Premiers Coca-Cola Active Lifestyle Scholarship
Sparking up physical activity
Kellie Reinhold
Bishop Druitt College, Coffs Harbour
Sponsored by
School physical education is recognised as the most widely available resource for promoting
physical activity among children and adolescents.
—Sallis and Mackenzie 1996, Department of health and Human Services
Physical Activity in schools seems to be a constant challenge for those involved. As
teachers we battle with those students who would rather be somewhere else and as a
result try to avoid activity or fumble for weak excuses to get out of Personal
Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE).
Two programs that are offered in the Unites States pose realistic solutions to some of the
problems and issues that we as PDHPE teachers constantly face.
Strategic terms such as new methods, increased participation, variety of teaching styles
and cooperative games are some of the areas these programs address. If we can
incorporate these ideas and utilise some of the training that is implemented in theses two
programs then there is the potential to improve the quality of teaching and learning
within our schools and PDHPE programs.
SPARK: Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids
(SPARK)
In 1989 researchers from San Diego State University received funding to
create, implement and evaluate a physical education program, with the
aim of creating a state-wide model. Project SPARK has, to date, provided
curriculum, training and consultation to teachers, youth leaders
nationwide in 79 states. SPARK programs have documented the
following outcomes:
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Increased moderate to vigorous physical activity in students (50% or
better in SPARK PE classes);
Increased fitness levels as recorded with nationwide fitness testing
program called the Presidents Fitness Test;
Improved teacher instruction;
Improved skill development.
SPARK is a highly motivated, enthusiastic group of people whose
primary focus is on getting students active and empowering them by
providing them with the skills to be active for life. SPARK offers a
variety of programs that cater to the needs of different groups, ranging
from early childhood, after school active recreation, to high school PE.
SPARK is an independent business, and schools contract them to inservice their staff or establish physical activity programs for areas they
believe need instigating or enhancing.
Once contracted, school staff are surveyed to identify areas they believe
need improvement or issues they have in their classes; for example,
unmotivated groups of students or lack of active game time. With this
information SPARK then develops a custom-designed program to cater for the school’s
specific needs.
As part of the implementation, all PE staff attend a two-day training program in order to
ensure the successful in-house support for the program. (One-day programs are also
available). If the school chooses not to in-service all staff, then two or three are
nominated to participate. They are then used as the trainers, in-servicing their peers.
Within primary schools, the focus is on developing the confidence and skills of the
teachers so they can become more actively involved in physical education and fully utilise
time that is allocated to them in this area.
The United States has similar problems to Australia, where most primary schools do not
have a trained PE specialist taking students for their PE time. This can lead to such
problems as:
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Unmotivated teachers;
Teachers who ‘hold back’ due to a lack confidence;
Teachers with little or non training in physical education.
SPARK offers training for staff so they develop the skills to teach movement. This
allows teachers to realise it is possible, even easy, to get students active and involved in
physical activities.
The instruction and manuals that are provided by the program are simple to read and
accessible in layout and format. SPARK is able provide the equipment necessary to run
the games and activities.
Where these measures are not sufficiently able to encourage the staff to meet the physical
education needs of their classes, alternate solutions are provided. These may include
covering classes for staff who cannot physically take the class or where teachers don’t
enjoy physical activity.
The schools where SPARK programs were observed had students who were active at
moderate to vigorous levels. No students were ‘observing’ while games were in play or
trying to avoid being involved. The ideas offered by SPARK were simple, and it meant
time was utilised more effectively. These included:
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Simple ideas such as marking the roll as students do their warm-up, or playing a
simple game, to make time management more effective;
Boundaries and guidelines to allow more activity within lesson time. That involves
the teacher in the first few lessons establishing specific boundaries and guidelines.
From my observations, the SPARK system worked effectively. For example, after a
warm-up run around the field, a student can come back and use any equipment that was
set out in the specific area, 15 basketballs were available to shoot, dribble etc. After all
were back from their run, the balls were quickly returned to the correct area.
SPARK claims their research shows that schools using these new methods have shown
an increase in moderate to vigorous physical activity in PE classes by almost 20 per cent.
(M SPAN research 2000).
SPARK activities promote individual improvement, downplaying some of the traditional
team sports. Where traditional sports such as soccer are used in PE classes they are
modified and less competitive.
High School workshops are designed to incorporate new PE methods, focusing on a
more individualised fitness theme. Team sports are still used but there is less emphasis
on winning at all costs. Teachers learn inclusion activities that ensure every student,
regardless of ability, experiences success in physical activity, then strives to replicate that
success away from PE classes.
Student-centred assessment and self-paced learning are not new ideas, but the SPARK
program provides effective and practical ways to use this in schools. Students have
opportunities to work at their own level, improving as they work through several stages,
and to work in a non-threatening environment. This allows the opportunity for teacher
instruction and assistance to be more individualised.
Assessment techniques, once established within practical units, can work effectively for
both teacher and student. This enables students to determine their own grade through
self-paced learning.
Adaptation
From my observations, this process could be utilised in a number of ways. For example,
a unit based on basketball or ball skills could be structured in the following way:
Levels are determined by staff, ranging from1 to 5 for a variety of skills, such as dribbling
through cones, shooting from free throw, lay up from set position.
Example—Big Ball Unit
Skill
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Dribbling through cones
Dribble through cones competently left and right hand, no cones displaced,
under 10 secs
Dribble through cones, able to use one hand, 3 or more cones displaced,
greater than 25 secs.
Students choose their own starting level and begin practice. Over several lessons, with
practice, further instruction etc. they are able to progress to other levels.
Students can be assessed in two ways:
1. The level they achieve at the end of the unit is their grade; or
2. Students are given a grade depending on how many levels they progressed through.
For example, they may have been at level 5 at the beginning of the unit, but may have
progressed to level 3 by end of the unit. A move of two levels warrants a particular
grade.
Staff would initially set the criteria for each of the levels; however, if used in a senior
class, students may be able to be involved in establishing guidelines for the sport chosen.
SPARK is realistic in their programs and always offers a flexible approach to enable them
to work effectively in different schools. SPARK’s key focus is on increasing physical
activity—it offers ideas, programs, curriculum support and teacher training integrating
new PE methods.
SPORTS4KIDS
The SPORT4KIDS (S4K) program is based in the San Francisco area. Seven years ago
the program started with five schools. Now it has programs running in 85 schools with
new inquiries weekly.
SPORT4KIDS aims to increase the participation levels of children in sport. Coordinators
of this program can work independently within the school, or train current staff how to
implement programs.
S4K believes ‘positive sports programming helps kids of all ages and abilities to learn
basic athletic skills, gain body awareness, build self-esteem and confidence, develop social
skills and make friends.’ (SPORT4KIDS Rationale web page)
Staff at S4K are highly motivated and enthusiastic in their approach to student
involvement.
The S4K program positions itself in the middle of organised sports and playground
sports. S4K staff believe the unique opportunities that playground and modified sports
provide are an essential part of a school sport program because children not only love
them but also learn cooperation, problem-solving, critical thinking and community
building while playing.
S4K is used mainly in middle schools and after school programs, where there is less
instruction and organisation of PE classes and physical activities. S4K programs
complement PE classes where they already exist in schools and provide students with
opportunities for all to be involved.
Unlike SPARK, S4K staff are employed and based at a specific school for the whole
year. They are at the school all day from 8.15am to 5.30pm. Staff are responsible for
organising recess and lunchtime activities for students as well as structured PE classes
during those times. Staff are not qualified teachers but undergo training programs run by
the S4K program.
When a school applies for the S4K program to run in their school, senior students are
invited to participate in a training program to be qualified as assistant coaches.
Assistant coach training involves learning games, minor conflict resolution and
organisation skills. (It was interesting to note that all disagreements over rules are decided
by paper, rock scissors.) These students are then responsible for setting up and running
games at recess and lunch. Incentives such as T-shirts, the prestige of the position of
assistant coach and going to lunch early are major rewards offered to the volunteers. The
S4K staff member at the school then only needs to facilitate the organisation and
running of the assistant coaches.
The playgrounds where I observed S4K in action were fully fenced, all tarred with no
grass (cost-cutting for the school—nothing to mow or water). Students from the onset
are in an environment that does not encourage physical activity. To my surprise students
poured into the playground at recess and lunch and did not stop until the bell rang.
From 10 to 15 different games were set up; the assistant coaches reminded students of
the rules, divided them into teams, and then supervised play. There were approximately
300 students in the playground and all were active. Games that were popular included
handball, dodgeball, flag football and mini-soccer.
In most schools, paid security staff provide supervision and they commented that their
job had become considerably easier since the introduction of S4K, as students were more
active and less prone to picking fights.
S4K staff, as mentioned, was highly motivated and students loved the idea of becoming
an assistant coaches.
Recommendations: Where to from here?
Playground supervision
Something as simple as employing people outside normal teaching staff to supervise at
lunch and recess times opens up opportunities for physical activity for students.
The situation does exist in some schools in New South Wales (e.g. Trinity Catholic
College, Lismore) where other people are employed just for supervision and in the
United States it is the norm. In schools I visited, the principals I spoke to saw this a great
opportunity to employ people who have games, coaching, or a sports background. These
people coordinate sport competitions at lunch and recess where nearly every student can
be actively involved in physical activity.
PE specialists in primary schools
The United States has similar concerns and issues relating to teaching staff in primary
schools, where generalist teachers are responsible for the physical activity of their
students. Research has shown that the basic fundamental motor skills and experiences
that students have in their primary years can deeply impact on their attitude and
participation levels relating to physical activity.
With a limited number of primary schools employing or utilising specialist PE teachers,
students are often disadvantaged through the generalist staff’s lack of time, motivation,
and a lack of skill and knowledge by the teacher taking the ‘active time’. Specialist PE
teachers offer students so many more opportunities, including:
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A wide variety of warm up games;
Expertise in skill activities;
Activities incorporating skill development and fundamental motor skills;
A repertoire of modified game opportunities;
Experience in organising structured mini-competitions and round robins.
An obvious advantage where schools had SPARK-trained teachers was that students
were notably more active, more of the time. Students knew the boundaries and were
allowed freedom within the class to develop skill levels and participate at a level at which
they felt comfortable.
Training and updates
The most practical solution, where there are no specialist PE teachers in primary schools
is for several staff to undertake some form of SPARK training. These staff could then
organise PE for the students, or, as in cases in the United States, run training days for the
whole staff. Feedback from staff, including principals, where there were SPARK-trained
primary staff was that staff were more motivated and confident in implementing physical
activity.
SPARK training also came with easy-to-use lesson plans and the resource book was used
with several lessons being laminated and easily accessed by primary staff.
Simple lessons are excellent for staff on the go. Excuses such as ‘too busy to find new
ideas’ or ‘no time read whole books for different activities’ are not valid with these
simple lesson formats.
My recommendation is that several people be made available to primary schools to inservice staff with SPARK training.
New ways of assessing
Student-centred assessment and self-paced learning are not new ideas, but the SPARK
program provided effective and practical ways to use this in schools for physical activity.
For units chosen within a school, the PDHPE staff would need to establish criteria for
levels and ensure that students were working to their ability level.
SPARK programs did not necessarily mean major changes within PE departments. They
addressed smaller issues, such as time management and organisation skills, leading to
minor teaching changes that made more time available for students to be active.
My recommendation, again, would mean that a person or several people who are
SPARK-trained be made available to high schools to in-service staff.
Both of these programs offer a huge number of ideas and opportunities that are easily
used and implemented into the PDHPE area. There are innovative ideas that encourage
physical activity.
Practical applications using the ideas
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2006 is seeing us trial the ‘level’ idea of assessment for several year 7 units. One unit
encompasses a tabloid of different skills, where levels are set for skill outcomes. This
tabloid is used three times over 10 weeks (beginning, middle, end). Minor games are
played in the unit to develop the skills. When the tabloid is used, students select the
level they want to work at, and the teacher is free to move around the class and assist
with skill development.
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Our school is in the enviable situation of having a primary school on the same
campus. Ideas and results from these two programs have been used as good
examples of what can be achieved in primary schools. This has enabled us the
opportunity to ‘trial’ using qualified PE teachers in the primary school for their PE
time.
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Elective classes, such as Physical Activity and Sport Studies (PASS), are being looked
at next year as a way of integrating high school and primary PE classes. Senior
students can coach and run activities which would enable more individual instruction
for the primary students and, in turn, would encourage participation at both levels.
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Senior elective students in Sport Lifestyle and Recreation (SLR) are going to be
encouraged as part of their assessment to run games and activities over recess and
lunch.
Dissemination of results
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Staff at the school in which I teach have been in-serviced already, and I already have
incorporated several changes to my teaching/management methods to get students
more active in class time. This already has had a flow-on effect to classes that we
combine.
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A teaching resource is underway of new games and warm-ups. Although there are
already many out there like this, it is the format that makes the games and activities
simple to use.
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2006 sees the regional meeting occur in Coffs Harbour for PDHPE for the North
Coast. I have already been in contact with the coordinator and organised a session
time with ideas and resources to be distributed. The network includes Australian
Institute of Sport, DET, and Catholic schools.
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The North Coast Anglican Network meeting, involving all Anglican schools from
Tweed Heads to Port Macquarie, is in January and session times have been
scheduled.
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An article for the Australian Council for Health Physical Education & Recreation
magazine has been compiled and sent to use in their magazine.
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A copy of this report has been made available to Southern Cross University.
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www.sport4kids.org contains a useful handbook that can be printed with warm-up
and modified games. It is under their resource section.