What the Best Quality Physical Education Program Is

It is said that, as long as the children are active, having fun, and behaving, they are engaged in a quality physical education program. According to 2010; Saskatchewan Curriculum Physical Education, this is a myth. In this essay I will be discussing this topic and also the facts associated with this topic. “When children are engaged in active play and having fun, these are indeed very important features of a quality physical education program”.

However, it will be up to the teacher to plan fixed learning experiences for students, keeping in mind the whats, hows, and whys of being active. Being active can also have its downside, students can choose not to listen when doing exercises or when playing a sport or can even be too active in terms of misbehaving and doing their own thing. “Students who develop deeper understandings in these areas will be more willing and able to engage in active living for life. ” Basically, they will fully be able to understand and grasp the concept of being active and why it is important. However, when teachers teach, they teach for understanding.

They teach so that their students will have a full understanding and be able to attain skills through enjoyable participation in activities. “Dewey believed that learning by doing enabled students to develop their problem-solving skills. Students could then clarify the learning and apply it in their future lives. ” Therefore, learning by doing or learning by participating in activities will help the students remember it longer and they will be able to make meaning of their personal experiences. Play isn’t “just” for fun. It’s an essential component of learning. Stuart Brown, author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. I believe play, is very much important in learning, what better way to have fun than through play in physical education class. Teachers can help children learn through the process of play by planning and organizing learning areas. Learning areas provide children with the opportunity to explore and experience feelings and cognitive tasks while using motor skills that are crucial later in life (Shipley, 2007)

For example, in the play field, the teacher can designate areas for different activities, for instance, an area for playing with a manipulative or a ball. In this area, students will be able to learn the proper way to throw a ball, the action when bouncing a ball, and the proper hand position when receiving or catching a ball. Students can be able to play sports or even enjoy participating in activities introduced by the class teacher when using learning areas in the lesson. It can also be used as a form of assessment in that, the teacher can call them to the allocated area to assess them on, for example, the proper way to throw and receive or catch a ball. It’s no doubt that students will be misbehaving, as mentioned earlier, but as the class teacher your hands will be full.

Managing a class and also dealing with misbehaving students will be a tough task. This is a part of classroom management, where the teacher should be able to tell the class what is required of them when in the play field or while doing exercises. The teacher should also address how misbehaviour is going to be dealt with and enforce class rules so that class will be carried out without interruptions and bad behaviour so that the student can have a fun and enjoyable class. Children are active learners who engage in activities and construct their own knowledge and understanding of the world through play experiences; this has become a cornerstone in education today. However, though “As long as the children are active, having fun, and behaving, they are engaged in a quality physical education program, ” is true, there are so much more to “a quality physical education program. ”

According to “SHAPE America”, these are four components of a high-quality physical education program. It covers: opportunity to learn, meaningful Content, appropriate instruction and student and program assessments. What I had gathered was that; opportunity to learn, I understood to be, providing a developmentally suitable program. The meaningful content, for instance, is various instruction in a variety of motor skills, fitness education, and opportunity to develop social and compliant skills and also upgrade of physical activity. Appropriate Instruction deals with the maximum practice opportunities for example, out of school practice. Last but not least, Student and Program Assessment is ongoing, assessments align with state/national physical education standards.

In conclusion, as long as the children are active, having fun, and behaving, they are engaged in a quality physical education program, this is a myth. The fact about the matter states that active play and enjoyment are important aspects of a quality physical education program but are not the final pointers of the beneficial program. Teachers need to plan determined learning experiences for students around the whats, hows, and whys of being active. Students who develop deeper understandings in these areas will be more willing and able to engaging active living for life. Teachers need to teach for understanding and skill through enjoyable participation in movement activity.