Recalibrating Physical Education in an Era of Physical Activity

Abstract

The purpose of this editorial is to discuss three strategies that should be implemented into any lessons, reemphasizing the cognitive, social, and affective domain, while still allowing for maximum engagement and activity time.

If physical education is to maintain an appreciated and respected position within education and continue to make significant and distinctive contributions to children and schools, focus must adhere to supporting “educationally beneficial outcomes for students, across a range of domains” (Bailey et al., 2009, p. 978). Kirk (2013) argued,

Physical education is such a large, rich and complex field of practice that it can legitimately aspire to achieve a wide range of educational outcomes for school-age children and youth. In order to do this, however, it needs to take particular and different forms in contrast to its current and traditional, one-size-fits-all” approach. (p. 974)

Over the last 15 years scholars have argued educators should focus not just on the physical, but also the cognitive, social and affective domains to encourage healthy, physically active lifestyles (Casey & Goodyear, 2015; Kirk, 2010, 2012, 2013). However, with rapidly accelerating obesity trends and burgeoning sedentary behaviors among adolescents both inside and outside of schools, the focus of physical education has shifted toward a token attempt of mitigating obesity among youth. Student experience and outcomes should have a purpose and vision toward excellence, what is worth it for students to achieve that goes beyond the scope of a single lesson (Lund & Tannehill, 2015). The purpose of this editorial is to discuss three strategies that should be implemented into any lessons, reemphasizing the cognitive, social and affective domains, while still allowing for maximum engagement and activity time.

Cognitive Strategy: Checking for Understanding

Physical education teachers must integrate daily assessments of skills, concepts and strategies to ensure the promotion of cognitive development in their students. Doing so will likely lead to higher preservation and does not have to come at the expense of fleeting class time. While there are numerous ways to evaluate students cognitive learning, checking for understanding is one technique that can be seamlessly integrated into a physical education class (Graham, 2008). Checking for understanding is an immediate informal gauge of student knowledge, helping teachers align instructional objectives and determine if appropriate student learning has occurred. This evaluation tool can manifest in the form of an entry ticket upon arrival to class, through choral response during an introduction/closure, questions on a Google form, or a quick verbal exchange with individuals or groups of students during a lesson. Employing this approach during class does not interfere with students’ physical development or activity time. It also provides teachers with a guidepost for students’ understanding of key content. Using this approach not only holds students accountable but also promotes cognitive development without disrupting the pace of the lesson.

Social Strategy: Affiliation

Creating and maintaining a positive, safe gymnasium should be assumed for every physical educator. This type of environment is paramount to allow all students, not just the physically gifted, an opportunity to enjoy physical education while learning the knowledge and skills to develop lifelong healthy habits. The social domain is often overlooked in physical education; however, there are several instructional approaches educators can integrate into any unit to instill positive prosocial interactions among students of any age. Even when not employing a full version of sport education, incorporating various tenets of this pedagogical approach can help to support social learning (Siedentop, Hastie, & van der Mars (2019). First, when creating teams, ensure even distribution of gender and ability while having students remain on the same team throughout the duration of the unit. This consistency will help classmates forge stronger relationships among teammates, leading to improved comfort and less vulnerability in class. In addition to social improvements, team consistency will advance gameplay performance, since students will better understand teammate strengths and weaknesses. These benefits can be extrapolated through the development of team affiliation. Affiliation can take shape in various ways (i.e., team name, color, mascot, handshakes and chants) with the primary purpose of developing comradery among classmates. For example, at the start of a unit provide students five minutes to complete a team information sheet”= (Figure 1), creating their own personalized team name and celebratory handshake. For the remainder of the unit, instead of having to use “team one versus team two,” teachers can refer to teams by name, creating a more authentic sporting experience for youth. Doing this, coupled with prompting students to use team handshakes, provide students with a more attractive experience, one that promotes both affective and social development (MacPhail, Kirk, & Kinchin, 2004).

Figure 1. Team Information Sheet Example

Affective Strategy: Hand of Fair Play

The affective domain carries multiple meanings in educational settings. While attempting to offer learning experiences that access all domains, the affective has been widely known to get less attention in physical education (Johnson, 2016). A useful tool to implement is the Hand of Fair Play (HOFP; Ressler, Parker, & Montavon, 2015). The HOFP (Figure 2) can serve as both a guiding set of moral principles and a foundation for positive behavior management in a physical education program (Schwamberger, Wahl-Alexander, & Ressler, 2017). For example, the pinky finger represents personal and social responsibility and the notion of “pointing the finger” at oneself rather than passing blame on others. Other examples include group goals (thumb), no put-downs (middle finger), commitment to let go and move on (ring finger), and safety (pinky finger). Additionally, the lines on the hand are meant to reflect other global principles that can be reinforced (e.g., be a good teammate, full and appropriate participation, win and lose with grace).

Figure 2. Hand of Fair Play

In physical education, teachers have taken liberties — and occasionally misrepresented the planning, teaching and assessment of affective themes such as positive attitudes, feelings and emotions among others. The HOFP allows for recognition of, and practice in, positive behaviors during PE instruction — including the affective themes explicitly addressed in the image of the hand as well as others widely accepted. In practice, the HOFP is introduced by naming the theme and identifying positive examples of the behavior. The benefits of this strategy are to implement a predictable structure for behavioral expectations that, once established, can be referenced quickly and in a range of formats.

Conclusion

The above strategies can be easily integrated into any physical education lessons to enhance the overall climate and student learning experience. Focusing not just on physical but cognitive, social and the affective domains will stimulate effective instruction and a positive classroom culture, leading students toward a healthy, physically active lifestyle.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zachary Wahl-Alexander

Zachary Wahl-Alexander ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.

James D. Ressler

James D. Ressler ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.