Maria Pfaller
University College Sealand
lv11917
MOTIVATION IN SPORTS
EDUCATION
Reasons for demotivation in sports education in primary
school and strategies and suggestions of how to
motivate pupils
1
Maria Pfaller
University College Sealand
lv11917
Index of content
1) Introduction……………………………………………..………………………………….4
1.1) Research question……...…………………………………………………………5
2) Method…………………………………...…………………………………………………5
3) Definition of motivation………………………………………………..………………….6
3.1)
Daniel Pink’s definition of motivation……………………….………………...6
3.2)
Benjamin B. Lahey’s definition of motivation...………………………………6
3.3)
My own definition of motivation………………………………………………7
4) Effects of extrinsic motivation…………………………………………………………….7
5) Effects of intrinsic motivation…………………………….………………………………8
6) Reasons for demotivation……………………………………………………………….....8
6.1)
Ziehe’s theory of demotivation in youth……………………………………….8
5.1.1) Effects on schools………………………………………………….……9
6.2)
Overweight and obesity in childhood and youth are rising……………..……...9
6.3)
Lack of interest………………………………………………………………..10
6.4)
My own experience…………………………………………………………...10
7) How does a teacher’s experience as a student influence his or her own teaching?......11
8) General decision-making and responsibility in Physical Education…….…………….12
9) Theories about motivation………………………….……………………………………13
9.1) “FLOW”- Theory by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi………………………………...13
9.1.1) Link to the Austrian Curriculum……………………………………….14
9.2) Daniel Pink’s theory about autonomy, purpose and mastery…………………...14
9.2.1) Autonomy………………………………………………………………14
9.2.2) Mastery…………………………………………………………………15
9.2.3) Purpose…………………………………………………………………15
9.2.3.1) Link to the Austrian Curriculum……………………………..16
9.3) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by Deci and Ryan…………………………...16
9.4) Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Proximal Development……………………………...17
9.4.1) Vygotsky’s Theory in Practice…………………………………………17
10) Link between FLOW and ZPD………..……………………………………………….17
11) Link between FLOW, ZPD and Mastery…………………………………...…………18
12) Methods and strategies to motivate students…………………………………...……..18
12.1) Extrinsic motivation…………………………………………………………….18
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University College Sealand
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11.1.1) Intermediate Conclusion……………………………………………...18
12.2) Blankenship’s strategies of how to motivate and
increase intrinsic motivation…………………………………………………..19
12.3) Giving feedback (according to Blankenship)…………………………………..22
12.3.1) Feedback about success……………………………………………….22
12.3.2) Feedback about failure………………………………………………..23
12.4) A personal example and “How not to act as a trainer/teacher”………………...23
13) Theory in practice: an example of a teaching plan……………………………...…….24
13.1) Part of the lesson plan…………………………………………………………..25
13.2) Description of and comments on the lesson plan………………………………25
13.2.1) Didactical considerations……………………………………………..25
13.2.2) Purpose………………………………………………………………..26
13.2.3) Autonomy……………………………………………………………..26
13.2.4) Mastery………………………………………………………………..26
13.2.5) Ziehe’s strangeness…………………………………………………...27
13.2.6) Differentiation………………………………………………………...27
13.2.7) Blankenship’s motivation strategies………………………………….27
14) How can other teachers benefit from this paper and how can the focus of my
lesson plan (about ball games) be transferred into other lesson plans?.................27
14.2) How can Ziehe’s strangeness my lesson plan (about ball games)
be transferred into other areas of the physical education curriculum?.........................28
14.2) What should other PE teachers consider when planning a lesson?.....................28
15) Conclusion…………………...…………………………………………………………..29
16) References………………………………………………………………………………..30
17) Appendices……………………………………………………………………………….33
17.1) Original texts from the Austrian Curriculum…………………………………...33
17.2) Full lesson plan…………………………………………………………………34
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Maria Pfaller
University College Sealand
lv11917
1) Introduction:
A study from the “Austrian Institute for Youth Research” shows the results of a survey on
kids and teenagers at the age of 10-16, who have been asked about their interests, hobbies and
spare time activities. Right after doing homework and meeting friends, the third most named
activity is watching TV, followed by playing computer and playstation. (Kromer 2005)
Apparently, the trend in free time activities in childhood and youth is moving towards the use
of media and away from activities that include physical movement.
Also, research has shown that overweight and obesity at a very young age are rising. Emer. o.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. I. Elmadfa, who worked in cooperation with the “Austrian Agency for Health
and Food Safety”, published a study that shows that every fifth girl and every fourth boy at
the age of 7 to 14 is overweight. (Elmadfa 2012)
These are numbers we should be concerned about, since the effects of overweight are
depression, a sense of inferiority and isolation through social exclusion. (Voitl)
I am not saying that overweight automatically leads to demotivation in sports or the other way
round, but clearly there is a link between those two factors.
Apparently, physical movement (maybe due to demotivation) is lacking in many children’s
spare times. Personally, I think that physical education teachers have the “power” to change
this problem, which is why I would like to find out how they can do it. It is not only in my
personal interest to educate and motivate my pupils to practice sports and change the
controller of the play station for a ball or skipping rope, but it is also part of the Austrian
curriculum:
Translation of the common goal: The subject physical education has an important function for
the holistic education of pupils. It makes a contribution to physical, motor, social, affective,
motivational and cognitive development. Concerning sustainable health education it has
special importance1. (Lehrplan der Volksschule 2012, p.197)
In my paper, I am going to look into the motivational aspect of physical education. I will find
out why some students have motivational problems and what I as a teacher can do to motivate
them.
Out of this results my research question:
1
See original text in the appendix
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Maria Pfaller
1.1)
University College Sealand
lv11917
Research question:
“What are the reasons for demotivation in sports education in primary
school and how can I as a teacher contribute to motivate my pupils?”
2) Method
To answer this question I used books from different theorists, who faced the problem of
motivation in youth and motivation in sports. Thomas Ziehe for example tried to find out
what the reasons for a lack of motivation in youth are, by observing teenagers. Although
Ziehe mostly talks about youth and students at the age of 10 to 16, I still think that I can use
his theories for my teaching and motivating in a primary school, where the pupils are 6 to 10
years old. The reason why I think so is that the age of when puberty starts, and with that being
a teenager, is moving steadily. Boys and girls start earlier to change their body and mind.
(Hartl 2009)
Daniel Pink wrote a book about motivation and that it consist of three factors, which we have
to consider when we as teachers want to increase intrinsic motivation in students.
Also other theorists have looked into this field, specifically in physical education, like e.g.
Bonnie Blankenship, who writes about strategies that can increase motivation.
Since I have studied “teacher education” for the last three years, I had teaching practice
myself, which gave me an insight of how motivated students are in PE. I collected some
experiences and made observations, which I will share in this paper.
Not only have I made experiences as a teacher, but also as a pupil and student myself. I am
quite sure that one can learn from that, so I am going to talk about these too.
I have found some articles that are of importance when talking about motivation, e.g. one that
describes the current situation in Austria concerning health.
What is “motivation” actually? Everyone knows the term, but once you have to describe it, we
are stuck and it is not as easy as it seems. Since we can’t see or measure it, it’s hard to explain
what it is. When are we motivated and why? Where does motivation come from?
First of all, I am going to define the word “motivation” by quoting the two theorists Daniel
Pink and Benjamin Lahey, who have been researching and looking into the field of
motivation. Afterwards I will summarize their definitions and write my own definition of
motivation.
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University College Sealand
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3) Definition of motivation:
3.1) Daniel Pink’s definition of motivation:
Daniel Pink describes motivation as a combination of three different drives, namely the
biological, intrinsic and extrinsic drive, which motivate us to do certain actions.
 The biological drive is about eating to sate the hunger, drinking to quench the thirst
and copulating to satisfy carnal urges.
 The extrinsic drive is about rewards and punishments that the environment delivers for
behaving in a certain way. Examples could be to get the best grade for being a good
student or failing a subject because of a lack of effort.
 The third factor is the intrinsic drive, which is the “performance of the task”, that we
enjoy and it “provides intrinsic reward”. So basically there are no factors from outside
that motivate us, but it is our inner will to achieve something. (Pink 2009)
Depending on what action it is, (running a marathon, studying for math or going out for
dinner) we have different motives that make us do this action.
The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is very important for teachers,
because they have different effects on the students. In order to sustain the eager of work,
teachers have to know how to use extrinsic motivators. Daniel Pink says that activity stops as
soon as extrinsic rewards are taken away (Pink 2009). I will go into detail with this thought
later in the text.
3.2) Benjamin B. Lahey’s definition of motivation:
Another definition of motivation is Benjamin B. Lahey’s:
Motivation - “The internal state or condition that activates and gives direction to our
thoughts, feelings and actions.” (Lahey 2012, p. 351)
He also says that motivation is closely linked to emotions and that they go hand in hand.
“Motivation is closely related to the topic of emotions. (...) Motivation and emotions are
closely linked concepts for two reasons: (a) motives are often accompanied by emotions, (for
example, the motive to perform well on a test is sometimes accompanied by anxiety; sexual
motivation is generally blended with the emotions of passion and love); and (b) emotions
typically have motivational properties of their own - because you are in love, you are
motivated to be with your special person; because you are angry, you want to strike out at the
object of your anger.” (Lahey, 2012, p.351)
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University College Sealand
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Lahey distinguishes between biological needs and psychological motives, which make us do
what we do. Biological needs are primary motives, like eating, drinking, sleeping and
avoiding pain, while psychological motives refer to the individual’s happiness and well-being.
(Lahey 2012)
3.3)
My own definition of motivation:
To summarize and make my own definition about motivation, I would say that motivation
consists of different factors, which drive us to do certain actions. Motivation is connected to
emotions, thoughts and the purpose for which we do a certain action.
It exists of three parts, namely biological, intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Biological motivation
includes eating, drinking and sexual fulfillment. Extrinsic motivation requires awards, like
praise, money, medals, etc. in contrast to intrinsic motivation, which comes from inside one
person and his/her desire to achieve something (e.g. the desire to improve one’s skills).
Motivation comes along with everything that we do, whether it is going to the store to shop,
reading a book, practicing to play the piano or do sports. Depending on our emotions, the
purpose of the action, intrinsic and extrinsic factors we are accordingly motivated to
accomplish the action. But how do extrinsic and intrinsic motivators work and what are the
effects?
4) Effects of extrinsic motivation:
There has been done a lot of research on how extrinsic motivators affect our behavior and
performance, for example Teresa Amabile, a researcher on Harvard Business School, found
out that external rewards and punishments - both carrots and sticks - can work nicely for
algorithmic tasks. But they can be devastating for heuristic ones. (Pink 2009)
This means that tasks that ask for creativity and open thinking (heuristic tasks) are harder to
solve when offered a reward, whilst tasks where you just have one solution, that do not ask for
creativity and are routine (algorithmic tasks) will be solved faster, when offered a reward.
So as a teacher you should never offer a reward or punishment, when the pupils should be
creative and think openly in the task.
Since students will perform better in algorithmic tasks when offered a reward or threatened
with a punishment, wouldn’t it make sense to use extrinsic factors to motivate them in some
situations?
As I mentioned earlier, activity stops when extrinsic rewards are taken away. So once students
are offered a reward for something they do, they expect it every time (Pink 2009).
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University College Sealand
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Nevertheless, in some cases extrinsic motivation can be used to get the students to participate
in something. Moving students from amotivation (no participation in any form or just going
through the motion) to an external regulation through offering a reward is better than no
participation. The rewards must be desired from the students though and everyone should get
the chance to get a reward. An argument for extrinsic rewards is that it actually might give the
student a positive feedback about his or her performance, which can enhance their perceptions
of competence. (Blankenship 2008)
5) Effects of intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is the strongest form of motivation, since it comes from within a person
and he or she does not seek for a greater purpose than the enjoyment of the activity itself. The
motives of doing something are inherent pleasure, satisfaction, enjoyment, challenge,
curiosity, interest or fun. Intrinsic motivation has the highest degree of self-determination and
results in the most positive consequences. (Blankenship 2008)
As a teacher we should try to increase intrinsic motivation, so the students do activities out of
enjoyment. Teachers can offer them a variety and introduce them to many different kinds of
sports, so they can explore their own body and skills and maybe find a new hobby, far away
from any extrinsic motive.
Having defined what motivation means and what the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation is, I now want to look into what could disturb motivation, or what could be the
reasons for demotivation.
6) Reasons for demotivation
6.1) Ziehe’s theory of demotivation in youth
Thomas Ziehe, a german educational scientist, is engaged in finding out why it is getting
harder for students to motivate themselves at school. In a lecture, which he held in
Copenhagen in 2009, he talked about his observations and findings mainly in Germany. His
explanation of why students lack motivation is that society accepts the popular culture, which
relativises the position of high culture. It is “okay” for everyone to have his/her own selfworld, in which they decide themselves what is important for them and what is not. Ziehe
calls this phenomenon “tunnel of relevance”. He also talks about “detraditionalization” of the
society, where rules and social norms are not as strict anymore and things that were not
allowed a couple of years ago are accepted by the society now. (Ziehe 2009)
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University College Sealand
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6.1.1) Effects on schools
The accepted self-worlds are included in popular culture, but not in institutions like schools,
which is the reason why the latter ones lose the power and why it is getting harder for teachers
to teach and make subjects at school relevant for the students. The solution of the teachers is
to bring the self-worlds into the classroom. (Ziehe 2009)
But bringing all self-worlds into one classroom and still achieving all the learning goals can
be tough for the teacher. Especially in sports, because nowadays sports is not a part of many
self-worlds.
As I mentioned in the introduction earlier, the spare time activities of children have changed.
Nowadays, watching TV and playing computer games are more interesting for kids than for
example building a tree house in the garden. (Kromer 2005)
As Ziehe says, we cannot bring all self-worlds into one classroom and it is not the purpose of
school either. We should rather try to bring a “well-dozed strangeness” into the lesson plans.
Meaning that every now and then the teacher should come with modified activities, that give
normal exercises, that we actually know, some kind of strangeness. (Ziehe 2009) An example
would be to dance freestyle to music, but keep one leg in a circle on the ground all the time or
to play football with a tennis ball.
6.2) Overweight and obesity in childhood and youth are rising
Earlier in the text (in the introduction) I mentioned the study from emer. o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. I.
Elmadfa in cooperation with the “Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety”, which shows
that every fifth girl and every fourth boy at the age of 7 to 14 is overweight. (Elmadfa 2012)
The fact that the number of overweight is rising, does not mean that demotivation in sports is
automatically increasing too, but researches show that there is a link between overweight and
a lack of physical movement. (Graf 2006)
Overweight causes some negative physical and psychological effects, which might influence
the motivation of some students, as you can read here:
“The prevalence of overweight and obesity has reached alarming rates in the European
Union and the numbers are still rising. The dramatic increase in the prevalence of childhood
overweight and obesity is related to co-morbidities such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and
cardiovascular diseases as well as to psycho-social effects including low self-esteem and low
life satisfaction.” (Brettschneider, Naul, Bünemann & Hoffmann 2006, p. 25)
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University College Sealand
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Low self-esteem, and thus a negative body image and self-perception, have a negative effect
on a person’s “personal –“ and “physical competences” (see chapter 8, Rønholt), which can
result in a lack of motivation.
6.3)
Lack of interest
Sometimes a student just isn’t interested in the activities the teacher prepared for the class and
the motivation to do this activity is pretty much non-existing.
According to Blakenship, there are two kinds of interests – personal and situational interest.
The absence of one of these interests, can cause demotivation for a certain activity. In order to
understand what is meant by that, I am going to explain what each of them is.
Personal interest: This is a slowly (sometimes over years) developing process in a particular
environment, in which a person gains interest for an activity.
“Repeated interactions with an activity, if positive, build knowledge about the activity and
enhance the participant’s interest in the activity.” (Blankenship 2008, p. 234)
Personal interests are usually practiced in the free time and out of intrinsic motivation,
because the person enjoys the performance of the task.
Situational interest: This kind of interest is one that appears due to appealing characteristics
of an activity. So, an exercise or activity that one maybe has not tried before, but seems
appealing, can awaken interest. Whether this interest is continuing or not is based on whether
a person still likes the activity when performing it. Situational interest can by all means
become ones personal interest (Blankenship 2008).
To come back to the reasons for demotivation, the absence of personal or situational interest
can lead to a lack of enthusiasm for an activity and motivation will not arise.
6.4) My own experience:
Looking back at my own experience in sports at school and times where I had problems with
motivation, I think that they appeared whenever something was too hard. With that I mean
situations in which I thought that the activity we were going to do would be too difficult for
me. When I could not see myself in the requested situation, I felt despaired and motivation
was low. Also the opposite way was true for me. When the teacher wanted me to do or
practice something, I already knew easily or without any effort, it would be bored and the
motivation was gone. This is a very important cognition for me as a future teacher, since it
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University College Sealand
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tells me that I have to be very careful with the choice of activities and that I have to pay
attention to differentiation. Concerning my own experience as a student, I am wondering now:
7) How does a teacher’s experience as a student influence his or
her own teaching?
Don’t we all remember this one teacher that was boring as hell or talked about something way
out of our imagination or understanding and we just tried to survive the lesson to run out of
the classroom? The motivation to learn something was equal to zero and I will never forget it,
because it was so horrible. Well, since my plan always was to become a teacher, I was very
aware of the fact that boredom leads to demotivation and that I don’t want to be one of those
teachers that cause it. I want my students to look forward to the lessons, which is why I want
to learn from other’s mistakes. As I said before, whenever an activity in sports classes was too
easy for me, meaning when I have done it (maybe in my spare time) several times before and
automated it, the motivation of doing this activity was gone. Also in situations, where I
couldn’t see myself reaching the goal, because it was way over my skills, lead to frustration
and demotivation.
My experiences I made as a student definitely influence my (future) teaching, since I want to
avoid the “mistakes” of my own teachers that lead to demotivation. I will pay attention to
addressing the different levels of my pupils, so they neither get bored nor frustrated. In a
classroom with say 24 pupils, who all have different skills and abilities due to different
backgrounds and experiences, I have to provide different tasks that are according to their
level. Of course, there has to be some kind of challenge, so the student has a goal she or he
can reach for, but these challenges have to be various.
In general, I would say that we cannot and shouldn’t only learn from our own mistakes, but
also from others’. Being aware of and observing what we and others are doing is an important
step in learning, I think.
Before I am going to introduce some theories about motivation and what is necessary to be or
get motivated, I would like to look into the field of competences in physical education. What
competences and requirements are essential when doing sports? Can competences even be
promoted through physical education? And can you be motivated to do sports even though
you haven’t developed all required competences yet?
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Maria Pfaller
University College Sealand
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8) General decision-making and responsibility in Physical
Education (Theory by Helle Rønholt)
Helle Rønholt, a danish author, says that especially through physical education, children
acquire certain competences, that they do not only need for sports, but also for other subjects
and for their life. They learn to be responsible and make decisions.
“General
decision-making
and
responsibility”
consist
of
four
subareas,
namely
bodily/physical, sports-related, social and personal competences. These competences are
learned and acquired through different opportunities (given by the teacher). Since Rønholt’s
book is written in danish, I used my knowledge of the danish language and a danish friend to
translate the model below.
Bodily/Physical Competences
Through opportunity to:
Through opportunity to:





Sports-related competences
Develop versatile motor skills
Get versatile physical experience
Develop own bodyimage
Imitate physically
Communicate physically
General decision-making and
responsibility



Learn different sports-related skills (to
try, to play, to practice, to compete, to
train)
Gain knowledge about different areas of
sports (technique, tactics, rules and
values)
Control and develop own sports
activities
Social competences
Personal competences
Through opportunity to:
Through opportunity to:








Understand, accept and critically
evaluate rules and norms
Be flexible in roles (role taker/role
maker)
Solve conflicts
Take responsibility
Negotiate
Communicate
Interact positively, cooperate
Feel solidarily with others










Positive self-perception
Self-determination, take initiative
Express feelings and wishes
Feel empathy and sympathy
Reflect and react
Being accepted
Being heard
Solve conflicts
Develop a frustration tolerance
Think independently and critically
The model of shown above, illustrates the opportunities the students should be offered in
order to develop the overall competence of “general decision-making and responsibility”.
As I see it, physical, sports-related, social and personal competences summarize and make
what we call “skills” of a person in physical education. Every child has developed the
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competences differently and maybe has to work on some more than on others. Depending on
the development of the competences, the challenge should be chosen.
But does the possession of these competences influence the motivation of a person? And are
we not motivated if we don’t have all of them? Can low skilled students not be motivated?
To answer this question, I am going to look into different theories about motivation. Many
theorists wrote about requirements for motivation and what it takes to motivate someone. I
chose to write about the “Flow”-Theory, which will make clear the link between skills and
motivation and answer the questions that I mentioned earlier. Also I am going to look into
Vygotsky’s theory about the “Zone of Proximal Development”, Pink’s theory about
“Autonomy, mastery and purpose” and the “Self-Determination Theory” by Deci and Ryan
and what all of these theories mean for my planning of lessons and my teaching.
9) Theories about motivation
9.1) “FLOW” - Theory by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi
The theory of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a hungarian psychology professor, supports the idea
of choosing the right level for students. In his “Flow”- theory he describes that the skills of a
student and the challenge given by the teacher have to be in balance, in order to keep the pupil
in the “flow-zone” (picture 2). The “flow-zone” is the area in which a student is motivated to
do and practice a certain exercise. Being not in this zone will either cause boredom or anxiety,
he says. A student, who is very skilled,
but gets a too easy task, will get bored
and not engaged, whereas a low-skilled
pupil, who gets a challenge he or she
cannot master, will feel anxious.
So, levels of skills and challenge have to
be in balance, in order to get and keep
the
student
in
the
FLOW-zone.
(Csikszentmihalyi 1996)
Picture 1
The skills that Csikszentmihalyi is talking about are not only physical/bodily skills, I think,
but also social personal and sports-related skills (Rønholt). Depending on the skills of the
student, the level of challenge or the task has to be adjusted. A student who is very talented
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when it comes to challenges that he or she has to solve alone, can have trouble being on a
team. The reason could be that his or her social competences are not appropriately developed.
9.1.1) Link to the Austrian curriculum:
My translation of a paragraph in the austrian curriculum: Students should be confronted with
challenges adapted to their individual skills, so they neither get unchallenged nor
overstrained. They should learn to fathom their skills and limit, to estimate given risks and
behave accordingly. Meanwhile, self-confidence should be boosted and responsibility towards
oneself, classmates and nature sustainable developed. Pupils should therefore be enabled to
talk about impressions, experiences and emotions about sports in nature and communicate
with others.2 (Lehrplan der Volksschule 2012)
Students shouldn’t get unchallenged or overstrained, since it accordingly to the flow theory
leads to boredom or anxiety. They should learn to master challenges appropriate to their level
and with that boost their self-confidence.
9.2) Daniel Pink’s theory about autonomy, purpose and mastery
Pink names three aspects that are important when talking about motivation - autonomy,
mastery and purpose. If these three factors are fulfilled to some degree, then a person will be
intrinsically motivated to do some action.
9.2.1) Autonomy
The first factor is autonomy.
“Deci and Ryan moved away from categorizing behavior as either extrinsically motivated or
intrinsically motivated to categorizing it as either controlled or autonomous. “Autonomous
motivation involves behaving with a full sense of volition and choice”, they write, “whereas
controlled motivation involves behaving with the experience of pressure and demand toward
specific outcomes that comes from forces perceived to be external to the self.”” (Pink 2009, p.
90)
“A sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude.
According to a cluster of recent behavioral science studies, autonomous motivation promotes
greater conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence at school and in
2
See original text in the appendix
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sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological wellbeing.” (Pink 2009, p. 90 & 91)
Using my own words, I would say that students/pupils need autonomy (meaning
independence and self-directed learning) in order to be intrinsically motivated, which is the
aim of the teacher, since it is the strongest and most powerful one. They need to have the
feeling of making their own choices.
Pink also says that the enjoyment of an activity, and how creative a person feels when
working on a project, is the strongest kind of motivation (Pink 2009)
9.2.2) Mastery
The second factor that Pink names is mastery - “the desire to get better and better at
something that matters.” (Pink 2009, p.111)
In someone’s eyes one can see, if a person does something with joy or not and if he/she is
happy when doing it. Joy during an activity makes us forget about the time and we do it
because we like it. So it comes from inside a person. And in order to achieve mastery one has
to be engaged to the task.
“You need not see what someone is doing to know if it is his vocation,
you have only to watch his eyes: a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon
making a primary incision, a clerk completing a bill of lading,
wear the same rapt expression, forgetting themselves in a function.
How beautiful it is, that eye-on-the-object look.” (W.H. Auden)
(Pink 2009, p.109)
9.2.3) Purpose
“Humans, by their nature, seek purpose – a cause greater and more enduring than
themselves.” (Pink 2009, p. 208)
Seeing a purpose in what you are doing, so understanding why you are doing an activity,
motivates people. (Pink 2009)
As a teacher you should always consider having an explanation for the students, if they ask
you for the purpose of an activity. Giving meaning to an exercise, like telling the students to
do sit ups because those would strengthen the abdominals, increases the intrinsic motivation.
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9.2.3.1) Link to the Austrian curriculum:
In the Austrian curriculum a link to the purpose, that Pink names, can be found. It says
that exercise promotes the physical, mental and social well-being, making a significant
contribution to health in a holistic sense. Through teaching, especially the joy of the pupils
at sports and movement should be awakened and preserved, as well as resources should be
built up to strengthen health.3 (Lehrplan der Volksschule 2012, p.200)
The purpose for doing something can be different from person to person and task to task. It
can be an intrinsic, extrinsic or biological motive. (Pink 2009)
A similar, but slightly different theory to Pink’s, is the “Self-Determination Theory” by Ryan
and Deci.
9.3) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by Deci and Ryan
The three psychological needs competence, autonomy and relatedness produce human
motivation.
“(…) in any given situation (e.g., physical education class), the extent to which individuals
feel they are competent and effective, that their behavior is self-determined and based on their
own initiative, and that they are socially connected to others will determine their motivation.”
(Blankenship 2008, p.273)
For physical education this means that students will experience the highest kind of
motivation, when they experience some kind of success, are given choices and feel like a part
of the group.
The combination of these
three components will
create motivation (see
picture 2).
Picture 2
3
See original text in the appendix
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9.4) Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of the “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD)
The russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky developed a theory about the development in
learning, which can be put into a model like in the picture below.
The blue circle illustrates what the student can do by himself or herself (without any help
from outside) while the orange/light pink circle shows what the student can’t do. The “Zone
of Proximal Development” (short: ZPD) is lying in
between those two circles (picture 3). So, a student will
develop ideally, when the given task lies between what
the student can do and what he or she can’t do,
meaning a task where he or she needs some help from
outside (either the teacher or a peer) or some time to
practice to accomplish the exercise. (Daniels 2001)
Picture 3
9.4.1) Vygotsky’s theory in practice:
If we put Vygotsky’s theory into practice, so in sports classes, this would mean that the
teacher should plan exercises that challenge the pupils. The challenge should be just as hard,
so it can be mastered with a little help from outside or a bit of training. When the student has
the feeling that he or she can succeed (first with help, then alone) he or she will develop
ideally.
10)
Link between FLOW and ZPD
If we would look for the Zone of Proximal Development in Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow diagram,
I would say, that it would be close to and
right above the Flow Zone. Since the ZPD
is different for each student, it cannot be
described as one fixed point, but as a field
or zone, in which the students move.
Challenges (so tasks the students cannot yet
do alone), would be lying in the ZPD, and
mastering and achieving these challenges
will lead to that the students will get into
the flow zone.
Picture 4
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Link between FLOW, ZPD and Mastery
The yellow circles in picture 5 show the challenge, while the arrows show the process of
solving the given challenge. The blue triangles illustrate the state of “Flow”, with an optimal
balance of challenge and the student’s skills. (Ørsted Andersen 2006)
The challenges are lying in the “Zone of Proximal Development”, which is where the students
need to practice the exercise or seek for help from outside in order to succeed.
The steps (or stairs) show that
the process is continuing and a
student
should
get
new
challenges, in order to stay in
the flow-zone.
If the balance is steady, a pupil
will stay in it and one day
reach mastery, as Pink says.
“Flow is essential to mastery”.
Picture 5
(Pink 2009, p. 120)
12) Methods and strategies to motivate students
12.1) Extrinsic motivation: In chapter 4, I discussed the effects of extrinsic motivation and
that as a teacher you should try to avoid them, since activity stops if you take them away
(Pink 2009)
But isn’t it better to move a student, who is absolutely not motivated (amotivated) to some
other kind of motivation? Making all students participate in the prepared activities is one of
the goals of a PE lesson.
Glyn C. Blankenship argues that in some cases
I also wrote that in some special cases extrinsic rewards (not punishments, because they create
an unpleasant environment) can be used to motivate students. They should be used rarely and
carefully though, since they can destroy intrinsic motivation. (If a student, who is intrinsically
motivated to run one kilometer, is offered a reward, he or she might lose interest and the
purpose of running it next time without getting a reward.)
The same goes the other way round. Sometimes we do certain things to avoid punishment, for
instance studying math in order not to get a bad grade at the exam.
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12.1.1.) Intermediate Conclusion:
External rewards can motivate for the period of the given task, but as soon as they are taken
away, the motivation to do this action again, will be gone. So, using rewards and punishments
in physical education does not seem to be the solution for the motivational problem that the
kids and teenagers have, meaning we shouldn’t offer students medals or threaten them with
negative consequences. Students should be self-driven, curious and excited to learn. The
question is how a teacher can remain or create this curiosity and willingness to learn
something new.
“The truth is that there are no techniques that will motivate people or make them
autonomous. Motivation must come from within, not from techniques.” (Ushioda 2013, p.5)
Although there are no techniques or recipes of how to motivate students, the teacher can still
do something in his planning of the lessons to provide a motivating learning environment.
Bonnie T. Blankenship suggests some strategies a teacher can that can help to increase a
student’s intrinsic motivation.
12.2) Blankenship’s strategies of how to motivate and increase intrinsic motivation
 Meet student’s personal interest
Bringing personal interests, meaning activities that students also practice outside the school,
into the sports classes, will increase the interest in participation. To find out what the student’s
interests are, a teacher can create a questionnaire, on which the students write down their
favorite kinds of sports/activities. Bringing the self-world (Ziehe 2009) and personal interests
into the lesson plan will motivate pupils.
 Catch interest with technology
Technological gadgets are a big part of everyone’s life nowadays. Blankenship suggests using
them in class, since they can be used in many ways.
An example that I have tried myself is the App “Ubersense”, which allows showing a video in
slow-motion. That way e.g. a gymnastic exercise, like a head jump, can be watched in a very
slow speed and stopped at any point. The students will exactly see their movement and be
able to analyze it, see mistakes and that way try to do it better next time.
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 Hold interest with personal meaning
Here the teacher should be aware of what motivates the pupils to do a physical activity.
Whether it is because they want to develop their fitness, bond with classmates, release tension
or get physically challenged.
Blankenship also says that students should know why they are learning an activity (comp.
with Pink’s “purpose”) and that these reasons should be explained in the beginning of a sports
lesson. An example could be wall climbing, which is presented as a sport that just a few
students know, develops muscular strength and can be adjusted to meet student’s individual
abilities.
 Offer novel activities
New activities, which students have not tried before, usually appear very attractive and
motivating. The fact that students haven’t tried the activity before, excludes negative
experiences and a neutral approach. The teacher just has to keep in mind that the physical
challenge should be very low, when the activity is introduced.
 Challenge students cognitively
Especially students who find pleasure in cognitive challenges get intrinsically motivated when
using these kinds of activities. An example would be to watch a video of skilled basketball
players and analyze the game by looking at the skills used by players. There is no physical
challenge in this task, but the cognitive demand will increase motivation.
“Using puzzles, brain teasers, and novel activities can enhance student cognitive involvement
in physical education.” (Blankenship 2008, p. 256)
 Arouse student’s intention to explore
Letting the students explore and discover aspects of an activity can have a motivational effect.
A movement analysis curriculum is one way of encouraging students to find new ways of
moving and applying principles of movement.
An example would be to find ways of producing countertension balances with a partner.
Students get some time to come up with and try out different exercises and show them to
classmates.
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 Use a different instructional model
Often or most of the times teachers use “direct instruction” to introduce a new movement or
activity, which has a lack of student involvement, group work, opportunities to explore, etc.
Using a different approach that includes more student involvement is definitely the better
choice.
For instance the “inquiry model”, which has the “learner as problem solver” as theme and
again cognitive challenges, play a big part. An example of the “inquiry model” would be to
tell the students to use the jump rope to create a circle on the floor and then find ways of how
to travel into and out of the circle without touching it.
 Create a content development
As the headline says, content development should be initiated. The students should get
physically challenged, in order not to get bored of doing the same activity year after year (as
Csickszentmihalyi also shows in his “flow” diagram).
“A content development consists of three types of tasks: extensions, refinements and
applications.” (Blankenship 2008, p. 262)
 Use teaching by invitation and intratask variations
Invitation: Inviting the students to practice their skills by offering them two or three different
tasks, allows them to choose the appropriate level for their abilities. Putting the exercise in
nice words and invite them makes a difference. E.g. “You may try your cartwheel on the mat,
or on a floor line, or on the low balance beam” (Blankenship 2008, p. 267)
Intratask variations: Variations within the task are made to adjust them to the pupil’s level.
“For example, students who are skilled at catching fly balls in softball can be challenged to
catch 9 of 10 fly balls that are tossed to them, while students with a lower level of skill can be
challenged to catch 6 of 10.” (Blankenship 2008, p.268)
 Diminish gender-role stereotyping
Remove stereotypes should be one of the teacher’s aims. Choosing the right words and
avoiding sentences like: “Come on guys! Don’t let the girls beat you!” can create the feeling
and attitude that girls are weaker than boys, which can result in females not being as physical
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active as boys. Of course, a teacher can’t include all these strategies in all lessons that he or
she plans, but paying attention to imply some factors should be an aim of the teacher.
In the next paragraph I am going to write about an experience, that shows how much
influence a trainer has on each player of his or her team. A trainer has the “power” to destroy
intrinsic motivation, maybe even without knowing. I think that this example of outside the
school is quite transferable to teaching physical education in a class, which is why I want to
tell it.
One strategy that I am missing in Blankenship’s methods, is feedback. I personally think that
both positive and negative feedback can have a motivational effect on students. At least it
worked for me - when I was a student myself. Whenever a teacher praised me for doing
something good, I would feel proud and motivated to continue with the exercise (until it got
too boring). But also the other way round, so getting negative feedback and criticism, could
affect and motivate me. I always loved physical education, when I was a student, and I got
angry at myself when I couldn’t do a task, that the teacher prepared for me and my
classmates. Or when the teacher pointed out a mistake and told me to do the exercise in a
different way, I got motivated, because I wanted to improve myself.
12.3) Giving feedback (according to Blankenship)
12.3.1) Feedback about success: When giving feedback, a teacher has to differentiate
between giving feedback about student success and student failure. When giving feedback
about success, the teacher should focus on effort, strategies or ability. In case a student puts
a lot of effort in a task and succeeds, positive feedback (e.g. “Good job. The hard work is
paying off.”) can help him or her to understand that effort and endurance will improve his or
her skills. (Blankenship 2008) Another focus point is the use of appropriate strategies. When
students do so and succeed, and additionally get positive feedback by the teacher, they will
remember that strategies help them to achieve an aim. When students have the ability to do a
certain exercise, high ability should be addressed (e.g. “Perfect pass, Anna. You are a really
good soccer player. Keep practicing and you’ll be very successful one day.”).
The most important factor when giving feedback as a teacher is to be honest. One shouldn’t
say something that he or she does not really mean. Students are pretty good at estimating their
abilities and skills and the teacher will lose credibility, if their estimation does not match with
what he or she tells them. The feedback and praise has to match the student’s effort, use of
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strategy and ability and skills. So exaggeration and excessive praise can convey to the student
that either the teacher doesn’t think he or she can do any better or that the teacher thinks that
the student has achieved all he or she can.
12.3.2) Feedback about failure: Also feedback about failure can have a motivational effect.
However, when students fail in an activity, one should only give feedback when the
unsuccessful outcome’s reason is low effort or poor strategy, NOT when the reason is low
ability.
“Ability is an internal and uncontrollable attribution, and attributing unsuccessful outcomes
to low ability can negatively affect student self-esteem and expectations for future
performances.” (Blankenship 2008, p. 226 & 227)
If a student fails due to a need of greater effort, it should be emphasized that skills can be
improved with effort and persistence. However, one should be careful with naming low effort
as the reason for failure, because the student could have tried his or her best and it could result
in the student’s belief that he or she can’t do any better. The use of an inappropriate strategy
is a “safe” feedback on failure, since the student will not feel that it is his or her fault that the
exercise didn’t go well and thus not feel that bad. The belief and hope that another strategy
will eventually improve their skills is being sustained. When failing because of low ability,
the focus of giving feedback should be on precisely telling the student in what way he or she
can improve his or her skills. Often teachers just say that the student should keep trying
instead of telling him or her how to correctly perform a skill.
12.4) A personal example and “How not to act as a trainer/teacher”
A friend of mine started to play handball in a local club. She has never played handball
before, but since some of her friends were members of the club and she wanted to be
physically active, she decided to give it a try.
The handball trainer liked that the team got a new member and was excited to give her
advices and introduce her to rules and moves, that handball brings along. My friend showed
up to every training, which was twice a week and she was very determined to keep practicing,
because she saw how good the others were and she enjoyed it.
When the matches on the weekend started, my friend sat mostly on the bench and did not get
to play very much in the game. In the beginning, she thought that would be alright, because
she knew the others were better than her and it would be important for the team to win.
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But although she continued practicing and made improvements, the trainer did not put her
longer in the match than 10 to 15 minutes (out of 60!). My friends’ self-confidence steadily
sank and she thought that she was not good enough. Her motivation to practice slowly
disappeared, because she felt that the trainer did not believe in her and her skills.
What I am trying to say with this story is that my friend clearly was not in the “FLOW”-zone.
The level of exercises was too high for her skills, combined with no trust from the trainer’s
side. It is important that a trainer or teacher not only chooses the right exercises for a player or
student, but also believes in him or her. Small improvements have to be praised and the selfconfidence boosted, in order to keep the player or student motivated. Only then, the inner
drive will keep the player/student continue practicing and more improvements will be made.
My friend was clearly motivated in the beginning and she thought that she can change her
abilities, but the mistrust and doubt of her trainer slowly “drowned” her belief in getting
better. For some students, especially those who do not believe in themselves, it is very
relevant to have someone who believes in their skills and shows them that they think the
student can do the activity.
Following statement from Glyn C. Roberts supports this thought:
“Although we may have certain views of what our abilities are, our motivated behavior will
be influenced by whether we think we can change these abilities.” (Roberts 2001, p. 108)
13) Theory in Practice: an example of a teaching plan
In order to show how I can put the theories I named into practice, I created a lesson plan for a
physical education class. Out of the eleven different fields that cover the curriculum for
physical education (basic movements, aerobic, athletics, artistic gymnastics, games, dance,
swimming, hiking, skiing (nordic and alpine), ice skating and sledding) I chose to focus on
games, namely ball games. The lesson plan is made for a 4th grade, 24 students and 100
minutes. As you will see in the part of the lesson plan, I used three different colors. They are
showing how I bring Pink’s purpose (green), autonomy (orange) and mastery (blue) into the
classroom.
Further description will follow below the detail of the lesson plan.4
4
See full lesson plan in the appendix
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13.1) Part of the Lesson Plan
13.2) Description of and comments on the lesson plan
13.2.1) Didactical considerations
In this activity, I gave consideration to some didactical aspects, which I will describe now.
First of all, I divided the class into 2 groups, because I think that agreeing on that many rules
in a group of 24 pupils is too hard and the size of 12 is more suitable. I think that the size of
12 kids will bring up discussions, which I as a teacher want to elicit, so they get into a
situation where they have to make compromises and agree on something. Also weaker
students (maybe the ones who have problems with creativity and coming up with new ideas)
get inspired and can learn from “better” (maybe more creative) classmates.The discussion
after the game is being held in the shape of a circle, so the students face and can see each
other. Everyone is sitting and on the same height, which should demonstrate that each
person’s opinion is worth the same (no one is higher). The groups are given “just” 10 minutes,
because I would like them to” learn by doing” and it is possible to answer all the questions in
this time.
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13.2.2) Purpose: In the Austrian curriculum it is written that students should play ball games
that are expanded with simple rules, which in this case they invent themselves. Pupils create
their own playing conditions and play for a certain period. Ideas are developed and before as
well as afterwards, students talk and reflect upon them. Following rules requires a sense of
fair play, which they practice in this exercise. Also cooperative and social behavior is asked.
Ball games usually or mostly involve victory and defeat, which the students have to deal with.
In the circle after the game, students are supposed to reflect and discuss the process, success
or failure of the game, which is also a part of the Austrian curriculum.
Another aspect of this exercise is that the students know exactly what their skills are, so they
are going to adjust the level of the exercise to their own abilities.
Social competences are required and developed, since students have to discuss, make
compromises and consider different levels of skills, so everyone can participate.
13.2.3) Autonomy: To repeat what autonomy is about and what is asked here, I want to quote
Pink again: “Autonomous motivation involves behaving with a full sense of volition and
choice.“ (Pink 2009, p. 90)
In the exercise of my lesson plan, the students have autonomy when it comes to deciding what
ball game they are going to play. Although they have to agree and discuss with other
classmates, they are free to express their personal opinion, come up with ideas and bring in
their thoughts. Within the frame that the teacher gives them (the frame of creating a ball
game, so they can't just create a dance), they have the freedom to make own choices and make
a game that is fun for them.
After they have played, they will sit in a circle and reflect and discuss the process of the
game. Here again, students are free to express their opinion on the game, come up with
suggestions of how to improve it, etc. Because the enjoyment of the activity itself, namely
how creative a student feels when doing a certain task, is the strongest driver and the strongest
form of motivation. (Pink 2009)
Giving them autonomy, letting them be creative and express their own opinion will motivate
them intrinsically.
13.2.4) Mastery: “the desire to get better and better at something that matters.” (Pink 229, p.
111) Through giving them autonomy and having a purpose, it will matter to the students to
fulfill the task they actually put up themselves. If challenge and skills are in balance, the
students will get into the flow-zone and try to achieve a higher level.
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13.2.5) Ziehe's strangeness: This exercise is a good example for bringing Ziehe's „welldozed“ strangeness into the classroom. The students know ball games and how they „work“,
so that there are teams, a goal and one or more balls. Actually, the students themselves bring
in into the game, because they invent rules that do not exist in any other games that they
know.
13.2.6) Differentiation: The differentiation happens mainly before this lesson. Students learn
through different exercises how to control and throw a ball, how to behave in a ball game,
how to be a fair player, etc.
13.2.7) Blankenship's motivation strategies: In my teaching plan I considered to (1)offer a
novel activity, (2)challenge the students cognitively, (3) arouse student's intention to explore
and (4) use a different instructional model. The use of appropriate language (free of
stereotypes) and meeting student's personal interests are not visible in the lesson plan, but are
also thought about.
14) How can other teachers benefit from this paper and how can Ziehe’s
strangeness of my lesson plan (about ball games) be transferred into
other lesson plans?
Being a physical education teacher requires more than the ability to find good exercises in a
book. Adjusting the students' levels, finding variations within the task, being creative,
bringing strangeness into the exercises and giving the students the chance to decide something
within the framework as often as possible, are factors, teachers should consider, because they
will motivate the students intrinsically.
Before I wrote this paper, I wasn’t aware of the fact that there can be so many different
reasons for demotivation and that there is almost in any situation there a way of motivating a
student. Paying attention to what demotivates the student or what circumstances demotivate
him or her is not an easy task for the teacher, but necessary in order to find out how you can
help him or her. So, finding out the reason for demotivation, whether it is the level of the
task/challenge (either too high or too low), the fact that the student doesn’t see the purpose in
the exercise, simply because he or she is not interested, because he or she doesn’t have the
essential competences, etc. is the first step in helping a student to get motivated. From there
on the teacher can go further and “tackle” the problem.
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There are many things a teacher can do to avoid demotivation before a lesson starts, meaning
when he or she prepares the lesson plan, like including the students’ self-worlds or bringing
strangeness into the exercises (Ziehe 2009). Giving them autonomy, through planning
activities where they can choose between different exercises or letting them make choices, is
also something a teacher can do beforehand.
For students, who are not very much intrinsically motivated, it is important to name reasons
for doing a specific exercise and that way giving them a purpose to do it. Those reasons and
purposes can also (and should) be thought about before a lesson starts.
14.1) How can Ziehe’s strangeness my lesson plan (about ball games) be transferred into
other areas of the physical education curriculum?
What I did in my lesson plan, was to bring in a well-dozed strangeness (Ziehe 2009). This can
be done in any field of the physical education curriculum. Being creative and thinking
„outside the box“ is required here. To get an idea of how it could be done, I want to give two
concrete examples:
Dance: Showing the students a „Haka“ in a „YouTube“-video, which they should learn
themselves by using the video as a tool. A „Haka“ is originally a war dance, but nowadays
some Rugby players dance it before they start a game. Since it is not very known, it would be
new to most of the students and the kind of dance is different from all other dances we know.
Especially, because facial expression and shouting some lyrics during the dance is an
important part of it.
Ice skating: Playing ice-hockey in normal shoes instead of ice skates also gives it a
strangeness.
In my opinion, the most important thing when creating lesson plans is to bring variation into
the lessons. It doesn’t always have to be Ziehe’s “well-dozed strangeness” (actually it
shouldn’t be), but e.g., including technology, challenge the students cognitively or letting
them explore things and exercises can make the lessons diversified and motivating.
“If-then”-sentences should be avoided. So extrinsic motivation, positive and negative
consequences, shouldn’t be used.
14.2) What should other PE teachers consider when planning a lesson?
The austrian curriculum provides a good starting position when it comes to planning lessons,
since it covers many different areas and suggests how to practice these. Nevertheless, one
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cannot only take out the exercises and use them in class, because the different levels and skills
of each student have to be considered. Also Ziehe's suggested strangeness has to be created by
the teacher and interests of the pupils have to be found out. A recommendation for a good
lesson plan is to use Blankenship's strategies to increase intrinsic motivation, namely varying
the teaching styles as well as the organization of exercises and groups, including personal
interests, etc. The most important finding in this paper is that extrinsic motivation or an
extrinsic motivator lead to short term motivation and once used or provided it is expected
every time an action is asked.
For teachers this means to avoid offering rewards or threatening with punishments. Increasing
intrinsic motivation through varying teaching methods (Blankenship 2008), including the
student's self world (Ziehe 2009) and differentiation (intratask variations – Blankenship) -and
that way providing different levels so the students can get into the „Flow-zone“.
15) Conclusion
Teachers should be aware of the fact that they have a big influence on the motivation of
students. Of course we should be realistic and not think that every student can be a hundred
percent motivated every PE lesson (since it also depends on his or her mood and the emotions
connected to a specific activity), but still we can try to prepare a lesson that provides
strategies that intrinsically motivate the pupils.
Looking back at my paper, I conclude that finding out the reasons for demotivation and
differentiation (so adjusting the level of challenge to the student’s skills and abilities) are the
most important factors to pay attention to, when it comes to planning a lesson. If a teacher
ignores the different skills, students will not be as motivated as they will be when they get
challenges appropriate to their level. And if he addresses the right reasons for demotivation
and finds a way to get rid of them, a good lesson should be guaranteed.
I truly think that imparting the joy and fun one can have during physical movement and sports
in a physical education lesson and making positive experiences can motivate students to be
physically active outside the school. If they understand the purpose of sports and that it
contributes to a healthy lifestyle, they will eventually change the controller of the play station
for a skipping rope.
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16) References:
Books:

ANDERSEN, Frans Ørsted – „Flow og fordybelse – virkelystens og det gode livs
psykologi”, 2006, Hans Reitzels Forlag

BLANKENSHIP, Bonnie Tjeerdsma, “The psychology of teaching physical
education – from theory to practice”, 2008, Holcomb Hathaway

LAHEY, Benjamin B., “Psychology – an introduction”, 2012, The McGraw-Hill
Companies

PINK, Daniel H., “DRIVE - the surprising truth about what motivates us”, 2009,
Canongate Books
Google books:
 CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, Mihalyi – “Creativity – Flow and the psychology of
discovery and invention”
Link:http://www.google.dk/books?hl=de&lr=&id=aci_Ea4c6woC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7
&dq=flow+csikszentmihalyi&ots=pf6RJ6E8y&sig=3htrD0vjINJGdCNxwz3OU_nVZlY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=flow%2
0csikszentmihalyi&f=false
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 DANIELS, Harry – “Vygotsky and Pedagogy”, 2001
Link: http://books.google.dk/books?id=E-ERD3uiuQC&pg=PA56&dq=vygotsky+ZPD&hl=de&sa=X&ei=NcGOUZDjOsnXObq3g
DA&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=vygotsky%20ZPD&f=false
Checked on: 12.05.2013
Articles
 BRETTSCHNEIDER, Wolf-Dietrich; NAUL, Roland; BÜNEMANN, Andrea &
HOFFMANN, Dirk – „Übergewicht und Adipositas bei Kindern und Jugendlichen“
Link:http://www.wgi.de/media/Pdf/UebergewichtundAdipositasbeiKindernundJugend
lichen_87652.pdf
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 ELMADFA, Ibrahim emer. O. Univ.-Prof. Dr. - „Österreichischer Ernährungsbericht“
2012, 1. Auflage, September 2012
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Link:http://www.bmg.gv.at/cms/home/attachments/4/5/3/CH1048/CMS13487497948
60/oeb12.pdf
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 GRAF, Christine Dr. med. Dr. Sportwiss. – „Übersichten: Bewegungsmangel und
Übergewicht bei Kindern und Jugendlichen“
Link: http://www.zeitschriftsportmedizin.de/fileadmin/externe_websites/ext.dzsm/content/archiv2006/heft09
/220-225.pdf
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 KROMER, Ingrid – „Freizeitempfinden, Freizeitausmaß, freie Zeit – Ergebnisse einer
österreichweiten Studie des ÖIJ“, 2005, Österreichisches Institut für Jugendforschung
Link: https://www.ppoe.at/scoutdocs/series/facts/facts%200705.pdf
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 Lehrplan der Volksschule, BGBl. Nr. 134/1963 in der Fassung BGBl. II Nr.
303/2012 vom 13. September 2012
Link: http://www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/14055/lp_vs_gesamt.pdf
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 USHIODA, Af Ema – “Where does motivation come from?”, 2013, Sproglæreren 1
Internet links:
 HARTL, Thomas Dr. http://www.forumgesundheit.at/portal27/portal/forumgesundheitportal/channel_conten
t/cmsWindow?p_tabid=3&p_menuid=63339&action=2&p_pubid=635813
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 VOITL, Peter Dr. –
http://www.kinderarzt.at/de/lexikon/subject/uebergewicht-bei-kindern-und-
jugendliche
Checked on: 12.05.2013
Pictures:

picture 1: checked on 12.05.2013
Link: http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu/remurphy/2008/02/the-psychology-ofimmersive-le-3/
Checked on: 12.05.2013
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
picture 2: created myself

picture 3: checked on 28.04.2013
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Link: http://withfriendship.com/user/nmicky/zone-of-proximal-development.php
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 picture 4: I edited picture 1
Link: http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu/remurphy/2008/02/the-psychology-ofimmersive-le-3/
Checked on: 12.05.2013
 picture 5: created myself
Videos:

ZIEHE, Thomas: “Attitudes towards science: Values and Identities Among Children
and Youth”, Copenhagen 2009
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17) Appendices
17.1) Original texts from the Austrian Curriculum
1
- “Der Unterrichtsgegenstand Bewegung und Sport hat für die ganzheitliche Bildung und
Erziehung der Schülerinnen und Schüler eine wichtige Funktion. Er leistet im Hinblick auf
deren körperliche, motorische, soziale, affektive, motivationale und kognitive Entwicklung
einen grundlegenden Beitrag. In Bezug auf eine nachhaltige Gesundheitserziehung kommt
ihm eine besondere Bedeutung zu.” (Lehrplan der Volksschule 2012, p.197)
2
– „Die Schülerinnen und Schüler sollen mit individuell passenden Herausforderungen so
konfrontiert werden, dass es weder zu Unterforderung noch zu Überforderung kommt. Sie
sollen lernen, ihre jeweiligen Fähigkeiten und Grenzen auszuloten, die dabei gegebenen
Risiken abzuschätzen und sich entsprechend zu verhalten. Dabei sollen das Selbstvertrauen
gesteigert und nachhaltig die Verantwortung gegenüber sich selbst, gegenüber den
Mitschülerinnen und Mitschülern und der Natur entwickelt werden. Die Schülerinnen und
Schüler sollen deshalb auch befähigt werden, über ihre Eindrücke, Erfahrungen und Gefühle
im Zuge des Sporttreibens in der Natur zu sprechen und sich darüber mit anderen zu
verständigen.” (Lehrplan der Volksschule 2012, p. 201)
3
– „Bewegung fördert das physische, psychische und soziale Wohlbefinden, wodurch ein
wesentlicher Beitrag zur Gesundheit in einem ganzheitlichen Sinn erzielt wird. Durch den
Unterricht soll besonders die Freude der Schülerinnen und Schüler an Bewegung und Sport
geweckt und erhalten sowie wichtige Ressourcen zur Stärkung der Gesundheit aufgebaut
werden.“ (Lehrplan der Volksschule 2012, p. 200)
17.2) Full lesson plan
4
- Lesson plan
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