Infant lab brings learning to life for CBU kinesiology class

Riverside, Calif. (March 4, 2020) –  As babies kicked their legs, grabbed toys and sat up, students from California Baptist University observed the infantile, yet appropriate, movement.

Students in Lifelong Motor Development (KIN 332) assessed the babies, aged one year and under, for reflexes, spontaneous movements and other motor milestones on March 4.

The infant lab is an opportunity for lessons to become tangible, said Lauri Hauck, visiting professor of kinesiology. During the semester, the course covers growth from prenatal through older adult.

“We study motor development across the life span,” Hauck said. “Here we’re trying to see what does the reflex actually look like? Is this normal, is this abnormal?”

The students also have to communicate with the parents to find out information about the family and the home environment, Hauck said. All of those factors can affect a child’s development.

Nick Lasley, an exercise science junior, said the lab helps apply the information the students are studying.

“It’s one thing to see in a class and listen to what [Professor] Hauck is teaching us. It’s another to actually see it with the kids and to see how the kids vary,” Lasley said. “You can walk out the classroom thinking every kid should do this at certain points, but it doesn’t always work that way.”

Throughout the semester, the course includes other labs tailored to different age groups such as children, teens and even older adults. These labs are intended to help students to learn about motor development as individuals develop and age, Hauck said.

Amber Newman, a kinesiology junior, said the labs bring to life what they are learning in class.

“You see pictures in a textbook, but the lab solidifies it in your brain to see it in real life,” Newman said. “We’ll see these things when we go into our different professions.”