Physical education snapshot 3
Developing a year 11 programme
Inquiry
Faculty members had attended workshops that focused on the aligned standards. Key messages at the workshop had challenged us and were the catalyst to re-look at how we developed our programmes.
Focusing inquiry
The messages that had made us think:
- Achievement standards are assessment tools not units of work.
- Teaching as inquiry provides a framework from which to consider programme development.
- Consider student contribution and student needs.
- Programmes that spiral and scaffold from year 9 through to 13 provide coherence and support student learning.
Teacher inquiry
As we considered our programmes of work and how they might scaffold from year 9 through to year 13 we wanted to ensure a continuity of learning so that students and teachers could easily see how learning was developed at each year level. We also wanted to ensure a more seamless transition from year 10 into year 11. We didn’t want there to be a change in learning focus as we moved to assessing using of the achievement standards. The learning should still focus on the achievement objectives and learning intentions, with the achievement standards being used as the assessment tool.
As we looked at our year 11 programme we realised that we had based learning around the standards and had not considered a flow from year 10, nor had we considered the scaffold in learning from level 5 to level 6 of The New Zealand Curriculum.
We needed to take a step back and ask ourselves some questions.
- Were our programmes still meeting the learning needs of our students?
- Was our programme reflecting the philosophy of the department?
- Had we involved students in our planning process?
- Did we have flow from year 10 to year 11 or were there two separate programmes?
Using the teaching as inquiry process, and beginning with a focusing inquiry, we began by revisiting our department philosophy to ensure that it still captured what we as a department believed the place and potential of physical education was and how it contributed to a student’s education.
We considered who our students were and what they were bringing with them into the course. This included their learning from year 9 and 10, what they were involved in both at school and out of school.
We then turned our focus to the students who would be taking year 11 physical education. This led us to focusing our inquiry on 'What is important and worth spending time on'? (See
teaching as inquiry.)
As a faculty we needed to consider:
Who our learners were, why had they chosen the course, and what did they want to gain from it? We also needed to consider what they expected and what their understanding of quality physical education was. As a result of considering these questions we chose to involve year 10 students in our planning and thinking about the year 11 programme that they might be taking.
We did this by:
- Having the students and teachers develop a profile of a physically educated student by the end of year 11, and looking at how that might be similar and different at the end of year 13. This included them considering knowledge, skills (not just physical), attitudes, and necessary experiences (for example, involvement in the outdoors).
- Developing understanding of what physical education was using the physical education statement on page 22 and 23 of The New Zealand Curriculum and the Physical Education Achievement Objectives from level 5, 6 and 7 as a way of checking that we had considered a range of ideas about the place, purpose, and potential of being physically educated.
Learning inquiry
- Units of work were developed that focused explicitly and clearly on the learning first.
- Once units were developed, we then considered the most appropriate assessment opportunities and agreed that not everything has to be assessed with an NCEA standard.
- We wanted to ensure that students were always asking questions to encourage curiosity and inquiry and their ability to be critical, with opportunity and support to be able to act on their findings.
- Students had an opportunity to have input into their programme.
The following units were developed.
Unit 1: Physical activity is good for us – what does that mean?
The inquiry focus was to engage students in thinking about what physical activity encompasses and why we get involved in it. Most students would choose to take this course because they enjoy participating in physical activity. Physical activity is portrayed in many different ways from a way to avoid obesity, build school or national pride, a cause for celebration, big dollars and business, elite performance to fun and enjoyment. Students could experience, examine, and investigate to make some meaning for themselves about why they do what they do and to recognise the many influences and messages that they receive about physical activity.
Questions could include:
- What is physical activity?
- Why do it?
- What do you like doing? Why?
- What don’t you like doing? Why?
- Is this the same or different to friends/family/others?
- Will it stay the same or will it change over time?
- Who/what can influence our understandings about physical activity?
- How does this influence happen?
- What are some of the messages that come from those influences?
- What might some of the outcomes be for a person that takes on board/ buys into those messages (+ and -)?
- What are enablers and barriers to participating in physical activity?
- How might we influence others to participate?
Achievement objectives that could be used as a basis to develop learning intentions:
- 6A1: Investigate and understand reasons for the choices people make that affect their wellbeing and explore and evaluate options and consequences.
- 6A4: Demonstrate an understanding of factors that contribute to personal identity and celebrate individuality and affirm diversity.
- 6B4: Demonstrate understanding and affirmation of peoples diverse social and cultural needs and practices when participating in physical activities.
- 6D1: Analyse societal influences that shape community health goals and physical activity patterns.
- 6D2: Advocate for the development of services and facilities to meet identified needs in the school and community.
Possible assessment links to achievement standards:
- AS90962 (PE1.1) Participate actively in a variety of physical activities and explain factors that influence own participation.
- AS90965 (PE1.4) Demonstrate understanding of societal influences on physical activity and the implications for self and others.
- AS9098 (PE1.8) Take purposeful action to assist others to participate in physical activity.
Unit 2: If we participate do we improve or do we need a more planned approach?
This unit aims to explore how we might improve our performance in physical activity and to learn about what influences our ability to do so.
Questions could include:
- Can we improve performance?
- What knowledge do we draw from?
- How can we use it?
- Does using that knowledge mean we improve?
- Do we want to improve?
- What influences our ability to improve?
- Is it just about a performance improvement model that helps us improve?
- What about the role of team culture, motivation, support and encouragement?
- What about the role of fitness, time to participate, time in game play etc?
- What does improving (or not) mean for us in terms of our participation?
- Are there links for me between my confidence and my competence and why/why no?
Achievement objectives that could be used as a basis to develop learning intentions:
- 6A2: Choose and maintain ongoing involvement in appropriate physical activities and examine factors influencing their participation.
- 6B1: Acquire, apply and refine specialised motor skills by using the principles of motor skill learning.
- 6B3: Apply scientific and technological knowledge and resources to enhance physical abilities in a range of environments.
Possible assessment links to achievement standards:
Student learning in this unit could involve the use of three achievement standards. How many will be dependent on student readiness for assessment. Decisions about how many will be made in consultation with the teacher, student, and parents and be based on student readiness. Not all students need to provide evidence of learning for assessment at the same time.
- AS90963 (PE1.2) Demonstrate understanding of the function of the body as it relates to the performance of physical activity.
- AS90964 (PE1.3) Demonstrate quality movement in the performance of a physical activity.
- AS90967 (PE 1.6) Demonstrate strategies to improve the performance of a physical activity and describe the outcomes.
Unit 3: Organising myself and others
This unit aims to get students thinking about how people work together to get things done. What can students do themselves to help a group or team work to achieve a goal and what can they do with others?
Questions could include:
- What do we need to know about working together and leadership?
- What do we already know and need to know about working together and leadership?
- What is an effective group or team?
- Does this change in different contexts/situations and if so, when and why?
- What influences our thinking about what a good group or team is?
- How do we know if a group is working well?
- What do I need to do to help the group or team work together?
- What can I do to lead?
- Do you have to have a leader?
- Are leaders born or made?
- Can you have more than one leader?
- What does it look like to follow a leader?
- What happens if group members don't follow a leader?
- What makes it easy/hard to lead?
- What makes it easy/hard to follow?
- What skills/knowledge dispositions do you need to be a leader and how can we learn them?
- Why do we always “do” interpersonal skills? Why are they important?
- How do we, as a group, organise a competition, event, activity?
- How do we work together to make it happen?
- What steps might we need to take?
- What interpersonal skills could we use and why?
Achievement objectives that could be used as a basis to develop learning intentions:
- 6B4: Demonstrate understanding and affirmation of peoples diverse social and cultural needs and practices when participating in physical activities.
- 6C1: Demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and groups affect relationships by influencing people’s behaviours, beliefs, decisions, and sense of self worth.
- 6C3: Plan strategies and demonstrate interpersonal skills to respond to challenging situations appropriately.
Possible assessment links to achievement standards:
- AS90966 (PE1.5) Demonstrate interpersonal skills in a group and explain how these skills impact on others.
- AS90969 (PE1.8) Take purposeful action to assist others to participate in physical activity.
- AS90970 (PE1.9) Demonstrate self management strategies and describe the effects on participation in physical activity.
Learn more
The inquiry process is a cycle in which teachers define what they want their students to learn (through a focusing inquiry), work out how best to teach it (through the teaching inquiry), and then look at the result (through the learning inquiry).
Last updated September 3, 2013
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