Overview

The  Physical Education places students at the centre of the educational experience. At Bailieboro Community School, we believe that PE will enable students to actively participate in their communities and in society, and to be resourceful and confident learners in all aspects and stages of their lives. Our PE programme is inclusive of all students and contributes to equality of opportunity, participation and outcomes for all. PE allows students to make a strong connection with learning by focusing on the quality of learning that takes place and by offering experiences that are engaging and enjoyable for them, and relevant to their lives. These experiences are of a high quality, contribute to the physical, mental and social wellbeing of students, and where possible, provide opportunities for them to develop their abilities and talents in the areas of personal and team performance and creativity. PE helps students to develop the learning and coping skills that can assist them in meeting the challenges of life beyond school. 

The key concepts or Statements of Learning (SOL) which are addressed in PE include:

The student is a confident and competent participant in physical activity and is motivated to be physically active. SOL 12

Students become more confident and competent as they learn to participate in a range of challenging and developmentally appropriate physical activities. They set goals and plan to improve their competence, physical fitness and engagement in physical activity.

The student takes action to safeguard and promote her/ his wellbeing and that of others. SOL 11

Students reflect on their own physical activity levels and plan for regular, meaningful engagement in physical activity. They engage in activities which promote positive relationships and which require cooperation and respect for differing abilities.

Students learn to apply safety procedures across the variety of activities. They plan, lead and take part in appropriate warm-up and cool-down activities.

The student creates and presents artistic works and appreciates the process and skills involved. SOL 4

Students create and perform individual and group dance and/or gymnastic performances in accordance with criteria for artistic performance. They refine their performances based on reflection and feedback.

Course Content

Strand 1: Physical activity for health and wellbeing

Strand 2: Games

Strand 3: Individual and team challenges

Strand 4: Dance and gymnastics

By participating in each of the four strands, students learn to improve a range of transferable movement skills and competencies so that they can develop their performance in different physical activities. They are also encouraged to build their commitment to physical activity for their health and wellbeing.

 Strand 1 aims to build students’ understanding of and commitment to regular health-enhancing physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. Students apply their learning as they design, implement and evaluate their own physical activity programme.

Strand 2 focuses on building students’ competence and confidence in two of the following games categories: divided court, invasion and striking and fielding games. Students learn how to develop a range of transferable movement skills and competencies and the ways in which these can be used within and across the different games categories.

Strand 3 focuses on building students’ competence and confidence in two of the following physical activity areas: campcraft, orienteering and team challenges, aquatics and athletics. Students are encouraged to set challenging goals for themselves individually and/or as part of a team and to reflect on the experience and progress made. In this strand schools may choose an adventure activity other than orienteering if their location facilitates this choice.

Strand 4 aims to build students’ competency within and understanding of artistic and aesthetic movement as they create and perform in a group for an audience in either gymnastics or dance. The process of creating the dance or gymnastic movement sequence is seen as being equally important as the final performance.

Methodologies

The following teaching methodologies are incorporated into the teaching of the PE syllabus, to meet the students needs.

• Assessment for Learning methods (sharing of learning aims and objectives, sharing criteria for success, appropriate time, higher and lower order questioning, probing, 2 stars and a wish technique.
• Negotiated learning and formal input by the teacher.
• Activity-based learning.
• Questioning and discussion throughout active-based and theory sections of the class
• Organise for students to work individually, in small groups, and team situations.
• Participate in and demonstrate skills development.
• Demonstrate and discuss the principles and rules of performance.
• Apply safety procedures relevant to participation in PE activities.
• Use motivational techniques and strategies to enhance participation, interest and passion for the subject.
• Project Work and Research
• Use of ICT
• Field Trips
• Interview /Guest speakers/Sports Personalities

This leads to students mastering the following key skills:

Literacy and numeracy

Physical education contributes to the development of literacy skills through activities where students:

• use the key words and phrases associated with physical education and physical activity appropriately.
• discuss different solutions to tasks in physical education with their peers
• research different topics in physical education and present their findings to their peers
• develop advocacy tools about the benefits of engaging in regular physical activity
• complete a log of their progress towards specific health-enhancing or performance enhancing physical activity goals
• use different forms of media and digital tools to learn in physical education

Physical Education in BCS contributes to the development of numeracy skills through activities where students:

• measure and record their performances in PE class
• complete statistical analysis of their own and others’ performance, present it graphically,

and use the findings to evaluate performance and plan for improvement.

• interpret information presented in graphic form and tables.
• identify patterns and trends which occur in different physical activities.
• develop their spatial awareness in different movement contexts.

Other Key Skills

Being Creative: Exploring options and alternatives. Students discuss and agree solutions to problems posed in various physical activities.

Communicating: Listening and expressing myself. Students solve problems and negotiate solutions respectfully with fellow students in a range of physical activities.

Managing information and thinking: Gathering, recording, organising and evaluating information: Students gather and organise data to provide evidence about their own performance and that of others. They use this information to plan for improvement.

Managing myself: Setting and achieving personal goals. Students devise and undertake plans to achieve personal or group goals. They reflect on their progress and learning and make the necessary adjustments to their goals.

Staying well Being healthy, physical and active Students learn to make informed decisions about their participation in physical activity. Students learn strategies to support their regular participation in physical activity.

Working with others Co-operating.  Students engage in a number of peer and group tasks which require cooperation to achieve common and challenging goals.

Assessment

PE in BCS supports a wide variety of approaches to assessment. Some learning outcomes lend themselves to once-off assessment, others to assessment on an ongoing basis, as students engage in different activities such as practices, games making, performing, creating, problem solving, fitness testing, self and peer assessment. These activities provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and to set clear goals and targets based on the feedback they receive.

Ongoing assessment encourages students to take greater responsibility for their own learning and also prepares them for assessment related to certification of the short course.

It is envisaged that students will provide evidence of their ongoing learning in a variety of ways including the use of digital media, audio recording and written pieces.

In recording student achievement over the duration of junior cycle, all assessment material be compiled and stored in the form of a Student Portfolio. The portfolio will contain assessment evidence obtained from the assessment approaches outlined below. The contents also reflects achievements and attainments in other forms, to be agreed between the student and the teacher.

The portfolio will provide useful information to the teacher, school and parents, but will ultimately be of most value to the student as a record of personal achievement. It will be used very much as a vehicle for the formative assessment of student progress.

Formal assessment by the teacher

This structured assessment will be used at the end of a year, term or other significant period/unit of work. It will evaluate student performance of activities against a predetermined set of criteria. The assessment will comprise the performance of teacher-prescribed tasks or completion of written assignments, or a combination of both.

Informal observation by the teacher

This assessment is ongoing as part of the teaching and learning process. The teachers continually make judgements as to the progress and performance of the student in the lesson. The teachers will, where appropriate and practicable, record a number of these informal evaluations. Criteria used for both formal and informal observations includes:

Participation/Co-operation

Fitness relative to ability

Progression of skill development

Application of rules and principles of performance

Understanding of health and safety

Social interaction

Peer assessment by students

The syllabus aims to extend the full range of skills displayed by the student. One way to improve the skills of the student in the area of analysis of performance is to facilitate the operation of peer assessment in the physical education lesson. This assessment activity proceeds on the basis of parameters and criteria agreed by both the student and teacher.

 Self-assessment by students

It is widely accepted that students should take greater responsibility for their own learning and, by extension, for the assessment of what they have learned. As part of the process of self-assessment, students will be encouraged to reflect on their experience of physical education. Students might focus on a year or a term to identify, areas where they experienced difficulty.

• In LCA, TY and 5th year some areas are assessed on a project basis
• Portfolio Assessment: Pupils assemble a sample of their work throughout the year from a variety of activities.

Recording individual achievement

Outside of the formal class setting, participation in the latter area should be recorded as evidence of achievement in the student portfolio.

Frequency of assessment

To allow for adequate time to explore the areas in sufficient depth and detail, it is suggested that four activities be taught in each year of the junior cycle. In each year at least one formal assessment process or event will take place. The scheduling of other assessments is a matter for the individual teacher, having regard to particular circumstances.

Note: Copies of samples of assessment templates are included in the appendices in the subject plan.