Sport Education Resource 2

Sport Education Curriculum & Instruction Strategies

OBJECTIVES:
OBJECTIVES
1. Offer greater insight in the changing role of teachers as Sport Education becomes their
curricular approach of choice.

2. Encourage the use of thorough planning and reflection as experience is gained in using
Sport Education.

3. Get teacher to view the process of having student actively engage in the design of sport
seasons as a positive development, without losing sight of the teacher’s continuing
responsibility for designing true learning environments for all students.

4. Provide teachers with wall posters (2’ x 3’) that can be used to teach toward having
students learn multiple roles (i.e., those that go beyond being a player-performer)

Both you and your students will experience learning curves in playing new roles and
having responsibilities in Sport Education. For you, the central task will continue to be that of
teaching students the techniques and tactics of game play. In addition, you will need to
dedicate class time to essential behaviors associated with fair play as well as the organization
and management of the season by students. That is, the goal is to have ALL your students
reach the point where they act, value and understand that:
a) every role (e.g., player, referee, scout, publicist etc.) is vital to the total sport
experience;
b) depending how they treat teammates, opponents and officials can contribute to
or damage the experience,
c) working toward a common goal together with teammates who each have
differing strengths and liabilities is a worthy endeavor; and
d) engaging in competition can be a healthy experience.

As you gain more experience with Sport Education over successive seasons, you will
get better at gauging where, when, and how much students can contribute to the design and
organization of seasons. It should be obvious that the initial Sport Education season will look
different from subsequent ones. In the table below you will find a number changes in your
role as a teacher that you will likely experience as you teach successive season.

What to Look For As Your Seasons Unfold:

 Thorough planning skills both during and in between seasons are vital.
  Plan to meet and actively work with your Sports Board during class, and, if necessary,
beyond class.

 During the inaugural season dedicate class time to teaching students about what Sport
Education is, what it aims to accomplish, and how it is different from sport as some may
be experiencing it in community or interscholastic sport programs.

 Use of effective (i.e., preventative) classroom management skills is essential.

 Accept the fact that your first Sport Education seasons will include a focus on teaching
about the model as well as the content of the sport. That is, not only do students learn
about the techniques, tactics and related fitness activities of a sport/activity, they also
have to be socialized if you will into the new way of “doing PE.” This would include
learning about the various non-playing roles, Duty Team responsibilities, increased input
in the design of the season, etc. As you design additional seasons, you will still need to
allocate time for teaching the non-playing student roles unique to that particular sport,
but, if done effectively early on, this should take up less time. They will be familiar
about the “standard” features of their seasons.

 Of all the student roles, learning to be a referee/judge/umpire is likely the more difficult
one.

 Especially during the preseason phases, build class-wide “practice sessions” into lessons
in which you model the type of practice tasks that teams can use during subsequent team
practices that will be led by Team Coaches. Thus, be prepared to model the type of
practice/scrimmage tasks that the teams’ coaches can use in their own practices.

 To the greatest extent possible, make such practice tasks game-like, such that they
mirror the fundamental aspects of the game as it is played during the competition (see
also the reference in Chapter 2 to the work by Alan Launder on developing “Game
Sense” using Play Practice).

 As students become more familiar with Sport Education, it will free you up to engage in
actual teaching of the subject matter (i.e., focus on skill performance, teams’ tactics and
strategies).

 Especially as games are played that mean something within the context of a true season,
you can engage in what would be more authentic means of assessment of student
learning.

 Recognize that not every class is equally prepared to take on the same level involvement
in designing and implementing the sport season.

It is not an uncommon reaction for teachers who see Sport Education introduced to
students for the first time:
 “I have always been taught that we as teachers need to have our students be as
active as possible in PE classes. I find that teachers who use Sport Ed. have much
too much down time. There is too much sitting around by students with teachers
lecturing about sport, going over all the things that students now have to do,
explaining about scorekeeping and refereeing etc. They never seem to get to play
very much.”

It is quite true that in their very first Sport Education season teachers should dedicate
extra class time early on to introducing their students to the essential Sport Education features.
However, this seeming “loss of time” will be offset in subsequent days and seasons by having
students (a) be more familiar and skilled in fulfilling the various roles and (b) be engaged in
the design and implementation of more authentic sport seasons. In addition, we encourage
you to using daily pre-season scrimmages to teach the new non-playing roles through hands-
on practice opportunities.

On the following page you will find a “Teacher’s In-Season Check Up” that you can use
during the Sport Education season. This checklist is aimed at assisting you with attending a
host of tasks that are mostly organizational in nature and often “behind-the-scenes” types of
tasks.

REMINDERS

We cannot emphasize enough that these tasks will become more

manageable as you move beyond your inaugural Sport Education season.
As student involvement increases, you need not be the sole designer and
architect of the season and many of the tasks can be accomplished through
active student involvement

You will note that the Team Binder template on the CD-ROM (see Resource
15) will have much of the written documentation already available for you
to use.
 Teacher’s In-Season Check-up
Item/Task Comment/Notes Completed
1. The Sports Council includes responsible students, and their selection is fair.
2. Students are alerted to the type of season/team/league awards to be
presented during an end-of-season celebratory event.
3. Team formation has been fair, reflecting balance in gender and skill.
4. Team membership is posted publicly during Pre-season serving as a
reminder for students
5. The Sport Council decides on Member Roles.
6. Duty team roles and responsibilities are outlined in writing and available to
all students.
7. The League Bulletin Board is set up prior to the start of the Season for
posting Game results and Team information.
8. Game score-sheets are reproduced for use during Season.
9. Team standings are updated daily by team statisticians.
10. Team captains/coaches have sample practice tasks available in writing to
plan their team practices (incl. Conditioning- and skill-based tasks).
11. Conflict resolution protocols are in place for use by the Sport Council.
12. Master copies of game results are kept in safe place.
Adapted from Australian Sports Commission (1995)