Kyriacou, C. (1997). Effective teaching in schools. 2nd ed. Oxford: Stanley Thornes.

Mosston, M. and Ashworth, S. (2002). Teaching physical education. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: B. Cummings.
NCCA. (2006). Popping the question: Assessment for Learning. info@ncca.

The PE Teacher Guidelines (1999), mentions the importance of child-centred education, so we aimed to set the students in the middle of their learning process. We set lessons to encourage the exploration and discovery of the best methods of executing fundamental movement skills of walking, running & changing direction through a wide range of informal and fun games and activities. We wanted to foster an appreciation of athletics within our students while enabling them to enjoy the process and experience achievement through movement as recommended by the Teacher Guidelines Document (1999). 

We incorporated the following broad learning objective into all our lessons:

“The physical education curriculum should enable the child to experience and develop an understanding of the use of space, speed, effort, direction and level in the performance of actions”

                        Primary School Curriculum: Physical Education, (1999), p.12. 
 
 The Introduction to Primary School Curriculum (1999) informed us of the aims, principles and features of the overall primary school curriculum. Basically, we want to celebrate the uniqueness of each child and encourage their natural curiosity while preparing each child for lifelong learning (Department of Education, 1999). We attempted to apply this aim to each of our lesson plans and ultimately our lessons.

For example, in our final lesson I came up with the idea of the Sum Relay: students ran to retrieve sheets of paper (with a sum printed on each) from one end of the hall and return them to their teammates on the other side. Once all papers were collected students needed to complete each sum and stick the sheets to the wall in order from smallest to largest based on the answer of each sum. Students needed to work and communicate as a team to quickly and effectively complete the task. We found this task was a huge success, students quickly grasped the concept of the game and were adequately challenged by the activity.

During placement quickly realised making groups even smaller made life much easier for everyone. For example, in our sprint start class we assigned a teacher to groups of 3-4 while we trialled a Reciprocal and Self Check teaching style (Mosston and Ashworth, 2002). In this situation students attempted to teach each other the crouch start technique after watching a teacher demonstration. The teachers monitored their group and ensured the students stayed on task and were correctly guiding and correcting each other. We found this method very successful because students needed to pay close attention to teacher demonstration and developed their literacy skills through group discussion regarding the skill.

I was thankful for my foresight because for our first 2 classes we had a number of students who were unable to take part. During the class I was able to spend some time with them going through the activity sheets and ensuring they were learning. I was also able to target their literacy and numeracy skills through the sheets.

We also used additional equipment to make our games and activities safer. For example, in our sprint start lesson during our school based teaching, we used cones to mark both the finish line and a slowdown line. The idea was that students race to the finish line and should be walking by the time they reached the slow down line. This reduced the risk of students crashing into the walls.

In my experience, the better prepared we were as teachers and as a team, the smoother our class went. When everyone knew exactly what was expected of them and were familiar with the order of events and timing of the lesson we had excellent transitions between activities and very little stalling or confusion. 

The one week we were slightly less organised the class was chaotic and frantic, resulting in much confusion of both students and teachers. That week was a valuable lesson and we learned to not underestimate the power of preparation. 

As a group we attempted to make our lesson environments safe and welcoming for all. I consciously made an effort to smile and be friendly with each student even when correcting their behaviour. I realise that I need to improve my methods of disciplining the students. For example, during the school based classes I often found myself trying to shout over the group when introducing a new topic instead of using ‘Loud Silence’ to get the groups attention. However, when correcting an individual’s behaviour I feel I did well. For instance, some students liked to run up and jump off the walls during less structured warm-up activities. I called over the student and corrected the behaviour, not the person and explained why they should decline the inclination to hop off the walls in the future. 

Throughout this module I believe I have improved but am well aware that further development is needed. I wanted to give the answers instead of letting them try find them themselves.

I generally ask questions at the start and end of the lesson and while introducing a task mid class. 

I question learners to determine their level of comprehension, their current knowledge of a new topic, what they have learned from me and their opinion on the activity.

For example, when teaching middle distance technique, I could say: 

Other examples of feedback include:

When teaching a specific technique in a class, I incorporated the teaching points on the learning wall to enhance pupil learning. We drew student attention to these pages at the beginning of the lessons so they could refer back to them during the class. I also printed 2 copies of each learning wall, so it could be stuck at each end of the hall and visible to all. (please see example sheet from relay learning wall)

Tom moved to Ireland from New Jersey, when he was just 3 years old. He now lives in Togher with his parents and one of his older sisters. His other sister is studying in America. His mother works from home as a professional artist and his father is employed at a local factory. Tom says he has a great relationship with his family even though he occasionally bickers with his sisters. 

Tom is an exceptionally polite and well-spoken child. Throughout our school based teaching he was engaged and enthusiastic. His teacher confirmed that he has a positive attitude and sunny disposition in each of his classes. Tom mixes well with his peers and appears to have a wide social circle and many friends in his class.

Tom enjoys his PE classes because he loves sport and physical activity. He likes having time outside of the classroom to run around and have fun. After school Tom plays Gaelic football and soccer with local clubs in Togher. His favourite position is in goal because he likes diving for the ball. 

Tom’s favourite school subjects are art, music and PE. He plays a huge variety of musical instruments and, according to his teacher, is exceptionally talented. He likes the practical aspects of each of the above subjects. Tom dislikes maths because he finds it boring and difficult. He studies for his tests by reading aloud while walking around his room. I believe Tom would score quite highly in bodily-kinaesthetic and/or musical-rhythmic intelligences because of his learning methods (Gardner, 1993). He says he finds it difficult to sit still while he’s studying because he gets distracted and bored very quickly.

Through my observation I could see that Tom has exceptional physical literacy. He moves well and has great agility. He is quick on his feet and well balanced. I imagine his soccer and football training has influenced this ability. During the dance classes with UCC students, he suggested innovative and creative ideas for steps and clearly enjoyed the lessons. He was one of the few students that was consistently moving in time with the music. After talking to him, I discovered his favourite section was the pathways station. His least favourite station was shapes/stretches because there wasn’t enough movement. 

I noticed that Tom needs to physically attempt an activity before fully understanding it. For example, when I was teaching him relay changeover technique he was trying to mirror my actions almost subconsciously, while I was describing the correct positioning. Once I had given him feedback at the beginning, he needed no further correction. He grasps concepts very quickly and could effectively recall the technique throughout the lesson. 

If I was Tom’s teacher, I would try to incorporate movement and physical activity into classroom based classes because he learns most effectively while moving. In my opinion classes centred around learner-designed or discovery teaching style would suit Tom best (Mosston, 2002). These style classes would challenge Tom’s creative side while fulfilling his desire to move. Tom would learn by discovering and practicing his own methods to complete a task while also simultaneously teaching and learning from his classmates.