MPESA Feedback RE: Task Force Recommendations
Recommendation 13
The provincial government not just recommends but mandate the amount of time that
students in kindergarten to grade 8 should spend in physical education/health education
(phys ed/health) classes. This should be implemented before the fall of 2007.
Positives
Increased physical activity time; allows for effective and complete delivery of the
curriculum; equalize opportunities for all children and youth across the province.
This will create a situation where the PE/HE times will be timetabled in and then adhered to.
Especially in schools where there is no specialist PE/HE can be hit and miss depending on
the interest of the generalist teacher who is doing their own PE. Also, as we aim to work on
the creation of healthy active lifestyles, this provides an opportunity to ensure that our
students are actively being educated for a specific amount of time each cycle.
Obviously this is great because it will be the only subject with mandated status and it will
allow schools and divisions to “demand” with more clout that the time allotments be
followed.
Challenges
Increased costs in terms of hiring qualified physical educators; creative timetabling and use
of resources due to facility limitations; don't want it to just become double classes/
recreational/ physical activity, but hope every effort will be made to provide quality
experiences for all; increased prep time for classroom teachers therefore perhaps some
creative timetabling to take advantage of that.
Challenges will definitely be in the areas of having adequate staffing numbers, finding
locations for these classes, having enough equipment to have more than one class at a time
participating, equipment wear and tear with the extra use, and training teachers, so that
they have enough background to offer a varied program geared to the age and ability levels
of their students. Timetabling may also require some adjustment in the length of classes to
incorporate the extra PE/HE slotting.
The reality is it doesn’t matter what is mandated, without improved facilities and staffing
allotments there will not be a lot of quality in some schools. The opportunity is that
divisions can use this to lobby for more money and facilities where currently the status quo
is not enough. Schools will have to come up with a “temporary” plan for implementation. I
say temporary, because it will take a long time to get the facilities upgraded in many cases.
Mandated time may decrease the amount of physical education in some school divisions.
Strategies for training classroom teachers in the delivery of Physical Education will become
an interesting challenge/dilemma. Creative programming in many cases will be required to
get as close to “Quality” as possible. As in most specialty areas there needs to be a
champion for the cause who is motivated and driven to see the development of a quality,
sustainable program of instruction.
MPESA Recommendations for #13
1. Additional money from government to support the costs of hiring additional
personnel.
2. Support for schools/administrators for planning/implementing/timetabling to make
this work Have samples of timetabling and staffing options for administrators to see
and take ideas from.
3. Have mandatory PE training workshops for generalist teachers so that they have new
and updated ideas about what to teach in their expanded time. (Many do not attend
PE inservices because their priorities are with topics they must spend more time on
in their day).
4. Make this teacher instruction practical. Perhaps offer the inservice on a grade by
grade basis. E.g. Grade 2 teachers would learn games, activities and skill
progressions that are appropriate to the grade they are teaching. Many generalists
would like new ideas, and don’t want to spend time doing planning at the inservice.
They have their own methods by now and want to find content.
5. Perhaps the person in the division administration who has PE/HE in their portfolio
could have a divisional meeting with administrators and reps from each school to
propose ways that would work for their division’s schools.
6. There should also be a way of monitoring this mandated time. No one is going to
really make a lot of changes unless they HAVE to, and unless there is some way to
check up on the schools and encourage them and offer suggestions as to the
implementation of this mandate, many will not comply.
7. In my division I had to be realistic and provide “temporary” (see above) solutions. I
have implored the division to lobby for better facilities, but obviously this will take a
long time, so I provided less than ideal ways of increasing time – generally it is
mostly activity time, not really quality physical education time.
Recommendation 14
The provincial government not just recommend, but mandate the current amount of time
that Senior 1 and Senior 2 students should spend in phys ed/ health classes. Schools can
choose to meet the mandated times within the timetable, or use an out-of-classroom model
for up to 20 hours of the mandated 110 hours. This should be implemented before the fall
of 2007.
Positives
Don't know that this is a big change, at least in our division. May have some impact for S1
in our junior highs, but for S2 and our S1s that are in the high school, as a credit course,
this is already being met. Province wide, this will ensure all S1 and S2 students will benefit.
Again, this creates a situation where the time that is felt to be beneficial (as per the
curriculum) will be adhered to. The option of 20 out of classroom hours can be beneficial if
it is spelled out clearly and there is an educational aspect to it. This is a positive for
students who are in schools where facilities and teacher time is limited and offering several
options for those students who don’t prefer the “traditional” type of PE course is difficult.
This could keep those students interested in maintaining their own physical activity levels.
I thought this was already mandated. The “window of opportunity” here is that by allowing
S1 students to earn a part of their credit outside school, the gym can then be freed up for
more 7-8 time in our junior high schools. Also, it begins to allow students to be responsible
for at least a part of their activity.
Challenges
Similar to Recommendation 13, but at S1-S2, no concerns re: prep time for classroom
teachers. I think at S1-S2 more opportunity to use off-site facilities etc.
Many of the challenges would be the same as listed above. However, in the high school
setting the manipulation of the timetable may not be as easy as in an elementary school.
In order to get in the recommended time, some classes may have such large numbers of
students that they have the mandated time, but are not getting the full benefit of that time,
as participation opportunities are limited. More trained staff may be necessary in order to
have workable class sizes and extra personnel to take the classes to alternative locations if
the gym did not accommodate all classes. If the out of class option is chosen, the
parameters of what would be acceptable would have to be clearly defined so that students
are still being physically educated, not just physically active at that time.
I am not sure how teachers would be compensated for the tracking of this time and how it
would show up in the mark. I don’t’ think this would be prohibitive, but teachers would
need some direction and help in setting something like this up.
It is not clear from the recommendation how the 20 hours can be used by the teacher or
student. This may in fact become an outside-of-class assignment in the health aspect of the
curriculum and not activity related at all. This may provide teachers with a more structured
activity component in the program. What exactly does 20 hours translate to in terms of
classes? 20/110 or .18 of course time or (15 cycles x 6 classes = 90 classes / semester;
each class may range in minutes per class from 55 – 80 minutes or 82.5 – 120 hours or
from .24 - .16 of the actual course time).
MPESA Recommendations for #14
1. The recommendations would be same as those listed in #3 above. Teachers should
also create a fully definitive list of what would be acceptable for the out of class
option.
2. Divisions would probably benefit from making a division-wide policy, after consulting
with their high schools and MECY.
3. Schools start with maybe 10 hours outside the day at S1 and maybe work towards
the 20 hours at S2. If the S1’s were able to handle the responsibility, I would
increase it to the 20 hours.
4. A statement from the Department would be beneficial indicating that students are
required to use and account for the 20 hours of out-of-class time for personal activity
or fitness development and indicate what would be acceptable for credit.
Recommendation 15
The provincial government develops a phys ed/health curriculum for Senior 3 and Senior 4
students. This should be implemented before the fall of 2008.
Positives
The recommendation allows the opportunity for students to continue physical education
throughout their school experience. This allows the opportunity to transition from the
existing curriculum to independent pursuit of the concepts learned. Through S3-S4, there
should be a certain amount of choice and independence, however, the teaching is still there
to support the transition.
This would give schools and divisions a reference for creating a credit program that is new
to almost all schools. The situation of having that much more time to fill with a program will
be daunting for many. This curriculum will give schools ideas on how to implement the
program, as well as indicate how to expand the topics to create and maintain student
interest and make it meaningful to their lifestyles.
Again, it is obviously good that it is seen as important. The other part is that if the
curriculum is set where students have all or most of the responsibility for the courses, they
will be learning what it is like in the real world to put activity into their day.
This recommendation will serve to emphasize the importance of this curriculum and provide
opportunities to highlight the relevance to our lives.
Challenges
Staffing, facility limitation, what this would actually look like, etc.
This is like creating a whole new program; so many aspects will have to be considered.
There will have to be many options offered, as to be workable, schools will have to be very
flexible in how the program is offered to the students. The curriculum will definitely have to
encourage and give examples of how to “think outside the box”. Implementing the
suggestions that the students gave during the Healthy Kids task force youth forums would
be very beneficial to the development of a program that the students felt was relevant to
them.
Teacher time, although less if it is outside the day, is still an issue. Tracking and helping all
students with their programs so that few “get lost” in the process will be difficult and the
entire system will have to be very well thought out.
If this were to occur within the school day, there would be huge implications for our facilities
and staffing.
Although there is generally support for this program, there will likely be a backlash from the
community that will place the emphasis of school curriculum on academics. An adult
perception of Physical Education is based on their own experiences. There needs to be a
public relations effort to clearly identify the change in curriculum. There also needs to be a
huge need for the teachers to embrace, endorse, and implement the curriculum.
MPESA Recommendations for #15
1. It should not look the same as S1-S2. (i.e. not just more of the same.)
2. The current survey of existing programs is an excellent start. Working from there, a
writing team would have to be created through MECY as there was for the other
curriculums.
3. Perhaps students could be part of one of the review groups to help assess the
relevance of the curriculum and how it meets their needs.
4. I definitely want these courses to be outside the school day with only the activity
component. I do not believe that it would be doable to add health as there would
need to be a marking component, which again would lead to more time on the part
of the teacher and I don’t believe that we will get much more specialist time.
5. A wide range of course opportunities need to be explored to serve the needs of the
students and their school communities.
Recommendation 16
The provincial government require all Senior 3 and Senior 4 students to complete two phys
ed/health credits for graduation, in addition to the two credits required in Senior 1 and
Senior 2. Schools may choose to include the phys ed/health credits in the timetable or use
an out-of-classroom model. Parents, students and schools should work together to
determine what will work best in their community to help youth take greater ownership of
their own physical fitness, promote the discovery of activities suited to their own individual
interests, and encourage active lifestyles that persist into their futures. This will help
minimize the time students spend away from academic studies and give families, students
and schools more choices about how to include more physical activity into the lives of our
young people.
Positives
Ownership; flexibility;
This would give our students the chance to continue in a program that many enjoy and miss
when they don’t have the opportunity to continue. It will also give schools a chance to
positively influence graduating level students as far as their attitudes towards personal
fitness, activity options and health and nutrition topics as they leave school to begin living
on their own. This option would allow schools to create programs that could be tailored to
the students’ needs and interests. Many students have become bored with the same-old,
same-old sports that they have participated in since middle years. Those don’t have to be
deleted from the program, but emphasize lifetime activities and activities that the students
choose as personal interest topics.
This is an amazing opportunity to develop courses that we know will be attended by all our
students. Let’s do it right!
Challenges
There would have to be decisions made as to whether students will need to have additional
credits to graduate, or can graduate with the same credits as currently required (which
means not taking other courses they may want).
Timetabling, facilities and teacher time will be prime challenges. As this will definitely
increase time (as opposed to the usual one leadership option), many classes may have to
be juggled to be able to include this extra time. As mentioned previously, one of the
options might be to have unworkable class sizes just so that students have the required
contact hours.
This will be successful only if student voice is sought and listened to regarding course
development. We must anticipate opposition and be ready to respond appropriately. Will the
Department require certain parameters to be met in course development or “is the sky the
limit”?
As mentioned previously, the out of class option would have to be strictly defined and
clearly outlined to the students as to what would be acceptable. There would be a challenge
for the PE/HE specialist to create and maintain a workable record keeping and monitoring
system for each individual doing an out of class option.
MPESA Recommendations for #16
1. A public relations initiative should be undertaken by MECY to smooth the road for
implementation. Parents and students need to be assured of the relevance,
importance, need for these compulsory courses.
2. A decision needs to be forthcoming from the Department regarding the “credits for
graduation” prior to these courses being implemented and indicate how the
requirement will affect the students already in the credit system.
3. I think that although there is a lot of flexibility, there needs to be some direction and
support from MECY as to what this might look like in different communities.
4. Look at sample timetables and programs from schools that are currently
implementing extended S3/S4 programs.
5. Look at community programs that students can work with and in to increase their
options. Create a base of educationally aware co-operating partners in the
community who will provide students with quality educational opportunities as they
fulfill their out of class options.
6. The HE component could utilize out of school professionals who would provide
students with lifestyle advice as they progress to living independently.