Start the year right: By giving them hope
Credit: Teng Hanyong
What is your dream Physical Education (PE) lesson?
“What is your dream PE lesson?”
Hanyong’s first PE lesson aims to get the secondary two class to co-construct their goals for PE. He asked the students to discuss in pairs what their dream PE lessons look like for the year. To encourage the students to talk about it, he told them, “There are no wrong answers.”. He also explained the rationale behind the articulation of their dreams.
“Hopes lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.”
Jonas Salk
After five minutes, he asked each group to share their thoughts. “Everyone happy and enthusiastic.”, “No one left behind”, “No laughing at each other’s skills”, and “Help one another” are a few of the goals the students shared.
Each time the students shared one goal, he affirmed them by paraphrasing and explaining why the goal was important. For example, he shared with them, “Everyone happy and enthusiastic” is essential because enjoyment is a sign that they are improving and able to learn. And “No laughing at each other” is vital because “All great athletes were lousy when they first learned the sports. So your actions will look weird. If we start laughing at one another, then we will not dare to put in the effort to practice”.
The importance of feeling hopeful at the beginning of the year
We must acknowledge that many of our students tend to feel stressed about returning to school after a school holiday break. If they have done well the year before, they might worry if they can keep the momentum going. If they have not done well the year before, it is even more stressful because they are now in a year of new and greater challenges.
Students learn from reflecting on their prior experiences (Dewey, 1933). Therefore, they understand what they can or cannot do through their learning experiences in PE. If their experiences in PE have been good, it is good! However, most PE teachers will agree that we see students with a wide range of abilities in every class. Therefore, we are bound to have students who have poor experiences learning new skills.
“The average child’s school day is packed with potential stressors: separating from parents, meeting academic expectations, managing peer groups, and navigating loud, crowded school hallways.”
(Burch, 2018)
In primary school, I remember vividly joining my good friend in a game of 4v4 half-court basketball. It was the first time I played in a team game. I needed time to figure out where to go. Everyone told me to run to “free space”, but everything happened too fast for me to find a “free space”. After that day, my friend said to some classmates in school that all I did was stand in the middle of the court, not doing anything. It was so embarrassing that I dared not touch basketball until secondary school.
Many of our students have had such experiences — Not being able to apply the technique in the activity even after we reminded them what to do. Running into space is easy for many of us, but not for students who are slower than their peers. Using the wrist to throw a frisbee disc can be one of the most challenging actions if they do not have much prior throwing experience.
“The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination, and the energy to get started.”
(Norman Cousins, American journalist)
Therefore, we need to start the year by giving students hope. To understand what hope is, we can look at Hope Theory. In this theory, hope is defined as the perceived ability to produce pathways to achieve desired goals and to motivate oneself to use those pathways (Rand & Cheavens, 2009). Hopeful thinkers achieve more because when they have hope, they think in a goal-oriented way, find different ways to achieve their goals, and believe they can make the change (Snyder, 2002).
If our students do not have the motivation during the year, one of the reasons is that they do not even see hope in the first place.
We might complain about students not being motivated in the classroom but working very hard in their sports club. It is because they know they can do well in the sports. They know they can if they put in the extra effort. However, these students might be doing poorly in mathematics. They do not see themselves getting As for the subject, so they tend to have a lot of anxiety, and anxiety often leads to behavioural issues (Miller et al., 2023).
Start by building trust and respect
Neuroscience research has shown that as children grow into adulthood, it is a time of rapid brain growth and neuronal fine-tuning. During this period of adolescence, teenagers tend to need autonomy and respect (Denworth, 2023). They might fear losing autonomy, especially if they sense that we are over-controlling them, for example, by setting too many rules (Divecha, 2018).
“Building relationships with students is by far the most important thing a teacher can do. Without a solid foundation and relationships build on trust and respect, no quality learning will happen.”
(Timothy Hilton in Education Week Teacher)
By empowering the students to co-construct their direction for the year, Hanyong is developing trust and respect from the students. He made the students feel they had the autonomy to decide the year, giving them hope. However, more independence might lead to a laissez-faire classroom, making students not accountable for their learning (Elstad, 2006). As such, it is critical that we set rules and expectations at the start of the year. But how do we set rules and expectations yet make students feel empowered?
To overcome the challenge, Hanyong explains the rationale behind every rule. For example, he explained to the students why everyone must bring their water bottles to PE — so they have more time to practice since the water coolers are not near the field. He promised them they would not need to ask permission to go for a short water break as it could take up more time. He also assured them that forgetting to bring water bottles occasionally is acceptable. Still, if they are always not bringing the water bottles, they do not respect the lesson.
Set them up for success using the power of habits (or routines)
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through interest.”
(James Clear, 2022)
After we have built trust and respect with the students, the next step is to start building habits. Hanyong started a warm-up routine of running two rounds when they came for PE lessons. He empowers the students to form groups and set up grids. All, except one group, did not know how to set up the grids. Hanyong gathered the students back and showed them an example of what the grid looks like before asking them to try again.
Hanyong is trying to develop two habits. The first is the habit of running two rounds. The second is the habit of autonomous learning.
Running is daunting to many students. If we do not have a habit of running regularly, our running experiences are about a few lessons of running training to prepare for our fitness test. We often over-pushed ourselves to pass the test because we only had a few lessons to prepare. This can be very painful and not enjoyable. Therefore, many students have anxiety if they know they have to run.
The best way to reduce the anxiety of running is to have a running habit. Just like the best way to reduce the stress of presenting is to have a habit of presentation.
In the book Atomic Habits, Clear (2022) suggests that tiny habits can lead to significant results because tiny habits help us to ritualise the process, which would help us slip into the state of deep focus required to do great things. If we only aim to do something for two minutes (2-minute habits), we are likely to continue the process and go into a full-focus state. In PE lessons, if we start the lessons by asking the students to run two rounds, they are likelier to run faster throughout the class. Over time, the students will not get anxious when preparing for the fitness test running component.
Aim big, start small
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.”
Mark Twain
The second habit, which Hanyong was building when he asked them to set up their grid: is to develop autonomous learning habits.
Hanyong gave positive affirmations to the students when they set up the grids correctly. He told the students, “I am very happy you can set up the grids and dribbling course using the cones! Now, I want you to start by getting comfortable controlling the ball with your feet by dribbling through the course. Adjust the difficulty level by adjusting the distance between the cones. If you find it difficult, put them further apart; if you feel you have improved, put them closer together.
Hanyong told a group of good football students to help their group mates during the practice. He explained to them that many of the students in the class were afraid of football. So if they help them, they will be motivated to join PE lessons. Around the class, students were helping their partners by guiding them and adjusting the difficulty level.
Autonomous learning has many benefits, such as increased engagement, developing critical thinking skills, self-directed learning and improved self-efficacy (Ochoa, 2023). These are big educational goals that we should aim to achieve. However, instead of fully empowering the students to learn by themselves, we should start by developing in them the small habits that will eventually lead to the big goals.
Hanyong uses a mixture of different teaching styles to guide the students towards independent learning. Students want autonomy but fear it because many need help knowing what to do if left alone. Think about the first time we teach the class alone after teacher training. Even as adults, we need guidance so that we feel safe.
The four different teaching styles he used were:
- Focused lesson, where he explained what task they have to do (to set up the grid and to practise dribbling through a course)
- Guided instructions, where he gathered the students back and showed them what the grid looked like.
- Collaborative learning, where he asked students to work as a group to set up the grids and help one another in the practice. He also moved around to guide students who needed help.
- Independent task, where students decide the difficulty level by adjusting the cones’ spacing.
The four teaching styles above are described by Pearson & Gallagher (1983) as the phases of the “gradual release of responsibility (GRR)” model. The GRR model is a model to help teachers understand the phases that can help students to be more autonomous learners.
It is important to note that the GRR model is not a linear sequence (Frey & Fisher, 2008). As described in Hanyong’s lesson, when he noticed most of the students could not set up the grid by themselves, he gathered them back, showed a model and elaborated his instructions. We must constantly assess if the students meet the learning goal and decide the teaching style required to help them.
Once we set the goal, mean it!
“Students don’t care what you know until they know you care.”
John C. Maxwell
In the second dribbling drill, Hanyong asks the students to dribble with a “passive” defender. Hanyong wants to show the students that he is firm with the vision that everyone must put in the effort to try. Hence when he noticed one group was not putting in enough effort, he reminded the class, “We have agreed on our goals, which is to have good vibes and enthusiasm during the lesson. I want to see all the groups achieving that goal.”.
When students do not know the teacher well at the start of the year, they want to know if the teacher means what they say (Morris, 2015). If we agree with the students that everyone enjoys and is enthusiastic in the practice, we must ensure we are constantly looking at their enjoyment and enthusiasm. If we agree that everyone should help one another, we must constantly remind the students to help in every lesson. The sincerity of our words makes them feel we care about what they want.
References
Clear, J. (2022). Atomic habits. Editura Trei SRL.
Denworth, L. (2023, November 20). Adolescent brains are wired to want status and respect: that’s an opportunity for teachers and parents. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adolescent-brains-are-wired-to-want-status-and-respect-thats-an-opportunity-for-teachers-and-parents/
Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co Publishers.
Divecha, D. (2018, November 13). Teenagers might have a problem with respect but it’s not the one you think — developmental science. Developmental Science. https://www.developmentalscience.com/blog/2017/11/29/teenagers-might-have-a-problem-with-respect-but-its-not-the-one-you-think
Elstad, E. (2006). Understanding the nature of accountability failure in a technology‐filled, laissez‐faire classroom: disaffected students and teachers who give in. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38(4), 459–481. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270500508901
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Miller, C., Bubrick, J., PhD, Abpp, R. B. P., & Rappaport, N., MD. (2023, March 22). How anxiety leads to problem behavior. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/how-anxiety-leads-to-disruptive-behavior/
Ochoa, D. (2023, August 31). What is learner autonomy and how to promote it. Thinkific. https://www.thinkific.com/blog/what-is-learner-autonomy/#:~:text=Learner%20autonomy%20is%20not%20only,working%20towards%20throughout%20the%20process.
Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3), 317–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-476x(83)90019-x
Rand, K. L., & Cheavens, J. S. (2009). Hope Theory. Oxford Academic, pp. 322–334. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.013.0030
Snyder, C. R. (2002). TARGET ARTICLE: Hope Theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01
