Contemporary_Issues_in_Pe_and_School_Sport

Contemporary issues in PE and School Sport Assignment 1 Teachers often try to plan very carefully and ensure that their lessons run smoothly and as planned. This often ensures content and coverage with secure and effective lessons. More recently the teaching profession has been encouraged to take greater risk in their teaching styles, and develop strategies to create deep effective learning rather than the superficial learning. The current secondary curriculum inserts these concepts through thinking and more personal skills. Throughout the on going research into deep learning, it has become more apparent to us and other professionals that every individual can learn effectively. This may appear obvious to most people, however, this has to some extent been overlooked by teaching professionals in the past. People in all walks of life need to learn new skills, take in new concepts, assess new situations and be able to deal with the unexpected. Possessing existing skills and principles to be able to learn new ones is vital. Students have their own unique reactions to the educational process; students can range from feeling trapped and have a very abhorrence perspective of school, to other who genuinely enjoy it (Willgoose, pg; 77, 1979). The reasoning behind this can be a number of factors; some students may comprise bad experiences that may have disheartened, embedding a negative attitude towards learning. Effective learning is deep learning, marked by deliberate intention to learn, as well as individual and social orientations to learning. Orientations to learning may be academic, vocational, personal and social (Rhem, 1995). The 2006 Gilbert Report recommended to the Department for Education and Skills that all schools by 2020 should have incorporated Learning to learn principles in their school (Frapwell, and Caldecott, 2011 ) Learning to learn is described as the ability to pursue and persist in learning, to organise one's own learning, including through effective management of time and information, both individually and in groups. This competence includes awareness of one's learning process and needs, identifying available opportunities, and the ability to overcome obstacles in order to learn successfully. This competence means gaining, processing and assimilating new knowledge and skills as well as seeking and making use of guidance. Learning to learn engages learners to build on previous learning and life experiences in order to use and apply knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts after education such as; further education and training, employment, and gaining motivation and confidence, that are crucial to an individual's competence to succeed. By developing effective strategies we can also develop creative and curious learners who are not dominated by the extrinsic motivation of simply passing tests. Good learners can also handle setbacks. By developing learning to learn strategies not only will learners develop deeper knowledge and understanding but they can also aspire to becoming effective lifelong learners (Frapwell, and Caldecott, 2011 ). Most schools recognise that enabling students to perform well in exams is only a part of their wider educational purpose. Schools are increasingly seeking to support the development of their students as learners equipped for the 21st century world in which being a lifelong learner will be paramount. ‘Deep learning’ is best developed through the first three gateways of the personalising learning agenda: student voice, assessment for learning and learning to learn. The work of the D and R networks in these key gateways is to assess how next practice in these areas can facilitate deep learning. Deep learning requires an active and analytical approach to teaching a class of students from diverse backgrounds (students from different countries, cultures, age groups, and life and work experiences). Deep learning is more acceptable because it facilitates long-term retention among students and encourages critical thinking and application of knowledge. Education researchers Biggs 2003, and Ramsden, 2003 have evidenced that deep learning facilitates an ability to transfer a body of knowledge and skills, and further application of that knowledge and skills in multiple ways and contexts. Rather than relying on traditional end of semester examination, a multiple assessment structure with combination of different assessment tasks in order to promote application of knowledge and learning in real life situations. Assessment as not just a way of analysing student performance, rather it is an integral and integrated part of the learning process. According to INet (The Schools Network), to enhance deep learning there are 9 gateways to personalising learning, such as; assessment for learning, learning to learn, the student voice, and new technologies. (The Schools Network, 2011). There is a clear distinction between traditional assessment methods (assessment of learning) and the assessment model called assessment for learning. This involves giving feedback to students on how they can improve their work in the future and, crucially, that students follow the guidance given. As described by Black et al, 2003, Assessment for learning can be implemented through a number of approaches. One method is to change the way that questions are asked in lessons by allowing greater thinking time and framing more open questions. An alternative is to encourage students to pay more attention to the comments teachers make by, for example, removing marks and grades altogether. Progress can also be made on the assessment for learning gateway through the use of student self-assessment; this often builds on prior work in the area of peer assessment. In practice, assessment for learning encourages students to consider more carefully the learning objectives and outcomes of each lesson and assessment task. In this way students become more active partners with their teachers: they are better able to monitor their own performance and compare it against the standards they and their teacher jointly set. Many schools are introducing learning to learn programmes, either as standalone packages or through an integrated cross-curricular approach. These courses focus on a number of areas, including preferred learning styles, multiple intelligences, thinking skills, emotional intelligence and how the brain works. These schools have taken the view that to prepare students effectively for the 21st century they must teach students how to learn, in addition to teaching subject content. The definitive aim is to improve student’s metacognition skills so that they are better able to reflect on their own performance as learners. Teachers will be superior to provide students with guidance on how to develop weaker learning styles and adapt their teaching to incorporate a range of teaching and learning styles into lessons. Students will in due course become less dependent on the teacher (Goodbourn et al, 2009). Student voice is a means of involving students in the organisational structure of the school and engaging them in the school community. At its best it is an effective way to help transform education from the ‘bottom up’, through the co-construction of learning (Kirk, 2006). In schools where student voice is developing successfully, the school’s culture and ethos have been adapted to nurture and support the integration and expansion of student voice activities. Some of these ideas are challenging, and all require careful planning and implementation. The potential, however, is significant; engaging students and involving them at the heart of the learning community that is a personalised school, this gives students the freedom to express their own ideas and views towards both teaching styles, and also their own preferred learning styles. Developing reflective learners has been an ongoing school focus, peer and self-assessment is an embedded practice within a department and school. Learners can be effective working both independently, and in groups, these processes have promoted learner engagement. As confidence has increased, learners have become more independent in choice making and the next steps in future learning and goal setting, now more energy is being focused on developing reflective learners in all contexts, not just in traditional curriculum time. This means the same processes (Evaluating and improving) and PLTS (reflection, creativity, and effective participants) have been promoted in after-school activities and community clubs. Professional workshops have helped facilitate this approach and this is sending a consistent message to all learners. By running after school clubs and activities, this gives the pupils extra time in which they can discuss any problems with the teacher, or even improve on a subject or topic which they have either not fully understood or needed to focus more attention to (CfBT Education Trust, 2008). Within these after school activities the pupils and teachers can discover how they learn best, once this is achieved learning can then take place more effectively, and less daunting for the learner. According to the CfBT Education Trust, Schools now aim to provide a structure for pupil’s personal learning that identified clear, and constructive curriculum pathways with opportunities in and between learning contexts. Also to provide opportunities that would engage and motivate all learners to succeed. They would like to ensure this is a coherent whole-curriculum experience (curricular and extra-curricular). They desire outlets for young people’s aptitudes and interests that challenge and engage all learners. Community coaches and volunteers offer lunchtime and after-school clubs most evenings, there is a strong culture for involvement, participation and ‘success’ that is being developed. In terms of succession planning many of our leavers are returning to volunteer, lead and coach within our school. (Cansfield High school, 2011). According to Ainscough (head of PE), students are improving significantly throughout the year from the benefits of after school clubs and extra curricular activities. She stated, ‘when taking part in extra activities, it gives the pupils the chance to reflect on their own learning, for example, we give the pupils the chance to teach others in the class, allowing them to reflect on their own performance’(Ainscough, 2011). By encouraging learners to ‘have a go’ and get involved in activities not only improves motivation, however it enhances their personal and thinking skills. References Biggs, J "Teaching for quality learning at university", second edition, Open University Press, Berkshire, 2003 Ramsden, P., Learning to Teach in Higher Education, 2nd ed. Routledge, London, 2003. CfBT education trust (2008) physical education curriculum