Yanhua

Shen

Courses Taught

• PED 3500: Human Anatomy in Kinesiology
• PED 3300: Coaching Methodology
• HED 2250: Nutrition
• PED 2080: Lifetime Fitness and Wellness
• PED 1900: Soccer

Research Interests

Dr. Shen’s scholarship focuses on how physical activity, sport, and education can be used to improve health and youth development. His primary research interests include:

• Health Promotion
  Promoting physical activity, exercise, and healthy lifestyle behaviors through school- and community-based physical activity programs.
• Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
  Examining how sport, physical education, and sports-based youth development programs foster skills such as self-management, cooperation, empathy, and responsible decision-making.
• Sport and Physical Education Pedagogy
  Designing and studying evidence-based pedagogical models, including Cooperative Learning, Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR), and hybrid model-based practices, to improve learning, engagement, and youth development outcomes.

Publications and Presentations

Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Shen, Y., Dyson, B., Baek, S., Howley, D., & Zhang, F. (2024). Social and Emotional Learning Through a Sports-Based Youth Development Program Grounded in a Hybrid Model-Based Practice. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education.
• Dyson, B., Shen, Y., Howley, D., & Baek, S. (2023). Social emotional learning matters: Interpreting educators’ perspectives at a high-needs rural elementary school. Frontiers in Education.
• Shen, Y., Martinek, T., & Dyson, B. (2022). Navigating the Processes and Products of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Model: A Systematic Literature Review. Quest.
• Shen, Y., Rose, S., & Dyson, B. (2022). Social and Emotional Learning for Underserved Children Through a Sports-Based Youth Development Program. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.

Recent Conference Presentations

• Shen, Y. (2025). Advancing Youth Development through Hybrid Models-Based Practice in Community Sports. SHAPE America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
• Shen, Y. et al. (2024). Impact of a Sports-Based Youth Development Program on Students’ Psychomotor Development. American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia, PA.
• Shen, Y. et al. (2023). Social Emotional Learning Through a Sports-Based Youth Development Program. American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

Athletic Experience

Dr. Shen is a former professional soccer goalkeeper who competed in China’s top professional leagues with Henan Jianye FC and later served as a university head coach, youth academy coach, and national-level referee. He also participated in a professional development training at Stoke City FC, UK, and holds a FA coaching certificate. His elite-level playing and coaching background directly informs his teaching, research, and community engagement in sport, health, and youth development.

Education

Ph.D. in Kinesiology
Minor: Educational Research Methods and Measurement
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

M.Ed. in Curriculum and Pedagogy in Physical Education
Henan Normal University, China

B.Ed. in Exercise Science
Henan Normal University, China