Incorporating Stillness During Physical Education Class

Abstract

SHAPE America has outlined proactive ways to approach movement opportunities during physical education class. These possibilities can range from structuring the student learning experience to how teachers implement instruction. While movement provides a foundation for many of the activities offered, what is not discussed is how to use stillness, an absence of movement, to scaffold learning. Using stillness can provide an augmented learning experience, during the limited time offered in the gymnasium, by empowering students as they understand the movement, maintain body control in appropriate situations, and stop the movement with intention. Instructor focus should not only be on teaching movement, but also having awareness of being still in appropriate situations. This paper will explore how stopping movement may enhance learning by: (a) stillness and lesson plans, (b) using stillness for different skill levels, and finally, (c) incorporating stillness in assessment and accountability (d) assessment, stillness, and curriculum.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eve Bernstein

Eve Bernstein ([email protected]) is a professor and coordinator of the physical education teacher education program in the Department of Family, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, Queens College–C.U.N.Y, Queens, NY.