamora

PE 46a Body Sculpture
[ pe-1 ]
Full body workout using free weights for muscular endurance, stability ball for core strength, and the step to tone the body. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

PE 47a Total Body Training
[ pe-1 ]
Open to all abilities.
Do you want to be a better athlete? Athleticism is a combination of strength, power, coordination, flexibility, balance, agility, and reaction. Includes dynamic stretching, plyometrics, core workout, and confidence-building exercises in a fast-paced hour. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Lamanna

PE 48a Cardio Workout
[ pe-1 ]
Offers instruction of proper use of cardio equipment including elliptical machines, treadmills, rowers, and stationary bikes. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Carlson and Mr. Holbrook

PE 49a Tennis and Squash
[ pe-1 ]
Covers tennis over the first half of the semester and squash for the second half. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Lamanna

PE 50a Aquatic Sports
[ pe-1 ]
Prerequisite: Ability to swim in all depths of water.
Get an aerobic workout while taking advantage of the impact reduction that water provides. This course is designed to promote fitness by combining swimming with competitive fun. Throughout the semester students will have the opportunity to participate in aquatic sports such as volleyball, deep and shallow water basketball, water polo, underwater hockey, and more. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Kotch

PE 53b Experiential Learning
[ pe-1 ]
Explores working (or playing) as a productive and contributing member of a group/team, an asset for college students or graduates throughout their lives. In this course, we will use your awareness about what you can bring to any group, in your academic, personal or professional life. We use individual and group projects to explore lessons learned from our experiential activities and then apply our learnings to future class activities and our daily lives. This course was created for students who are interested in actively participating in developing their life skills. Specific topics include: trust, communication, teamwork, facilitation, self-awareness, group dynamics and leadership. The course will be structured to maximize group cohesion using the forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning phases of group development. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Langenthal

PE 54a Senior Year Experience: Future Forward
[ pe-1 ]
Examines the challenges one faces post graduation. Utilizes text, articles, and guest speakers in a framework designed to enhance or build new knowledge and life skills for students preparing to enter the work force or graduate school. Discusses issues such as health, maintaining a fitness routine, housing, etiquette, and legalities. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

Courses of Related Interest

These count as activity courses toward the physical education requirement.

AAAS 148b Dancing the African Diaspora: Keyterms, Grammars
[ ca pe-1 ss ]
Introduces students to theories, debates, and critical frameworks in African Diaspora Dance Studies. This course asks: How is black movement political? What makes a dance 'black'? How do conceptualizations of gender and sexuality inform our reading of dancing bodies? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Johnson

THA 23a Movement for the Stage I
[ ca pe-1 ]
Prerequisite: THA 10a or permission of the instructor. May not be taken for credit by students who took THA 9a in prior years. Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement.
The actor's job is to create action out of meaning and meaning out of action. Exercises designed to lead students into their imaginations in order to bring courage and responsiveness into the body. Focus on building necessary tools to create the balance between free form and free expression and an artistic and intelligent relationship to theater. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dibble

THA 109b Physical Theater, Body, Gesture, and Character
[ ca pe-1 ]
Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement. May not be taken for credit by students who took THA 9b in prior years.
Works on physical awareness, economy, precision, specificity and introduces methods of stage movement training that encourages creativity, flexibility and grace. The course focuses on teaching the student how to develop an imaginative,expressive and dynamic stage presence while telling a character's story in a play or movement piece. The course includes Rudolf Laban's movement theory, mask and 'red-nose' clown training. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dibble

THA 110a Moving Women/Women Moving
[ ca pe-1 ]
Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement.
Among the influential women leaders in America are choreographers who shaped the history of modern dance in the twentieth century. This course will focus on the work and lives of these women. Students will learn dance techniques and investigate the twists and turns in the lives of these extraordinary artists. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Dibble

THA 110b Modern Dance and Movement
[ ca pe-1 ]
Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement.
Offers a variety of fundamental dance/movement methods, while focusing primarily on the basic forms and movement vocabulary of Modern Dance. Students will learn to appreciate modern dance as a valuable art form and engage in collaborative creative projects, history, research, and a variety of choreographic styles. Students will develop physical and mental strength and flexibility by participating in warm-ups, traveling phrases across the floor, combinations, and structured improvisations. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dibble

THA 111b Stage Combat
[ ca pe-1 ]
Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement.
The course's purpose is to teach the basic skills necessary for the creation of effective and safe stage combat. At the completion of the semester, student competency will be tested by means of a choreographed "fight" utilizing compulsory moves and safety techniques. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Walsh

THA 120a Dance in Time
[ ca pe-1 ]
Focuses on how life cycles, nature and the elements, rhythm and structure in traditional dance forms and rituals, poetry, social events, and human behavior, for example, can all contribute to the understanding of dance and its place in the history of the world. Students are given the opportunity to explore these ideas as well as learn about and practice the creative process by using a variety of sources that inspire and inform the human being who participates in dance of all kinds. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Dibble

THA 120b Movement and Dance Theater Composition
[ ca pe-1 ]
Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement.
A studio course designed to teach the art of making dances and Movement Theater. Explores the use of space, theme, rhythm, repetition, and music and their relationship to the process of creating original work for the stage. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dibble

THA 130a Suzuki
[ ca pe-1 ]
Counts as one activity course toward the physical education requirement. Undergraduates may repeat this course twice for credit, once with each instructor.
Developed by the Japanese theater artist Tadashi Suzuki, the Suzuki method of acting training develops physical strength, stamina, and agility while engaging the imagination and will of the actor. Through a series of walks, statues, and marches, students are taught to breathe and move from the core of their bodies. This training allows students to act from physical impulse, resulting in a deep and personal experience of language and the world of play. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

THA 156a Making Mirth: Building Resilience and Creating Balance
[ ca pe-1 ]
Aims to build resilience through dance, movement, storytelling, comedy, improvisation and the power of play. Students will learn various methods for obtaining calm and balance while learning about the body and students will learn various methods for obtaining calm and balance while learning about the body's natural abilities in creating resilience. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Dibble