| Subject: Physical Education | Topic:   Athletics
 | No. of Pupils: 24 | Gender:  Female
 | Average Age: 13-14 | Year: Second Years
 | No. of Lessons: 6 | Duration of Lessons: 80 minutes
 |   | 
 | Specific Pupil Needs: N/A  |  

Prior Knowledge: Students are participating in Junior Cert Physical Education. Only a small number of students (two) participate in athletics outside of school hours, however a large number of students participate in extra-curricular activities outside of school such as basketball, Gaelic football and soccer where some of the main skills of athletics can be seen. The students may not realise but they are already subconsciously aware of many key components of athletics. Students have already completed modules in HRA, Tag Rugby and Badminton so far this year. 

Prior Skills: The majority of the class have developed good fundamental movement skills and are confident in the way they move. However, this is a very mixed class in terms of ability with some students excelling in their chosen sports while others do not even exercise outside of school hours.

Prior Attitudes: Class 2C are a lively and energetic group with the majority of the class willing to participate in activities. However, it is important to keep learners active and engaged throughout the entire class as they tend to become somewhat talkative if the task isn’t challenging or o interest to them. 

 

This group of students have demonstrated a wide range of abilities in the previous strands completed. It was a common factor in these previous schemes that instruction would have to be adapted to cater for all students. Because the athletics strand has such a diverse range of skills it will be suited to this group of students. The Personalized System of Instruction is a system that helps learners take control of and manage their own learning. A key component of PSI is that there has to be an instant response to students in order to permit them to advance independently. PSI provides considerable flexibility for students as it does for its instructors (Coldeway and Spencer 1982). We must remember that students enter our classrooms with different learning styles and no two students are the same hence the importance we cater for mixed abilities within our classrooms. Stronger students will be given the opportunity to work in pairs and smaller groups where they will peer assess each other and provide criticial analysis to help the others in their groups to improve their performance of various different tasks. They will also provide each other with constructive feedback. As this is a relatively small class this will also aid this process. 

 

Athletics is a broad strand which allows students to develop a great range of skills in a fun and enjoyable manner. During this six week scheme all four domains (cognitive, psychomotor, affective and interpersonal) will be targeted. As athletics is such a broad topic, it will allow me to differentiate between various students, in order to challenge the better students and pitch the classes at the correct level for weaker students to improve. Athletics is a strand in which students can develop their individual skills rather than the focus being on tactics or opposition. ‘The element of competition inherent in athletics is presented here with reference to the abilities of the individual student. Hence the student’s experience of competitive situations is in the context of personal goals rather than relating performance to that of others’ (Junior Cert Physical Education (JCPE), Syllabus, Athletics, 2016).  While some students may show a dislike for some of the activities in the athletics strand, the variety of track and field events should provide a wider selection to try and meet the interests of their students. Athletics is also a sport which is applicable to a wide variety of other sports, as fundamental movements are the core to any skill in athletics. Even though only two students participate in athletics outside of school hours, it is important that learners understand that the skills practiced in this module are directly transferable to their own chosen sports such as Gaelic football, soccer and basketball. Athletics can also be used for promoting other components of health related activity such as cardiovascular endurance, flexibility and muscular strength and endurance. I plan to begin this scheme with the basics and gradually develop students’ practical competency with athletics. This should allow students to become comfortable with the basics techniques before moving to the more complex skills. There will be a gradual progression of skills throughout the module and the skills covered in previous classes will be directly transferable to a new skill. For example students will utilize the same starting position when starting a hurdle race as they would have used before entering the ladders. This will be a constant theme throughout each lesson. I feel that a well-structured module with participation promoted through skills and enjoyable activities will give students an incentive to develop their interest in the sport outside of school. 

 

 Organisation of the Learning Experience                                                                                                                            The learning experience will be based on a holistic approach focusing on the development of psychomotor, cognitive, affective and interpersonal domains of educational activities or learning. Each lesson will be well structured and there will be an emphasis on differentiation, respect and safety throughout each lesson. The six week scheme will be made up of teaching the correct technique for sprinting and relay running, long jump, shot put, javelin and hurdles. Learning aids such as visual learning walls will be included where possible. As mentioned before, basic and fundamental skills will be taught at first, gradually progressing on to more advanced tasks. Student’s level of ability will be considered in all tasks and adaptations will be made to tasks where necessary. Students will be required to work individually, in pairs and in small groups and there will be a student centred approach to each lesson. This learner centred approach to teaching and learning has roots in constructivist’s approach focusing on children’s interests, such as Piaget and Dewey in early twenties century. It focuses on students learning motivated by students interests and decision making (Keengwe, J. 2016). Students will be encouraged to actively take part in analysis and assessment of their progress and performance. Each lesson will begin with a rollcall, notes will be taken and tasks will be given to non-participants (where appropriate). The learning objectives of the class will be listed and there will be a short class discussion to establish prior knowledge. This section will be followed by a warm up which will consist of a pulse raiser and a mobility section. Each warm-up will be athletic orientated with the movements in the warm-up linking to the movements that will be used in the session. The main focus of each lesson will be the development of a particular skill, while the minor focus will seek to incorporate FMS in the lesson to improve students’ movement skills. It must be noted that students do not ‘automatically’ learn how to perform these fundamental skills (Gallahue, D. 2012). These skills need to be taught for students to understand correct technique, it is then by constant repetition that students will be helped to gain mastery of such skills. The primary focus of the activities may change in accordance with the skill developed during a particular lesson, but there will be a common focus on technique and communication throughout the games in each lesson. A cool down will follow this section where students will gradually bring their heart rate back to resting rate and there will be a stretching period for muscles to return to their original lengths. At the end of each session students will gather around the learning wall where there will be a class discussion to recap on the skills covered in the lesson and to determine the effectiveness of my teaching and to assess whether or not learning has occurred. Finally students will be asked to fill out an exit card before leaving the hall. The template of ‘Two Stars and a Wish’ will be used to help me gin an understanding of what the students are enjoying and where improvements can be made.

 

Feelings of wellbeing are fundamental to the overall health of an individual, enabling them to successfully overcome difficulties and achieve what they want out of life. The Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) provides a new area for learning at junior cycle called wellbeing. This area of learning will make the schools culture and ethos and commitment to wellbeing visible to students. ‘Young minds’ are a charity organization for mental health, carried out research that found that over 5000 young people found school stress to be one of the top five factors that contribute to their mental health problems (Young Minds, 2014). As students spend almost one third of their day in school it is of utmost importance that we place an emphasis on their wellbeing. Wellbeing builds student’s knowledge, skills and positive attitudes about health. Wellbeing in education recognises that school is not just about academic result but is about developing the student as a ‘whole’ and preparing them to be resilient. 

As part of this athletics scheme wellbeing will be targeted as students will be socially interacting with each other, they will be physical active for as much of the lesson as possible and they will gain confidence in the skills they will be completing. 

 

As mentioned before this scheme will target a wide range of fundamental movement skills. Locomotor skills will be focused on during all running and jumping events while balance and co-ordination will be required to perform different tasks in lessons. Events such as the long jump will require students to combine different skills such as balance and co-ordination to successfully complete the task. Events such as the shot put will help to develop throwing and catching skills as students will be required to complete various catching drills with a beanbag before the advance on to throwing the shot put. More importantly such events will require students to put all these skills together in order to be able to perform various tasks. This will help to further develop their fundamental movement skills. 

 

Throughout this six week athletics scheme students will be assessed both on once of bases and on a continuous basis. A defining feature of a high quality assessment system is that assessment is as close as possible to learning, and it focuses not on a ‘performance’ for the sole purpose of the assessment, but is integrated into the process of learning (Tierney, 2006). Both teachers and students will be taking part in assessment as it will help both to determine whether students are understanding tasks and if they are able to perform them. By providing feedback and analysing their own performance, students will engage more and develop their self-assessment and critical thinking skills. As this is a mixed class in terms of ability I will use a range of assessment techniques throughout this scheme to ensure that the material being taught is developmentally appropriate for students’ and meaningful learning is constantly taking place. The continuous assessment element of the scheme will include teacher assessment, peer assessment and self-assessment. Peer assessment will take place through verbal feedback while it is essential to be cognisant of the power of peer demonstrations. Teacher observation will be used to determine whether students are participating and engaged in the activities of the lessons, following the learning cues and interacting with their peers. Assessment will also provide students with feedback on their own performance and progress. Ultimately, the process must lead to the product or outcome because students’ need to experience the feeling of success relative to their own personal level. In order for assessment to be reflective of the learning process, it is necessary that learning outcomes are shared with the class at the beginning of each lesson. The teacher will clearly explain why the specific skill is being taught and how this skill is applicable to other sports and everyday life. 

 

 

Numeracy and literacy are among the most important life skills that our schools teach. Literacy and numeracy skills are crucial to a person’s ability to develop fully as an individual, to live a satisfying and rewarding life and to participate fully in our society. For this scheme literacy will be targeted in the following ways:

Visual Literacy: Via the inclusion of the learning wall which will feature the predominant ideas of the lesson. Students will be introduced t key terminology which will also help to improve their literacy skills. By answering questions and discussing tasks they will be able to use this key terminology. 

Oral Literacy: As students communicate with their peers in relation to the key concepts of each weekly topic. This element of literacy will also feature as students analyse their peers performance of various skills and then provide them with feedback. 

Written Literacy: Students will complete exit cards at the end of each lesson.  

Angles will be regularly used such as telling students to keep their elbows at 90 degrees when sprinting, making a 90 degree angle with knee when sprinting etc. Different size perimeters will also be used for various playing areas. 

 

 

Students will assess their own learning by identifying their strengths and also areas for improvement. Students will be encouraged to set manageable and realistic goals for them to reach over this six week scheme. 

Students are expected to participate fully and to be as active for as much of the lesson as possible. A particular emphasis will be placed on participation throughout the scheme. Students will be participating in activities that are appropriate to their skill level as the gain more confidence in the skills that they are performing. 

During this six week scheme students will be involved in discussions with the teacher and their peers. They will also be required to communicate with each other to provide each other with feedback. They will analyse the performance of both themselves and their peers. 

Students will be participating in activities that will require them to work in pairs, groups and individually. They will be encouraged to support each other and help their peers if necessary. 

Just like my other Physical Education classes, I will use a wide variety of resources in this scheme. Some of these resources will include cones, battens, shot puts, bean bags, hurdles,, whistle and watch, projector, USB etc.