Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health ... · Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health Education Curriculum 5 Education in movement is concerned

Foundation for Active, Healthy Living:

Physical and Health Education Curriculum

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Foundation for Active, Healthy Living:

Physical and Health Education Curriculum

Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health Education Curriculum

© Crown Copyright, Province of Nova Scotia 1998Prepared by the Department of Education and Culture

Contents of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part provided the intended use isfor non-commercial purposes and full acknowledgement is given to the

Nova Scotia Department of Education and Culture.

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Main entry under title.

Foundation for active, healthy living : physical and healtheducation curriculum / Nova Scotia. Department ofEducation and Culture .—

Includes bibliographical references

ISBN: 0-88871-512-9

1. Curriculum planning—Nova Scotia. 2. Physicaleducation—Nova Scotia. 3.Physical education—Curriculum —Nova Scotia. I. Nova Scotia. Departmentof Education and Culture.

613.70716-dc 21 1998

iiiFoundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health Education Curriculum

Contents

Contents

Vision ...................................................... 1

IntroductionPurpose of the Document ................................. 3Curriculum Focus: Active, Healthy Living ....... 3Key Features of the Curriculum ........................ 4

OutcomesEssential Graduation Learnings ........................ 7The Nature of Active, Healthy Living ...............11• The Learning Continuum .............................11• Unifying Ideas .............................................11

Curriculum Outcomes for Physical Education:Grades Primary to 12 ..................................15

• Organizing Strands for Physical Education 15• General Curriculum Outcomes ...................16• Key-Stage Curriculum Outcomes ...............17

Curriculum Outcomes for Health Education:Grades Primary to 12 ................................. 36

• General Curriculum Outcomes .................. 36• Key-Stage Curriculum Outcomes .............. 37

Contexts for Learning and TeachingThe Principles of Learning ............................... 47Principles Underlying the Physical and Health

Education Curriculum ................................. 49The Learning Environment .............................. 50• Introduction ................................................. 50• Balance ....................................................... 50• Inclusion ..................................................... 50• Safety .......................................................... 51• Challenge .................................................... 51• Inquiry ......................................................... 51• Resource-Based Learning .......................... 51• The Use of Technology ............................... 52• Interactive Learning .................................... 52• Homework .................................................. 53

Equity and Diversity ........................................ 54Roles within Education ................................... 56• The Student’s Role ..................................... 56• The Caregiver’s Role .................................. 56• The Community’s Role .............................. 56• The Teacher’s Role ...................................... 57• The Principal’s Role .................................... 58• The Education System’s Role .................... 58

Assessing and Evaluating Student Learning .. 59• Assessment ............................................... 59• Evaluation ................................................... 60• Reporting .................................................... 60• Guiding Principles ....................................... 60• Assessing Student Learning in Physical

and Health Education ................................. 61• Assessment Activities and Strategies ...... 61

Resources ....................................................... 66• Introduction ................................................. 66• Criteria for Selecting Resources ................ 66• The Range of Resources ........................... 66• Controversial Texts and Issues .................. 67• Community Resources .............................. 68

References ....................................................... 69

VisionNova Scotia children and youth living active, healthy lives.

Active, healthy living is shaped by the vision of learners experiencingpurposeful physical activity and developing knowledge of, skills for, andattitudes towards the health benefits of a physically active lifestyle.

2 Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health Education Curriculum

3Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health Education Curriculum

Introduction

Purpose of the

Document

The document addresses twoareas: physical education andhealth education. It offers avision of what the learning andthe teaching of physical andhealth education can becomewhen well-supported by theeducation system andcommunity, and whenstrengthened by collaborationamong students, teachers,administrators, and communitymembers.

It provides a practical frameworkon which educators can basedecisions concerning learningexperiences, instructionaltechniques, and assessmentstrategies, using learningoutcomes as the referencepoints. This framework gives acoherent, integrated view oflearning and teaching physicaland health education, whichreflects current research,theories, and classroompractices. It demonstrates howboth subjects are interwoven, yetare unique in both nature andcomplexity. Each subject ispresented in a similar way.

The physical educationcurriculum has three organizingstrands:

• knowing

• doing

• valuing

Each organizing strand hasgeneral curriculum outcomes,which define what students areexpected to know and be able todo upon completion of study inphysical and health education,followed by key-stage outcomes,which identifying what studentsare expected to know and areable to do by the end of grades3, 6, 9, and 12 as a result of theircumulative learning experiencesin physical and health education.

The health education curriculumis organized under fourorganizing strands:

• The Body, Growth andDevelopment

• Strategies for Healthy Living

• Values and Practices forHealthy Living

• Strategies for PositivePersonal Development andHealthy Relationships

The Foundation for Active,Healthy Living: Physical andHealth Education will be followedby physical education and healthcurriculum guides that willelaborate on the curriculum atspecific grade-level groupings:grades primary to 6, grades 7 to9, and grades 10 to 12.

Curriculum Focus:

Active, Healthy

Living

This curriculum identifies thedevelopment of active healthyliving as an essential componentof a balanced program ofphysical and health education.The concepts of active living andhealthy living are inextricablyinterwoven, both essential inensuring the total health andwell-being of students. Thecurriculum recognizes that thedefinitions of physical and healtheducation are constantlychanging and therefore reflectscurrent understandings of what itmeans to be physically active andhealthy. The curriculum willcontinue to evolve as researchenhances understandings ofactive healthy living in a real-lifecontext.

In the past, physical educationcentred on basketball, volleyball,or sport in general. Today,physical education involves muchmore. It involves movement thatdevelops motor skills, knowledgeof how the body works, and howto keep it working. The emphasisis on personal fitness in whicheveryone experiences success.This curriculum is movementbased and fitness focussed.

Similarly, in the past, healtheducation centred on knowledgeof information such as dentalhygiene and diseases. Today’shealth education, however,enables students to developknowledge, skills, attitudes, and

Introduction


behaviours related to healthyliving. It integrates the conceptsof personal health management,health promotion, and healtheducation.

Active, healthy living isexperienced through participationin a quality physical educationprogram, complemented andsupported by healthy attitudes,behaviours, and skills developedin a quality school healthprogram.

Through the connection of ahealthy body to a healthy mind,physical and health education is akey component for all learning.Physical and health educationprovides opportunities forintegrated learning and contextsto enhance learning within andacross all other subject areas.

The intent of this curriculum is tofocus on students’ needs,interests, and aptitudes, and helpstudents to develop theknowledge, skills, and attitudesnecessary to become active,healthy, lifelong learners.

Key Features of the

Curriculum

• This curriculum is defined in

terms of outcomes.

Curriculum outcomes arestatements articulating whatstudents are expected to knowand be able to do in particularsubject areas. These outcomesare statements also describewhat knowledge, skills, andattitudes students are able todemonstrate at the end ofcertain key stages in theireducation as a result of theircumulative learning experiencesat each grade level in theprimary-to-graduation continuum.Through the achievement ofcurriculum outcomes, studentsdemonstrate the essentialgraduation learnings.

The identification of physical andhealth education outcomesclarifies for students, teachers,parents, and administratorsspecific expectations of whatstudents in Nova Scotia areexpected to know and be able todo at key stages in thecurriculum.

• This curriculum is designed

to nurture the development

of personal well-being

through active healthy

living.

In recognizing and valuing thediversity of students, theeducation system must allow fora range of learning styles,teaching styles, and instructionalstrategies and resources.Learning contexts should beadapted to meet the needs ofstudents with different

backgrounds, interests, andabilities and to provide ongoingopportunities for all students toengage in new learning, basedon previous successes.

• This curriculum emphasizes

the importance of students’

active participation and

engagement in all aspects

of their learning.

Learning experiences shouldimmerse students in activeparticipation in physical andhealth education situations bothwithin the school and in broadercontexts.

• This curriculum is

movement based.

Since the subject matter ofphysical education is humanmovement, it is critical forteachers and students to becognizant of the dimensions ofeducation about movement,through movement, and inmovement.

Education about movementinvolves the cognitive processesthat are concerned with learningconcepts in combination withother disciplines such asanatomy, physiology, psychology,and aesthetics. Outcomes canbe achieved through studentparticipation in games, sport,athletics, aquatics, rhythmics,dance, gymnastics, and outdoorpursuits.

Education through movement isconcerned with the affectivecontribution of movement as ameans to an end. Movement isused to achieve outcomes suchas aesthetic understanding andappreciation, and social interaction.

Introduction


Education in movement isconcerned with the qualities thatare an inherent part ofmovement itself. Movementprovides students withopportunities to participate inactivities that are holistic,culturally significant andintrinsically valuable. Education inmovement is learning how tomove through participating inphysical activities.

• This curriculum promotes

comprehensive school

health.

The essence of the curriculum ofhealth education is thedevelopment of positive lifelonglearning, attitudes, behaviours,and living skills. Health educationis basic to students’ success atschool. It has an impact onstudents’ cognition,concentration, and academicachievement. The general healthof learners contributes directly totheir academic success.

A comprehensive school healtheducation system includes healtheducation support services in theschool and the community, andsafe, health-promoting schoolenvironments.

• This curriculum provides a

basis for assessing student

achievement.

The learning outcomesframework provides referencepoints for teachers to inform theirinstructional practice as theymonitor student progress andassess what students can andcannot do, what they know, andneed to know.

Assessment involves more thana judgement made aboutperformance after learning hastaken place. As a continuous, co-operative, collaborative,comprehensive process,assessment can be a powerfultool to enhance students’learning when it is an integralpart of the learning process.

This curriculum requires the useof a broad range of formal andinformal assessment strategiesand practices to ensure thatcurriculum and assessment worktogether to support studentlearning.

Introduction



Outcomes

Essential graduation learnings

are statements describing theknowledge, skills, and attitudesexpected of all students whograduate from high school.

Achievement of the essentialgraduation learnings will preparestudents for continuous lifelonglearning. These learningsdescribe expectations, not interms of individual schoolsubjects, but in terms ofknowledge, skills, and attitudesdeveloped throughout thecurriculum. They confirm thatstudents need to makeconnections and develop abilitiesacross subject boundaries if theyare to be ready to meet theshifting and ongoing demands oflife, work, and study today and inthe future.

Essential graduation learningsare cross-curricular, andcurriculum in all subject areas isfocussed to enable students toachieve these learnings.Essential graduation learningsserve as a framework for thecurriculum development process.

Curriculum outcomes are statements articulating what studentsknow and are able to do in particular subject areas. These outcomestatements also describe what knowledge, skills, and attitudesstudents are expected to demonstrate at the end of certain keystages in their education as a result of their cumulative learningexperiences at each grade level in the entry–graduation continuum.Through the achievement of curriculum outcomes, studentsdemonstrate the essential graduation learnings.

Outcomes

Essential

Graduation

Learnings


Graduates of the public schools of Nova Scotia will be expected

to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the following

essential graduation learnings:

Aesthetic Expression

Graduates will be expected torespond with critical awarenessto various forms of the arts andbe able to express themselvesthrough the arts.

Graduates will be expected to,for example,

• use various art forms as ameans of formulating andexpressing ideas, perceptions,and feelings

• demonstrate anunderstanding of thecontribution of the arts todaily life, cultural identity anddiversity, and the economy

• demonstrate anunderstanding of the ideas,perceptions, and feelings ofothers as expressed in variousart forms

• demonstrate anunderstanding of thesignificance of culturalresources such as theatres,museums, and galleries

For example, the study andenjoyment of drama, dance,gymnastics, and othermovement forms cultivatestudents’ aesthetic awarenessand strengthen their criticalthinking ability. The physicaleducation curriculum offersstudents opportunities to useand respond to a range ofaesthetic communication formsand to explore and describe theirqualities.

Citizenship

Graduates will be expected toassess social, cultural, economic,and environmentalinterdependence in a local andglobal context.


• demonstrate anunderstanding of sustainabledevelopment and itsimplications for theenvironment

• demonstrate anunderstanding of Canada’spolitical, social, and economicsystems in a global context

• explain the significance of theglobal economy on economicrenewal and the developmentof society

• demonstrate anunderstanding of the social,political, and economic forcesthat have shaped the past andpresent, and apply thoseunderstandings in planningfor the future

• examine human rights andrecognize forms ofdiscrimination

• determine the principles andactions of just, pluralistic, anddemocratic societies

• demonstrate anunderstanding of their ownand others’ cultural heritage,cultural identity, and thecontribution ofmulticulturalism to society

The wide range of experiencesand resources in physical andhealth education broadensstudents’ knowledge andappreciation of social, historical,geographical and culturaldiversity, and enables students toconceive of places andconditions different fromtheir own.

Students experience andinvestigate how forms of danceand games are constructed byparticular social, historical,political, and economic contexts.Such activities develop students’sense of cultural identity andpromote their understanding ofthe contribution of diversecultures to society. Inquiry into arange of issues enables studentsto consider and experienceviewpoints, explore their ownidentities and values, and reflecton the bonds they share withmembers of the diversecommunity.

Through the primary tograduation continuum, studentsare active members incommunities, e.g., family, school,and local, provincial, national andglobal communities.

Outcomes


Communication

Graduates will be expected touse the listening, viewing,speaking, reading, and writingmodes of language(s) as well asmathematical and scientificconcepts and symbols to think,learn, and communicateeffectively.


• explore, reflect on, andexpress their own ideas,learnings, perceptions, andfeelings

• demonstrate anunderstanding of facts andrelationships presentedthrough movement, words,numbers, symbols, graphs,and charts

• present information andinstructions clearly, logically,concisely, and accurately for avariety of audiences

• demonstrate a knowledge ofthe second official language

• access, process, evaluate,and share information

• interpret, evaluate andexpress data in everydaylanguage

• reflect critically on andinterpret ideas presentedthrough a variety of media

Using movement to think, learn,and communicate is of centralimportance in the physicaleducation curriculum. On a dailybasis students use movement, informal as well as informalsituations, to express, extend,clarify, and reflect on theirthoughts, ideas, and experiencesand to consolidate their learning.The curriculum builds students’awareness of the movementskills, strategies, and processesthey use to learn, and the waysthey use movement to extendand demonstrate their learning inother subject areas.

The health curriculumemphasizes verbal and non-verbal communication that isprecise, clear, and engaging. Thecurriculum offers studentsopportunities to use oral, writtenand visual language to developand communicate theirunderstanding and ideas onhealth issues in a range ofcontexts. The ability tocommunicate health issuesclearly and effectively involvesthe correct and appropriate useof language. Communicationskills are necessary to allowstudents to deal with healthissues on a daily basis. Learningexperiences enable students toexpress feelings, emotions, andpersonal opinions, and torespond to those of others.

Personal Development

Graduates will be expected tocontinue to learn and to pursuean active, healthy lifestyle.


• demonstrate preparedness forthe transition to work andfurther learning

• make appropriate decisionsand take responsibility forthose decisions

• work and study purposefully,both independently and ingroups

• demonstrate anunderstanding of therelationship between healthand lifestyle

• discriminate among a widevariety of career opportunities

• demonstrate coping,management, andinterpersonal skills

• demonstrate intellectualcuriosity, an entrepreneurialspirit, and initiative

• reflect critically on ethicalissues

Physical education and active,healthy living are essential forsuccess in life, including furthereducation, work, and socialinteraction. Well-developedmovement knowledge andabilities are essential for thelifelong learning required to liveand work in a changing world.The physical and healtheducation curriculum offersopportunities for experiencesthat foster students’ growth as

Outcomes


collaborative and independentlearners who can takeresponsibility for their own healthand lifestyle. Physical and healtheducation experiences helpstudents build strongrelationships, put them in touchwith themselves and others, andprovide opportunities to co-operate and negotiate withothers.

Enjoyment of active healthy livingpursuits can lead to an enricheduse of leisure time. Thecurriculum provides studentswith opportunities to develop thehabit of being active on a dailybasis and to recognize activity asa rewarding pursuit thatenhances a healthy lifestyle.Learning experiences focus onstudents’ ability to value theimportance of personal physicalfitness for active, healthy living.

Problem Solving

Graduates will be expected touse the strategies and processesneeded to solve a wide variety ofproblems, including thoserequiring language,mathematical, and scientificconcepts.


• acquire, process, and interpretinformation critically to makeinformed decisions

• use a variety of strategies andperspectives with flexibilityand creativity for solvingproblems

• formulate tentative ideas andquestion their ownassumptions and those ofothers

• solve problems individuallyand collaboratively

• identify, describe, formulate,and reformulate problems

• frame and test hypotheses

• ask questions, observerelationships, makeinferences, and drawconclusions

• identify, describe, andinterpret different points ofview and distinguish fact fromopinion

The physical and healtheducation curriculum buildsstudents’ awareness of a rangeof strategies and processes usedto solve problems. Studentsapply critical, analytical, andcreative thinking to identify andsolve problems, makingdecisions collaboratively andindependently. The curriculuminvites students to think about,discuss, and solve problems bothphysically and intellectually, usinga variety of processes,resources, andtechnologies.

Technological

Competence

Graduates will be expected touse a variety of technologies,demonstrate an understanding oftechnological applications, andapply appropriate technologiesfor solving problems.


• locate, evaluate, adapt,create, and share information,using a variety of sources andtechnologies

• demonstrate anunderstanding of and useexisting and developingtechnologies

• demonstrate anunderstanding of the impactof technology on society

• demonstrate anunderstanding of ethicalissues related to the use oftechnology in a local andglobal context

Students use a range oftechnologies in the process oflearning in physical and healtheducation. They can usecomputer technology for fitnessassessment and nutritioncomparison and analysis.Students have the opportunity toexplore the technology ofequipment used in the fields ofphysical activity and health andto debate the societal issuesrelated to the use of technologyin society.

The curriculum offers studentsthe opportunity to usecomputers, software, databases,electronic mail, and emergingfeatures of telecommunication,audio, video production, andplayback.

Outcomes


The Nature of

Active, Healthy

Living

Active, healthy living provideslearners with experiences thatrequire them to take personalresponsibility for their active,healthy lifestyle. The study ofphysical and health educationmakes the connection betweenphysical activity and health. Theneed for students to participatein regular physical activity is oneof the prerequisites for theirachieving optimum health.

It is well recognized that physicalactivity can enhance emotionaland social growth, academicachievement, and intellectualdevelopment. Opportunities areprovided to help studentsbecome caring, thoughtful,responsible individuals who plan,review, and make informeddecisions for their personal well-being.

An active, healthy school climateenhances learning and fosters apositive psychological and socialatmosphere free fromdiscrimination, harassment, andintimidation. It offers each learneropportunities to grow as aperson who is physicallyeducated, academicallycompetent, socially comfortable,and empowered to makedecisions and take responsibilityfor his/her life, now and in thefuture.

The Learning Continuum

At any grade level, students arelikely to be at different stages ofthe developmental process. Thecurriculum at each level,therefore, should focus on

• expanding students’knowledge base

• extending the range ofstrategies each student usesto construct meaning

• extending the range ofmovement experiences andlife skills each student caninterpret, respond to, andcreate

• providing consistent challengeand support to enablestudents to grow beyond theircurrent levels of achievementas students grow inexperience and maturity

The learning continuumrecognizes that students learnand represent their knowledge indiverse ways, learning throughintelligences such as bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, spatialintelligence, linguisticintelligence, logical-mathematicalintelligence, musical intelligence,interpersonal intelligence, andintrapersonal intelligence.

Unifying Ideas

The physical and healtheducation curriculum is unified bya continuum of experiences andinteraction in which studentsintegrate physical and healtheducation to

• assess, design, achieve, andmaintain a level of personalhealth and fitness

• accept and appreciate thedifferences between selfand others

• value physical activity and itsimpact upon their physical,intellectual, emotional, andsocial well-being

• understand risk, safetyfactors, and appropriatebehaviours associated with anactive, healthy lifestyle

• recognize and fulfil theirhuman development potential

• relate to and interact withothers in meaningful andhealthy relationships

These purposes are bestaccomplished throughmeaningful learning experiencesthat balance and integrate theprocesses of the physical andhealth education curriculum.

Outcomes

Curriculum Outcomesfor Physical Education:Grades Primary to 12



Curriculum Outcomes for Physical

Education: Grades Primary to 12

Outcomes

Knowing

Through active living, studentswill know how to makeappropriate choices and setpersonal goals that enhance thequality of their lives. They willunderstand the implications ofand the benefits frominvolvement in physical activities.

Doing

Movement provides a uniquemedium in which students canbe physically active and creative.Opportunities to participate in awide range of activities thatpromote well-being, will beprovided. Maintaining personalfitness is an inherent part ofevery doing outcome.

Valuing

Positive personal and socialbehaviours and interpersonalskills will be developed throughactive involvement in a variety ofphysical activities. Students willbe expected to develop respectfor themselves and for othersthrough activity, co-operation,and communication.

Organizing Strands for Physical Education

The general curriculum outcomes are grouped in three organizing strands: knowing, doing, and valuing.All three strands are present in key-stage curriculum outcomes (grades P–3, 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12) andspecific curriculum outcomes. Physical education is holistic and embraces knowledge, activity, andvalues.


General Curriculum Outcomes

The following general curriculum outcome statements identify what students are expected to know andbe able to do upon completion of study in physical education.

Outcomes

Knowing

Students will be expected to

• demonstrate anunderstanding of theconcepts that support humanmovement

• demonstrate a knowledge ofthe components andprocesses needed to developand maintain a personal levelof functional fitness

Doing


• demonstrate motor skills in allmovement categories usingefficient and effective bodymechanics

• participate regularly in avariety of activities thatdevelop and maintain personalphysical fitness

• demonstrate creativity in allmovement categories

Valuing


• demonstrate positive personaland social behaviours andinterpersonal relationships

• demonstrate positive attitudestoward an appreciation ofphysical activity throughparticipation

• demonstrate awareness ofcareer and occupationalopportunities related tophysical activities


Key-Stage Curriculum

Outcomes

Key-stage curriculum outcomesare statements that identify whatstudents are expected to knowand be able to do by the end ofgrades 3, 6, 9, and 12 as a resultof their cumulative learningexperiences in physicaleducation.

Outcomes at the four key stagesreflect a continuum of learning.While there may appear to besimilarities in outcomes atdifferent key stages, teachers willrecognize the increase inexpectations for students at thevarious key stages according to

• the developmental nature oflearning physical educationprocesses

• students’ independence aslearners and participants

• the complexity andsophistication of ideas, skills,and tasks

• the level or depth of students’understanding of ideas, skills,and tasks

• the range of physicaleducation experiences andthe repertoire of strategiesand skills students apply tothose experiences

For each key stage, the orderingof outcomes is not intended tosuggest any priority, hierarchy, orinstructional sequence. Whilethese outcomes provide aframework on which teachersmay base decisions concerninginstruction and assessment, theyare not intended to limit thescope of learning experiences inany key stage. Although it isexpected that most students willbe expected to attain the key-stage curriculum outcomes,some students’ performance willrange across key stages.Teachers should take thisvariation into consideration asthey plan learning experiencesand assess student’s learning.Students’ experiences,knowledge, abilities, andengagement in learning will alsoinfluence their abilities to achievethe key-stage curriculumoutcomes.

Curriculum guides at gradesprimary to 6, grades 7 to 9, andgrades 10 to 12 levels containdetails of the specific curriculumoutcomes at each grade level.These guides elaborate onprogram design andcomponents, the developmentalnature of learning, grade levelcurriculum outcomes, learningexperiences, instructional andassessment strategies, andsuggestions for resourcessupport.

The manipulation of instructionalvariables, such as time,classroom organization, teachingtechniques, and assessmentstrategies, may be necessary toenable students to meet orextend their learning beyond theexpected learning outcomes.When the manipulation ofinstructional variables is notsufficient to address studentneeds in the context of theprescribed curriculum, anindividual program plan (IPP)should be developed within thecontext of the general curriculumoutcomes for each core program.For further information onprogram adaptation andindividual program plans (IPPs),refer to Special Education PolicyManual (Nova Scotia:Department of Education andCulture 1996).

Outcomes


Knowing

By the end of grade 3, students will be expected to By the end of grade 6, students will be expected tohave achieved the outcomes for all previous yearsand to

• describe the benefits of warm-up and cool-down activities

• identify factors to consider when planningoutdoor activities and the impact of physicalactivities on the environment

• create and explain games in a variety ofenvironments and movement categories

• identify the role that strategy plays in a varietyof activities

• identify and factors that contribute to a safeenvironment for all physical activity

Outcomes

• identify the parts of the human body

• identify warm-up and cool-down activities

• identify ways of moving safely and sensitivelythrough all enviornments

• create and explain games that use specific skills

• select and combine activity-specific motor skillsinvolved inindividual and group activities

• identify roles in a variety of physical activities

Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts thatsupport human movement.


Knowing

Outcomes

By the end of gade 12, students will be expectedto have achieved the outcomes for all previousyears and to

By the end of grade 9, students will be expected tohave achieved the outcomes for all previous yearsand to

• understand the role of body parts in movement

• plan appropriate warm-up and cool-downactivities

• develop knowledge of outdoor living skills andapply it in planning activities that demonstratesensitivity to the environment

• analyse and explain the relationship betweenchanges in body growth and the effects onmovement skills and concepts

• plan activity-specific motor skills in allmovement categories and alternativeenvironments

• identify certification opportunities in selectedareas related to physical activity

• plan age appropriate warm-up and cool-downactivities for others in a variety of specificmovement categories

• apply the principles of first aid

• analyse efficient and effective movement

Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts thatsupport human movement.


Knowing


• describe how activity affects body systems andlevels of fitness

• select activities that promote personal fitnessand active, healthy living

• set and modify goals to develop personalfitness and motor abilities

• identify factors that affect choices of physicalactivity for life

• explain the relationship between nutritionalhabits and personal well-being

• demonstrate an understanding of the benefitsthat physical activity and relaxation play instress and anger management

Outcomes

• describe the benefits of physical activity

• identify changes in personal growth anddevelopment

• describe the changes that take place in thebody during physical activity

• identify good nutritional habits

Students will be expected to demonstrate a knowledge of the components andprocesses needed to maintain a personal level of functional fitness.


Knowing

By the end of grade 12, students will be expectedto have achieved the outcomes for all previousyears and to

• analyse factors that effect choices of physicalactivity for life

• plan and assess personal fitness and activityprograms using the principles of training

• analyse and evaluate personal physiologicalchanges to the body before, during, and afterphysical activity

• design, analyse, and modify nutrition programsfor self and others

• design a plan for stress management andrelaxation

• identify and describe the affects ofperformance enhancers

• demonstrate an understanding of the impactthat activity has on the environment

Outcomes

Students will be expected to demonstrate a knowledge of the components andprocesses needed to maintain a personal level of functional fitness.

• identify and describe the benefits of activehealthy living

• plan and assess personal fitness for activehealthy living

• analyse and explain the effects that nutrition,fitness, and physical activity have on the bodysystems before,during, and after exercise

• identify and describe factors that affect choisesof physical activity for life

• demonstrate an understanding of the conceptof time and effort as it relates to theeffectiveness of a personal fitness program;both physically and mentally

• identify appropriate activities for personal stressmanagement and relaxation

• design nutrition programs for self and others



Doing


• select and perform more complex movementsequences using elements of body awareness,space awareness, qualities and relationships

• select, combine, and perform locomotor andnon-locomotor skills in movement sequences,alone and with others, with and without objects

• refine dance patterns from a variety of danceforms alone and with others

• demonstrate ways to send and receive anobject with increasing accuracy alone and withothers

• demonstrate basic offensive and defensivestrategies

• identify and use principles of mechanics toimprove performance in all movementcategories

• demonstrate activity-specific motor skills in atleast one alternative environment.

Outcomes

Students will be expected to demonstrate motor skills in all movement categories usingefficient and effective body mechanics.

• perform simple movement sequences usingelements of body awareness, space awareness,and qualities of speed and force

• select and perform locomotor and non-locomotor skills in simple sequences, alone andwith others, with and without objects

• demonstrate basic dance steps and patternsalone and with others

• demonstrate ways to retain possession ofan object

• demonstrate ways to send and receive anobject using a variety of body parts and objects

• demonstrate and perform activity-specific motorskills alone and with others

• demonstrate ways to project an object using avariety of body parts and movements

• demonstrate activity-specific motor skills in atleast one alternative environment


Students will be expected to demonstrate motor skills in all movement categories usingefficient and effective body mechanics.


• apply the elements of movement in a varietyof activities

• analyse and evaluate performance of movementskills of self and others in a variety of activities

• analyse and modify movement sequences skillsand concepts to reflect body changes

• demonstrate competence in a selection ofactivity-specific motor skills from a variety ofmovement categories

• plan, apply, and assess activity-specific motorskills in a variety of alternative environments

Outcomes


• apply movement sequence skills and conceptsin a variety of activities

• select, perform, and evaluate movementsequences using a variety of small and largeapparatus

• demonstrate manipulative skills with increasedspeed,accuracy, and distance

• appply the principles of mechanics to improveperformance in all movement categories

Doing


Students will be expected to participate regularly in a variety of activities that developand maintain personal physical fitness.


• participate in daily vigorous physical activities todevelop components of fitness and motorabilities

• demonstrate warm-up and cool-down activities

Outcomes

Doing

• participate daily in vigorous physical activities,with frequent rest periods

• participate in warm-up and cool-down activities


Students will be expected to participate regularly in a variety of activities that developand maintain personal physical fitness.


• participate in activities that develop personalphysical fitness for active healthy living

• lead appropriate warm-up and cool-downactivities with peers


• apply principles of safety and survival to avariety of activities in all movementenvironments

• obtain certification in selected areas related tophysical activity

• plan and apply activity programs to developpersonal physical fitness and active,healthy living

• lead age-appropriate warm-up and cool-downactivities for others in a variety of specificmovement categories

• participate in activities that develop personalphysical fitness for active, healthy living

• demonstrate an understanding of the role ofsport, recreation, and fitness in society

Outcomes

Doing


Students will be expected to demonstrate creativity in all movement categories.


• demonstrate ways to use the creative processto develop dances, alone and with others

• perform and evaluate sequences using smallequipment and/or large apparatus, alone andwith others

• perform activity-specific motor skills in creatingindividual, and group activities

Outcomes

Doing

By the end of grade 3, students will be expected to

• perform simple movement sequences usingelements of body and space awareness

• respond to a variety of external stimuli to createmovement sequences alone and with others

• using a variety of themes (e.g., shape, balance,weight transfer), create sequences using smallequipment and/or large apparatus, alone andwith others

• create and explain games that use specific skills


Students will be expected to demonstrate creativity in all movement categories.


• perform dances alone and with others in avariety of dance forms

• research and present a dance, game, or activityfrom another culture to classmates and otheraudiences

• link cultural customs and traditions withfunctional fitness


• understand the value of tradition and customswith regard to the impact of activity

• research and explore a variety of forms ofmovement and expression

• create, choreograph, and perform dances aloneand with others in a variety of dance forms

Outcomes

Doing


Students will be expected to demonstrate positive personal and social behaviours andinterpersonal relationships.


• follow rules, routines, and procedures of safetyin a variety of activities from all movementcategories

• assume responsibility for various roles whileparticipating in physical activity

• demonstrate a willingness to participatecooperatively in physical activity with others ofvarious abilities, interests, and social andcultural backgrounds

• identify leadership skills used when participatingin physical activity

• demonstrate effective communication with apartner and in a small group

Outcomes

Valuing

• listen to directions, follow rules and routines,and stay on task while participating in physicalactivity

• demonstrate safe behaviours when participatingin physical activity

• demonstrate self-confidence when participatingin physical activity

• display a willingness to share ideas, space, andequipment when participating co-operativelywith others

• demonstrate the ability to accept responsibilityfor assigned roles when participating in physicalactivity

• display a willingness to work with others ofvarious abilities, interests, and social andcultural backgrounds

• demonstrate effective communication with apartner and in a small group


Students will be expected to demonstrate positive personal and social behaviours andinterpersonal relationships.


• select and apply rules, routines, and proceduresof safety in a variety of activities from allmovement categories

• demonstrate positive behaviours that indicateself-respect and self-confidence whenparticipating in physical activity

• demonstrate appropriate social behaviour whenworking cooperatively in group activities

• demonstrate positive behaviours that indicaterespect for the abilities, interests, and inter- andintra-cultural backgrounds of others

• describe and apply leadership skills related tophysical activity


• apply appropriate rules, routines, andprocedures of safety to new andfamiliar activities

• apply positive behaviours that indicateappreciation for abilities, interests, and culturalbackgrounds of self and others

• apply appropriate social behaviour whileworking cooperatively in group activities

• apply leadership skills related to physical activity

• initiate the planning and implementation ofevents and programs in the school andcommunity

Outcomes

Valuing


Students will be expected to demonstrate positive attitudes toward and an appreciationof physical activity through participation.


• demonstrate and promote etiquette and fair play

• demonstrate a willingness to participate in avariety of activities from all movementcategories

Outcomes

Valuing

• demonstrate and promote fair play

• demonstrate behaviours that indicate interest inand enjoyment of physical activity

• demonstrate an appreciation of play activities inall environments


Students will be expected to demonstrate positive attitudes toward and an appreciationof physical activity through participation.



• demonstrate an understanding of the value ofparticipating in a wide range of activities

• demonstrate an understanding of theimportance of personal physical fitness foractive, healthy living



• demonstrate an understanding of the value ofthe importance of personal, physical fitness foractive, healthy living

• demonstrate an understanding of the value ofthe importance of minimizing the impactactivities have on the environment

Outcomes

Valuing


Students will be expected to demonstrate an awareness of career and ccupationalopportunities related to physical activities.


• identify careers related to physical activity

Outcomes

Valuing

• demonstrate an appreciation of the roles ofphysical activity leaders within the school andcommunity


Students will be expected to demonstrate an awareness of career and ccupationalopportunities related to physical activities.


• identify the knowledge, skills, and personalattributes required to qualify for specific careersrelated to physical activity


• select and participate in work experience andcareer opportunities related to physical activity

Outcomes

Valuing

Outcomes

Curriculum Outcomesfor Health Education:Grades Primary to 12


General Curriculum Outcomes

The following curriculum outcome statements identify what students will be expected to know and beable to do upon completion of study in health education.

The Body Growth and Development

• Students will be expected to demonstrateknowledge of the body, body functions, andgrowth and development.

Strategies for Healthy Living

• Students will be expected to demonstrateknowledge, skills, and attitudes that contributeto active, healthy living.

Values and Practices for Healthy Living

• Students will be expected to demonstrateknowledge of factors that contribute to healthyliving values and practices.

Strategies for Positive Personal

Development and Healthy Relationships

• Students will demonstrate the knowledge, skills,and attitudes necessary to live happily andproductively as individuals, within a family, andwithin the community.

Outcomes

Curriculum Outcomes for Health

Education: Grades Primary to 12


Key-Stage Curriculum

Outcomes

Key-stage curriculum outcomesare statements that identify whatstudents are expected to knowand be able to do by the end ofgrades 3, 6, 9, and 12 as a resultof their cumulative learningexperiences in health education.

Outcomes at the four key-stagesreflect a continuum of learning.While there may appear to besimilarities in outcomes atdifferent key-stages, teachers willrecognize the increase inexpectations for students at thevarious key-stages according to

• the developmental nature ofthe learning process

• students’ independence aslearners and participants

• the complexity andsophistication of ideas, skills,and tasks

• the level or depth of studentsunderstanding of ideas, skills,and tasks

• the range of health educationexperiences and therepertoire of strategies andskills that students apply tothose experiences

For each key stage, the orderingof outcomes is not intended tosuggest any priority, hierarchy, orinstructional sequence. Whilethese outcomes provide aframework on which teachersmay base decisions concerninginstruction and assessment, theyare not intended to limit thescope of learning experiences inany key stage. Although it isexpected that most students willbe expected to attain the key-stage curriculum outcomes,some students’ performance willrange across key stages.Teachers should take thisvariation into consideration asthey plan learning experiencesand assess students on thevarious outcomes. Students’experiences, knowledge,abilities, and engagement inlearning will also influence theirabilities to achieve the key-stagecurriculum outcomes.

Curriculum guides at the primaryto grade 6, grades 7 to 9, andgrades 10 to 12 level containdetails of the specific curriculumoutcomes at each grade level.These guides elaborate onprogram design andcomponents, the developmentalnature of learning, grade levelcurriculum outcomes, learningexperiences, instructional andassessment strategies, andsuggestions for resourcesupport.

Outcomes


Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the body, body functions, andgrowth and development.


• demonstrate a knowledge of body organs andbody systems

• demonstrate a knowledge of the roles of thebody systems and how they work together

• demonstrate an awareness of growth anddevelopment from the primary years to puberty

Outcomes

The Body, Growth, and Development

• demonstrate a knowledge of externalbody parts

• demonstrate a knowledge of the functions ofthe external body parts

• demonstrate an awareness of the growth andchanges that take place in the body from birthto the primary years



Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the body, body functions, andgrowth and development.


• explain the inter-relationships of systems in thehuman body

• demonstrate a knowledge of the functions ofthe inter-related systems of the body

• demonstrate an understanding of the changesthat develop through all life stages


• compare and contrast mechanisms used byorganisms to maintain homeostasis (Foundationfor the Atlantic Canada Science Curriculum(Science Foundation) (Halifax: Department ofEducation and Culture, 1998))

• determine how cells use matter and energy tomaintain organization necessary for life(Science Foundation)

• demonstrate an understanding of the structureand function of genetic material(Science Foundation)

Outcomes

The Body, Growth, and Development


Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes thatcontribute to active, healthy living.


• develop an understanding of the importance ofa healthy diet to physical and mental well-being

• demonstrate ways of refusing unknown and/orharmful substances

• demonstrate a range of strategies to enhancesafety

• demonstrate a knowledge of the causes andprevention of disease

• demonstrate a knowledge of the appropriatestrategies for sharing and expressing feelingsand emotions

• demonstrate a knowledge of hygiene

• demonstrate a knowledge of health-relatedfitness

Outcomes


• demonstrate a knowledge of healthy eating

• identify safe and unsafe substances at homeand in the community

• develop knowledge of safety rules andprocedures

• demonstrate knowledge of the characteristicsand prevention of common childhood diseases

• demonstrate strategies for the management ofa range of feelings and emotions


• demonstrate a knowledge of health-relatedfitness


Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes thatcontribute to active, healthy living.


• demonstrate the knowledge of food sciencerequired for making responsible choicesregarding diet

• develop an understanding of the effects andconsequences of addictive behaviours

• demonstrate problem-solving and assertivenessskills as they apply to safety demonstrate aknowledge of healthy living practices thatcontribute to disease prevention

• demonstrate a knowledge of appropriatestrategies for sharing and expressing feelingsand emotions


• demonstrate a knowledge ofhealth-related fitness


• explore Canadian food heritage and foods ofother countries for the purpose of developing anappreciation of the impact of historical andcultural food choices (Family Studies (Halifax:Department of Education and Culture, 1993))

• demonstrate the knowledge of how lifestyleaffects one’s well-being and nutritional status forthe purpose of monitoring their personaldecisions about food choices and health, now,and in the future (Family Studies)

• explore nutrition-related health concerns andcommunity support services students willunderstand the importance of preventive healthcare (Family Studies)

• select and participate in physical activities thatwill increase personal levels of physical fitness(Physically Active Lifestyles (PAL) (Halifax:Department of Education and Culture, 1996))

• make informed decisions regarding the physicalbenefits of various activities in high school andadult life and participate in a range of theseactivities (PAL)

Outcomes



Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of factors that contribute tohealthy living values and practices.


• demonstrate a knowledge of family dynamics,values, and practices that influence studentdevelopment

• demonstrate a knowledge of the roles andresponsibilities of informal and formalcommunity groups

• demonstrate a knowledge of how society’svalues, attitudes, and behaviours changethrough time

• demonstrate pro-active strategies thatcontribute to a healthy environment

• demonstrate a knowledge of how communitiesaccept and support people of diverse culturesand people with diverse needs

Outcomes


• demonstrate a knowledge of different familystructures, the role of the family, and theindividual responsibilities of family members

• demonstrate a knowledge of how people incommunities do things together in informal andformal groups

• demonstrate an awareness of changes in self,nature, home, and community

• demonstrate a knowledge of factors thatcontribute to a healthy environment

• demonstrate recognition of people of diversecommunities and people with diverse needs



• demonstrate a knowledge of evolving roles andresponsibilities of families in achanging society

• demonstrate knowledge of the nature ofcommunity living

• demonstrate knowledge of how society’svalues, attitudes, and behaviours changethrough time

• analyse local, national, and global factors thatinfluence environmental decision making

• demonstrate acceptance and support of peopleof diverse cultures and people withdiverse needs


• examine the physical, economic, social, andemotional dimensions of family health for thepurpose of encouraging students to adopt apreventive approach to family well-being(Family Studies)

• explore the meaning of families in historical,social, and cultural contexts for the purpose ofenabling students to understand the nature offamily problems (Family Studies)

• demonstrate ways to manage theirfinances and time (Career and Life Management(CALM) (Halifax: Department of Education andCulture, 1996))

• develop a perception of their position within theconsumer society, and with this knowledge,form a basis for rational decisionmaking(Family Studies)

• show awareness of the range of facilities andservices available to them in their community(PAL)

• make reasoned choices that take into accountvalues, responsibilities, resources, and theinterests of other people, including peoplewhose culture, racial heritage, and family styleare different from their own (CALM)

Outcomes

Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of factors that contribute tohealthy living values and practices.



Strategies for Positive Personal Development and Healthy Relationships

Students will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudesnecessary to live happily and productively as an individual, within a family, and withinthe community.


• demonstrate strategies for effectiveself-management

• demonstrate an understanding of the factorscontributing to healthy relationships

• demonstrate an awareness of the factors thatinfluence responsible decisionmaking

• demonstrate an awareness of differentoccupations and changing male/female roles

• demonstrate an awareness of citizenresponsibilities and volunteerism

Outcomes


• identify thoughtful and caring behaviours in self,friends, and family

• demonstrate an appreciation of the valueof friendships

• identify the steps in the decision-makingprocess

• demonstrate good work habits


Students will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudesnecessary to live happily and productively as an individual, within a family, and withinthe community.


• analyse how support systems contribute toself-development

• understand the dynamics of friendships andother relationships

• demonstrate the ability to research and analyseinformation for the purposes of decision-making

• understand the process of career planning

• demonstrate an understanding of citizenship,volunteerism, and service learning


• demonstrate an understanding of their owninterests, aptitudes, and values (CALM)

• demonstrate a healthy self-esteem and anunderstanding of the importance of personalfitness, fair-play, and healthy lifestyle habits(PAL)

• demonstrate an understanding of lifestyle andrelationships (CALM)

• appreciate the importance of the decision tobecome a parent and recognize the manyfactors and responsibilities involved(Family Studies)

• develop strategies for dealing with marketforces that affect personal and family consumerdecisions (Family Studies)

• demonstrate an understanding of innovativeenterprising approaches to career and lifechoices (CALM)

• relate possible career choices to future lifestyles(CALM)

Outcomes

Strategies for Positive Personal Development and Healthy Relationships



Contexts for Learning and Teaching

The Principles of

Learning

Physical and health educationcurriculum is based on principlesof learning that teachers should ue as the basis of the experences they plan for theirstudents. These principlesinclude the following:

Students construct knowledge

and make it meaningful in

terms of their prior knowledge

and experiences.

In physical and health education,teachers have a responsibility to

• find out what students alreadyknow, can do, and enjoy

• create learning environmentsand plan experiences thatbuild on learners’ priorknowledge and experiences

• ensure the students are ableto see themselves reflected inthe learning resources andexperiences offered inthe school

• recognize, value, and use thegreat diversity of experiencesand activities students bringto school

• provide learning opportunitiesthat respect and supportstudents’ racial,cultural, and social identities,and varying abilities

• ensure that students areinvited or challenged to buildon prior knowledge,integrating newunderstandings with existingunderstandings

Learning is a process of

actively constructing

knowledge.


• create environments and planexperiences that foster apositive attitude towardsactive, healthy living

• provide learners withexperiences which encouragepersonal construction ofknowledge, skills, andattitudes in pursuit of active,healthy lifestyle

• provide learners withopportunities that activelyinvolve them, and arepersonally meaningful in awide variety of experiences

Learning is enhanced when it

takes place in a social and

collaborative environment.


• ensure that activity, groupwork, discussions, andcollaborative ventures arecentral to class activities

• see that learners havefrequent opportunities to learnfrom and with others

• structure opportunities forlearners to participate indiverse social interactionswith peers and adults

• help students to seethemselves as members of acommunity of learners

Students need to continue to

view learning as an integrated

whole.


• plan opportunities to helpstudents make connectionsacross the curriculum, andstructure activities thatrequire them to reflect onthose connections

• invite students to applystrategies from across thecurriculum to solve problemsin real-life situations

Learners must see themselves

as capable and successful.


• provide activities, resources,and challenges that aredevelopmentally appropriateto the learner

• communicate highexpectations for achievementto all students

• encourage risk taking in a safelearning environment

• ensure that all studentsexperience genuine successon a regular basis

• value experimentation andapproximation



• provide frequent opportunitiesfor students to reflect on anddescribe what they know, cando, and value

• provide learning experiencesand resources that reflect thediversity of the local andglobal community

• provide learning opportunitiesthat develop positive self-esteem

Learners have different ways of

knowing and representing

knowledge.


• recognize each learner’spreferred ways ofconstructing meaning andprovide opportunities forexploring alternative ways toconstruct meaning

• plan a wide variety ofexperiences and assessmentstrategies

• recognize, acknowledge, andbuild on students’ diverseways of knowing, doing, andvaluing as they participate inphysical and health education

• structure frequentopportunities for students touse various art forms—music,marital arts, drama, visualarts, dance, movement—as ameans of exploring,formulating, and expressingideas

Reflection is a part of learning.


• challenge their own beliefsand practices based oncontinuous reflection

• reflect upon their ownlearning processes andexperiences

• reflect on their own practices

• encourage students to reflecton their learning processesand experiences

• encourage students toacknowledge, articulate, anddemonstrate their learnings

• help students use theirreflections to come to knowthemselves as learners, tomake connections, andproceed with learning



Principles Underlying the Physical and Health Education Curriculum

• Physical and health educationcurriculum provides studentswith the knowledge, skills,and attitudes fundamental toliving an active, healthylifestyle.

• The connection of a healthymind to a healthy body makesphysical and health educationa key component forall learning.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum is an activeprocess of gaining knowledgeof the construction andfunction of the body.

• Students learn and gain anunderstanding of thesignificance and value of play.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum is developmentallyappropriate and is bestlearned when it is integratedacross the curriculum.

• Students learn best whenthey are aware of thestrategies and processesused to understand andexperience problem solvingrelated to health and physicalwell-being.

• Physical and health educationlearning develops fromstudents’ prior experiences:physical, social and cultural.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum promotes a way oflife in which physical activity isvalued, enjoyed, andintegrated into daily life.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum promotes theprinciples of choice byresponding to learners’individual needs, interests,and circumstances.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum provides a uniquecontribution to lifelongdevelopment of all learners,enhancing their physical,cognitive, social, andemotional well-being.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum facilitates learningprocesses that encouragecritical thinking.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum nurtures self-reflection and consciousnessthat preserve human rightsand the development ofsupportive and sustainableenvironments for all citizens.

• Physical and health educationcurriculum providesopportunities for enjoyment,self-expression, and socialinteraction.



The Learning

Environment

With the principles of learning inmind, teachers andadministrators must plan asupportive environment forstudents by interacting withthem. They must also guide,facilitate, direct, and extend theirlearning.

Introduction

Students need an environmentrich in opportunities to usephysical and health education inan ever-expanding variety ofschool and community contexts.At home, students begin anatural and informal process ofeducation, which continues moreformally in the school setting. Thewider community offers studentsmultiple opportunities toexperience natural andalternative settings for physicalactivity and to network withhealth-related communityagencies and groups.

Physical and health educationprovides a supportive environmentwhere risk taking andexperimentation are recognizedas integral to learning. As well,an inviting environment ispromoted where discussion andsharing of ideas are common andvalued. These classroomspromote an active, healthyenvironment that immerseslearners in the widest possiblerange of situations and physicalactivity. Active, healthy livinglearning environments arecharacterized by an emphasis

on inquiry, interaction, andcollaboration. Balanced,challenging learning experiencesare supported by a wide range ofresources, including technology.

Balance

When planning learningexperiences, it is important thatteachers include

• physical activities that providethe foundation for growth anddevelopment

• opportunities for students touse talk for differentpurposes, including the use ofexploratory talk to explore andshape their ideas

• access to information on avariety of physical activityenvironments

• experiences appropriate tothe developmental needs ofthe student

• physical and intellectualinvolvement in individual,paired, small-group and large-group activities

• experiences designed,selected, or directed bythe teacher

• experiences designed,selected, or directed by thestudent

• assessment procedures thatgather information on all areasof physical and healtheducation

Inclusion

The goal of inclusive schooling isto facilitate the participation andlearning of all students in schoolprograms and activities. Physicaland health education, with itsemphasis on an exposure to awide variety of activities,provides excellent opportunitiesfor the inclusion of students. Allstudents have the right to beprovided with an equalopportunity to learn about thebenefits of being physicallyactive throughout their lifetimeand be educated to make wiselifestyle choices.

The goals and learning outcomesof a balanced physical educationprogram do not differ forstudents with special needs. Thegeneral curriculum outcomesmay be the same but the specificcurriculum outcomes may differto such an extent that anindividual program plan (IPP) maybe required (see SpecialEducation Policy Manual, HalifaxNS: Department of Educationand Culture, 1996). Somestudents will require adaptationsof instructional strategies,assessment and/or evaluationmethods. Learners will benefitfrom a well-planned physicaleducation program thataddresses motor skilldevelopment, fitness, and socialskills, and leads to an increasedknowledge of the benefits of anactive lifestyle.

Contexts for Learning andTeaching


Safety

Physical activity, by its verynature, involves a certainelement of risk and danger.Programs should not berestricted but they should be wellplanned for all participants,ensuring that activities are ageappropriate, developmentallyappropriate, and conducted in aclean, safe environment.Students should be encouragedto participate in activities whenthey are ready and feelcomfortable. Physical activityshould never be used as apunishment for poorperformance or effort.

Challenge

Experiences that challengelearners are essential todevelopment. Students need toexperiment with movement andtry out new ideas. Whenstudents test their limits, theymay make mistakes, but, in asupportive environment, they willtake learning risks and learnwithout anxiety.

Within an inviting and stimulatingenvironment, all students mustbe continually challenged to

• expand their knowledge baseand physical skill acquisition

• develop a range of strategiesfor knowing, doing, andvaluing to enhance their activehealthy lifestyle

• respond to physicalchallenges from progressivelymore sophisticatedperspectives

• develop increasing confidencewith their physical well-being(including level of comfort,willingness to risk and extend,adaptability, flexibility, valuing,and appreciating)

Inquiry

Active, healthy livingenvironments need to be centresof inquiry where students andteachers investigate their ownlifestyles, both individually and asa learning community. Theyshould be areas where studentslearn to reflect, in a focussedway, on the powers andlimitations of an active, healthylifestyle.

At all levels students need toreflect on their own lifestyles andon the ways in which othersparticipate in active, healthyliving. They need to deal with theproblems of understanding howactive, healthy living works, whateffects it has, and why. This sortof inquiry challenges students’thinking about active, healthyliving.

Such critical and self-criticalperspectives become accessibleto students in environmentswhere they know they are heardand respected and whereteachers are critically aware andreflective. Under thesecircumstances, students canbecome sufficiently self-critical toimprove their work and to adaptwhat they know to a variety ofsituations.

Resource-Based Learning

As students and schools enterthe twenty-first century, theyfind themselves in an era ofrapid change and rapidly expanding knowledge. It is no longe adequate or realistic for studnts to acquire a select body o knowledge and expect it tomeet their needs as citizens ofthe next century. The need forlifelong learning is shifting theemphasis from a dependence onthe “what” of learning to the“how” of learning. Today’sstudents must ”learn howto learn.”

Resource-based learning is aphilosophy that stresses a shiftfrom the use of a singleresource in the classroom to theuse of a wide variety of print andnon-print resources. Multimedia,telecommunication, print, andhuman resources are availableboth in the school and in thecommunity. This philosophy oflearning is characterized by

• learning experiences basedon curriculum outcomes

• students actively participatingin their learning

• teachers acting as facilitatorsof learning, continuouslyguiding, monitoring, andevaluating student progress

• varying locations for learning



• learning strategies and skillsidentified and taught withinthe context of relevant andmeaningful units of study

• teachers working together tofacilitate resource-basedlearning across grade levelsand subject areas

Resource-based learning hasmany advantages. With studentsat the centre of the instructionalprocess, they will

• acquire skills and attitudesnecessary for independent,lifelong learning

• learn how to learn—one of thefundamental aims ofeducation

• interact, share, and participatein a variety of situations

• think critically and creatively,experiment, and take risks,becoming

• independent and collaborativeproblem-solvers and decision-makers

• make choices, acceptresponsibility for thesechoices, and make learningmore relevant and personal

The Use of Technology

Physical and health educationprovides opportunities foravailable and emergingtechnologies to be used as toolsto support learning.Developments in technologyhave encouraged the evolution ofnew opportunities for physicaland health education in video,film, photography, computergraphics, equipment, etc.

Film, television, and other formsof mass communication havecreated larger audiences forexisting and traditional forms ofphysical and health education.Enhanced career opportunities inthe fields of physical and healtheducation are now evidentthrough technological advances.

When given the opportunity toexplore technologies in physicaland health education classes,students will build theirconfidence and competence.Such opportunities shouldinclude

• exploring the application ofCD-ROMs, computersoftware, Internet searches

• using multimedia, virtualreality and other emergingtechnologies

• using listservs, news groups,electronic bulletin boards, andweb browsers

• using a word processor tocreate and develop pieces ofwriting and fitness plans

• using e-mail

Interactive Learning

Learning is both personal andsocial. Movement and languageare social in origin and inpurpose. Teachers should use avariety of social interactions asinstructional contexts includingpairs, small group, whole class,and across-age grouping.

Growth in movement andlanguage situations invitestudents to interact andcollaborate with each other,teachers, and other adults. Suchinteraction allows students toexplore their own ideas, getfeedback, build on insights ofothers, and construct knowledgecollaboratively.

This curriculum emphasizes aninteractive learning environment.Physical and health educationprovides opportunities within andbeyond the classroom forenjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and socialinteraction.



Homework

Research studies show a strongcorrelation between homeworkand academic achievement.Meaningful and positivehomework experiences can

• contribute to personal growth,self-discipline, and learningresponsibility

• reinforce the ideas andprocesses that students havelearned or developed at school

• enhance students’development as lifelonglearners who know how toextend their learning andapply it to other situations

• develop students’ confidencein their individual ability towork independently

• provide opportunities forstudents to reflect on whatthey are learning and howwell they are learning it

• help caregivers to understandwhat their children arelearning and to participatewith them in the learningexperience

• clarify the role of caregivers insupporting their children’slearning

Learning experiences and tasksjudiciously assigned forcompletion outside theclassroom should help students

• recognize that learning occursin many places, not onlyin school

• integrate strategies and skillsinto their daily lives outsidethe school, which enhancetheir active, healthy lifestyles

• make decisions about when,where, and how they canattend to homework inbalance with their otheractivities outside the school

• organize, consolidate, andreinforce their understandingsof what they have learnedat school

• integrate new learning withwhat they already know

• activate prior knowledge andprovide a focus in preparationfor future learning

• assess, design, achieve, andmaintain a level of personalfitness and healthy living

• apply their learning to homeand community contexts

It is important that teachersdesign positive experienceswhich each student understandsin terms of requirements,criteria, and expectations and canapproach with confidence.Activities and tasks should

• be developmentallyappropriate

• provide challenges drawing onthe students’ abilities

• be manageable without homesupport or access toresources, to ensure thatstudents retain ownership oftheir learning



Equity and Diversity

The intent of this curriculum isinclusion. There is a place for theinterests, values, andexperiences of every student andof the many groups within ourregional, national, and globalcommunities. The region ofAtlantic Canada, like all ofCanada, is linguistically, racially,culturally, and socially diverse. Itincludes differences in gender,abilities, values, lifestyles, andlanguages. Schools should fosterthe understanding of suchdiversities.

Physical and health educationteachers are entrusted with thephysical, emotional, social,growth and development, ofyoung learners. It is theresponsibility of teachers to beaware of any barriers which mayinterfere with learning or growth.

In a learning communitycharacterized by mutual trust,acceptance, and respect, studentdiversity is both recognized andvalued. All students are entitledto have their personalexperiences and their racial andethno-cultural heritage valuedwithin an environment thatupholds the rights of eachstudent and requires students torespect the rights of others.

To contribute to the achievementof equity and quality ineducation, the curriculum must

• reflect students’ abilities,needs, interests, and learningstyles

• expect that all students will besuccessful regardless ofgender, racial and ethno-cultural background, socialclass, lifestyles or abilities

• enable students to valueindividual variation amongmembers of their classroomcommunity

Engagement in reflectivepractice is essential to achievinga safe learning environment forall students and is the first criticalstep towards changing behaviour.

As teachers, we are regularlyfaced with equity issues.Reflective practice allows time toexamine individual values andbeliefs. Self-reflection exposesbiases, societal stereotyping, andblind spots.

Teachers have a responsibility to

• examine personal values andbeliefs and let self-reflectionexpose biases

• remove barriers that interferewith children’s growth andlearning

• be a role model whoexemplifies fairness andjustice

• set goals that focus on humanneeds and values as well asfitness, sport skill, etc.

• make the enhancement ofself-esteem a goal of theprogram rather than a spin offfrom it

• offer programs that allowchoices that are notdominated by competition

• offer programs that reflectstudents’ abilities, needs, andinterests

• include enjoyment as aprogram goal

• improve the ratio of positiveto corrective feedbackstatements

• redefine success so that itsfocus becomes improvementand effort rather than peercomparisons

• help students makeresponsible choices

Students learn from theirdifferences as well as from theirsimilarities to peers. To enhancetheir abilities to appreciatediversity, students needopportunities to

• communicate with otherswho may differ in attitude,knowledge, point of view,and dialect

• examine critically differentexperiences and perspectiveswithin social and culturalcontexts

• explore how and why readersfind different meanings in thesame text



• learn about different kinds ofwriting and other ways ofrepresenting experiences,points of view, and waysof thinking

• examine ways in whichlanguage and images are ableto create, reinforce, andperpetuate gender, culture,and other forms ofstereotyping and biases

• use their own voices tounderstand, shape, and sharetheir worlds

• understand, imagine, andappreciate realities other thantheir own

• challenge prejudice anddiscrimination

Instructional and assessmentpractices should

• be free of racial, ethnic,cultural, gender, and socio-economic bias

• recognize and addressmaterials, resources, andexperiences that exhibit racial,ethnic, cultural, gender and/orsocio-economic biases or thatstudents, parents, or teachersperceive to exhibit thosebiases

• promote equity by giving eachstudent optimal opportunity tolearn and to demonstratewhat he/she knows andcan do

• use inclusive language in allcurriculum

Equity will play an important rolein increasing the range ofopportunities for young people toparticipate in activities of theirchoice. This in turn will enhancecompetence, and self-esteem.

Teachers are concerned with thewell-being of all children andequity is an integral part of thenurturing of human social valuesand the preservation of humanrights and freedoms.

Language is a powerful,descriptive tool reflectingattitudes and beliefs. It isimportant to be conscious oflanguage and to chooserespectful and appropriateterminology.

Teachers must accept theresponsibility of using inclusivelanguage in speaking and inwriting. An effort must always bemade to model thoughtfullanguage consistently andsincerely, and in all types ofcommunication (teacher tostudent, student to student,teacher to teacher), as well as inall resource materials.



Roles within

Education

The Student’s Role

In order for students to shareresponsibility for and haveownership of their learning, theymust have choice as well asdirection in their learning.Students should organize theirlearning tasks by

• making decisions about howthey organize their time forphysical and health education

• selecting from a range ofinformation resources tosupport their learning

• generating, selecting, andmaking decisions about theirown activities

• planning individual and grouplearning projects

• exploring areas of individualinterest in independentresearch

• addressing issues and dealingwith problems that areimportant to them

• selecting the mediums oractivities in which todemonstrate their learning

• reflecting on and evaluatingtheir learning

• identifying and expressingproblems, issues, andquestions that arise from thelearning process

The Caregiver’s Role

Parents and other caregivers areimportant partners in educationand have valuable contributionsto make to physical and healtheducation programs.

As well as attending to the basichealth and safety needs of theirchild/children, caregivers can

• work to establish and supportschool policies and goals

• be active learners bydemonstrating that theythemselves lead an active,healthy lifestyle

• encourage their children totake risks as learners

• assist their children to pursuetheir own areas of interestthrough investigating andparticipating in communityactivities in the areas ofphysical and health education

• engage their children inconversations about sport,physical activity, and issues inthe world around them

• share in their children’ssuccesses

• communicate regularly withthe teachers and school

• share areas of expertise,information, and materialswith their children’s teachers/school

• volunteer to assist withvarious activities in theirchild’s classrooms and/orschool as time permits

• participate in decision makingby taking an active role inparent-teacher organizationsand/or school advisorycouncils

The Community’s Role

It is important that all communitygroups view the education ofyoung people as a sharedresponsibility. As partners, theschool and community promotestudent growth by

• finding ways to involve theschool in the community, forexample, seeking the school’shelp with community projectsand making use of schoolfacilities

• creating ways for students tobecome active, productivecitizens

• sharing and exchangingresources, human andphysical

• providing audiences forphysical and health educationprojects and activities

• promoting the flow andexchange of information



• volunteering in a variety ofschool activities

• providing opportunities forstudents to volunteer and toparticipate in communityservice projects

• creating opportunities forstudents to explore theworkplace in the field ofphysical and health education

• encouraging students todiscover and use the social,recreational, and culturalopportunities found in thecommunity

• participating in the ongoingconversation about education

The Teacher’s Role

Physical and health educationteachers have majorresponsibilities in the schoolcommunity as decisionmakers,learners, facilitators, andresources. As members of theschool learning community,physical and health educationteachers need to be physicallyactive, wellread on physical andhealth related topics, and learnalong with their students, sharingtheir thinking as the experiencesproceed. Such implicit andexplicit demonstrations areessential components of studentlearning. Teachers areresponsible for

• structuring and organizinglearning tasks

• selecting teaching strategiesfrom a wide repertory

• providing appropriate directinstruction

• providing knowledgeableguidance and support

• ensuring student access to arange of learning resources

• ensuring that students have awide range of learningopportunities through whichphysical and health educationare integrated and developed

• monitoring, assessing,evaluating, and reporting onstudent learning and activity

• providing appropriatemodelling

• learning about and then usingstudents’ motivations,interests, abilities, andlearning styles to improveteaching and learning

• identifying their own learningneeds and seekingopportunities for professionalgrowth

Since students use movement asa tool for learning and as ameans of communicating acrossthe curriculum, all classroomsare contexts for movementdevelopment. Teachers in allsubject areas, therefore, need tounderstand the role played bymovement in learning, and toapply that understanding in theexperiences and learningenvironments they create andstructure for their students. Forexample:

• Science teachers can helpstudents understand and usethe structures of scientificmeasurement as it applies tohealth and fitness.

• Math teachers can helpstudents interpret statisticsrelated to physical activity andwell-being.

• History teachers can helpstudents to trace thebeginnings of sport andphysical activities and relateits progress to the health ofnations and communities.

• English language artsteachers can help studentsuse and interpret movementas a form of communication.



The Principal’s Role

Principals and other schooladministrators can support thelearning and teaching of physicaland health education by

• working to ensure thatphysical and health educationteachers have appropriatesupport and ongoingopportunities for professionalgrowth

• working to ensure thatphysical and health educationteachers use a variety ofresources and experiencesavailable to meet the needs ofall learners

• working with physical andhealth education teachers toensure that learningexperiences, instructionaltechniques, assessmentstrategies, the learningenvironment, and use ofresources are consistent withthose described in thisdocument

• demonstrating that theythemselves lead an activehealthy lifestyle

• ensuring equitable access toschool facilities, technology,and other learningopportunities

• working collaboratively withphysical and health educationteachers to plan, facilitate,and support physical andhealth education experiencesand related events

The Education

System’s Role

The structure of the educationsystem generally can be definedas including the following:universities and communitycolleges; the Department ofEducation and Culture; schoolboards, superintendents andtheir professional staff; schoolsand school advisory councils, andother parent organizations. Theseorganizations, collectively andseparately, have variousresponsibilities and makeimportant decisions that have animpact on the teaching andlearning of physical and healtheducation. These decisionsinclude

• allocating of personnel, time,and materials (includingtechnology) to ensure that allstudents have access tolearning experiences thatchallenge their abilities anddevelop aptitudes that willprepare them for their roles asresponsible adults

• providing for the professionalgrowth of teachers,administrators, and curriculumpersonnel at school, regionaland provincial levels, insupport of physical and healtheducation


• providing a mechanism foraddressing challenges interms of controversial issuesand texts

• ensuring that the program atall levels is anti-discriminatoryand reflective of a commitmentto redress educationalinequities based on class,race, gender, ability, orgeography


Assessing and

Evaluating Student

Learning

Assessment is the systematicprocess of gathering informationon student learning.

Evaluation is the process ofanalysing, reflecting upon, andsummarizing assessmentinformation, and makingjudgments or decisions basedupon the information gathered.

Assessment and evaluation areessential components ofteaching and learning. Withouteffective assessment andevaluation it is impossible toknow whether students havelearned, whether teaching hasbeen effective, or how best toaddress student learning needs.The quality of the assessmentand evaluation in the educationalprocess has a profound and well-established link to studentperformance. Researchconsistently shows that regularmonitoring and feedback areessential to improving studentlearning. What is assessed andevaluated, how it is assessedand evaluated, and how resultsare communicated send clearmessages to students andothers about what is reallyvalued, what is worth learning,how it should be learned, whatelements of quality areconsidered most important, andhow well students are expectedto perform.

Teacher-developed assessmentsand evaluations have a widevariety of uses such as

• providing feedback to improvestudent learning

• determining whethercurriculum outcomes havebeen achieved

• certifying that students haveachieved certain levels ofperformance

• setting goals for futurestudent learning

• communicating withcaregivers about their child’s/children’s learning

• providing feedback on theeffectiveness of theirteaching, the programs, andthe learning environment

• meeting the needs ofguidance and administrationpersonnel

Assessment

To determine how well studentsare learning, assessmentstrategies have to be designed tosystematically gather informationon the achievement of thecurriculum outcomes. In planningassessments, teachers shoulduse a broad range of strategies inan appropriate balance to givestudents multiple opportunitiesto demonstrate their knowledge,skills, and attitudes. Many typesof assessment strategies can beused to gather such informationincluding, but not limited to,

• formal and informalobservations

• work samples

• anecdotal records

• conferences

• teacher-made and other tests

• portfolios

• learning journals

• reflections

• questioning

• performance assessment

• peer assessment andself-assessment



Evaluation

Evaluation involves teachers andothers in analysing and reflectingupon information about studentlearning gathered in a variety ofways. This process requires

• developing clear criteria andguidelines for assigning marksor grades to student work

• synthesizing information frommultiple sources

• weighing and balancing allavailable information

• using a high level ofprofessional judgement inmaking decisions based uponavailable information

Reporting

Reporting on student learningshould focus on the extent towhich students have achievedthe curriculum outcomes.Reporting involvescommunicating the summaryand interpretation of informationabout student learning to variousaudiences who require it.Teachers have a specialresponsibility to explainaccurately what progressstudents have made in theirlearning and to respond to parentand student inquiries aboutlearning.

Narrative reports on progressand achievement can provideinformation on student learningthat letter or number gradesalone cannot. Such reports might,for example, suggest ways inwhich students can improve theirlearning and identify ways inwhich teachers and caregiverscan best provide support.

Effective communication withcaregivers regarding their child’s/children’s progress is essential infostering successful home-school partnerships. The reportcard is one means of reportingindividual student progress.Other means include the use ofconferences, notes, and phonecalls.

Guiding Principles

In order to provide accurate,useful information about theachievement and instructionalneeds of students, certainguiding principles for thedevelopment, administration, anduse of assessments must befollowed. (Principles for FairStudent Assessment Practicesfor Education in Canadaarticulates five basic assessmentprinciples).

• Assessment strategies shouldbe appropriate for andcompatible with the purposeand context of theassessment.

• Students should be providedwith sufficient opportunity todemonstrate the knowledge,skills, attitudes, or behavioursbeing assessed.

• Procedures for judging orscoring student performanceshould be appropriate for theassessment strategy usedand be consistently appliedand monitored.

• Procedures for summarizingand interpreting assessmentresults should yield accurateand informativerepresentations of a student’sperformance in relation to thecurriculum outcomes for thereporting period.

• Assessment reports shouldbe clear, accurate, and ofpractical value to the audiencefor whom they are intended.

These principles ensure that

• the best interests of thestudents are paramount

• assessment informs teachingand promotes learning

• assessment is an integral andongoing part of the learningprocess and is clearly relatedto the curriculum outcomes

• assessment is fair andequitable to all students andinvolves multiple sources ofinformation

While assessments may be usedfor different purposes andaudiences, all assessments mustgive each student optimalopportunity to demonstrate whathe/she knows and can do.



Assessing Student

Learning in Physical and

Health Education

Using a Variety ofAssessment StrategiesThe assessment program shouldreflect the full range of studentlearning in physical and healtheducation. It involves the use ofa variety of information-gatheringstrategies that allow teachers toaddress students’ diversebackgrounds, learning styles, andneeds, and allow students avariety of opportunities todemonstrate their learning.

This variety of assessmentstrategies should

• enable teachers to assessstudent performance onspecific tasks

• provide information abouthow students learn as well aswhat they learn

• take into considerationstudents’ abilities both tolearn and to apply theirlearning

• enable teachers to observeoverall performance

• provide multiple indicators ofstudent performance

• reflect curriculum emphases

• reflect that experimentation,risk-taking, and creativityare valued

• enable students to discovertheir own interests, strengthsand weaknesses

• engage students in assessing,reflecting upon and improvingtheir own learning

• engage students in assessingtheir own and others’ skills inco-operative and collaborativeprojects

Consistent feedback isparticularly important tosuccessfully develop of goodmotor skills, as well as develop apositive and enthusiastic attitudetowards lifelong active, healthyliving. Helping students to setgoals and objectives for theirown physical development andhealthy lifestyle choices, andworking with them to monitortheir progress, are importantresponsibilities of all physical andhealth education teachers.

Assessment should be carriedout in a variety of ways. Studentsparticularly benefit when theyparticipate in developing theassessment criteria.

Assessment Activities

and Strategies

Performance AssessmentBy using performanceassessment, teachers are able toobserve directly the students’application of knowledge andskills. Performance assessmentin physical and health educationfocuses on the process as wellas the product. It involves

• presenting students with anactivity-based task, problem,project, or investigation

• observing what students doand say, watching forselected/particularcharacteristics, and makinganecdotal records

• interviewing students duringor after the task, problem,project, or investigation

• developing and applyingcriteria to assess studentperformance (using scoringtools such as rubrics, ratingscales, task-specific guides,checklists)

• developing criteria for productassessment to providestudents with a clear focus onrequirements andexpectations to guide theirwork

• examining what studentsproduce and applying criteriato assess what they actuallyknow and can do

• identifying future instructionaland learning needs



Observations of students’performance and completion oftasks, together with student–teacher reflection on the learninginvolved, can provide specificinformation that will allowstudent progress to be assessed.This can be used by teachers todesign and revise instructionalapproaches and by students toimprove, reinforce, and extendtheir learning.

Performance assessment givesinformation about a student’sability to

• use active, healthy livingconcepts, skills, and language

• raise questions

• reason logically

• think flexibly, changingstrategies when a particularapproach does not work

• actively accomplish complexand significant tasks

• use prior knowledge, recentlearning, and relevant skills

• design and conduct activity-based investigations

• persist, concentrate, and workindependently, with partners,small groups, or large groups

• solve realistic or authenticproblems

• take responsibility forpersonal health habits,attendance, and participation

Problem SolvingProjects and investigationsinvolve explorations of active,healthy living questions that helpstudents make connections toother curricula areas, and to poseand solve real-world problems.Projects and investigations giveinformation about a student’sability to

• identify and define a problem

• create, test, and revise a plan

• collect, record, and organizeneeded information

• discuss, review, revise,explain, and report solutions

Projects and investigations allowstudents to demonstrate their

• creativity and initiative

• group participation,leadership, and co-operation

• flexibility andopen-mindedness

• willingness to go beyond theproblem/task at hand

Listening and ObservingListening to and observingstudents in a variety of physicaland health educationenvironments will provide dailyopportunities for informalassessment.

Systematic listening andobservation of students provideinformation about their

• thinking processes

• preferred learning styles

• persistence

• attitudes toward a physicallyactive lifestyle

• feelings about themselvesas learners

• specific areas of strength andweakness

• development andunderstandings of concepts,procedures, and routines

• independent problem-solvingabilities

• work habits

• social development (e.g.,ability to work collaborativelyand co-operatively)

Similarly, interviews andconferences with students arevaluable sources of suchinformation. Teachers may find ithelpful over time to usechecklists, questions, and/orlearning logs to focus and guideobservation, interviews,conferences, and record keeping.

Oral and WrittenCommunication TasksOral and written communicationare important aspects ofassessment in physical andhealth education, involvingstudents in talking and writingboth for self-clarification and forcommunication with others.

Oral communication tasks mayrequire students to

• define problems and tasks

• describe and explainprocedures or strategies

• articulate their thoughtprocesses



• synthesize and summarizetheir own or their group’sthinking

• reflect on their learningprocesses and experiences

Focussed writing tasks shouldaddress a range of purposes andaudiences and include a varietyof forms. Such tasks may include

• participation logs/journals

• a variety of ways to organizeand record information (e.g.,note-taking, generating charts,outlining, semantic mapping,creating summaries)

• reports of investigations

• explanations of the steps/processes used in solvinga problem

• responses to open-endedquestions

• written argument thatrequires thoughtful inquiryabout active, healthy living

Students should be provided withthe opportunity to usecomputers for

• participation log entries andjournal entries

• research

• fitness assessments

• skill analysis

• facility and service access andevaluation

• statistical analysis

In responding to and assessingstudent writing, teachers shouldconsider appropriate commentsand assessment criteria in termsof the nature and requirementsof the writing task, its purpose,and its intended audience.

QuestioningEffective questioning allowsteachers to identify what thestudent knows and what thestudent needs to learn.Effectivehigh-level, open-ended questionschallenge students to usecognitively complex skills—tothink.

The sorts of questions teachersask send powerful messagesabout what they really value.Questions and tasks thatdemand higher-level thinkingdemonstrate to students thatteachers value this type ofthinking. Questions and tasksthat require students to applytheir skills and knowledge to newsituations develop higher-orderthinking.

Open-ended questions requirestudents to respond to questionsfor which a variety of successfulresponses are possible. Open-ended questions give informationabout a student’s ability to

• organize and interpretinformation

• make generalizations

• clarify and express their ownthinking

• understand concepts

• demonstrate originality/creativity

Questionnaires,Inventories, and SurveysWell-designed questionnaires,inventories, and surveys revealstudents’ feelings and attitudestoward different aspects ofphysical and health education.Information gathered throughwell-designed surveys can helpteachers

• tap into students’ habits,interests, and attitudes

• build on students’ strengthsand expand their interests

• elicit students’ perceptionsabout their learning

TestsTesting is only one means ofcollecting assessment data: atest measures achievement at aspecific point in time. Tests play aminor role in the totalassessment program and shouldbe used in appropriate balancewith other assessment practices.This is to ensure that studentshave frequent and variedopportunities to demonstratetheir levels of performance inrelation to the stated outcomesof physical and health education.

Tests should be designed toencourage thinking and problemsolving rather than memorizationand recall of factual information.Test items signal what theteacher considers to beimportant.



Questions on tests should beframed so that they are relevant,clear, and specific. As with otherassessment procedures,teachers should refer to physicaland health education outcomesin developing test items.Selected-response formats(multiple choice, true-false,matching) have limitations inmeasuring learning outcomes inphysical and health education.Selected-response items tend toassess knowledge of factualinformation and the application ofbasic skills in isolated,decontextualized ways, insteadof assessing the application ofknowledge and higher-order skillsin meaningful, real-worldsituations.

Fitness TestingFitness testing should be acomponent of a total programwith the goal of turning studentson to exercise, fitness, andphysical activity as a part ofhealthy lifestyle. To ensuredevelopmentally appropriatepractices, fitness tests should beadministered for a purpose and to

• teach

• focus an individual’s progress

• create a humanistic testingenvironment

• limit testing time

• teach safety precautions

• encourage self-testing

• provide feedback

• reward effort andachievement

Self-AssessmentIn the process of learning,students need various forms offeedback about their work fromtheir teachers and their peers;however, students learn bestwhen they have frequentopportunities to assess their ownlearning and performance.

Student self-assessmentpromotes the development of

• metacognitive ability (theability to reflect critically onone’s own reasoning)

• ownership of learning

• independence of thoughtand action

Enhancing students’ abilities toassess their own progress is animportant goal of theassessment program in physicaland health education. Studentsneed frequent opportunities toreflect on what they know andcan do and what they need tolearn. When students areengaged in applying criteria forself-assessments (and for peer-assessments), they begin tointernalize elements of qualityand performance standards thatcan lead to significantimprovements in the quality oftheir work and learning.

Self-assessment activitiesinclude the use of

• questionnaires (e.g., followinga collaborative activity orproject to determine how wellthe group functioned as ateam and how well theindividual student participatedand contributed to theeffectiveness of the process/product)

• learning logs/journals

• periodic reflective writing orgroup discussion to identifyways in which students havedemonstrated progresstoward achievement oflearning outcomes

• peer feedback: givingconstructive comments onone another’s work helpsstudents standards for theirown performance

• student-teacher interviewsand conferences

• collaborative course planninginvolving students inidentifying their ownstrengths and weaknesses,forming options for futurelearning experiences, andmaking decisions about whatthey will do to meet thelearning outcomes

Teachers can use student self-assessments to determine

• whether there is change andgrowth in the students’attitudes, understanding, andachievements

• whether students’ beliefsabout their performancescorrespond to the actualperformances

• whether the students and theteacher have similar views ofexpectations and criteria forassessment



Student Folders andPortfoliosCollections and selections ofstudent work represent richsources of authentic informationon

• what strategies thestudent uses

• the level of skill development

• the best work the studentcan produce

• the student’s growth asa learner

The process of selectingsamples of student work andachievement, (e.g., certificationin refereeing, coaching, lifeguarding) to assemble portfoliosfor various purposes andaudiences is a valuableeducational activity.

The portfolio is a selection ofstudent work that might includepieces of writing, drawings,journal and log samples, mediaproducts and other productions,or records that establish whatthe student has been doing.Portfolios could include

• learning logs (e.g., what I did,what I learned, whatquestions I still have)

• nutrition and activity logs

• personal backgroundinventory (health status,growth and development)

• responses to learningexperiences

• a variety of ways to organizeand record information(e.g., notes, charts, outlines,semantic maps, summaries)

• explanations of the steps/processes used in performinga physical activity

• responses to open-endedquestions

• a video of a dance or agame created

• contracts for physical activity

• checklists

• self-evaluations

• graphs of fitness scores

• individual fitness programs

Schools and teachers may domany different things withportfolios, depending on theirpurposes and the co-ordinationof portfolios with other activitiesfor learning, assessment, andevaluation. Portfolios may, forexample, be very selective andcontain only one kind of work oronly certain samples of work. Aportfolio may contain items thatthe students and the teacherconsider representative of thebest the students can produce.The process of selection of astudent’s best efforts can in itselfbe a very valuable experience.This process should involvestudents in reflecting on theirprogress and achievement inreference to specific learningoutcomes.



Resources

Introduction

This curriculum envisages anetwork of resource material.Physical and human resourcesextend throughout the school,into the community and beyond.No single resource can providesufficient material to nurture thedevelopment of any one learneror group of learners for anyextended period of time. Therange of resources must

• reflect the diversity oflearners’ interests, needs,abilities, and experiences

• support the achievement ofthe curriculum outcomes

• be available to all learners

This curriculum emphasizes theimportance of human resourcesbecause of the social nature ofphysical and health educationlearning.

Criteria For Selecting

Resources

While not all resources will meetall the selection criteria, therange of resources used at anygiven level should be balanced toreflect specific guidelines.Resources should

• prove to be motivating andchallenging experiencessuitable for the learner’s age,ability, and social maturity

• elicit personal, thoughtful, andcritical responses

• offer a variety of experiencesand values that reflect thediversity of learners’ interests,needs, and competencies

• broaden students’understanding of social andcultural diversity in a physicaland health education context

• develop a sensitivity to and anunderstanding that reflectsindividual differences

The Range of Resources

Physical and health educationclassrooms, activity facilities, andschool resource centres/librariesneed a wide array of learningresources for student choice anduse. Many of the learningexperiences described in thiscurriculum, for example, do notrequire class sets of the sametext but rather single copies or afew copies each of different texts.In order to meet the differinginstructional needs of students,resources should provideflexibility. Resources include:

• print, computer software,audio, visual texts (illustrations,photographs, film, video),interactive multimedia

• basic communicationtechnologies (Internetconnections, bulletin boards)

• texts at different levels ofdifficulty and from differentcultural and social perspectives

• reading material such asbooks, magazines, instructions,brochures, and posters

• resources for the professionaldevelopment of teachers

• resources from across therange of school subjects

• resources that reflect theculture of the Atlantic region

• activity-related equipment suchas mats, bats, and balls etc.,that are appropriate for a widerange of activities

• community resources



Controversial Texts and

Issues

Teachers of physical and healtheducation are sometimeschallenged regarding the textsand the issues they and/or theirstudents select for study.Challenges may be based on theideas in the texts. Maturity maybe required for understanding theideas or the language used toexpress those ideas. Resourcesthat support the physical andhealth education curriculumrepresent various points of viewand allow students to explore thepoints of view that are withintheir understanding.

Teachers should exerciseparticular care in selecting orrecommending texts forclassroom study and discussion,considering such factors as

• the differing instructionalneeds of their students

• the contribution that the textor issue may make to eachstudent’s education

• the readability and appeal ofthe text for the particulargroup of students, and forindividual students

• the role the text or issue playsin influencing students’cultural/social/personalexperiences outside theclassroom

• the purpose(s) for which thetext or discussion of issueswill be used

• the sensitivities of thestudents, and for individualstudents

• community sensitivities

When the teacher’s selection ofa text or discussion of an issue ischallenged by a caregiver, theteacher must acknowledge everycaregiver’s right to restrict his/her own child’s reading/viewing/listening. However, the rights ofother caregivers to have theselected resource available totheir children should also berespected.

Teachers may find it helpful toconsider the following argumentsfor using texts which addressissues and themes or containcontext that may be sensitive orcontroversial in somecommunities:

• The text may demonstratethat society has evolved inunderstanding and toleranceover the years since it waswritten/produced.

• Attitudes and opinions thatwere both current and sociallyacceptable in the writer’s/producer’s day may now beunacceptable and vice versa.

• It is important that studentsunderstand the value systemsof their own culture and time,and of other cultures andother times. Different valuesystems that may now seemdeplorable were nonethelessfacts of life in different timesand places and are legitimatesubjects for study anddiscussion.

• Given the diverse nature andmaturity of students, it isimportant to confrontimportant issues and bringthem into the open fordiscussion. It is also importantfor students to recognize thatthey have accumulated avariety of experiences andopinions shaped by family,community, economics,politics, andthe media.

Despite all these arguments,respect for the students andconcern for their feelings areparamount in text selection. Theteacher’s own abilities, growingawareness, and sensitivityshould shape the presentation ofcontroversial material so that itwill promote critical awareness,further understanding, andempathy rather than give orcause offence.



Community Resources

This curriculum removes theisolation of the teacher and thestudents in the self-containedclassroom and exposes them asactive, healthy learners to peopleand places in the broadercommunity.

Students can draw on a varietyof community resources tosupport and enhance theirlearning including

• family members

• peers, athletes, coaches, andvolunteers

• performers and culturalorganizations in thecommunity

• guest speakers who offer arange of perspectives

• community members involvedin active, healthy livingpractices

• parents, seniors, olderstudents, student teachers,and other adults

• teacher assistants and tutors

• individuals, groups, or classeswith whom students canshare performances,activities, and ideas in theareas of physical and healtheducation

• municipal parks andrecreation departments

• health professionals

• students and classescontacted through computernetworks that providecommunication venues andexchanges

• experts and other sourceswho can be consulted throughtraditional and electronicmeans

• listservs and news groups

• local, national, andinternational audiences withwhom to share their productsvia mounted multimedia orhypertext on the World WideWeb



References

Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation.Foundation for the Atlantic Canada EnglishLanguage Arts. Halifax: the Foundation, 1996.

Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation.Foundation for the Atlantic Canada MathematicsCurriculum. Halifax: the Foundation, 1996.

Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation.Foundation for the Atlantic Canada SocialStudies Curriculum. Halifax: the Foundation.Validation Draft, Fall, 1997.

Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation. ScienceFoundation Document.(Final Draft, EditedOctober 1997). Halifax: the Foundation, 1997.

British Columbia. Ministry of Education. PersonalEducation, K-7, Integrated Resource Package.1995.

British Columbia, Ministry of Education. PersonalPlanning K-7, Integrated Resource Package.1995.

CAHPERD. Canadian Association for Health,Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. AGlobal Vision for School Physical Education.May 1995.

CAHPERD. Physical Education 2000, Foundation,Guidelines, and Learning Outcomes for theFuture. 1996.

CAHPERD. Towards Healthy, Active Living ThroughQuality School Health. February 1996.

NASPE. National Association for Sport and PhysicalEducation, Moving into the Future, A Guide toContent and Assessment. Mosby, 1995.

National Education Steering Committee of theMoving to Inclusion initiative on behalf of ActiveLiving Alliance for Canadians with a Disability.Moving to Inclusion. 1994.

Newfoundland and Labrador. Department ofEducation. A Curriculum Framework for PhysicalEducation: Adjusting the Focus. theDepartment.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Career and Life Management (CALM). Halifax:the Department, 1996.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Special Education Policy Manual. Halifax: theDepartment, 1996.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Family Studies. Halifax: the Department, 1993.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Foundation Document for Fine Arts Education.Halifax: the Department, 1996.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Public School Programs. Halifax: theDepartment.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Physically Active Lifestyles (PAL). Halifax: theDepartment, 1996.

Nova Scotia. Department of Education and Culture,Special Education Policy Manual. Halifax: theDepartment, 1996.

OPHEA, Healthy Active Living Standards forPhysical and Health Education in Ontario, Grade1–9. 1997.

Statistics Canada, on behalf of Sport Canada. SportParticipation in Canada. 1994.

References

Documents

Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health ... · Foundation for Active, Healthy Living: Physical and Health Education Curriculum 5 Education in movement is concerned