ATTENTION CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND SCHOOL COMMUNITIES: LET'S CELEBRATE!

written by Ashleigh Evaniew, Brent Bradford, and Clive Hickson

This month, let us be attentive to the word celebrate. As true advocates for physical education, we carry out countless initiatives that promote the importance of our subject area, often without acclamation and recognition. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to celebrate.

We ask you to take time out of your busy lives to celebrate all the extraordinary activities you do on a regular basis as effective teachers of physical education, and to discuss three avenues to continue the celebration: (1) celebrate the successes of our school children, (2) celebrate children's learning with their families, and (3) create a school community that celebrates sport and physical education.

Before exploring such avenues, it is important to understand why celebrating sport and physical education can be beneficial. By celebrating, we believe:

As children progress through their elementary school years, they undergo tremendous growth and development (Fishburne, 2005). We, as teachers of physical education, must continue to be mindful of this developmental process. We play an important role in helping to develop whole children (e.g., physical, emotional, social, intellectual). As such, what elicits celebration for one child is likely different for another child due to age, grade, and ability level. Therefore, as we continue to discuss children's successes, we encourage you to modify activities to match the uniqueness and individual needs of your school children, and find ways to celebrate the achievements of each child according to his/her particular level.

Regardless of age, grade, and ability levels, one common indicator of celebrating children's successes is through their progression towards a learning objective. After all, our ultimate goal is to help our school children obtain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward becoming physically educated individuals (Hickson, 2003). Let us encourage celebration when children show signs of progression en route to mastering motor skills.

1. Verbal Praise and Positive Communication. Our voices and communication styles are very important for calling attention to positive behaviors demonstrated by children. Being clear, communicating relevance, using humor, showing immediacy, and listening have been found to be key communication skills that can help support children's motivation during class and in their daily lives (Webster, 2010). In addition, the virtue of hearing the celebration of another child's success may motivate other children to improve their own behaviors and/or learning.

   For example, you could communicate the following statement, "Kelsey, you are exploring different levels in such a creative manner! You are doing such a great job moving from high levels, to medium, to low. You are now at a low level. Terrific job! Can you all see how Kelsey is exploring the levels creatively?"

2. Peer Review. Children can collaborate in small groups. They can learn to identify and communicate learning criteria to each other. Peer reviewing requires a lot of teacher planning. A classroom culture of respect and cooperation must be established in order to produce a cooperative learning environment. Learning criteria that is clearly discernible and attainable can ensure success in both identification and participation in the physical education/sport activity.

   For example, Partner One will create a movement sequence that has a starting position, two different balances, and an ending position. Partner Two will observe Partner One's movements. Partner Two will then report to Partner One which body parts acted as the base of support.

   Through this process, children will gain greater communication skills as they critique their peers verbally in a positive manner. That is worth celebrating!

3. Personal Goal Setting. Children should learn to praise themselves when warranted. Instead of always relying on praise from a teacher or a peer, school children should comprehend the power of intrinsic motivation. After all, it is intrinsic motivation that we hope encourages them to live healthy, active lifestyles. As teachers of physical education, we are in the absolute best position to help children learn to set goals and to stay motivated throughout the process.

   For example, one child may come up with the following goal, "My personal goal is to work 3 minutes without stopping during a Step-Up Station." As children continue to achieve personal goals in physical education and in sports, we must continue to celebrate their development!

   When we celebrate goals that children set and reach, we can sit back and say, "We helped change their lives...and we helped them truly understand what intrinsic motivation means!"

Celebrating Success with FAMILIES

Formal periods of assessment reporting in physical education provide the ideal opportunity to communicate and celebrate children's learning with their families. At times, demonstration of learning in physical education is out-of-balance with "the three Rs." Unlike traditional "pen and paper" subjects that often have drafts or a final product to demonstrate long-term growth, much of the learning in physical education is focused towards the process of learning a motor skill.

Families deserve to be informed about their children's progress in every subject area, including physical education, which is the only subject that has the potential to develop both the intellectual and physical domains (as well as social and emotional domains) (Humphrey, 1980). We must continue to be creative in our presentation and celebration of children's achievements during formal reporting periods.

With the influx of technology within our schools comes the opportunity to celebrate learning in a revolutionary way. Only a few years ago, the idea of video-taping, editing, and presenting children's progress in a digital format may have been met with resistance. However, thanks in part to portable laptops, cameras, and mobile devices equipped with a recording function, the need for camcorders, tripods, and VHS is lessened.

1. E-Portfolios. Why not create videos (Graham, 2008) and digital e-portfolios that illustrate student progress? Once the videos are made, think of all the possibilities for their use in celebrating sport and physical education - not only at Demonstration of Learning nights, but also during school assemblies, on class websites, during classes (peer review opportunities), etc.
2. PE/Sport Homework. Smith and Claxton (2003) contend that homework involving physical activity is one strategy to expand the physical education curriculum in order to promote healthy, active lifestyles. Physical education and sport encompass the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning. Therefore, homework in these areas potentially addresses all three domains (Mitchell, Barton, & Stanne, 2000).

   For example, a form of homework that can address the affective component of physical education and sport by helping children develop a positive attitude can include attending a sporting event (Smith & Claxton, 2003). When children watch a sporting event, they could be asked to draw, write, and/or speak to a recorder about what they observe.

3. Subject Integration. Many experts in our field combine their program outcomes skillfully with other subject areas to create authentic cross-curricular physical activities (e.g., Orienteering Activities with an array of Control Points that require the skills and knowledge from other subject areas). However, rarely is the same consideration placed on integrating physical education and sport learning objectives into classroom-type activities. Therefore, we would like to propose, as an additional way to celebrate children's learning with their families, the transferability of learning physical education and sport skills within the "pen and paper" subject areas.

   For example, combining children's knowledge of health benefits with persuasive writing is an excellent cross-curricular strategy to help school children convince themselves and others to stay healthy and physically active. A poster in art to advertise an inventive game is another example. We must continue to find innovative ways to help children realize that physical education and sport is worth celebrating in the classroom!

Celebrating Success with SCHOOL COMMUNITIES

As the physical education advocate for your school community, you are likely already promoting the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle to your school children and colleagues. Well done! Chances are that you are continuing to contribute to a Comprehensive School Health Environment and enhancing the well-being of every school community member. Let us examine a few ideas in how we, as a community of physical educators and sport leaders, can communicate and celebrate successes in school communities.

1. Bulletin Boards. One idea we would like to share is proudly displaying, on a designated PE/Sport bulletin board, your children's artwork and writing projects on physical education and sport topics. A second option is to display the Physical Education Program of Studies and/or various sports rules on various bulletin boards throughout your school environment.
2. School-Wide Activities. School-wide activities have the potential to create community spirit, support networks, and positive energy. For example, the organization of school-wide running clubs, fitness events, and/or intramural programs provide children with amazing benefits. Benefits that have been associated with school children who participate in school-wide activities regularly include: higher levels of self-efficacy, greater academic performance, less disruptive behavior, less anxiety (Medina, 2008), and an array of health benefits (Dauenhauer & Keating, 2011).

   Once children believe they are improving their skills and experience personal success, they may possibly wish to participate in school sports against other schools and/or in local events. Then, when we are out at the sports field and/or track meet watching our school children participating willingly in sport-type activities - is that not worth celebrating? We think so! You are creating a school community that believes in healthy, active lifestyles!

3. School-Wide Communication. During the morning announcements it is so nice to see children smile when they hear their names over the school speakers about their "big win" the night before, or about their achieved personal goals. What about celebrating their successes in monthly school newsletters? Once parents read the wonderful information about their children and others, it may help build stronger family relationships and may even help develop healthy, active lifestyles in their homes! Is that worth celebrating? Yes!
4. School Community Evenings. School showcase events and/or evening presentations are usually organized to celebrate specific subject areas or special projects. School community evenings such as musical concerts, drama performances and/or Science Fair Exhibitions provide a wonderful inspiration to create similar celebrations focused on physical education and sport.

   For example, an evening that might include several stations designed to celebrate unique motor tasks (e.g., throwing and catching, balancing and rolling, and/or creative movement stations) can be organized with ease. Imagine the pride and leadership school children will exude as they educate their families and other school community members whilst displaying high levels of motor performance.

   What about organizing an evening where local community clubs, organizations, and/or leagues can display their expertise in your school? The coordinated effort may promote exposure for each particular club, as well as informing families of potential out-of-school opportunities to continue to stay healthy and physically active. These are additional reasons to celebrate!

A Celebrated Summary

Physical education and sport provides children with many benefits that last a lifetime! We must continue to celebrate our school children's success with children, families, and school communities. In order for school children to reach the highest levels of achievement in physical education and sport, we must continue to focus on celebrating their successes so that they truly believe what they are doing is worthy of the dedication, perseverance, and effort that they put forth daily.

Verbal praise and positive communication, peer review, and personal goal-setting are effective strategies for celebrating children's successes with the children themselves. E-portfolios, PE/sport homework, and subject integration are advanced notions to help celebrate children’s successes with their families. Bulletin boards, school-wide activities, school-wide communication, and school community evenings are applicable approaches for celebrating children's successes with school communities.

In closing, you have made a difference in your school children's lives this year. Way to go! Keep up the great work and remember - continue to CELEBRATE all the great physical education and sport achievements that school children experience daily!

REFERENCES

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