FUA-AUF Offers Florentine Perspective on Nutrition and Exercise

written by Amber Roldan for Special Project: Experiential Learning in Journalism

FUA-AUF’s Lifetime Nutrition, Wellness, and Physical Activity course combines exercise and nutrition in an exciting new way. The course is perfect for students hoping to learn more about nutrition and exercise science, offering an Italian and Mediterranean perspective on everyday health and wellness topics.

With a focus on lifetime health, the class discusses longevity and how one should prioritize health and fitness throughout various phases of life. From school-aged children to seniors, students in this class learn appropriate dietary regimes and fitness skills for each age group.

“I'm in my early twenties. So, I can live and eat whatever I want and work out... and I'm still gonna be okay, but when you get older, you know, your body changes,” FUA-AUF student, Davin Hope said. “I felt like it would be interesting to learn how to alter that,” he added.

The course combines a lecture-based approach with application activities to fully immerse students in the realm of lifetime health and fitness. To ensure a quality learning experience, this class is co-taught by both a professional in nutrition and another in exercise science.

As a former professional soccer player and current coach, Professor Fabrizio Polloni handles the physical activity-based lectures and exercises using his expertise from his soccer career to efficiently teach students. On the other hand, Professor Lorenzo Dal Canto uses his years of background as a nutritionist to handle the course’s nutritional lectures and culinary labs.

As opposed to strictly sitting in a classroom every day for three hours, students are led in practical activities ranging from site visits to nutrition-based cooking lessons. This hands-on approach exemplifies FUA-AUF’s devotion to experiential learning.

“That's the good part because life is not only in theory, and academic, but it's also trying experience(s),” Polloni said. He went on to add, “You learn more and better if you try what you are actually learning.”

The class's practical focusing on childhood is one of the numerous ways this curriculum implements experiential learning. For example, students visited Stadium Buozzi Porta Romana as part of an experiential learning opportunity.

After quickly introducing the day’s focus, Polloni invited volunteers to come forward and demonstrate various coordination skills and exercises they learned in class on the field. Students came prepared with a variety of preplanned exercises and games that they thought would be appropriate for children. Individual performances transitioned to teamwork as Polloni organized 3-on-3 soccer/basketball-oriented games. Students not actively practicing watched, offered advice, and answered questions that Polloni posed throughout the exercises.

“My goal is to include everyone,” Polloni said. “I explained to the class… it’s not just about getting an A plus or minus. The more they participate, the more they will pay attention, and hopefully, they will learn something.”

At the culmination of this class, students can understand and put into practice notions of Italian and Mediterranean nutrition for a healthy lifestyle.

“I saw too many times students that came here [or] even spent a semester here, they will go back home and they have nothing to say besides [good] pasta, pizza, and the places they visited for a couple of hours just to [take] a picture.”

Whether or not this information can be directly applied to their major at their home university, the lessons learned will last a lifetime.

A Nighttime Stroll Through the Streets of Florence 

Florence University of the Arts hosted a walking tour of the Santa Maria Novella neighborhood, offering students a chance to explore.

The City as a Classroom

The course provides an exciting opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the rich culture of Florence, using the WWAC method: Walks Without a Classroom.

Connecting to Florence’s LGBTQ+ Community with IREOS

In divisive times, IREOS aims to support vulnerable groups through its “Unveiling Pride” night at Palazzi Community Center's Fedora Garden.

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