Curriculum/Instructional Models Movement Education (also called movement exploration or inquiry teaching) –1 st of two constructivist styles

What is constructivist teaching?

Constructivist Principles Encourage students to arrive at answers in different ways Invite students to describe how they generated solutions to the learning problems Have students articulate, defend, refine and adjust their own strategies to solve problems Establish classroom social norms for listening to other and sharing solutions Build learning on students previous knowledge while integrating concepts into broad understanding (pathways)

Answer: Students build or construct new understandings instead of being told. This promotes critical thinking, enjoyment, and long-term retention.

Advantages for Students- Improves the following: Positive self image & confidence –slanted rope Critical thinking Movement vocabulary Creativity Self-responsibility Enjoyment of class Social interaction

Advantages for Teachers Get “ inside ” a child ’ s head Adjust teaching based on responses More interaction with students Involve multiple movement education concepts and skill themes Non-competitive or low competitive level Higher activity time Promotes leadership and success Higher interscholastic participation rates

Approaches: IS: Guided Discovery Problem Solving Reciprocal Convergent IS NOT: Command Practice

Constructivism at Its Best

Content – What You Teach Movement education, which originated in the 1970’s, was the first distinct new style to develop in PE after the traditional command- oriented multi-activity approach. It was originally based on the movement education wheel which has been modified over the years. –See wheel on next slide

Content – What You Teach Movement ed concepts – Unlike middle and high school which is generally organized into activity related units (badminton, personal defense, etc), movement education is organized around themes and concepts –These themes and concepts form the basis for instruction typically using the guided discovery model.

Organization of the Movement Education Concepts 1.Spiral Curriculum - Continually revisit movement ed concepts at more advanced levels throughout the year and from grade to grade. 2.Traditional Units Example locomotor skills unit How would this unit look?

Basics of a Mvnt Ed Lesson What differentiates a movement ed lesson from traditional lessons: 1.Students are led to answers through series of teacher questions and activities. –For example, the goal of the lesson is to teach controlled soccer passing using ones instep b/c it is most accurate. In a traditional teacher centered approach, the teacher who demonstrate the technique and conduct drills such as having students pass back and forth between two lines. In a movement ed approach, students would first explore different ways to pass (toe, instep, knee, head, heel, etc) while the teacher rewards creativity. Next, the teacher could refine the task by having students try to knock down a pin using a soccer pass with partners. The students are allowed to use the various body parts suggested by their peers to knock the pin down. Afterwards, the teacher fields suggestions for which body part is most accurate. The choices are refined until the correct answer is usually stated, in this case, the instep. The teacher could explore why the instep is best. Afterwards, a fun activity reinforces the lesson focus for that day.

Basics of a Mvnt Ed Lesson What differentiates a movement ed lesson from traditional lessons: 2. Stresses creativity Students are continually verbally reinforced for offering suggestions to movement problems, especially creative ones. 3. Students are generally all active together. This reduces “look at him/her” syndrome where students may feel uncomfortable.

Basics of a Mvnt Ed Lesson Questioning Students: 1.Level of questioning – match difficulty to intended level of student learning. Can do questioning to frame topic, during engagement, and for review. 2.Types & level of questioning – VERY importantTypes & level of questioning 3.Wait time – Give students time to formulate answers on their own, at least 5-8 seconds. 4.Probes Have students rephrase or clarify answer (“I didn’t understand that, can you say it a different way?”) Ask for new information (“That was close, can you give me some more info?”) Provide hints or clues (“Think about the level Jeremy used and how that affected his control.”)

Advantages for Students- Improves the following: Positive self image & confidence –slanted rope Critical thinking Movement vocabulary Creativity Self-responsibility Enjoyment of class Social interaction OK to arrive at answers in different ways or have multiple answers Students articulate, defend, refine, and adjust their own strategies to solve problems.

Advantages for Teachers Get “inside” a child’s head Adjust teaching based on responses More interaction with students Non-competitive or low competitive level Higher activity time Promotes leadership and success Higher interscholastic participation rates

Movement Ed & Teaching Styles Which method is movement exploration taught through? Reproductive Styles – Students reproduce teacher understandings 1.COMMAND - Teacher makes all decisions, like “follow the leader” 2.PRACTICE (includes stations) - Students carry out teacher-prescribed tasks as modeled while receiving teacher feedback 3.RECIPROCAL - Students work in pairs: one performs, the other provides feedback (may utilize criteria sheet) 4.SELF-CHECK - Students assess their own performance against criteria sheet prepared by teacher 5.SELF-SELECTION - Students are provided with legitimate options for skill practice that have a range of difficulty (low to high) Productive Styles – Students create understandings 6.GUIDED DISCOVERY - Students answer questions in a series that lead to discovery of a concept (typically movement related) 7.PROBLEM SOLVING (includes synthesis) - Students solve problems or create programs with assistance from the teacher, multiple solutions (divergent) 8.INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM- Students develop a program based on physical and cognitive abilities.

Sequence of a Typical Lesson 1.Warm-up – energizer, brief game, line to line Suggested to review concept taught previous lesson Do not have students run and then stretch. It is inappropriate for this level, gross motor activities are best Convey importance of a warm-up, not overly strenuous 2.Lesson focus – Introduce new movement ed concept May need to review previous learning briefly. Taught through guided discovery approach 3.Lesson focus 2 – optional (depending on lesson & time) 4.Fun activity to reinforce day’s concept

General Suggestions Use music to start/stop activity –Preferably music without breaks Lead students to solutions, don’t give answers –Frame questions in a manner whereby students can be successful at their own level. Maximize activity time Stress the affective domain, personal growth, and creativity Catch students being good

Examples K – Self Space 1 st – Force1 st – Force* 1 st – Range 2 nd – Pathways 3 rd – Rhythm

Assessments Checks for understanding Traditional written tests (age appropriate) Checklists

Develop your own inquiry lesson. Remember, the whole idea is “Ask, don’t tell.” If most elementary students don’t love PE, something is gravely wrong with the instruction.