This blog has moved….

Thank you for taking some time to check out this blog.

However, as of 26th March 2015 new posts will be found at my new blog..

Moving Physed forward

See you there

Coach’s eye in athletics units and beyond

This  year I brought a nexus 10 to replace my dead iPad and have found it fantastic.

One of the best free apps I started with was coach’s eye. Although I had it on the iPad (paid) I had never got around to exploring its capabilities fully. Mainly because I had such a glut of video analysis apps.

So this year, this is the only app I currently have installed and it has been the perfect tool in many classes.

Although there are many features (which I still haven’t fully explored) its most attractive and useful feature has been the  scrolling playback bar. This allows you to scroll through footage frame by frame both forwards and backwards uitlising super slow mo to a accurately pinpoint all stages of a technique or play for deep analysis.

Recently I used it in an athletics unit where the students could not get enough of performing, viewing, correcting /improving and reviewing. I wish I had more than one tablet to use!

The improvements in all pupils technical understanding and acquisition was incredible and process was quick enough not to impede on lesson flow.

If you don’t have it already, do yourselves and your pupils a favour and download coach’s eye.

My K-12 Phys Ed Curriculum

Having been involved in some curriculum changes in our high school PE program over the last few years,I feel we are beginning to see the fruits of our labour.

Firstly we decided to wholeheartedly adopt the TGfU model of instruction in Years 7 and 8 with a view to improving the game intelligence of our pupils. In layman’s terms – it was frustrating to find year 9 pupils with no concept of how, for example, to create space or form defensive systems even though their skills were fairly good.

Secondly, in Year 9′ we changed to a SEPEP model of instruction (Sports Education in Physical Education Program’s). This involved using single gender class divisions (our school is co-ed) and then running our lessons in line with a Sports Club Season e.g. Having a grading day, preseason training, in season training and finals competition. This was largely pupil led as all pupils are given a role akin to being a member of a sports club e.g.coach, manager, board member, publicist, statistician etc. The results were fantastic – all pupils fully engaged in lessons! Something that had long been missing with our Year 9’s, especially among the girls. This year we have extended the model into Year 10.

So it got me thinking….how could we remodel our junior school program to fit with the senior school program to ensure maximum progression of skill, game intelligence and social / emotional intelligence (i.e. FairPlay, respect, team work) from Kindergarten to Year 10.

My thoughts: (n.b. these thoughts are dynamic and a product of a particular time in my thinking – by the time I press publish they may well have changed. I am also a trained high school PE teacher and my thoughts are based on my own experience rather than thoroughly researched material)

This is only a representation of how I would devise the games section of the curriculum – obviously, movement, composition and performance, aquatic activities, Outdoor Adventurous Activities, Athletics, Health Related Fitness would also be included.

K , 1 and 2 (stage 1)

– concentration on gross motor skill development, coordination, fundamental movement skills.
– object manipulation – throw and catch – kick and receive – bat and ball
– game play – tag / chase – evade games, target games, striking and fielding games
– explore basic tactical concepts of target games and striking and fielding games

Year 3 and 4 (Stage 2)

– Extend gross motor skills and fine motor skills, coordination and fundamental movement skills (introduce racket manipulation or similar e.g. Lacrosse with large projectiles)
– Extend object manipulation (throw catch and kick receive) – introduce net games and invasion games
– extend tactical concepts of target and striking and fielding games
– explore tactical complexities of net and invasion games through throw and catch games and kick and receive games (e.g. creating space, communication, when and where to pass, creating width)

Year 5 and 6 (Stage 3)

– Refine gross and fine motor skills, coordination and fundamental movement skills
– Refine tactical knowledge of striking and fielding games
– Extend tactical understanding of net and invasion games (utilise new object manipulation methods e.g.invasion games –
Kick from hands – Gaelic football / AFL. Net games – head, feet – sepak takraw) (e.g. systems of defensive, dictating an opponents play, systems of attack, counter attacking, breaking down defensive systems)

Throughout k-6 there would be no need to program a specific sport at a specific time. Instead program categories of sports at specific times and objectives within that category.

For example, instead of having Year 3 play Netball for a unit on your program have Invasion Games – throw and catch. Then use generic / modified games to explore concepts such as creating space, when and where to pass. Potentially playing a ‘recognised sport’ towards the end of the unit to give context.

This way tactical concepts and game intelligence is developed as a primary goal and the skills required (which should be concentrated on throughout stage 1) are developed as a secondary goal. Pupils begin to understand what skill they need and when. If, for example, that skill has not been fully developed in Stage 1 then it would be revisited at this time to help enhance the pupils game play because they have identified that they need that skill to succeed i.e. don’t teach a shoulder pass in isolation then expect it to be used in the game effectively. Where it is likely (anecdotal evidence from 16 years of teaching here) that the receiver will stand still with their arms aloft shouting ‘to me, to me, to me’ gradually moving closer to the thrower and when the thrower does release the ball with a shoulder throw, it fails because no one was in space to receive it.
Rather have the pupils move into space, the thrower throws a pass which is not powerful or quick enough to reach the intended target. Stop and ask ‘how can you change the way you throw the ball to give it more power?’ – then look at the skill of the shoulder pass and introduce it to the pupils skill repertoire.

I know these concepts are not trailblazing. Plenty of schools are already structuring their curriculums this way. It’s just if I had the chance to change ours or start my own school this is the way I would go.

1:1, onenote and video analysis in the PE classroom

Since our school went 1:1 I have been looking for opportunities to utilise the laptop tablet device in the Physical Education setting effectively and to add value.

This term I feel I have found a unit that lends itself perfectly to this. (Although there is ample room to accommodate the laptop into practical classes, it has been mainly lack of time in my own prep and lack of available time in the lesson that have been my main barriers).

The class is Year 10 PASS (Aus equivalent of GCSE PE), the unit is Enhancing Performance which requires pupils to develop a deep understanding of rules, techniques and tactics of a chosen sport.

The sport we have chosen to study and participate in is 2 v 2 volleyball (Beach volleyball without the beach) played on a badminton court.

What we’re doing.

I have a set up a shared onenote that all pupils have downloaded to their laptops. The onenote has an open section viewable to all pupils where all information for the lesson is laid out. Pupils (in their pairings) also have one section each that is password protected. This stops other groups from writing in their space but allows me access for assessment purposes.

 

 

Our first two lessons have been focusing on technical skills required in the game.

When pupils come into the gym they go to the shared onenote page. On that page they find instructions for the lesson

e.g. Lesson 1 had a video embedded of how to perform a dig and a set correctly. Students were required to watch the video and then construct a marking rubric that highlighted the main points of the technique (e.g. Watch the ball, correct body position etc). Students were then required to video themselves, utilising the record video feature in onenote, performing the technique. When completed, pupils watched their video back, compared their technique against their marking rubric and self assessed themselves. Noting areas that needed to be improved.

This format was repeated for the basic ball hitting skills in volleyball.

Our next progression was to record video of the pair playing a game of 2v2. This was achieved by placing the laptop on a chair and once again using the record video feature in onenote.

After playing the game pupils were asked to review their video and analyse their technical skills within the game answering questions such as…..Does my technique change in a game environment? If so how? And why? What steps can I take to improve my technical efficiency with in the game? Are there any techniques that need improving to improve my success in the game? Are there any further skills / techniques that I need to give me an advantage in the game?

All questions can be answered directly into the onenote page next to their video.

Once this is completed the process of checking both their technical proficiency and their self-evaluation of their technical proficiency is simple. I am also able to leave comments and feedback either after the lesson or in real-time.

Future lessons will be based around tactical comprehension and gamesense and we will also utilise kinovea (a video analysis software which allows annotation of videos) and go pro cameras to get a players eye perspective to give a critical eye to decision making processes within the game.

Thus far the unit is progressing well and pupils are beginning to build a much deeper understanding of their own abilities within the game and how to improve them.

I’m excited to see where the unit goes in the next few weeks.

Global Instagram Challenge

My Year 8 class is currently studying a theory unit entitled Health Matters. Within this unit we have, so far, explored perceptions of health and the concept of good health.

We have enjoyed great debate around the 5 dimensions of health and, which, if any, is the most important dimension to attain / maintain good health – physical, social, emotional, cognitive or spiritual?

To start the topic I used the aged old continuum lesson –  giving students a random picture (generally postcards picked up from various cinema’s, shops etc) and asking them to place it on a continuum from good health to poor health and justify why they have placed it in that particular spot – e.g. “I placed this picture towards the good health end because it depicts a couple holding hands. Therefore, they seem to be in a loving relationship and that makes you happy which is good for your health”. You get the idea.

So I wanted to embed some technology in the lesson and I’m also really keen to create a ‘global connection / audience’  for the kids.

So I have asked the kids to take a picture of anything that they believe represents good health. I want them to put it on Instagram with the hashtag #5dimensionsofhealth and then a second hashtag with the dimension/s it represents e.g. #physical

It would be soooo good for the kids to see pictures / comments from around the world on the #5dimensionsofhealth hashtag. So please join us in our Global Instagram Challenge and let’s get the kids thinking good health.

#5dimensionsofhealth #physical #social

TGfU Target Games in action

After a summer holiday reading a large number of TGfU related text last year I decided to draft a new scope and sequence for our year 7 practical syllabus. Last year we rolled it out (see previous post for more details). Firstly we started with Target Games as these involve the least tactical complexity and are also an excellent forum for assessing some  of the pupils fundamental motor skills. As I had spent the best part of 3 months on the theoretical aspect and drawing up some very prescriptive units (basically I wrote lesson plans for use by myself in my classes; however I tried to write them in a style that would allow others to, hopefully, understand use and them) I was excited to get in to the gym and try them out. As with all theoretical ideas, the practice didn’t always run as smoothly as I had envisioned and changes were made to lessons on the fly to try to maximise, learning, engagement and enjoyment. On the whole the unit was well received by pupils and I felt that outcomes were reached. Things I learnt along the way:

• Too much content – most lessons in the unit have too many activities for an 50-60 min lesson. Therefore, I constantly refined, changed and dropped activities as suited the particular class I was working with. After all it is a draft unit.

• Preparation for success – some lesson’s required a fair amount of time to set up equipment wise and I fully recommend taking the time to do so. On one particular occasion I did not get the time before class to set up equipment. The lesson worked fine but time was lost at the beginning of class which could cause problems depending on the cohort.

• Student Designed game lesson – although I worked on this lesson in a theory lesson first and then took it to the gym, some pupils still struggled with the concept. However, with more practise they did get better throughout the year. So well worth pursuing.

• Competition / challenge is motivating – although when writing this unit I thought it would be amazing to play some of these games, they are, by nature, less active than invasion games (for example). Therefore, a fair amount of ‘salesmanship’ was required to engage the pupils at the start. However, as soon as pupils realised every part of the lesson incorporated a competitive element most pupils were into it. This also enhanced their meta-cognitive processes.

• Questions are key – it can not be emphasised enough how important the right kind of questioning is with any TGfU / gamesense approach. Questions included in lessons plans worked well for me and brought about desired results.

This link will take you to the unit. Please feel free to look, use, critique etc Draft TGfU Games Unit (target only) This link takes you to a short video of a pupil explaining his pairs strategy in the HOOP BALL lesson. This was taken towards the end of the lesson in the 2 v 2 game Video: Strategic talk during Hoop Ball

I will look to post my striking a fielding games unit and observations in the near future.

Not the first cab off the rank (+ bam delay mirror app)

It’s been a long time between drinks……….but reading my old posts reminds me how important it is to reflect and share as regularly as possible.

So…….
We might not be the first school but we are now officially a 1:1 school as years 7-10 were rolled out with a rather nifty tablet PC this week.

To say I’m excited by the prospect is an wee understatement. I genuinely cannot wait to see how the pedagogy of myself and my colleagues shifts as we learn to incorporate the tech tools of today to engage our pupils and encourage their inquiry.

I now turn to my global PLN the #pegeeks to help develop my knowledge and practices to ensure my classes are fun, innovative learning experiences. A lofty ideal perhaps but no less than the kids deserve.

As always, I’d like to finish off with something to share…….so my favorite app for practical classes in 2012 has to be Bam Delay mirror.

This app allows you to film students with your iPad and delay the replay so pupils can get immediate feedback of skill execution. For example, set the iPad up at the end of a crash mat when doing vaulting in gymnastics. After a pupil completes their vault they can then walk to the iPad and view there technique making appropriate corrections with the guidance of the teacher or a peer coach for their next vault.

TGfU – The first date

In my last blog I talked about my renewed vigour for all things TGfU (Teaching Games For Understanding). 5 Weeks into term 1 and I’m pleased to report things have been running smoothly.

Firstly, my brave Head of Department allowed me to completely reshape the year 7 practical curriculum for 2012 for all Year 7 classes. Secondly, my fellow year 7 teachers are on board and lastly, a couple of lessons into the program the pupils have been fully engaged and having fun whilst learning key concepts.

In this post I will try and share the basic framework for the curriculum I have designed for my school.

The practical curriculum that we have used in previous years has been based mostly around single sports and the learning of skills needed to participate with success in that sport. Those sports have often been placed in curriculum timeline in accordance with the season they are played in. For example Year 7 would typically start the year with a Fitness Unit then move onto a ‘summer’ sport such as tennis. Then move into winter sports such as football and finally move back to a summer sport at the end of the year e.g. softball. ( non games units such as  gymnastics / dance and athletics tacked in somewhere along the way).

To follow a TGfU curriculum model you have to throw ‘seasons’ and specific sports out the window. Instead your starting point is with game categories. All games fit into 4 distinct categories – Target Games, Striking and fielding games, Net / Wall Games and Invasion games. The idea of the TGfU model is that you teach concepts of like games before skills of specific sports. As pupils begin to develop conceptual understanding and e.g. how to move your opponent around a court in a net game to exploit space to score a point. So to will they begin to embark on a problem solving journey e.g. which shot do I need to play when my opponent is at the net. As this process occurs then skills can be taught within the relevance of the game. This model of teaching (developed by Bunker, Thorpe and Almond 1983) is constructivist in nature and (to me at least) makes much more sense than the traditional skill based method of teaching, where skills are taught in isolation and then placed into a game situation. Take the Year 7 volleyball lesson where you spend 30 mins perfecting the dig or set in pairs or in lines and then when the pupils look like they have mastered it you place them in a game only to see the skill break down completely.

So for this year the year 7 PE curriculum looks like this:-

Term 1 – Target games (unopposed moving to opposed).

Term 2 – Striking and Fielding Games

Term 3 – Net Games

Term 4 – Invasion Games

The order the categories are taught in is very important – Target games have the simplest concepts to understand, with Striking and Fielding being more complex and so on until Invasion Games which are the most complex. This way the pupils are not hit with complex tactical concepts at the start of the year, rather complexity is built upon each term.

So far I am half way through the Target Games unit. The emphasis, as the title suggests, is on playing games at all times and building understanding of key concepts through them. It is important to note that the ‘games’ are all minor or modified games which allow for maximum participation and time on task. My year 7 class this year has a range of abilities (including a pupil with physical disabilities) and I am pleased to report that because of the nature of the lessons all pupils have been included and achieved success. This has led to high pupil engagement and learning outcomes have been achieved.

I will endeavour to write more specific posts about lessons in the very near future. I also have a very rough draft of the Target games and Striking and Fielding games units that I will share when I have trialled the lessons.

TGfU – a rekindled love affair

When I did my teacher training at The Chelsea School Of PE @ the University of Brighton back in 1998 I remember quite vividly the module we studied called ‘Teaching through the Game’.

Although I have tried to use that model of teaching in all my classes I have still found myself using the same old lessons and even reverting back to old skill /  drill format! Then my passion for the genre was reignited by a professional development day run by Greg Forrest from the University of Wollongong. Greg is a keen advocate for TGfU or Game sense as it is branded in Australia and delivered a thoroughly enjoyable course, including some essential new practical tips and ideas!

Then no sooner was I back into the throes of  developing new lessons around the TGfU model I had to take a forced sabbatical back to Blighty due to family illness. So when I saw a tweet from @MichaelAayres from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham outlining a free seminar on  ‘Revisiting  TGfU’ (Teaching Games For Understanding) with Professor Len Almond a couple of weeks ago I jumped at the chance to continue my development.

Little did I realise that Len Almond is one of the 3 Loughborough University professors who invented the whole model in 1982 which is now used in more than 58 countries around the world. (Just incase you are wondering – Spain apparently does it best). The seminar was a fantastic experience and completely rekindled my love affair with this style of teaching PE. Luckily the whole thing was recorded and will appear as a podcast in the near future (check back here for links in the next couple of weeks).

So now with the fire roaring in my belly and my continued ‘bit on the side’ with technology integration in PE my holiday challenge is to draft a KS3 program and scope & sequence which centre’s wholly around the TGfU model – and off course will incorporate the use of technology whenever possible / appropriate.

For those interested in learning more about the TGfU / Games Sense model here are 3 videos from Ausport.  Plus a paper from Greg Forrest et al @ UOW http://bit.ly/uliHkn

http://youtu.be/Zb-2kxHppUU

http://youtu.be/RKzAbB2Lg6U

http://youtu.be/Zb-2kxHppUU

They think, therefore they’ll blog

I’ve been reading a lot of material on paperless classrooms and engaging students in meaningful and reflective work through ICT. Most of what I read happens to be on blogs which is starting to make me realise how powerful blogging can be. Surely I can harness that power and turn it into engaging pedagogy.

Therefore, I have decided to trial a [almost] ‘digital classroom’ with my year 7 class next term.

I am currently in the planning stages:

Step One – Set up a class blog (7pdhpe02.blogspot.com)

After a fair bit of research on the value of blogging and how to use blogging in the classroom I get the inherent feeling that this is a good idea. There are a lot of scaremongerers around me who talk of the ‘darkside’ of publishing anything on the internet but from what I read and my own beliefs I can see nothing but positivity for this sort of activity. I know that certain precautions should and will be taken –  but the whole venture will be an exercise in 21st Century citizenship. The benefits around the learning of copyright issues, privacy and safe online presence will surely be worth the experiment…ands that’s before we add in the syllabus content. Being able to publish to a potentially global audience and receive real-time feedback for their efforts seems to me to be a highly motivating tool as well.

So I had a search for the most user-friendly blog space I could that would be intuitive enough for year 7’s to find their way around and I settled on Blogger.com. I have started the page myself but intend to hand the reigns over to the class fairly quickly.

My only quandary now is whether to keep to just an overall class blog or to let the pupils free with individual blogs? – I think I will let the pupils decide.

Step 2 – Find an audience

Being connected and being read is, I guess, not the only point of a blog – it also has its obvious merits as a reflective tool and an online eportfolio. However, I know only too well how satisfying it can be to view your blog stats and see that people have visited, read and even commented. So I am in the process of setting up a twitter account ( @7pdhpe02 ) and have entered the  @creativeedu classblog challenge .

Step 3 – Engage the pupils

So far I haven’t told the pupils of my cunning plan but hopefully by putting steps 1 and 2 in place before next term I will be able to open the blog and show them the twitter account and from there we will discuss all the ways in which we can use these tools. This is the ‘unknown’ for me – hopefully they will roll with it and think of far more creative ways to use these resources than I could ever hope to do. But then that is the gamble isn’t it?

And I suppose rather fittingly our next PDH topic is Risky Business (exploring risk taking). By the end of the unit (irrespective of this digital experiment) they would have hopefully learnt that some risks are worth it – hopefully this will be the perfect case in point.