Wednesday, 9 August 2017

Transferring the Wairua from Practical to Theory

PE is often mistaken for just sports and playing games. This is a mindset that makes every PE teacher cringe. Though we endeavour to make most of our lessons and learning as practical as possible, there is a MASSIVE theory aspect to PE as well. At Junior level we are teaching students how to reflect, put their practical learning into writing and also understand the connection between the practical and theory. Sometimes I must admit that at junior school, I have often settled for  2 or 3 average sentences, but this time around I have been following through and reinforcing the importance of the theory aspect and teaching students basic literacy within the PE context at junior level.
Year 10 students doing a mix and match activity on Energy systems before they leave to get changed at the end of the lesson.
Our junior programme is built around our students and the number 1 priority I see at junior level is to make my lessons as fun and engaging as possible. In saying this I believe that reinforcing the theory is a step in the right direction especially for students who are keen on taking NCEA PE in the years to come. They gain skills that will help them in assessments and they build their prior knowledge bank, which equips them with the tool kit they need to step into NCEA Level 1. This is a shift that will aid in changing the mindset of the students as well as allow students make the most of all learning opportunities whether practical or theory. 

All I know is these students will be better equipped and prepared for NCEA PE in the future if they wish to take it. If they don't take PE, they will at least have had fun, learnt and practiced interpersonal skills, learnt how to reflect as well as strengthen basic literacy skills to transfer to other subjects. It is a Win,Win situation. Chur to that!!


Transfer the WAIRUA from PRACTICAL TO THEORY


"There it is"









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4 comments:

  1. Karen Ferguson15 August 2017 at 21:57

    Thanks for this Doris. I have difficulties with this aspect in my lessons. The students take my subject as they like to draw then have a shock when there is writing involved. The younger we start them with this the better for them them later as we are not playing catch up.

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    1. Unknown15 August 2017 at 22:04

      I totally hear you on this one Karen and it sounds like we are fighting the same demons. I agree with you start them off young and hopefully we can change that mindset:)

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    2. Brenton Moyes18 August 2017 at 12:12

      Awesome Post Doris! Keep pushing that Literacy and engaging our students to achieve success.

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  2. Unknown24 August 2017 at 18:28

    Absolutely loved reading your post Doris. I completely agree about the importance of trying to integrate some reflections and theory into our junior programmes - is there much at Year 9 level? Looking forward to seeing how we can further support our students, and how the Level 1s go next year! Enjoying reading your posts, one thing you could think about is adding labels (especially for the PTCs). :)

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