STARTING OUT THE SCHOOL YEAR ON A POSITIVE NOTE

written by Ashleigh Evaniew, Brent Bradford, and Clive Hickson , University of Alberta

As the lush greens of summer fade into the crimson reds and golden yellows of fall, another school year has started and our plans for the year have begun in earnest. No matter if you are a brand new teacher, or an experienced veteran, there is something undeniably exciting about the very first days and weeks of a new school year.

In this month's article we will discuss aspects to consider for the first days and weeks of school which are unique to teaching physical education. We will examine best practices to think about as students arrive in our classes, such as safety and routine. Secondly, we will provide ideas to include in your activities that are ideal for those first weeks. Finally, we will conclude with a reflection of the implications of how a positive early impression can impact students over their lifetime.

FIRST WEEKS

Safety: As part of our daily or weekly planning, we should remember to check over our school's physical education equipment. Let's ask ourselves if any equipment has become too old or damaged over the years and is in need of replacement. Also, equipment that may have been lent out over the summer or stored incorrectly may not be ready to use. Taking a quick, but thorough, inventory can help prevent unnecessary safety issues such as injury. Likewise, knowing which types and how much equipment is available may influence the planning and organizing of your lessons.

In addition to checking the quality of the equipment, let's take a moment to survey the location for our lessons. Appraise the site for possible hazards – especially if we are using an off-site location for the first time. While it is difficulty to completely eliminate the possibility of student injuries altogether, by being proactive and anticipating possible risk factors we can hopefully decrease the likelihood of such an event occurring. We think we can all agree that a student injury is not a preferable way to kick off the first weeks of the new school year.

Routines: Routines and rules can be defined as the daily procedures for students that will remain constant throughout the school year. They can include how students are to enter the gymnasium, expectations for the change room, and how students should respond to any specific signals or commands. Communicating clear expectations to students will set up a win-win situation for both us and our classes.

For students, they will be well informed of what is expected from them. For us, well established routines can equate to more teaching time and less effort spent on management. As we meet with each of our classes, take a few moments to discuss with the students the daily routines that would make the physical education experience more beneficial for them, provide us with an a learning environment where we have the time to teach, and maximize the time for students to learn and practice. Fishburne (2005) suggests limiting the number of class management rules to five or six, and recommends posting them as a visual reminder for students. Perhaps, this might be something that we should consider?

POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES AND IDEAS

Names before Games: Before the morning bell rings, many new students still experience the nervousness and excitement of being in a new environment. Therefore, as new students arrive in our classes, take a moment to remember what is truly most important, and repeat the phrase names before games. Before we can establish our routines and launch the year with new activities, remember it is the students themselves that are the most important component of our physical education programs. Let's ask ourselves "do we know all of our students' names?"

We are sure everyone would agree that being able to address each student by name allows for more personalized instruction and meaningful interactions. As the weeks progress, try to take a moment to use each students' name. Knowing a student's name can certainly help a student feel as if they belong in your class.

Learning Activities: Let us now examine how cooperative activities can be a wonderful option to "kick start" our year. The very name of cooperative actives implies the combined cooperative effort required of students. Cooperative activities are a great way to support and promote the community feel of a school. In order to be successful, students need to work together to achieve a common goal. However, it is critical that students are taught how to be cooperative, as merely placing students in groups is not sufficient (Hickson, 2004).

Teaching and emphasizing listening and communication skills, and modeling how groups respect all members, are things to include in our teaching. As we examine our lesson plans, we might want to really consider if our chosen activities are truly cooperative or not. Fishburne (2005) identified six elements of cooperative games that you can validate with: fun, cooperation, equality, participation, success, and trust. So, we should try to keep these elements in mind as we make our activity choices.

Demonstration: Another teaching note to consider when we're teaching is the importance of a quality demonstration. We certainly know that we will all encounter students with different learning strengths: auditory, verbal, visual, and kinesthetic. Bandra (1977) discovered much of how humans learn is though observation. Consequently, as we provide instructions to students on how to carry out activities, we should always remember to take the opportunity to model and demonstrate what we are teaching. A simple visual cue or two may be all that some students need to better understand what is expected of them in order to be able to participate fully and experience greater success in the different activities we present to them.

POSITIVE IMPRESSION

Role of the teacher: Many of our students will come to the gymnasium proudly wearing their latest t-shirt purchase from the mall. We might also! However, as physical education teachers we need to consider taking the time to choose an outfit that matches the message we want to deliver to our students. Certain clothing items may look professional when we walk down the hallway, but the same clothing may not be congruent with our role in the gymnasium or out on the playground or field.

As Bradford and Hickson (2010) found, many non-verbal messages, such as how teachers dress, can impact student perceptions of a teacher's effectiveness as a physical education teacher. So we should take a moment to reflect on the possible other non-verbal messages we want to present to our students as they enter the gymnasium. Are we welcoming and open as the students arrive? Is our demeanor filled with excitement and enthusiasm? Does our voice resonate with confidence and expertise?

Long range implications: The commonly used expression "we only get one first impression" rings true for physical educators. This is our chance to demonstrate the importance of physical education as a way to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle. A high quality physical education program can promote a long lasting influence on student health.

For example, a program with considerable weight bearing activities, such as jumping, can support the growth of strong healthy bones in children, and as a result of this help prevent the onset of osteoporosis later in life (Fishburne, Hickson and Berg, 2005). As teachers we have a responsibility to remember that we are in a privileged position to shape students' perceptions and attitudes toward physical education and physical activity.

We encourage you all to reflect on the type of influence you would like to instill in your students. We all value each of our students, but often dedicate extra time and effort into teaching certain students who need that "little extra" care or attention. For example, that extra attention to a female student, and teaching the proper technique of the overhand throw may well result in the student's participation in a company softball team, 10 or 15 years down the road!

CONCLUSION

In this month's article we focused on ideas to think about as we begin the first few weeks of the new school year. We examined best practices to consider during the first weeks of school, potential activities and ideas, and the long-range implications of a well thought out start to our physical education programs.

Let us now reflect on the larger benefits of starting the year on "the right foot." Just as a well-organized lesson plan can lead to a productive class for our students, having a plan for the first few weeks can steer the focus of our program in the direction we are aiming for. We all strive to guide our students to become physically educated individuals. We understand that an efficient instructional plan can lead to increased instructional time, equating to more participation for our students and more practice time, allowing for increased student learning opportunities.

Thanks to the ground work put in during the first weeks, our students will experience a physical education program that allows them to increase their movement potential and develop a positive attitude towards physical education and the confidence to be active for life!

References

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Clifs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Bradford, B. & Hickson, C. (2010). What we wear: Does it matter? Poster session presented at: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Annual Convention; 2010 March 17 – 20; Indianapolis, IN

Fishburne, G. (2005) Developmentally appropriate physical education for children and youth. Ripon Publishing: A Division of Ripon Consulting Ltd.

Fishburne, G. J., Hickson, C., & Berg, S. (Summer, 2005). Bone health: Elementary teachers can help. Physical & Health Education Journal.

Hickson, C. (2004). Cooperative activities in elementary school physical education. International Journal of Learning, 9 (1), 1221-1230.

Biographies:

Ashleigh is a graduate student working towards a Masters Degree in the area of elementary physical education. She teaches a curriculum and instruction course at the University of Alberta as well as early childhood physical education at an Edmonton Public school. Ashleigh can be contacted at aevaniew@ualberta.ca.

Brent Bradford, a graduate student (PhD) at the University of Alberta, has worked as a Physical Education Teacher Educator for the past two years. He was recently selected as the Faculty of Education’s Graduate Student Teaching Award recipient. Brent spent nine years teaching and coaching with Edmonton Catholic Schools in both the elementary and junior high school environment prior to returning to the University. Brent can be reached at bdb3@ualberta.ca.

Clive Hickson: A regular pelinks4u contributor. Please read his biography on the pelinks4u 'contributors' page.

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