When looked up in the dictionary, the word “change” was described as “a process through which something becomes different” (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2019). I liked this idea of “process” as I do believe change cannot happen overnight. Do I believe I can advocate for changing physical activity habits? I do. However, I also believe that to be an agent of such change I must realise it is a process that will take time and commitment on my part as an advocate. My teaching metaphor is that of a compass. In this instance, I am a compass ready to help guide and navigate both my students, my school and the wider community towards more positive physical activity habits.

Firstly, I believe that it is important to look at the social-ecological model if I am to be an advocate for change. Although the level of change evoked by each level may differ, every level is important if a lasting change in physical activity is to occur (Langille and Rodgers, 2010).

So, how do I plan to be an advocate for such change? Well, I believe the first place I can start to advocate is within my own PE class (at the individual and interpersonal levels). In my last blog I spoke of Physical Literacy, a holistic concept that acknowledges the link between the mind and body of the student in their learning. If we acknowledge this link between mind and body, it wouldn’t be too far out of the way to suggest our actions can be shaped by our thoughts (IAMSPORTICUS, 2015). Therefore, if physical literacy gives students an opportunity to develop more positive thoughts towards physical activity well then I believe this too will cause their actions towards physical activity to be more positive.

Secondly, I believe I could advocate for change through engaging with comprehensive school physical activity programmes (O’ Keeffe, 2019). The best example of this which I have yet experienced is the Y-Path programme. This programme stresses the link between psychological variables and physical activity levels i.e. self efficacy is directly correlated with their attitudes and involvement in physical activity (Belton et al., 2014). By getting the whole school involved in such programmes, along with extra curricular activities, not only am I engaging with the organisational level but I am taking another step towards advocating for changing physical activity habits.

Personally,  I have seen how a lack of self belief/ knowledge/ skills, were the major reasons people did not take part in physical activity. While working alongside a man with a severe spinal injury, I have managed to help him begin to partake in physical activity regularly again by giving him the skills/ knowledge and therefore helping him realise how capable he is. We cannot deny the link between mind and body if we are going to advocate for change!

Some may say that with advocating for those changes alone, as a teacher, I am doing enough. That nowadays we expect too much from teachers in their ever changing role (Gleeson, 2012). However, I disagree. If I want to be a true advocate for my subject and evoke change that will last, I believe I must also engage with the community and public policy levels as seen on the social economic model i.e. linking with local sports partnerships, engaging with research to inform public policy etc. (Tannehill et al., 2015). In an era where only 12% of secondary school students meet physical activity guidelines (Getirelandactive.ie, 2019) , there is no time more important than now, to use my voice as a teacher and guide my students towards a lifetime of physical activity.

Can I do it? Yes I can.

References:

Cardon, G., Van Acker, R., Seghers, J., De Martelaer, K., Haerens, L. and De Bourdeaudhuij, I. (2012). Physical activity promotion in schools: which strategies do schools (not) implement and which socioecological factors are associated with implementation?. Health Education Research, 27(3), pp.470-483.
Belton, S., O’ Brien, W., Meegan, S., Woods, C. and Issartel, J. (2014). Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health: evidence and background to the development of the Y-PATH physical activity intervention for adolescents. BMC Public Health, 14(1).

Jim Gleeson (2012) The professional knowledge base and practice of Irish post-primary teachers: what is the research evidence telling us?, Irish Educational Studies, 31:1, 1-17.
Getirelandactive.ie. (2019). [online] Available at: http://www.getirelandactive.ie/Professionals/National-PA-Plan.pdf [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Langille, J. and Rodgers, W. (2010). Exploring the Influence of a Social Ecological Model on School-Based Physical Activity. Health Education & Behavior, 37(6), pp.879-894.
Merriam-webster.com. (2019). Definition of ADVOCATE. [online] Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advocate#synonyms [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Owen, M., Kerner, C., Taylor, S., Noonan, R., Newson, L., Kosteli, M., Curry, W. and Fairclough, S. (2018). The Feasibility of a Novel School Peer-Led Mentoring Model to Improve the Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Time of Adolescent Girls: The Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT) Project. Children, 5(6), p.67.
Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2019). change | Definition of change in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/change [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].
Tannehill, Deborah et al. (2015) Building effective physical education programs . Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

 

 

 

As Green (1998) suggest, I am not a philosopher but merely a normal person developing my PE philosophy through my “lived experiences”. These lived or past experiences of mine, along with the social nature of my life, have led me to develop a holistic teaching philosophy based around being a monist i.e. believing that the mind and body are one (Green, 2006).

When I think of myself as a teacher, I like to see myself as a compass. I am there to help facilitate and guide my students through their education while also developing as individuals and finding their life path. I believe that all my students can achieve and I want to impart this belief onto them as they navigate their way through their second level education.

I want to do more than just educate my students in the traditional sense i.e. the acquisition of exam based knowledge. I believe their education to aid their development as a person as a whole and guide them towards a meaningful life. I know I can have a positive impact on their wellbeing. Thankfully, my holistic and monist approach to teaching, can be seen to be justified within the new education curriculum. Wellbeing and life skills are now seen as important factors in student development and are embedded in the new education curriculum with the main outcome stating “learning opportunities are to enhance the physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing of students” (NCCA, 2017). i.e. the whole child.

I greatly value building a relationship (Lujan and DiCarlo, 2017) with my students. It is necessary that they trust me and believe I want what is best by them. Such a positive relationship leads to greater success for the students academically and a greater sense of self efficacy i.e. a positive impact on their overall wellbeing. I found this to be particularly important on TP with students from a disadvantaged background- some of them were not used to having someone believing in them .

If I am a monist, it is only right that as a teacher I acknowledge the greater scope of learning possible within the PE classroom besides the traditional “physical activity”. The new curriculum guidelines suggest PA is only one of many elements needed to acquire “overall experiences of wellbeing” (NCCA, 2015) and i support this. I could link this to the new phenomenom that is Physical literacy (IAMSPORTTICUS, 2015) an umbrella term that seems to encompass a holistic approach to PE. Moving forward, I do believe this to be an area I would like to explore more in my teaching.

Due to my holistic views, I believe that I tend to gravitate towards learning outcomes that are based around my students achieving pleasure (Dismore, 2009). I want my students to enjoy their learning. This stems from my belief that if someone enjoys an activity they are more likely to willingly participate. I want learning to be fun.

Willingness to participate also comes from the opportunity to create meaningful (Carlson, 1995) learning experiences which I value greatly in my classroom. To me, a meaningful learning experience is one in which a student can relate to what they are doing and draw personal meaning from it. While on TP, I used the TPSR model (Jones, 2012) and activities such as goal setting, reflections and projects/research all of which were activities that allowed students to create and draw meaning from their education through the medium of taking responsibility.

I also believe greatly in student autonomy. Choice (Lujan and DiCarlo, 2017) allows students to develop “positive behaviours” around making choices that can be applied outside of the classroom. As students must think before they make a choice, I am also encouraging critical thinking.  I believe we need more critical thinkers in todays world. Critical thinkers are agents of change. The introduction of key skills (NCCA, 2015), statements of learning and 8 principles of learning all encourage life skills such as the mentioned critical thinking.

Lets be realistic, this is a topic I could talk about forever but I hope this blog gives a snapshot of the teacher I am becoming. Is it too ambitious to expect so much from myself or my students? Who knows! However, I will continue to strive for nothing less. After all, do our students not deserve such a well rounded education?

Reference list:

Carlson, T. (1995). We Hate Gym: Student Alienation from Physical Education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 14(4), pp.467-477.

Curriculumonline.ie. (2009). Senior Cycle Key Skills Framework. [online] Available at: https://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/161b0ee4-706c-4a7a-9f5e-7c95669c629f/KS_Framework.pdf [Accessed 13 Feb. 2019].

Dismore, H. and Bailey, R. (2011). Fun and enjoyment in physical education: young people’s attitudes. Research Papers in Education, 26(4), pp.499-516.

Drowningintheshallow. (2015). Physical Literacy: The Philosophy. [online] Available at: https://drowningintheshallow.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/unpacking-the-philosophy-behind-physical-literacy/ [Accessed 13 Feb. 2019].

Green, K. (1998). Philosophies, Ideologies and the Practice of Physical Education. Sport, Education and Society, 3(2), pp.125-143.

Jones, R. (2012). Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility through Physical Activity. Active and Healthy, 19(3/4).

Lujan, H. and DiCarlo, S. (2017). A personal connection: Promoting positive attitudes towards teaching and learning. Anatomical Sciences Education, 10(5), pp.503-507.

Ncca.ie. (2016). Junior Cycle Wellbeing Guidelines. [online] Available at: https://www.ncca.ie/media/2487/wellbeingguidelines_forjunior_cycle.pdf [Accessed 13 Feb. 2019].

NCCA. (2015). Framework for Junior Cycle | NCCA. [online] Available at: https://www.ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/framework-for-junior-cycle#panel4 [Accessed 13 Feb. 2019].

Tannehill, D. (2014). My Journey to Becoming a Physical Education Teacher. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 21(1).