That was one of my favorite classes by far. I loved how each one of the group members brought something to the class. Great job Amanda, Clarissa, Rylan and Terrance. I think that the best quality that this group brought was their enthusiasm. If I were an elementary student, I would have loved to see my PE teachers get involved. Witnessing my teachers so involved made me want to get involved as well. That’s a lesson I think that I will take into my classroom. Students will be excited to learn if we as teachers are excited to teach it.
The way this group broke down volleyball was very impressive and also was easy to understand. I think that I will also adopt this method into my PE class because It was simple yet fun. Children would be able to easily grasp the basic concepts of volleyball. This opens up a new door for them, so if they are interest in this sport and would like to pursue it, they now have the physical literacy.
I always assumed that PE was a simple class to teach, but that isn’t the case. This class requires the teacher to actually put thought in the mental and physical well being of the student. So I am very appreciative of the reading because it teaches me how to be a good PE teacher.
I am getting more and more excited to teach PE as I am realizing more and more that it isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a space for athletically advantaged students to play dodgeball and run laps. I’m so glad that the Hall of Shame articles focussed on emotional safety as well as physical safety in PE classes. As we have been getting deeper into our coursework, an obvious theme is inquiry and I am thinking more about how to encourage inquiry in PE. I would really like to diversify students’ sense of what physical activity means and work with them to start exploring their understanding of physical and mental wellbeing through inquiry thinking! I’m so happy that the story of PE is changing from the militaristic style physical training to a more wholesome education on health and wellbeing. I was also considering competition in PE, and while I do believe that it is important to instil a sense of friendly competition in kids, I also am glad that there is a shift away from competition being the primary focus of physical education. I was considering dodgeball and how I might modify it away from its “shameful” characteristics, and realized that you can still teach the same skills (accuracy, throwing, etc.) by having a group on one side of the gym throwing balls at objects that are set up on the other side. Each object has assigned points (big = more points, small = less points) and the class as a whole is trying to get as many points as possible. Record how many points you get in each round, and try to beat the group score every time you play! That way you’re challenging your personal best every time.
UBC Health Outdoor and Physical Education
