Challenge based learning and culturally responsive teaching both focus on the concepts of learning partnerships and creating a community of learners with voice and agency. Within the context of my high school PE classes, these strategies can be implemented to help students take more control of their own health and fitness. Students can cultivate a sense of self-efficacy and a positive mindset towards exercise by participating in lessons which utilize challenge based learning. For example, students can attempt to solve the real-world problem of teenagers not getting enough exercise by brainstorming/researching ways to increase activity levels for themselves and among their peers, and then presenting their discoveries to the class. Students are given voice and agency in how they go about doing their research, and how they present their findings to the class. Classes vote on which group had the most feasible strategies before attempting to implement them into a PE lesson.
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At the time of writing this blog post, I have not yet had an opportunity to watch the speakers, though I look forward to hearing these various experts' ideas on learning. From reading “Can Creativity Be Taught,” many concepts we’ve discussed this semester are apparent throughout this article, such as 21st century teaching and learning.
I have done a lot of thinking about how not just students, but all people learn to be creative. Mobley says we need to unlearn our ways of thinking in linear ways and think outside the box. But this is something that can’t really be learned… There is no simple formula for teaching and learning to think creatively… We have to just immerse ourselves in situations which allow us creative freedom, or even force us to think in a creative way to complete a given task. I can help my students think more creatively, like Mobley, by providing them with opportunities to do so through riddles, simulations and games. Maybe my PE class can ultimately become a mini version of the IBM Executive School. What better place than a high school physical education class is there to challenge the brain through game play. Now more than ever, PE teachers are forced to rethink our practice. Team sports? .... Nope. Sharing equipment?... Out of the question. Moderate to vigorous exercise indoors? … Think again. We are all being forced to discover new types of activities for our students. I have a few ideas regarding what might allow them to think outside of the box, such as scavenger hunts and various team building games. I look forward to discovering not only more COVID friendly PE activities, but now want to find more which will provide students with opportunities to get creative and ultimately enhance learning. “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must we want for all children in the community. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.”
To me, this John Dewey quote seems like the basis of human decency - The “Golden Rule” - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (or in this case, your children). In “the Flat World of Education,” Linda Darling-Hammond lays out these five policy prescriptions for the American education system…
While Darling-Hammond is considering the educational system as a whole and how we can improve it, I am only one little teacher… I will now try to narrow down these large-scale policies and see how they can be applied or modified to make sense within my practice. 1. Meaningful Learning Goals -- “Content and skills need to be considered together…” (294). When designing PE lessons, don’t put too much emphasis on students being able to quickly memorize new concepts or pick up a new skill. 21st-century “real-world” skills, such as critical thinking, collaboration, and appropriate use of technology should be considered in my lessons as well. However, a lesson which teaches 21st-century skills will only do so effectively if grounded in real, tangible content. 2. Intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems -- “If students are to be expected to achieve higher standard, it stands to reason that educators must….as well …. High and rigorous standards for teaching are a cornerstone of a professional accountability system focused on student learning” (302). This is a bit above my paygrade. To try to make this work on a personal scale, I interpret this to entail that educators should hold each other accountable to be as good as we can! Teacher-leaders need to be supportive, yet set high expectations for their teams! 3. Equitable and adequate resources -- “... a new federal policy must address the deep and tenacious educational debt that holds our nation’s future in hock” (309). Once again, while it is not my job to make federal policy (thank goodness), I must be considerate of the inherent inequities amongst my students and do everything I can to make the curriculum equitable for everyone. Just spitballing here… but in terms of equitable resources on a district level, PE teachers should be willing to reach out to other PE programs across their district when they are in need or equipment, information, or any other resources which might make their class more equitable for all of their students. Sharing is caring! 4. Strong professional standards and supports -- “... it is imperative that the United States develop policies for recruiting, preparing, and retaining strong teachers, especially in high-need schools” (313). Reinventing teacher training and professional development is a big task, but us teachers can help make this happen by sharing our experiences with our professional development opportunities. Be vocal! Provide support to effective ones with positive feedback, recommending colleagues or even pitching something for your school/department to your admin. Be honest about ineffective PD programs and use your voice by providing feedback to help eliminate. 5. Schools organized for student and teacher learning -- “Finally, to transform systems, incentives must be structured to promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing across organizations, rather than competition (326). Simply put -- help your colleagues get better! Just learned something new which might be helpful to other members of your staff? Create a screencast and send out a mass-email! See something that a colleague is doing which you don’t love? Time to collaborate and make each other better! No hard feelings if we all want to learn and be better! Although “An Educator’s Guide to the ‘Four C’s’” had NO mention of physical education whatsoever, I believe applying these principles to my classroom will influence my teaching practices to build 21st-century learners. I’ve always believed PE is more than the class where students learn about health and fitness…
3 Steps to 21st-Century PE Teaching Step 1: Communication/ Collaboration -- PE is the place, more so than anywhere else on a school campus I might argue, where students get to practice communication and collaboration. I’ve always tried to preach and model the values of good sportsmanship and what it means to be a good teammate, and establish that culture of “learning to play nicely together” in my class (perhaps the most important skill one needs, regardless of century). Step 2: Critical Thinking -- Establishing lessons which promote critical thinking and creating takes a bit more consideration. Allowing teams to work together to come up with their own strategies to succeed in a game is one way to promote critical thinking skills (I think of the wide variety of strategies employed by my students over the years while playing capture the flag over). Conversations about long-term health allow for critical thinking opportunities as well. Step 3: Creating -- So far this year my students have created their own personal biography slide (each one of my classes has their own slide deck). I think this has helped them to take control of their identity and proudly represent themselves (with creative freedoms to add images, colors, gifs, and so on, to their slides). They've also had a few assignments in Flipgrid in which they get to demonstrate their creativity (and responsibility) via a social media-ish platform. Recently I’ve successfully challenged my students to create games on Flipgrid on their own and I was truly blown away with their creations! I hope to be able to continue to implement activities which allow for more creative freedom in my class. I wonder what activities are out there that allow for more creativity in PE which I need to know about... Adora Svitak’s TED Talk (Wow -- What an impressive 12 year old!) resonated deeply with me and had me reflecting on my practice, proudly at times. One of Ms. Svitak’s chief arguments is that adults need to be learning from kids, just as much as the reverse. Immediately I thought of my action research, and how I will be collecting data directly from my students, such as which fitness apps they prefer to use, and ultimately learning about my practice from them. If there is one thing this young speaker makes very clear, it's that adults can learn from kids. Not only does she clearly express that with her words, the whole talk quite literally demonstrates that a 12 year old can offer a lot of great knowledge. Ms. Svitak also points out that oftentimes kids have restrictions placed on them which underestimate their abilities and inhibit their growth. She goes on to say that instead of restricting them with rules and underestimating students’ abilities, we need to take their wishes into consideration. I always try to create more student buy-in by collaboratively creating class norms with them early on every school year. I’ve always believed that students will treat me with more respect if I treat them more like “adults” than “kids.” Teachers who flex their power on students with unnecessary rules are only creating restrictions and hard feelings. I’ve seen teachers go too hard with rules and expectations early on in the school year, only to immediately lose buy-in from too many of their students. A very wise colleague once said to me: “Students don’t follow rules because the teacher repeats the rules all the time. Students are much more likely to follow the rules simply if they like your class and want to be there.” Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk, “How to Escape Education’s Death Valley,” caught my attention the second he gave PE a shoutout: “A real education has to give equal weights to the arts, the humanities, to physical education.” Woohoo! In all seriousness, I became a PE teacher because like Mr Robinson, I believe it is often overlooked, yet invaluable to a child’s development -- both physically and social-emotionally! Mr. Robinson’s point that “[Great teachers] are not there to pass on received information. Great teachers…...mentor, stimulate, provoke, engage” had me drawing parallels to similar arguments presented by Falk and Blumenreich, McDowell and Darling-Hammond. I’ve always tried my best to limit the amount of class time spent giving direct instruction to students, while maximizing their time learning and growing through play and exercise. By putting my trust in students, treating them with respect, allowing them to have a voice in my class, and by making my class as enjoyable as possible for everybody, I hope I am taking the right steps towards putting them on the path to a successful future. According to Linda Darling-Hammond, the reason the world is becoming “flat?” Globalization due to massive technological advancements in recent decades. Whereas the United States used to be the gold standard when it comes to education, recently we are quickly falling behind other countries which are more effectively adapting to the times. “The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years, and it is predicted to double every 72 hours by 2010” (Darling-Hammond 4).
When thinking about the exponential advancement of technology, I can’t help but think about what we’re being faced with as teachers in 2020. If 10 years ago new technological information was already doubling every 72 hours, I guess the amount of new tech teachers are being bombarded with in 2020 isn’t a fluke. Tech is only going to expand from here -- Put on your learning caps everyone! My head feels like it wants to explode when I begin to try to think about our educational system, its problems and what I would change. When we think about trying to improve our system, there is no one quick-fix. This would have to be a massive shift in educational philosophy and policy altogether. Darling-Hammond points out that in addition to inequities in schools caused by poor funding and lack of resources… We also simply need to revise what we are teaching our students. Recently, higher-achieving nations “Reveal a robust and disciplined approach to teaching mathematical reasoning and complex problem solving where knowledge is continually applied to real world problems and students are asked to go beyond routines to use mathematics flexibly in new situations” (12-13). I have often marveled at the lack of real world knowledge that our students graduate high school with. (Disclaimer: next sentences may be offensive to math or science people)... Why is it that students are required to take calculus before learning anything whatsoever about financial literacy? Why are students required to take biology in which they need to memorize all the parts of a cell, before knowing anything applicable to their own bodies, health and nutrition? To try to improve our system, there would need to be a massive amount of policy change from our government. Without wanting to be too political here, when I think about how most federal programs targeting education reform were basically eliminated during the Reagan era, as well as the damage done by the No Child Left Behind Act, it hurts my soul to even begin think about the long-term implications of Trump, DeVos and education in this country. Probably not the best perspective to take, but I sometimes think it’s just easier not to think about the big scary picture at all and just focus on my students. Darling-Hammond, Linda (2010). The Flat World of Education. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University. |
About Dustin Green:High School PE Teacher Archives
March 2021
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