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Program of Movement Science and Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College
Columbia University

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Announcements

Specialization in Motor Learning

Program Coordinator: Dr. Andrew Gordon
Phone: (212) 678-3325
Fax: (212) 678-3322
Email:

Motor Learning study focuses on the behavioral, biomechanical, and neural bases of develop-ment, acquisition, and performance of functional movement skills. Acquisition of skill is examined over the lifespan in typically developing and impaired individuals. Move-ment analysis is used to elucidate the neuromotor control processes underlying skilled performance in everyday functional behaviors, sport, and dance. The teacher or therapist’s role in facilitating skill learning and performance is emphasized.

This specialty has five components:

  1. Substantive study of theory and research as embodied in lecture and laboratory courses.
  2. Development of clinical or educational skills in laboratory and fieldwork courses.
  3. Research training to enable students to read and interpret original research and to carry out educational, clinical, or laboratory research.
  4. Seminars to discuss theory and research, identification of research problems, and clinical/educational applications. 
  5. Elective courses to meet specific student needs which may be taken throughout the College and University in such areas as Anatomy, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Health Education, Higher and Adult Education, Neurosciences, Nutrition, Physiology, Psycho-logy, and Science Education. A list of recommended elective and related courses is available to students in the Movement Science office.

In the Spotlight

Welcome new faculty member, Dr. Carol Garber

Dr Carol Ewing Garber is a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist and an Associate Professor of Movement Science and Education (Applied Physiology).  She received a B.S with distinction in Education, and the M.A. and Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT.  Her research focuses on the role of physical activity and exercise in preventing and treating chronic diseases and in promoting successful aging.  She has served in leadership positions in many professional and community organizations, currently serving on the Board of Directors for the American College of Sports Medicine and on the Editorial Board of the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.  Previously, she was the president of the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Heart Association, chairperson of the National Clinical Exercise Physiology Registry and the Rhode Island Governor’s Council on Exercise and Health,. Dr. Garber was an associate editor of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, a contributing author to the ACSM Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, and section editor the ACSM Resource Manual to accompany the Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Dr. Garber has published over 55 articles in peer-reviewed journals and peer-reviewed book chapters, and other publications, Prior to joining the faculty at TC in 2007, she served on the faculty at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, and at the Brown University Medical School in Providence, RI.




Welcome New Faculty Member, Tara McIsaac


Tara McIsaac, Assistant Professor in the Biobehavioral Sciences Department, earned her degree in Physical Therapy at the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Arizona in Tucson.  Research in her Neurophysiology and Motor Learning Laboratory focuses on the neurophysiological aspects of movement skill learning, particularly in people with movement disorders such as Parkinson disease. She is particularly interested in how attention and instruction affect the learning and performance of ‘dual-task’ activities, such as driving a car and walking carrying coffee. Dr. McIsaac teaches courses in Motor Learning and Motor Development Across the Lifespan, and professional seminars for Physical and Occupational Therapists on a novel treatment approach for people with Parkinson disease.

News

Recent Dissertation Defenses

Congratulations to the following doctoral students who recently defended their dissertations:

  • Tom Buckley "Dynamic Postural Stability during Sit-to-Walk Transitions in Parkinson Disease Patients"
  • Ya-Ching Hung "Movement organization during learning of a multi-joint throwing task"
  • Panayiotis Constantinides "Comparison of teaching processes in elementary physical education classes taught by specialists and nonspecialists"
  • Roseann Carpenter, "The effects of acupuncture upon parasympathetic modulation"
  • Michael Gallucci "The effects of exercise training upon autonomic modulation in COPD"
  • Marzouk Elythy "24-hour autonomic modulation comparing normotensives versus pre-hypertensives"
  • Michael Figueroa "The effects of Tai Chi upon autonomic modulation"