Case+Study

The following investigates the __possibilities__ and __difficulties__ for specialist educators to deliver quality physical education (PE) programmes. The reasons for examining this topic have derived from my recent practical experiences alongside a PE specialist within a primary school context. To set the scene, this investigation opens with a detailed overview of the internship setting which I have been immersed in. Secondly to explore the possibilities for ideal delivery, teaching and learning I will refer to what quality physical education and is within the New Zealand Curriculum (2007), following this I will consider the difficulties that specialist physical educators may face. Throughout these discussions I will relate to the recent experiences I have had within my internship setting. As these experiential insights are based solely on my perspective of one PE specialist, to provide wider viewpoints I will also refer to a range of literature to strengthen my discussions. Lastly I hope to conclude with my future outlook/focus with consideration to the questions ‘where to from here?’
 * __ Focus __**

**Setting the scene – Internship context** Each class is scheduled in with the specialist once a week for forty minutes. School wide goals are implemented such as ball skills (small/large, throwing, catching and kicking) fitness surrounding events (cross country), game play (tactics/teamwork) and movement skills such as motor skill development. My involvements within this setting have been as an active participant during sessions, contributing as a teacher (solely and in conjunction with the specialist), as a coach (netball, touch), and throughout a series of observations throughout my internship. Due to the nature of the specialist’s employment, she only works within the school teaching physical activity three days a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays).

**__ Possibilities for quality PE __** The four strands are set the drive and purpose of quality PE, these are, Strand A- personal health and physical development, Strand B- movement concepts and motor skills, Strand C- relationships with other people, and Strand D- Healthy communities and environments (Ministry of Education, 2007). The structure of Health and PE comprises of these four strands, the seven areas of learning (mental health, sexuality education, food and nutrition, body care and physical safety, sports studies, and outdoor education) and is grounded by the four underlying concepts (hauora, attitudes and values, the socio-ecological perspective and health promotion). It is through the multi-dimensional approach of //in, through and about// which are inter-related dimensions of movement that need to be considered in the context of Physical Education’ (Gatman, 2005, p.5). This approach is directly connects to the Ministry of Education (2007) four strands. Learning //__in__// movement, as the Ministry of Education (1999) states, ‘is developing physical skills in a range of physical activity contexts’ (p.42) relates to Strands B/ A. Learning //__through__// movement, according to the (Ministry of Education, 1999) uses the ‘medium of physical activity to develop knowledge of themselves and other people, social skills, and positive attitudes and values’ p.42) which directly relates to Strand C/A. And learning //__about__// movement which, ‘examines scientific aspects of it and by learning about the social and cultural significance of physical activity for individuals, groups, and communities’(Ministry of education, 1999,p.42) relates to Strand D. Once this quality PE is comprehended and practiced effectively, there are many opportunities for teachers to emphasise the educational aspects of the physical in physical education with the inclusion of critical thinking and action. This encourages experiences to be meaningful and stimulating, rather than using uni-dimensional approach to learning can be restricting. (Gillespie & Culplan, 2000).

As Allen & Petrie (2005) emphasise that ‘teachers play a crucial role not only through the quality of the relationships they develop with students but also in the social environment they are largely responsible for creating’ it is also important to state that creating effective learning environments ‘may not just happen by virtue of being placed in a group or team’ ‘it requires planning, modelling and reinforcement’ (p.91) through purposeful effort and time. Due to the period that the specialist has held the role as the physical educator (5 years) she is acquainted with all of the students within the school as they grow and develop their physical skills. Students are all familiar with the weekly schedule of going to PE and are encouraged to participate within a safe supportive environment. One day, throughout the series of sessions, as there was a family of four children (all different year levels) that transferred to the school, there were new students within each of the classes. Their first time at PE was interesting as they seemed reserved due to the new experience of meeting the specialist as their PE teacher and being with a new group of peers. This made me realise, because they haven’t had the bond with the specialist, like the other students over their years, they did not have the sense of connection with the people or environment. As Burrows (2000, as cited in Gatman, 2005) states ‘If teachers want to meet the needs of those at the centre of their practice, then teachers have to talk to them, listen to them, and most importantly, hear them. (p.9). In a way it seemed like the specialist had to start back at square one with the new students, these observations emphasised the importance of building relationships with new students to help them feel comfortable to participate.

One of the specialist capabilities that I have observed is her ability to identify student needs throughout sessions and adjust accordingly. Experiencing this myself with own teaching really helped me comprehend that ‘thinking on your feet’ is such fundamental element of teaching physical activity. An example of this was during one of my own planned sessions where the aim of the activity I had set was to improve students’ spatial awareness and team work. I wanted the students to them to discover the team benefits when they spread out. Developing their spatial awareness was particularly difficult due to their urges to call out to the teammate who had the ball. This caused a sense of panic. In response to this, I chose to stop the game and question “who will the passer know who to throw to if everyone is calling out his/her name?” There were a few muddled faces (as they thought calling out was the best option), I allowed time for them to answer, and then had a few answers saying the passer should throw it to the person who is free. Referring to G. McDowell (personal communication, July, 2011) using the questioning such as ‘What does this environment – look, sound and feel like?’ helps to ‘build a picture’ of what we are experiencing. Understanding this not only aids the teacher but also the students to critically think about what is happening, then act. It also leads to how can we change our game play to improve the environment so it can –look, sound and feel better to participate in. This was a great opportunity to add the rule ‘if your team possesses the ball you are not allowed to call their name’. This set them up to then discover the benefits of having a quiet calm environment where individuals had to physically show they were free (by moving into spaces/spreading out) instead of voicing it. I had not planned to adjust the rules in anyway, yet through identifying the students’ needs I was able to identify the important teaching points and adjust to further develop their skills. The benefits of spreading out has been a key focus during my internship not only during class, but also one of my key coaching points during practices for netball and ripper rugby. This approach is known as the guided discovery approach which encourages open ended questions to guide students along to specific predetermined outcomes. Having a range of teaching opportunities throughout my internship so far has been fantastic as I have been able to take on the role within various different settings and experience the different dynamics there are with small and large group sizes.

__ **Difficulties** __ The specialists role as the schools physical educator is to ‘provide specially designed programmes for all classes, including skill development, problem solving, and cooperative activities’ (school website), this shows that the value placed on the inclusion of physical activity within the school. However there seems to be continued pressure from other curriculum areas within the school most concerningly during time specifically allocated to PE. From my observations students from time to time are ‘plucked’ out by their generalist teachers for reading recovery testing/completion of other tasks from other curricular areas. This questions the value that other staff place on PE and that it is allowed to happen. Petrie (2008) supports this by stating there is a ‘range of pressures or factors that compromise the time given to PE, including: the weather; whole school commitments, such as productions; and unfinished topic studies or other classroom tasks’ (p.69). I wonder how the generalist teachers would personally respond to the PE specialist interrupting their class and taking various students out of class to test the student’s physical skills.

Providing sufficient opportunities to learn, according to the Ministry of Education (2007) is vital as students need ‘time and opportunities to engage with, practise, and transfer new learning’ (p.34). With the quick turnover of sessions within a day there seems to be limited and pressured time to fulfil the content for ideal teaching/learning. Learning outcomes are not set at the beginning and reflecting on them at the end of the sessions. Which is an important aspect of PE to ‘enhance the relevance of new learning’ as students need to ‘understand what they are learning, why they are learning it, and how they will be able to used their new learning’ (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.34). Forty minutes once a week just does not seem enough time. The key area of learning which the specialist teaches is ‘Physical Activity’ (Ministry of Education, 1999). This is known as ‘using the context of Physical Activity to learn in Physical Education’ (Gatman, 2005, p.8). Through this teaching and learning process, the value of Physical Activity is explored and experienced which contributes to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values for living in today’s world’ (Gillespie & Culplan, 2003 as cited in Gatman, 2005). However Gatman, (2005) challenges this by stating that ‘Physical education needs to be viewed as more than a single dimensional subject’ (p.5).

The following table has helped me understand what I have been observing within my internship and what physical education has the potential to be like. According to this table by Gatman (2005) the learning which I have been observing has been at times is predominantly ‘caught’ instead of it being ‘made explicit’ and ‘connected to the HPE curriculum’. This shows how PE programme mostly relates to stand A and B of the curriculum, also known as learning //in// PE and not so much //through// and //about//. The students concepts of what PE is also contributes to this, for them PE seems to be a time to get out of the classroom and play a game. That is all well and good, yet the game needs to have a purpose which needs to be recognized. What are we learning? And how is it contributing to our physical wellbeing? Behavioural management and setting clear expectations for me was very important throughout the lessons. During one of the throwing and catching games I have implementing called ‘Toss, Trick, Change, Toss’, there were numerous times, throughout the lessons I have taught where I would blow the whistle for them to stop for questioning, and it would take such a long time for me to get everyone’s attention because they wanted to keep active and playing. At the time this made me think that perhaps they were not used to stopping and identifying the activities purpose or modifying the rules to improve the game. Another difficulty which I personally identified, was trying to re-constructing students’ ideas about games that they are not always just about winning. Emphasising what we need to do to be successful, not just on winning. As Gilchrist (2011) discovered, ‘structured sports could be beneficial, only if introduced and practised appropriately with an emphasis on fun, skill development and equal opportunity for participation’ (p.47). Modifying the rules to emphasise inclusion rather than scoring points really helped shift their focus of what being successful is in PE.



**__ Concluding thoughts in relation to internship setting __** ** - ** Although thorough planning is essential, from my recent experiences no matter how well you prepare, things don’t always go the way you’d like them to. To support this Tinning (2004, as cited in Gatman,2005) states that at times ‘implementing the H&PE curriculum relies less on the curriculum document and more on the ability of teachers to clearly know what they are attempting to do and what is realistic in the doing’ (p.3). I can confidently say the specialist I have been working with would concur. Realistically what can be covered with a class of students, once a week, for forty minutes? This is a question that arose frequently in my mind and through discussions throughout my internship. ** - ** As the physical education specialist just focuses on the Physical Activity (the Key Area of Learning), how is the holistic view of physical education/health being included school wide? Should the specialist be on site (5 days a week) to ensure sufficient time for quality preparation, implementation and reflection, for each year level/class within the school so that each has a specific PE programme designed just for them. This would allow educators to come together to develop contextually relevant holistic Health and PE programmes using pedagogical approaches that reflect the nature, purpose curriculum and the content of PE to match the learning needs and capabilities of students (Petrie, 2011). ** - ** Is there the possibility that the Generalist and Specialist educators could collaboratively teaching physical education? Using the HPE curriculum goals the specialist could work almost like a fulltime (or when required) professional development assistant for generalist teachers. This would encourage a school-wide effort to increase the opportunities for students to learn //in, through and about// physical education. This could be done by setting up lunchtime/afterschool student run games, or by giving specific skills for students to practice (in their own time) an example for the younger students could be to practice throwing and catching (to themselves/to a buddy). According to the Ministry of Education (2007) these opportunities would enable students to ‘transfer their learning’ from PE time ‘to encounter new learning a number of times and in a variety of different tasks or contexts’ (p.34) .This would hopefully mean that then the pace of students physical development will increase (instead of increasing slowly week to week). As Gilchrist (2011) supports this idea by stating, ‘unstructured practice opportunities without the presence of adults, signifies that children can try things and make mistakes without admonishments from coaches and parents. Learning in these fun environments leads to a lifelong love of games’ (p.47).

**Personal Concluding thoughts** Who is more suited to teach physical education within the primary context? Specialists or generalists? From my perspective it would highly depend on the setting, what the consensus of the staff/board of trustees want the programme to achieve. Perhaps some generalists are confident to teach PE and others are not. This emphasises how past the experiences and perspectives that teachers hold truly do impact on how they approach and facilitate PE. Morgan & Bourke (2008), identify that early intervention through training is important stating, “teachers need to understand the nature of primary school PE, and accept that they are capable of teaching various content areas and skills, particularly as it may be less advanced or of more value than they had perceived’ (p.23), Petrie (2008) coincides with this by emphasising the importance of ‘continued support, during both pre- and in-service training, to address the demands placed on them to make PE relevant and meaningful for all young people, now and in the future’ (p.78).

In terms of my own professional development, in the future I would prefer to be a generalist teacher who is specialised in physical education and able to create a programme suited specifically for my own class and if need be, I would also be open to assisting other generalist teachers within the school to structure their own physical education programmes. Within your own class you would make the time to fulfil the programme, instead of being confined by tight school-wide schedules. As Petrie (2010) identified (from her experiences revisiting the primary context after considerable time teaching secondary PE), “You do not get rid of your group of students after one hour, but have to constantly vigilant to their needs, demands, moods and changing relationships with their peers” (p.101). To date, the internship in which I have been immersed has really opened me up to a full-on perspective of what the role of a physical education specialist is within a busy primary school. Through my valuable observations I have new found grounded my views of what physical education needs to be - purposeful, be practical, and reflective. Seeing this in action/or at times when it may not be happening really brought this to life.

I conclude with an inspirational message which hope will guide my future professional development as a teacher, “Physical Education is a powerful educative tool to generate the desire to embrace physicality and to celebrate the many ways in which individuals can use their bodies. This may require teachers to take new risks in their Physical Education teaching, but if our goal is to face the issues and experiences facing our young people in relation to physical activity in today’s world, something has to change and the risks will be well worth it’ (Gatman, 2005, p.24).

__ **References** __

Allen, J.B., & Petrie, K. (2005). Connecting through Physical Education: A position paper exploring social connectedness. New Zealand Physical Educator, //38//, (1) 81-94.

Gatman, V. (2005). Physical activity and physical education within health and physical education in the New Zealand Curriculum: a primary school teacher’s perspective. Auckland, NZ: University of Auckland. Retrieved August, 27, 2007 from www.tki.org.nz/r/nzcurriculum/referencese.php

Gilchrist, S. (2011, July 2). Playing the game. //Otago Daily Times//, 45,47.

Gillespie, L., & Culplan, I. (2000). Critical thinking : ensuring the 'education' aspect is evident in physical education. //New Zealand Physical Educator, 33,// (1) 84-96.

Ministry of Education. (1999). //Health and Physical Education in the New Zealand// // Curriculum. // Wellington, New Zealand: Learning media

Ministry of Education, (2007). //The New Zealand Curriculum.// Wellington, NZ: Learning Media.

Morgan, P. & Bourke, S. (2008) Non-specialist teachers' confidence to teach PE: the nature and Influence of personal school experiences in PE. //Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy//, 13(1) 1-29.

Petrie, K. (2008). Holding onto the past or heading for a different future? //New Zealand Physical Educator,// 41(3), 67-80

Petrie, K. (2010). Stepping out of the “Ivory Tower” an initial teacher educator experience of returning to the classroom. //Waikato Journal of Education, 15// (1)

Petrie, K. (2011). An enduring issue: Who should teach physical education in NZ primary schools? //New Zealand Physical Educator, 44,// (1), 12-17.