Physical Education Curriculum in Canada

History of Physical Education Curriculum in Canada

• Wave 1 (1933-1957): Curriculum emerged from British military training syllabi.
• Wave 2 (1957-1972): The Cold War and Sputnik launch influenced the curriculum, with a strong emphasis on competitive team sports and teaching styles.
• Wave 3 (past 50 years): Physical Education and wellness are integrated, with health organizations playing a greater role in curriculum development.

What Does it Mean to be Physically Educated?

• Acquire skills for various physical activities.
• Develop physical fitness.
• Participate in physical activity for enjoyment and exhilaration.
• Understand and value physical activity.
• Understand how physical activity supports self-expression and social interaction.
• Demonstrate responsible and social behaviour during physical activity.
• Demonstrate respect for all individuals during physical activity.

Characteristics of Quality PE Programs

• Qualified and enthusiastic teachers.
• Creative, safe use of facilities and equipment.
• Regular instructional time.
• Well-planned lessons with varied activities.
• Age-appropriate and developmentally-supportive activities.
• Focus on safety, learning, success, fair play, self-fulfillment, enjoyment, and personal health.
• Gender-equitable activities and lessons.
• High participation rates from all students.
• Activities enhancing cardiovascular, muscular strength/endurance, muscular endurance, and flexibility.
• Teacher reflection to enhance student success.

Characteristics of an Effective PE Teacher

• Strong management and organizational skills.
• Creates a supportive learning environment.
• Develops positive relationships with students.
• Utilizes varied teaching styles.
• Demonstrates strong professional qualities.
• Possesses personal qualities.

Exemplary PE Teacher Qualities

• Relevant professional experience.
• Continual professional development.
• Valuing of students.
• Effective instruction planning.
• Positive classroom environment.
• Enthusiasm for continuous improvement.

Learning Pyramid

• Lecture: Low knowledge retention.
• Reading: Moderate knowledge retention.
• Audiovisual: Moderate knowledge retention.
• Demonstration: Moderate knowledge retention.
• Discussion: Higher knowledge retention.
• Practice doing: High knowledge retention.
• Teach others: Highest knowledge retention (90%).

Goal of the PE Curriculum

• Develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes for an active and healthy lifestyle.

Reasons for Physical Inactivity

• Violence, high traffic density, poor air quality, and lack of parks, sidewalks, and facilities.

PE and Physical Activity

• Physical Education: School subject for developing skills, knowledge, and attitudes for active, healthy living.
• Physical Activity: Any body movement expending energy (sports, dance, exercise). A medium for teaching curriculum content.

Daily Physical Activity (DPA) Initiative

• Increase daily physical activity among students.
• 30 minutes of school-organized physical activity for grades 1–9.

Child/Youth Physical Activity Recommendations

• Children and youth (6–14) should accumulate 90 minutes of physical activity daily.

Physical Activity and Learning

• Physical activity improves brain function in children.

Physical Literacy

• Fundamental movement and sport skills for confident, economical movement in challenging situations (Margaret Whitehead).
• Skills in ground, water, snow/ice, and air environments.

Physically Literate Individuals

• Consistently motivated to understand, communicate, apply, and analyse movement.
• Demonstrate a variety of movements confidently, competently, creatively, and strategically.
• Make healthy, active lifestyle choices.

Active for Life

• Promoting physical activity from early childhood throughout life.

LTAD Model

• Active Start (0–6 years)
• Fundamentals
• Learn to Train
• Train to Train
• Train to Compete
• Train to Win
• Active for Life

Planning for Instruction

• Starts with student learning outcomes.
• Physical Literacy: Motivation, confidence, competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and engage in physical activity.
• Outcomes: Broadly define what students should know after the program.
• Objectives: Specific, detailed learning expectations. Outcomes guide objectives.
• Outcomes levels: Program, stage, grade.

Physical Education Core Areas

• Activities (non-locomotor, locomotor, manipulative)
• Health benefits (functional fitness, body image, wellbeing)
• Cooperation (communication, fair play, leadership, teamwork)
• Daily activity for life (effort, safety, goal setting/personal challenge, active living in the community)

Yearly Planning

• Scope: Content covered.
• Sequence: Progression of content.
• Balance: Equal coverage of all learning outcomes.
• Schedule units: Solid block, modified block, multiple block.

Content Organization

• Elementary: Movement education, skill themes, skill types.
• High School: Fundamental movement skills focus or concept teaching (e.g., teaching a concept).

Yearly Plan vs Unit Plan

• Unit plans achieve outcomes defined in the yearly plan.

Objectives Domains

• Motor Domain: Skill acquisition (what students can do).
• Cognitive Domain: Knowledge and understanding (what students know).
• Affective Domain: Attitudes, feelings, and beliefs (e.g., sportsmanship).

Components of Objectives

• Behavior: Actions expected.
• Conditions: Context for behavior.
• Criteria: Performance level expected (qualitative or quantitative).

Teaching Styles

• Mosston and Ashworth: Focus on teacher behaviour/learner decision-making. Includes pre-impact, impact, and post-impact time periods.
• Teaching Styles: Command, practice, reciprocal, self-check, inclusion; guided/convergent/divergent discovery
  • Command: Teacher-directed learning for safety and skill mastery.
  • Practice: Learner-centered practicing, followed by group feedback.
  • Reciprocal: Learner taking turns giving feedback.
  • Self-Check: Learner evaluates own learning.
  • Inclusion: Varied challenge levels for learners' choices.
  • Guided Discovery: Teacher-led discovery for broader concepts.
  • Convergent Discovery: Individual reasoning for a predetermined answer.
  • Divergent Discovery: Multiple solutions for a single problem.
  • Learner-Designed Individual Program: Learner-directed solutions.
  • Learner-Initiated: Student-led learning activities.
  • Self-Teaching: Learners take full control.

Assessment

• Assessment vs Evaluation:
  • Assessment: Gathering information about student learning.
  • Evaluation: Judging the worth of something.
• Summative Assessment: End-of-unit/term evaluation (grades).
• Formative Assessment: Ongoing monitoring of student learning.

Four C's of Assessment Principles

• Continuous: Ongoing feedback about lesson effectiveness.
• Collaborative: Involving students and parents in learning.
• Comprehensive: Addressing curriculum outcomes through various strategies.
• Criteria: Identifying critical aspects and demonstrating student learning. Shared criteria are useful.

Assessment Types

• Criterion-referenced: Comparing student performance to a set standard.
• Norm-referenced: Comparing student performance to other students.
• Psychomotor, Affective, Cognitive: Relative percentages for each domain in assessment.
• Checklists, Rating Scales, Rubrics, Skill Tests.

Fitness Assessment

• Not for marks, but providing formative data for activity levels.

Assessment Steps in PE

• Define behaviors and acceptable indicators.
• Utilize assessment tools (checklists, rating scales), providing feedback, practice and time for improvement.
• Inform students about assessment criteria.

Practical Application of Domains

• Affective Domain: Students' feelings, values, attitudes (e.g., teamwork, sportsmanship). Use checklists to monitor attitudes.
• Cognitive Domain: Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation. Use observations, homework, journals.
• Psychomotor Domain: Skills assessment (summative). Provide feedback, correction, practice for improvement. Formative assessments of skills.