An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Physical Education
REPORT
Dunmanway,
Roll number: 76086P
Date of inspection: 18 May 2007
Date of issue of report: 8 November 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Physical Education
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject
inspection in
Subject provision and whole school support
Physical Education is a compulsory subject in the school and the timetabled provision is a double-period per class, per week. Although this level of provision is not uncommon in post-primary schools, it falls short of the two hours per week recommended in the Department of Education and Science Rules and Programmes for Secondary Schools 2004-2005. It is recommended that the school work towards providing this amount of Physical Education for all classes as part of the long-term developmental plan for the subject. It is commendable that additional time is provided in Transition Year (TY) for a variety of activities, many of which are physical activities, as this provides students with opportunities for learning in areas not normally covered by the physical education programme.
The facilities available for the teaching of Physical Education in the school are excellent, consisting of a full-sized hall complete with a fitness suite, outdoor hardcourt areas and full-sized GAA pitch. These facilities are maintained to a very high standard and allow the physical education department to deliver a comprehensive curriculum in Physical Education to all students. Physical Education is well supported by management in the school and all necessary equipment and materials are made available for the teaching of the subject. In this regard it is considered good practice that a budget is allocated to the physical education department annually for the purchase of such equipment and materials. This budget is supplemented should an exceptional need emerge for the purchase of additional items required for the teaching of a particular aspect of the physical education curriculum.
Planning and preparation
The quality of planning and preparation in Physical Education, both at whole-school level and with regard to individual lessons, is excellent. The subject plan for Physical Education is a very thorough and purposeful document reflecting considerable thought and effort on the part of the physical education department. Management is commended for providing regular opportunities throughout the school year for formal subject planning to take place and for providing an agenda for all subject department meetings. It is also commendable that a template is provided for subject departments to facilitate school development planning as this helps to ensure consistency of approach and clarity of focus to planning activities within each department. Thus, at the outset, the physical education subject plan contains information on the distinctive identity of the school and how the physical education department hopes to contribute to the growth, development and self-esteem of each student. The aims and objectives of the subject are clearly outlined and other areas dealt with include curricular plans for each topic, provision for students with special educational needs, health and safety procedures, assessment and an information handbook for student teachers. Provision has been made for cross-curricular planning with other subject areas such as Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), Home Economics, Geography, Science and Gaeilge with a variety of co-operative activities planned in each of these areas. Records of subject department meetings are maintained and these are used to inform planning in Physical Education with action plans having identified matters such as cross-curricular links, TY timetabling arrangements and possibilities for student self-assessment as areas for consideration as part of future planning activities. This high-quality planning is commended and is indicative of a subject department that is regularly engaged in a process of review and self-evaluation in order to continue to meet the needs of its student cohort.
A considerable array of resource materials has been collated and neatly stored by the physical education department as an aid to planning individual lessons. Schemes of work and resource files are available for each of the core areas of activity outlined in the Junior Cycle Physical Education (JCPE) syllabus. The school was part of the second cohort of schools involved in the implementation of this syllabus and is commended for this involvement, as the syllabus has the capacity to greatly enhance the experiences of junior cycle students in Physical Education. The range of activities planned in junior cycle is in keeping with the aims and objectives of the JCPE syllabus.
Planning at senior cycle in the school is underpinned by the view that Physical Education has to give students a range of informed skills and attitudes to enable lifelong participation in physical activity. This philosophy is commended as it encourages senior cycle students to reflect on their own health and fitness and also seeks to acknowledge their greater maturity. As a development of this practice, it is recommended that the department investigate opportunities to further enable senior cycle students to take responsibility for their own learning. Such a move should be seen as empowering them to make informed choices about their own physical activity involvement and should be viewed as an acknowledgement of their maturity as young adults. The current practice whereby senior cycle students who are not interested in the more traditional physical activities are allowed to use the fitness suite is commended in this regard. With this in mind, the physical education department could also plan for the use of different teaching methodologies for senior cycle students. As such an extension of the rich task approach being used at junior cycle could be employed. Thus, if students opted, for example, to do an eight-week programme of Badminton, they might be asked to learn the main skills, rules and tactics of the game and then organise and officiate at a mini-tournament involving all class members. Students would have responsibility for volunteering for different roles based on their talents and interests, thus emphasising the possibility of participating in sport through many different avenues. The teacher would then adopt the role of facilitator of this learning experience and would have a key role in guiding students during the activity and focusing students’ self-evaluation at the end of each lesson and at the end of the block of work. Providing such opportunities enables students to acquire higher order skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation and can be a highly fulfilling educational experience. It also provides opportunities for greater activity levels among all students and enables students who are injured or who cannot physically participate in a lesson to become meaningfully involved in the lesson in other ways, whether as timekeeper, scorekeeper or through some other officiating role. The department is also aware of the possibility of increasing the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into teaching and is encouraged to investigate such possibilities.
There is a good range of interesting activities planned for TY in keeping with the spirit and ethos of the programme. Opportunities are provided for students to take part in aquatics, pitch & putt, bowling and surfing. A GAA coaching module is also provided to TY and fifth-year students every second year and a water safety course is planned for the future. Tai Chi and kick boxing modules are made available to students when the opportunity arises and TY students also visit an outdoor education centre for one day at the start of the school year and for a full week later in the school year. The provision of this range of activities is highly commended as it adds great variety to students’ learning experiences in Physical Education.
There is an excellent range of extracurricular activity being provided in the school, catering for a significant number of students. Among the activities available are badminton, basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, Gaelic football, hurling, camógie, athletics, cricket, soccer, pitch & putt and table tennis. Recent successes have been achieved at national level in athletics and at county level in hurling and football. The involvement of senior cycle students in assisting in the training and organisation of matches for many of these activities is particularly commendable. This is indicative of a very healthy attitude to participation and a keen awareness of the value of such activities on the part of students. The selfless commitment of a large number of teachers to organising many of these activities is also noteworthy and is highly commended, as participation in such pursuits can be very rewarding and can form the basis for lifelong interest in sport and physical activity for many students.
Teaching and learning
The quality of teaching and learning observed during the inspection was very good, with lessons characterised by high levels of student engagement and involvement with tasks set by teachers. Lessons benefited from very thorough planning, and progression from one activity to another was considered and well-structured. Students are achieving very well in Physical Education and an excellent rapport between teachers and students was in evidence in all lessons.
Very thorough warm up activities typically took place at the start of all lessons. Stretching exercises were performed conscientiously and teacher questioning with regard to the names of various muscle groups being stretched revealed a good level of knowledge by students. While introducing the lesson, teachers recapped on the key points of previous lessons and, in the case of a throwing lesson in athletics, placed special emphasis on key safety points. This practice is commended as it helps to create a natural link between lessons and also helps to ensure that students are constantly mindful of health and safety considerations. Regular reinforcement of good safety practices also took place throughout this lesson and this is commended as it helps to emphasise the ever-present risk presented by throwing activities in athletics. It is recommended that the start of the lessons be also used to share not just lesson content but also lesson objectives with students. This practice is in keeping with assessment for learning, can be motivational for students and can help them to make informed judgements about their learning at the end of the lesson by referencing this to the lesson objectives. A clear progression in difficulty was evident in the tasks set for students in all lessons. This is commended as it allows all students to experience success in the initial activities while presenting a challenge to the more able students in later activities. Regular, focussed affirmation was very effective in maintaining high levels of effort among students and, where correction was required, this was offered in a manner that was both constructive and sensitive.
The provision of a range of learning opportunities provided excellent variety in lessons and facilitated high levels of student engagement and co-operation. Good opportunities were provided for co-operative learning in many lessons, particularly in an athletics lesson. This involved pair work, where students judged the validity of each other’s throw with reference to specific criteria provided by the teacher. This excellent practice was further developed with students being encouraged to provide assistance to each other by commenting on the technical aspects of each throw. Group work was also used, with students given the opportunity to throw, mark and measure a succession of throws, and roles were rotated among the group so that everyone had a chance to fulfil each role. In a unihoc lesson, students who performed particular tasks very well were often asked to provide demonstrations for the class. This worked particularly well and the careful selection of students to provide such demonstrations helped focus students’ attention and led to noticeable improvements in performance. Although these senior cycle students performed very well and co-operated fully with their teacher both during the practices that had been organised and in the game phases of the lesson, a variation in teaching methodology in line with the rich task approach mentioned earlier might provide a greater challenge to these students and should be considered. In a lesson in which integrated learning in both basketball and health-related fitness was covered, opportunities were again provided for students to analyse the technique of their partner with reference to specific criteria. Conditioned games, requiring students to apply learning from earlier in the lesson and from previous lessons, were organised and the teacher skilfully managed to maintain student focus on both the technical aspects of man-to-man defence and aspects of health-related fitness.
The cool-down period at the end of the lessons was used effectively. Students were encouraged to gently stretch the main muscle groups of the body and to reflect on learning that had taken place. Careful group and individual questioning was used during this phase of the lesson to reinforce key elements of the lesson and to provide information on the next lesson. This practice is commended as it helps to create a natural link between lessons and enables students to see each individual lesson as part of an integrated whole. Opportunities which were provided in some lessons for students to lead some of the warm-up and cool-down activities worked very well and it is recommended that this practice be extended to other lessons, particularly lessons involving senior cycle students.
Assessment
The quality of assessment in Physical Education is very good. Records of attendance and participation in all physical education lessons are maintained, and records of project work in TY and use of the fitness suite by senior cycle students are also kept. Opportunities which are provided for peer-assessment and self-assessment during physical education lessons are commended as these can be highly motivational for students and be a significant aid to understanding. The use of the assessment wheel in junior cycle is commended as is the use of self-evaluation sheets which are completed by students at the end of each block of learning. These assessment tools encourage students to reflect on learning and can increase student motivation. Completed assessment wheels and self-evaluation forms are maintained in students’ files and are subsequently used by the physical education department to inform planning. This practice is commended.
Student journals are used for routine communication between parents and teachers, and teachers give verbal reports on students’ progress to the class teacher as the need arises. Written reporting takes place at Christmas and summer and the physical education teachers provide a grade and a comment on the overall performance of each student during the term. It is considered good practice that teachers have the option to write an individual comment in these reports as this allows the physical education department to provide focused, formative feedback to each student. The physical education teachers also attend all parent-teacher meetings and are available by appointment to meet parents on request.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
- Physical Education is well organised and resourced in the school, reflecting the commitment to the subject of the physical education department and school management.
- The facilities available for the teaching of Physical Education are excellent and are very well maintained.
- The quality of planning and preparation in Physical Education, both at whole-school level and with regard to individual lessons is excellent.
- The subject department is regularly engaged in a process of review and self-evaluation in order to continue to meet the needs of its student cohort.
- There is a good range of interesting activities planned for TY in keeping with the spirit and ethos of the programme.
- There is an excellent range of extracurricular activity being provided in the school and the involvement of senior cycle students in assisting in the organisation of many of these activities is highly commended.
- The quality of teaching and learning in Physical Education is very good and lessons are characterised by high levels of student engagement.
- Physical Education lessons take place in an atmosphere of mutual respect between teacher and student.
- The quality of assessment in Physical Education is very good and opportunities which are provided for peer-assessment and self-assessment are particularly commendable.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- The school should work towards the provision of two hours of Physical Education for all students in keeping with Department of Education and Science recommendations.
- The physical education department should plan for alternative teaching methodologies for senior cycle students and should investigate opportunities to further enable these students to take responsibility for their own leaning.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of Physical Education and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.
Appendix
School Response to the Report
Submitted by the Board of Management
Area 1 Observations on the content of the inspection report
This report gives a comprehensive overview or the
‘excellent facilities’ and ‘comprehensive curriculum’ afforded in
It recognises the excellent quality of preparation, planning, teaching and learning in our Physical Education Department, and affirms ‘The selfless commitment of a large number of teachers’ involved in ‘an excellent range of extracurricular activity being provided in the school’. The Board of Management of the college congratulates the Physical Education Department on its excellent work, and on its continued invaluable contribution to the college.
Area 2 Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the inspection activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the inspection
The Board of Management acknowledges the recommendation in the report regarding the provision of two hours of Physical Education for all students, and has recommended exploration of same. The Physical Education Department has planned for further development of alternative teaching Methodologies for senior cycle students and continues to provide opportunities to enable these students to take responsibility for their own learning as recommended.