The Jambar

Issue date: 2/9/10 Section: Features

Media Credit: Lindsey Shaffer/The Jambar

Songs, dances, rhymes and games. Dr. Stephen Ausmann's students do it all. With a greeting of "Good Morning Kindergartners!" Ausmann uses a unique approach to get through to his college students.

Ausmann is the instructor of Rhythmic Movement for Children, a human performance and exercise science course at Youngstown State University. The course is designed to teach physical education majors how to interact with future students of all age groups.

Ausmann's goal is to get his students to find their own rhythm. "It's that whole self-esteem, 'I'm comfortable enough in my own skin,' that I can teach this,'" he said.

With a male majority in his classes, Ausmann said his students may be wary at first, but in the end he is pleased by the positive response he receives.

"We have a good time," Ausmann said. "I think at first they come and are like, 'This guy, what's he doing?' because it's all foreign, but after about one or two days they were totally into it."

Scott Fabry, a freshman student in the class, said his thoughts after the first day of class were something similar to, "What did I sign up for?" However, after just a few sessions Fabry changed his mind about the course.

"I would recommend this class to anyone; it's probably the most fun I've had in a class here at YSU," he said.

Ausmann's unique approach to teaching allows his Rhythmic Movement for Children students to step into the shoes of their own potential students. He takes them through different activities and explains why certain activities are ideal for certain age groups.

Sophomore Brandon Wick said he enjoys Ausmann's approach to teaching.

"I actually look forward to it. It's fun and I laugh a lot," he said. "But I'm also able to understand better by stepping into someone else's shoes."

When asked what he hopes his students will learn from his class, Ausmann said, "I hope they develop, first of all, positive self-esteem that they can move rhythmically no matter what their experiences were like as children. Also the skills to teach, I'm hoping they gain their own pedagogy of how to teach."

Students taking Ausmann's class should expect to get in touch with their inner child. Wick offered advice to prospective students.

"Just participate and have fun with it," he said. "It's enjoyable and you're learning how to relate better to your future students."

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