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Title: Exploring pedagogies that promote meaningful participation in primary physical
education
Authors: Déirdre Ní Chróinín; Tim Fletcher; Ciara Ann Griffin
Introduction
In this research, we explored pedagogies to target specifically the facilitation of
meaningful experiences for children in primary school physical education. ‘Meaningful
experience’ is proposed as an alternative organising concept in physical education, standing
in contrast to current approaches that do not seem to provide sufficient motivation for many
young people to commit to physical activity participation as a part of their everyday lives
(Hastie, 2017; Lawson, in press). For example, often pupils who participate in a physical
education lesson are fully able to carry out the activity required but at the same time often fail
to fully care about or value their participation in activities (Kretchmar, 2013). Physical
education in primary schools is an important place to foster meaningful childhood
experiences in physical activity (Beni, Fletcher and Ní Chróinín, 2018). By placing a greater
focus on the nature and quality of the experience, children’s participation in, and commitment
to physical education and physical activity may be increased (Kretchmar, 2008). We have
relied heavily on the ideas of philosopher of sport and physical education, R. Scott Kretchmar
(2000, 2006, 2008) in identifying what a meaningful experience might entail. Using
Kretchmar’s ideas, a major review of literature on meaningful experiences for physical
education found support for the following features: social interaction, challenge, improved
motor competence, fun, personally relevant learning, and delight (Beni, Fletcher, Ní
Chróinín, 2017). We know less about how to support the collective promotion of these
features, even though many physical educators would claim to aspire to such experiences for
their participants. The aim of the research was, therefore, to explore children’s experiences of
pedagogies selected and implemented based on their potential to promote and facilitate the
presence of the features above, and hence meaningful experiences. We started by drawing on
a wide range of literature to identify pedagogies that aligned with each of the features of
meaningful physical education (social interaction, challenge, improved motor competence,
fun, personally relevant learning). (Note we did not target the sixth feature, delight, as this
requires engagement across time that was beyond the scope of this nine-week study). For
example, to promote social interaction we planned for small group learning. To make
learning personally relevant we made explicit links between the selected content, tag rugby,
and the wider cultural context of Limerick where rugby is a very popular activity. We
planned progressive experiences to promote skill learning and used a variety of pedagogies to
promote fun, an appropriate level of challenge as well as giving the children opportunities to
make choices about their participation. Some curriculum models such as ‘Teaching Games
for Understanding’ and ‘Sport Education’ pay particular attention to the contextualisation and
personal relevance of learning. We drew on ideas from within these models in identifying
ways to promote student engagement and involvement in the learning process. During the
course of the tag rugby unit the class teacher made multiple pedagogical decisions both in
advance and ‘in the moment’ as she implemented lesson activities. Here we share aspects of
our approach that were particularly effective in helping children experience meaningfulness
in physical education.
Methods
Two Limerick primary schools with 60 children in fourth class (aged 9-10)
participated across a nine-week period. We received ethical approval for the research from
Mary Immaculate College Research Ethics Committee. Children were informed about the
focus on meaningful experiences. Informed consent was received from all children who
participated and their parents/ guardians. Because our focus was on the pedagogies teachers
could employ to promote meaningfulness, a collaborative self-study (LaBoskey, 2004)
methodology was used in this research. Self-study requires teachers to describe and analyse
their practice, identify the ways their beliefs and pedagogical actions align, make judgments
on teaching and learning encounters, interpret their developing pedagogies and identify
enabling and limiting aspects of pedagogical practices (Ovens and Fletcher, 2014). Data
collection involved both teacher/researcher-generated and pupil-generated data.
Teacher/researcher-generated data involved a research journal written by the class teacher
(n=7,500 words), and engaging in weekly critical friend reflection interactions (n=18) where
planning and reflection documents were shared and discussed for each lesson. An external
observer also viewed lessons on two occasions. Much of the data reported in this paper is
drawn from the children’s experiences of teacher pedagogical decision-making. Children’s
meaningful participation was examined using a combination of visuals (drawings) and texts
(post-lesson written reflections (n=345), stories and poems) and discussion (questioning,
individual and focus group interviews) related to their physical education experiences. A
thematic approach to data analysis was employed using Braun and Clarke’s (2013)
guidelines, which involved six phases of thematic analysis. These were 1. Familiarisation
with data through reading and rereading, 2. Generation of initial codes through noting
relevant and interesting ideas within the dataset, 3. Collating codes into potential themes, 4.
Reviewing of candidate themes in relation to the entire data set, 5. Defining and naming
themes to refine the specific story of each theme, and 6. Selection of extracts to represent
each theme in vivid and compelling ways. The use of multiple data sources supported
triangulation of data and increased the trustworthiness of the analysis.
Pedagogical approaches that foster meaningful experiences
Pedagogies that were effective in facilitating meaningful physical education experiences for
the children as evidenced in their data are outlined below. Examples of pupil-generated data,
to illustrate how each pedagogy enhanced the quality of experience and promoted learning
for the children involved, are also provided. Each of the pedagogies described promoted one
or more of the features of a meaningful physical education experience we targeted: social
interaction, challenge, improved motor competence, fun and personally relevant learning.
1. Content of interest to the children
Prioritising meaningful experiences for children requires them to become active agents with a
sense of ownership over their own learning in physical education. The teacher role is as a
facilitator, providing opportunities for the children to explore and shape their physical
education environment and personal experiences. Powell and Powell (2011) posit that
planning activities around children’s interests allows educators to build positive relationships
with their participants as they begin to determine their interests, likes and dislikes. Engaging
in activities that held personal interest in turn supported the children’s motor skill learning
and awareness. Lessons were structured to provide for both the cultural and personal interests
of pupils. Tag rugby was selected as an activity that was culturally appropriate as the
research was carried out in two Limerick schools, the home of Munster rugby. The children’s
writings and drawing showed that tag rugby was of interest to them as an enjoyable game
they did not have a large amount of experience participating in, providing a sense of
excitement in taking part in a fun new activity (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Example of child’s drawing illustrating their enjoyment of participating the tag
rugby unit
The suitability of the content was an important factor in promoting a meaningful experience.
For example one participant explained ‘my brothers and sisters play community games and
they kept going on about it and the matches and I thought it was really fun and I really
wanted to play with them but I never could… normally all my family watch all the matches’
(Pupil P, focus group). Through questionning and discussion, the children were encouraged
to take their learning beyond the physical education environment to the local community. For
example, “Where else could this skill be used? Where else could you have seen this skill?
How could you use this skill at break time or after school with your friends?” Through
written reflections, the children were encouraged to draw on their own sporting interests and
make connections between skills and activities they were learning in physical education, such
as passing and catching and using footwork in tag rugby, and their participation in physical
activity outside of school. Children understood and appreciated this transferability, for
example one student wrote: “I want the skills I learn in tag rugby to help me with
sidestepping in soccer” (Pupil reflection, Week 2). Goal-setting was central to children
identifying these learning experiences as personally relevant.
2. Personal Goal-Setting
Personal goal-setting can help focus children’s attention, promote pupils to actively
participate in relation to the demands of the activity, increase task persistence and encourage
children to develop and identify strategies for achieving their personal goals (Locke 1968).
Goal-setting in this way can help make the learning process more personally meaningful.
Reflecting the features of meaningful physical education, children were guided to set goals at
the beginning of each lesson related to their physical, affective/social, and cognitive
development respectively, for example ‘believing in myself more’ (Pupil reflection, Week 5).
Children were supported in working towards these goals during activities by encouraging
them to pause and reflect during lessons to think logically and tactically about what step they
should take next to achieve their personal goals. Pupils shared their goals in written
reflections, for example, “I want to improve on my passing skills because I think it’s a little
poor” (Pupil Reflection, Week 2). Commonly referred to goals identified by the children
were to improve their passing, tagging and dodging skills, to learn the rules of tag rugby and
how to play a tag rugby match, and to play with their friends. For example, “The offside rule
because it will help us play” (Pupil reflection, Week 2). Goal setting also allowed the
children to communicate aspects of activities they did not enjoy as much. For example,
“...the only one thing I don’t like about it is that it’s [Tag Rugby] a bit competitive” (Focus
group, Week 3). In response, a greater emphasis was placed on personal goals with emphasis
on intrapersonal achievements and personal bests to reduce the emphasis on competition.
This was important as not all children like to participate in activities that were overly
competitive (Gould et al., 1996). Activities and tasks were designed and incorporated into the
tag rugby unit that aligned with children’s goals. During each task, the teacher encouraged
pupils to recall their goals and think about how they could be met. The individual nature of
goal-setting allowed children to set standards within tasks that best suited their ability level
resulting in pupils feeling a sense of accomplishment when they completed a task. The
following section outlines how a shared language of learning was created.
3. Learning with the Head, Heart and Hands (HHH)
Gipps, Hargreaves and McCallum (2015, p.11) found that in order for “a learner to improve
she must have a notion of the performance” before setting goals (p.11). Learning with the
head, heart and hands (Vasily, 2015) provided a shared language of learning for the teacher
and children. The ‘head’ focuses on rules, tactics and safety (cognitive dimension), the ‘heart’
focuses on thoughts and feelings (affective dimension), and the ‘hands’ focuses on the skills
necessary for tag rugby (physical dimension). Learning with the head involved encouraging
pupils to understand how the games were played, what the rules were and to think tactically
about the different activities. Children articulated their learning through this language. For
example, “I learned [with the head] by thinking how and where I would pass to” (Pupil
Reflection, Week 8) and “I learned how to think where to go with the ball” (Pupil Reflection,
Week 7). Learning with the heart involved encouraging children to focus on their feelings
and emotions while participating in an activity, with particular consideration given to positive
social elements. Children remarked how happy they felt hearing praise from their peers, for
example: “It [praise] makes me feel very happy because I am hearing something good from
my classmates” (Pupil Reflection, Week 5). Learning with the heart also promoted pupils’
self-belief and encouraged teamwork. One pupil wrote, “We were working as a team, we
were passing the ball to each other and I believed in myself. I was very happy when we were
playing tag rugby” (Pupil Reflection, Week 5). By using the approach of learning with the
hands children became aware of all the different ways they could learn and enhance their
physical skill development. One pupil’s awareness of their learning in the physical domain
was evident in the following quote, “I was running, dodging, passing, I was stretching trying
to get a tag. I was also catching” (Pupil Reflection, Week 6). Learning with the hands also
related to demonstration of competence, “I like playing with my friends to show my skills and
what I can do” (Pupil Reflection, Week 6). Developing and consistently using a shared
language of learning with pupils, such as described above, is suggested as an appropriate
starting point for teachers implementing pedagogies to promote meaningful experiences for
the first time. Having pupils become aware of what, how, and why they are learning allows
them to make explicit connections between their learning at school and its relevance to their
lives inside and outside of the classroom.
4. Involvement of children in decisions about the learning process
Challenges and problems that are ‘just right’ possess the lure of success and accomplishment,
which can be achieved with sufficient support, time, effort, commitment, persistence and
patience (Kretchmar, 2006). Children were given opportunities to adapt activities to make
them easier or harder, increasing the chances of success. Initially, the children found choice
of activity overwhelming but as the unit progressed they embraced opportunities to direct
their own learning and more freely shared their opinions. Incorporation of pupil feedback
allowed them to take ownership of their learning by guiding the direction of activities. One
example of how a teacher can facilitate children to make choices about their participation is
through ‘teaching by invitation’ which involves giving participants two or more task options,
all of which practice a similar skill. Participants then choose the level of task difficulty that
best suits their ability, hence accommodating for individual differences and abilities while
providing participants with both choice and autonomy.
The Teaching Games for Understanding (TGFU) curriculum model promotes a problem-solving
approach that intertwines tactical and skill learning, encouraging children to make decisions that
improve their understanding of games. We used a simplified version of the TGFU model - the play-
teach play method –in this research. Children were helped to make sense of their skill learning
through opportunities to practice skills in the actual context they were to be used, “...children can
clearly see what and why they need to practice” (Graham 2008, p.94). In each lesson the children
played a game, identified areas for improvement and practice before returning to the game. Working
in small groups, the children problem solved together to identify good tactical solutions. For example,
the teacher describes in one of the lessons:
The lesson began with the children playing mini-games of tag rugby where they were encouraged
to elicit and implement any prior knowledge from previous experiences into the mini games.
After a time the game was paused and we discussed how they were finding the game. After some
discussion and direction from the facilitator-observer, in this particular instance the group
identified they were aligned in a very flat formation relative to the defensive team’s alignment.
This area for improvement identified by the children led on to the pre-planned diagonal passing
segment, where the children practiced their passing and holding depth when receiving the ball.
The teams then returned to another mini-game of tag rugby (Teacher dairy week 5).
Group discussion encouraged participants to identify areas where they would like to improve,
allowing activities to become self-directed and giving the children a sense of autonomy in
their learning rather than the teacher telling them ‘what’ to practice. Children made progress
in their learning as noted by an external observer “good progression in second game using
skills from first game" (External observer, Week 7).
5. Reflection
Reflection activities encouraged pupils to pause and reflect on their physical
education lesson in ways that helped them to draw personal meaning from the activity: “in
moments of reflection spectators and participants alike experience the power sport\activity
has to move them” (Kretchmar, 2000, p.22). Reflection tasks focused on what they learned
and their feelings about the activities both during (for example, discussion, rubrics, poems)
and after (written individual reflections, drawings). Reflection tasks were framed using the
language of learning with the head, heart and hands. For example, written reflections focused
on learning with the heart prompted children to ‘Describe how you learned with your heart in
today’s lesson’ or ‘what was your favourite part of the lesson?
Time for reflection, both individually and collectively, helped children to take stock,
identify salient moments in their learning and make judgements about the meaningfulness of
activities. For example, the following acrostic poem responds to the title ‘What Tag Rugby
means to me’
(Pupil Reflection, Week 7)
Self- and peer-assessment rubrics were useful opportunities for pupils to evaluate
their learning. Alignment of self-assessment rubric criteria with personal goals helped
children to identify areas they needed to improve on and areas in which they were
succeeding. At the conclusion of the unit, children reviewed their goals. For example, ‘I tried
my best so I made excellent progress towards reading my goals’ (Pupil reflection, week 8).
Through these processes they were also able to see more clearly what, how, and why they
were learning how this contributed to meaningfulness they experienced in the tag rugby unit.
Reflection activities also provided an opportunity to place emphasis on particular
positive affective aspects of engagement and experience. ‘Spirit points’ were one way that
children engaged with positive affective elements of participation. The allocation of ‘spirit
points’ is a strategy used to promote team cohesion within the Sport Education model. Within
the Sport Education model, children engage in team-based learning of both playing and non-
playing roles related to sport within a structured sport season. In this research, the use of
spirit points in team-based play highlighted positive affective aspects such as encouragement
of teammates, acknowledgement of effort, being kind and being friendly to others. Peer-
assessment rubrics was particularly effective in promoting group discussion and peer praise
among the children. For example, one team gave reasons for their score: “Nobody lost their
temper or fouled” (Pupil reflection, Week 7).
Overall, reflection processes increased children’s engagement as they were given the
responsibility to take ownership of their learning process. Reflection on their experiences
provided a springboard for them to share feedback on ways to make lessons more enjoyable
and challenging as well as helping them in setting goals for and directing their own learning.
Conclusion
Here we have shared the children’s experiences of pedagogies aligned with each of the
features of a meaningful physical education experience: social interaction, challenge,
improved motor competence, fun and personally relevant learning. Children’s data strongly
supports the use of the pedagogies described above in facilitating a meaningful experience for
participants. The five targeted features of a meaningful experience are identifiable within the
children’s data about their experiences and connected to the pedagogies implemented. Social
interaction was a cornerstone of all lesson activities ranging from team-based learning, group
reflection and allocation of spirit points. Challenge was central to goal-setting, allowing
children to select and make choices about the level of competition and difficulty of tasks.
Improved motor competence was promoted in goal setting activities as well as supported
practice and peer learning opportunities. The children reported most of the lesson activities as
fun. Fun was strongly connected to the other features: making choices, novelty of activities,
being with friends and learning new skills. Identifying learning as personally relevant was
connected to the content selected, the process of goal setting in combination with
opportunities to make choices about their participation and followed by post-activity
reflection as well as strategies to help children connect learning in physical education to the
wider community outside of school. Selecting suitable content, involving children in goal-
setting and reflection, providing a shared language of learning and including children in
decision-making about their learning experiences are all ways that can help promote a
meaningful experience for children in physical education. What has been learned, from how
the children experienced these pedagogies, is the importance of adopting an overall approach
that promotes these features together. Children rarely identified features as important
individually, instead they discussed combinations of features in describing what made
experiences meaningful. The pedagogies outlined promoted the features in a collective and
complimentary way. For example, the pedagogies described are not intended as a definitive
list. We anticipate that individual groups of learners will have different needs and interests
that will require the teacher to adapt and adjust their approach, draw on ideas outlined as well
as make up others. We share the experience of one teacher as a starting point for other
teachers to consider how to explicitly prioritise the meaningful engagement of the children in
physical education. This research indicates the value of adopting an approach in primary
physical education that specifically targets meaningful experiences for children.
Further details on the Learning About Meaningful Physical Education (LAMPE) initiative is
available at https://meaningfulpe.wordpress.com/
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