Students in this particular class have shown over the course of their involvement in Junior Cycle PE thus far that they respond well to being handed more responsibility in lessons and actually embrace the fact that they have a certain degree of control over their own PE experience and organisation. These students have also proven to be very competitive and are constantly enquiring as to how to add competitive elements to most tasks in their lessons. This therefore makes the Sports Education instructional model an ideal fit for them as research carried out by de Ojeda & Luquin (2011) explain that students generally prefer the Sports Education model over their traditional PE experiences as they perceive it as being more organised and serious. Furthermore, this class contains a number of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) which at times limits their involvement and participation in PE but through the implementation of the Sports Education instructional model these students will be provided with a more equitable learning environment where they can undertake different performing and non performing roles (Luttrell & Chambers, 2013). A key element of the Sports Education model is that students learn more than just the performer role (Siedentop, 2002). In relation to dance these roles can include:

(Luttrell & Chambers, 2013)

Students will be educated on how to perform these roles effectively with most emphasis being placed on the psychomotor domain of learning as students are educated to be competent sportspeople.  

Dance is a key component of the third year Physical Education programme at Kinsale Community School (KCS) as outlined in the schools skeleton scheme. The school places a large emphasis on developing and fostering students’ creativity and Dance is seen as a fundamental part of doing this. Dance falls under strand four of the new Junior Cycle PE short course which requires students to study either Dance or Gymnastics an states that the aim of this is “to build students’ competency in and understanding of artistic and aesthetic movement, as they create and perform in a group for an audience in either gymnastics or dance” (NCCA, 2016, p.9). Additionally, the skills taught and learnt through dance are often highly relevant and transferable to a host of other sports making it a highly beneficial topic to study in effort to guide students to becoming better overall movers and exponents of Physical Activity. This six week unit of work will allow students to develop their understanding of and ability in dance as well as improve their proficiency in the associated fundamental skills. Furthermore, students will be challenged to enhance their ability in other key skills outlined in the new Junior Cycle framework such as being creative, working with others and communicating amongst others. 

 

Following the general housekeeping routine (bags placed on stage, roll call, phone and jewellery collection, uniform check, collection of injury/sick notes, assignment of tasks to non-participants), each lesson will then begin with the learners being introduced to the learning wall as the outline of the lesson and the learning intentions are shared and discussed. There will also be a brief recap on the previous weeks lesson which will include questioning and class discussion before proceeding to a group warm up involving stretching exercises. The main body of the lesson will involve the acquisition of key skills associated with dance and students creating, practicing and refining their performances in their groups. Each lesson will be built on the aim of developing an increased amount of skills that can be used in their final performance i.e., culminating event, and these will be taught in both a progressive and incremental manner suitable to the abilities of the students. The final lesson, or culminating event, will consist of each group performing their own individual dance as well as participating in a team awards where they will have the opportunity to vote under a series of categories within their own team e.g., most improved performer, top dancer, top duty role, etc. A learning wall containing several visual aids as well as a variety of video clips will be used in each lesson to support student learning and understanding. Students with previous experience of participating in dance will be asked to provide demonstrations if comfortable and confident in doing so. A learner centred approach will be used throughout this scheme with the student being placed at the centre of the learning experience and in several incidences taking large amounts of responsibility for their own learning. However, there will be several learning queues provided in each lesson particularly with regards to supporting students to develop their ability in the different skills. 

 

Each lesson will conclude with a cool down where learners will have the opportunity to lower their pulse rates and stretch the main muscle groups before returning to the learning wall where they can recap and reflect on what they have achieved in that particular lesson. It is envisaged that during the course of this scheme students will develop into being able to lead their own warm ups and cool downs in their groups with teacher guidance, again in line with the Sport Education model. Students will be continuously be required to both peer and self-assess throughout this scheme. This will not only aid students in understanding where their ability is currently at but also in establishing the next steps to take to improve. This is a vital component of the Junior Cycle PE short course which states “Assessment is most effective when it moves beyond marks and grades and reporting focuses not only on how the student has done in the past but on the next steps for further learning” (NCCA, 2016, p.15). Learners will also complete an exit card before they leave the gym where they will highlight one significant thing they learnt in the lesson.

Literacy skills 

·        Students will learn, understand and use the key terminology associated with dance as well as that specific to the Sport education model also e.g., choreographer, music DJ, equipment manager, etc. 

·        Students will be challenged to read, process and understand content that is conveyed to them around the lesson topic and the Sports education model through the use of a detailed and visual learning wall.

·        Students will complete written tasks throughout the scheme in the form of self/peer assessment sheets, short tests or quizzes based on the rules/concepts associated with the lesson topic or the role they are playing in it through the Sport Education model. 

·        Students will be encouraged to play an active role in class/group discussions about various themes associated with the lessons where they will have the opportunity to communicate any ideas or questions they may have.

·        Students will be required to complete an exit card at the end of lessons outlining something they have learned in that particular lesson.

 

Numeracy skills 

·        Students will count the steps, choruses, moves, etc., that make up part of their own dance or that of one being demonstrated.

·        Students will understand group size and how to make best use of the number of people in their group when creating their dances.

·        Students will understand the scoring system operated by the judges when assessing their final performances in the culminating event.

·        Students will become familiar with the importance of timing in relation to creating and performing a dance. 

·        Students will be encouraged to understand different shapes and angles in relation to how they move their body when performing certain dances and skills.

 

Digital Fluency Strategies

(Miller & Bartlett ,2012, p.51)

The use of IT and the internet is now becoming increasingly important in education as its popularity increases in its use in everyday life. Therefore, efforts will be made to target digital fluency in this scheme to help best equip students in this area. Students will frequently use the aid of video clips to learn about different types of dances and to see demonstrations of certain skills performed in these dances. Students and groups will also be challenged to work independently by finding video clips displaying the dance they are to perform and highlighting elements of the video they can bring into their own dance routine. Furthermore, students will be encouraged to record and evaluate their own dance performances when preparing for the culminating event. This will help students to identify areas of strength/weakness in their performance and aid them to formulate what steps they need to take to improve.  

Learners will be encouraged to demonstrate care for the safety of themselves and others at all times.

Learners will be challenged and supported to be physically active in each lesson and to develop their skills and understanding of different dances and in the different roles associated with Sport Education in their quest to become competent sportspeople.

Learners will be required to reflect on their learning in each lesson, identify areas of strengths and weakness and then set personal and achievable goals to improve their performance going forward (can be done through video analysis and self-assessment sheets).

Learners will be challenged to create, practice and perform their own dance routine as part of a group and in the specific role assigned to them through the Sport Education Model.

 

Learners will be given the opportunity to express their own thoughts and opinions during class discussions. 

Learners will be challenged to communicate with fellow classmates calmly, respectfully and effectively throughout each lesson when working as part of a group to create and perform their different dance routines.

Learners will be challenged to communicate constructive feedback to their peers on their dance performance throughout the scheme.

 

Learners will be encouraged to develop strong and positive relationships with their classmates throughout this scheme, particularly when working as part of a group.

Learners will be challenged to cooperate with each other respectfully and cooperatively.