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SPORTSMANSHIP & CHARACTER BUILDING
IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION 
By Tom
Winiecki
As much as we talk about the value
of teaching sportsmanship and character
in physical education and sports, it's
not an easy task. However, a good starting
point is to ask “Where does good
character show up in a physical education
class?” And perhaps most importantly,
"What does it look like?”
Based on my experience, I suppose you could say that it might look something like this:
- Helping/including others in a game situation
- Passing to teammates before shooting themselves all the time
- Calling fouls/penalties fairly for both sides (even when it is their “friends”)
- Taking pride in their own efforts and improvements. Students would take the time to work on improving themselves and not just biding their time to get to “play the game” at the end of class.
The next question would be, “How
do we as teachers, get this out of our
students?” My thought is to make
these the expectations of your class.
Make a conscious effort to point out
the positive behavior. Make it clear
to your classes that what they want
from you (an enjoyable experience, having
fun, improved fitness and/or skills…)
can be achieved through good character,
which in the gym often shows up as good
sportsmanship.
Create your lessons and classes in
a way where working together is both
encouraged and expected. Place your
emphasis on the process, not the product.
When kids see that you role model what
you expect in the way that you teach,
they will buy into it. Teach them not
to worry about mistakes: They're going
to happen. Show them that mistakes are
okay, as long as we try to learn from
them and aren't stopped by them.
Let’s take the first item from
the above list; “helping/including
others.” Wouldn’t it be
great if all of our kids automatically
did that! Well, if you expect it, model
it, and teach to it, it will happen.
One way to get to this is through “peer
teaching.”
“Peer teaching,” quite
simply is a scenario that you set up
where one student observes and gives
feedback to another classmate. Usually
this is done in a one-on-one set up.
It is something a lot of us already
do. In its simplest form one student
works on a particular skill - say an
overhand throw for a third grader. A
partner observes 4-5 attempts. After
the final attempt, the observer gives
their feedback. Here is where the character
comes in. Here is where you can address
that first point of helping/including
others. Design this situation so the
only feedback that can be given first
is what they saw that was correct. Save
any mistakes to the end. Those mistakes
must be followed by a way to fix them.
By doing it this way, the “practicer”
hears good things about their efforts
first from another classmate. Then they
hear not only what mistakes, if any,
that they made - they also hear a solution
to them as well. They see someone else
trying to help them improve, not just
catch them in a mistake. The “observer”
also has a stake in this. They are responsible
for recognizing correct technique, as
well as any form breaks. They also are
responsible for knowing how to correct
a problem. This reinforces your teaching
as well.
What this also does is to begin to
create a bit of a connection between
these two students. They have created
a stake in each other’s learning.
You can carry this into any application
activity that you choose. Let’s
say that you conclude your lesson on
throwing with some type of “throwing”
game. You can easily put these same
two students (from peer teaching) on
the same team. You can make them responsible
for giving each other tips to improve
their performance during this activity.
Between rounds of the game, have them
get together and remind each other of
the correct form they were practicing
earlier in the lesson.
Again, the emphasis is on the process.
You teach the kids what to look for
and how to look for it. When they do
find a temporary fault in someone’s
technique, you’ve taught them
not only what a mistake looks like,
but also how to fix it. You have shown
them how to successfully communicate
with another individual. You have taught
them to look for someone’s strengths
first and faults second. Also, you have
taught them that when someone has a
shortcoming, there's a proper way to
help them fix it. You don’t just
tell them what they do wrong, and then
leave them high and dry.
You have created a situation where
your students learn to use each other
as resources, not as opponents; because
remember, it’s the process that
is important, not the product. Let me
add something else here. We are all
trying to teach our kids correct form
in many things. We want them to do it
right in the end. But we can’t
get all caught up in the end product
and lose sight of teaching them to want
to keep learning. We want them to embrace
mistakes as keys to getting it right
in the end, not as reasons to say “I
can’t get this!”
By doing this, you are teaching them
how to get more fit, how to improve
their skills, how to use those skills/fitness
in different applications. You want
them to be “educated movers”
that feel comfortable getting involved
in any number of physical activities.
You want them to feel comfortable in
both getting and giving feedback to
others. It all starts with the environment
you foster in your classes.
For example, you can come up with any
number of partner activities, cooperative
activities, project adventure activities
that you wish. All of these are designed
to “teach” teamwork. And
that’s great, in and of itself.
But if those qualities are not emphasized
on a daily basis in your teaching, the
learning that your kids gained as a
result of these activities will eventually
fade away.
You see, it doesn’t matter what
you teach in your class. It doesn’t
matter if you are teaching about fitness
concepts, ball skills, rhythmic activities
or anything else. The focus should be
on the long term and big picture. No
matter what you teach, your focus is
keeping all of our students interested
in improving, and motivated to improve
at all that we offer them. That all
stems from an atmosphere you develop
in your gym based on respect for one’s
self as well as respect for others.
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