Physical Education - teacher

Physical Education
Key Terms
Physical - Musangeya et al (2000) describe physical as the activities the body is capable of
doing.
Education – Barker (1983) calls education, “those processes of learning which enable a
person to acquire all skills, behaviours, knowledge, values and norms; which are considered
worthwhile in the community or society where they come from.”

What is Physical Education?

Physical education is the part of education that uses physical activity and the whole human
body as a medium of learning.

VALUE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

(Research on more benefits)
1. Improves physical fitness
2. Improves skill development
3. Improves self–discipline
4. Reduces stress
5. Improves social life
6. Improves self–confidence and self–esteem

The History of Physical Education

Vene, Vicci, Vinci

Greece is known as the godfather of sport. However, only two states remain prominent, them
being Athens and Sparta.

Sparta
Spartan and Athenian hall.
Spartans were a wandering tribe a branch of the Hellenic rest, which had settled in the South
of Greece after conquering the original inhabitants (they outnumbered them 30:1). They were
militarily prepared (always ready for war), in case of uprisings. Every Spartan boy would
become a soldier.

P a g e 1 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Education in Sparta
Everybody belonged to the state, and as a result, they contributed to a strong army. Their
education was based on military frameworks. Women in Sparta were also supposed to be
strong as they were to give birth to healthy and sturdy sons.
It was the state that decided the fate of a newly born baby. The Spartan boy received their
early education at home, monitored by the state. The boys were treated to extreme hardships
in life, and fasting was their normal life. At most, they were treated to a simple course diet.
They were left scantily dressed, and this was done to cultivate habits of:
a. obedience
b. silence
c. respect
At seven the boy entered a public education institution called an Agoge, where training was
compulsory with rigid drills, games and exercises. They stayed at this institution until 18 and
from 18 – 20, the boy took an oath of allegiance to the state. After this oath, they went for
military training.
The girls received their education at home but differently from the boy child. They were
organised into small groups to provide opportunities for physical exercises/activities and the
development of group spirit.
Their programmes were not as of the boys:
The boys did wrestling, jumping, running, marching, horse riding and hunting.
Education in Sparta was meant to produce
1. A man who could endure the pains of battle
2. A man of command

History of Athens
Athens had a strategic geographical position since it was closer to the sea and it continuously
received cosmopolitan influences because it received contacts with foreign customs, habits,
ideas and knowledge. It was a marketplace for goods, material and intellectual opinion. It
was the meeting place between the West and the East. Some writers say, Athens was the
world stock exchange in the universal currency of ideas. Athens was a democratic state
which permitted education for democracy and individual freedom. The education system
aimed at a balanced and harmonised interaction of the mind and the body which would in
turn uplift the soul. Their education was designed to produce a sophisticated and cultured
person; their curriculum comprised of:
1. Music
2. Arts
3. Literature
4. Astronomy
5. Philosophy
P a g e 2 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

6. Pure Mathematics
The children in Greece entered school at seven but parents had the liberty to choose where
their children went for their schooling.
Early Childhood Education (before formal education) consisted of:
a. Gymnastics
b. Music
c. Dance
d. Poetry
e. Choral singing
f. Reading
g. Writing
h. Counting
They also participated in religious, social, political and military activities. Lastly, the
Athenian education system wanted to achieve in the learner a proper balance in moral,
mental, physical, and aesthetic development.

Aims/Objectives of education in Athens

1. Develop a well–proportioned body. When doing an activity the emphasis was on the
beauty of performance rather than the outcome.
2. Develop a citizen soldier who was prepared to defend the country. [Training done at
palestria, under the guidance of a trained man called a Paidotribe].

Athens has provided the strongest influence on the theory and practice of education in
many countries today. Women and girls were not considered in the physical education
and sport programmes in Athens.

P a g e 3 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Events in Ancient Greece

The Greeks did ball games and other athletic activities. These were done to help with their
health and to keep them fit. They also promoted social skills.

Ball Games in Greece

There were 2 types of ball games in the Greek culture, these included, large balls which were
inflated pig or ox bladders. The small balls were stuffed with animal hair, they were
pushed/hit by sticks; whilst they kicked the larger ones. Balls were played in a sphaterion
which resembles the modern–day stadium. Annual competitions took place where only boys
were involved. Boys performed in nudity.
Types of games played
1. Ourania – It was a game where one player threw the ball in the air while the other
leapt to catch it.
2. Opporrhaxis – One player bounced the ball and counted the number of bounces
3. Episkuros – Two teams with equal numbers with a line drawn between the centres
aimed to push the opponent beyond the end line behind the opponent.
4. Donkey – The ball was continuously thrown to a player until one player drops the
ball. The player who dropped the ball automatically became the “donkey” and would
carry the winner on their back.
5. Harpastum – This was very popular and attracted a lot of spectators in the stadium
(no women were allowed in the stadium). A player stood between two teams and tried
to intercept the passes, the passer was not allowed to make the ball touch the ground.
Once the ball touched the ground the passer’s team would have lost.

Influences to today’s game

1. The concept of fitness-related activities.

P a g e 4 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

2. The concept of therapeutic exercise

3. The development of modern games
4. The concept of activity as a social medium

Athletic events in Ancient Greece

National festivals were very important in Greek culture and they could have laid a foundation for the modern Olympic Games. The first Olympic
Games were held in 776 B.C. in Athens and were held after every 4 years thereafter, until they were temporarily abolished by the Romans in 394
A.D. They were then resumed after WWII in 1948.

Events in the Olympic Games

The athletic events included:
a. Wrestling
b. High–jumping
c. Broad–jumping
d. Boxing
e. Weight throwing
f. Horse–riding
The victors did not receive any material reward for their achievement, but a wreath of flowers (olive branch) was given/presented as a sign of
appreciation for their victory. However, the victors were heroes in everyone’s eyes. They had privileges bestowed upon themselves by their
hometowns. The Olympics were a religious festival in honour of the Greek god Zeus. These Olympic Games gave Greece supremacy which
wanted to promote peace and cooperation among nations.

Organisation of the Games

P a g e 5 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

1. Strict rules were followed during the games.

a. When games started a truce between any two warring nations was called for.
b. No weapons were allowed near the Olympic Games & fines were imposed for the violation of the rule.
c. The athletes were to:
- Take an oath
- Not allowed to kill opponents
- Not allowed to use unfair tactics
- Not to bribe
- Not allowed to argue with officials
2. The games opened and closed with great ceremonies

In around 200 B.C. there was a wandering tribe, called the Latins, settled near the Tiber River in Italy. This was later renamed Rome. They made
decisions which affected the development of P.E. and they conquered surrounding areas, including Greece. With their well organised army they
extended their influence throughout Europe. The conquests changed the mind-sets of the Romans and they now craved for material things and
wealth became the objective of the Romans.
Luxurious living, corruption, extravagancy and vice characterised the lifestyle of the Romans. As for P.E. the Romans felt it was only for their
health and military. They hired mercenaries to fight for them so they saw no need for training. Aspects of the Greek culture i.e. Gymnastics were
not accepted, rather, Romans were interested in being spectators rather than participants. They loved things that were exciting, bloody, gusting
and sensational e.g.
- Chariot races
- Gladiatorial combats
- The spectators got excited when men fought animals.
In a nutshell, Romans loved brutality, however, they would reward those who would have participated and won activities, e.g. Diocoles of Spain
who retired at 42 after winning 1 462 games out of 4 457. He got the equivalent of $2 million.

The fall of the Roman Empire

P a g e 6 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

There are many reasons attributed to the fall of the Empire, the outstanding ones are:
1. The decay of the physical and moral fibre of the Romans
a. They loved divorces
b. They loved games
c. They loved suicides
2. Extravagancy was common
a. Misuse of public funds led to economic ruin [they could no longer afford mercenaries]
3. Luxurious living and vice led to
a. poor health and physical deterioration
b. Consequently a weakened army

Research
Ascetism
Scholactism

Health Education
Components of fitness
Physical fitness is being able to cope with the demands of life on a day-to-day basis.

P a g e 7 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Principles of Training
1. Readiness – physical fitness depends on physiological maturity. Readiness is usually associated with maturation. Before puberty athletes
are not physiologically ready, so they should be exempted from physically demanding activities. As a P.E teacher or Coach you should
concentrate on skill development rather than the physical aspect.
2. Individual response – We are created differently and we respond to issues, whether physical or mental differently. As a coach you must
recognise individual differences. We respond differently to physical activity because of:
a. Hereditary – We inherit things like:
 Muscle fibre (2 different people possess different muscle fibres) i.e. the fast twitch & slow twitch – these are inherited from our
lineage. Fast twitch muscles are muscles that quickly get tired when doing a physical activity and slow twitch muscles take longer
to get fatigued.
b. Maturity
c. Nutrition
d. Rest & Sleep
e. Environment
 Noise
 Rain
 Sun (extreme heat)
f. Illness or injury

P a g e 8 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

g. Motivational levels – According to Maslow, it is what pushes us to do an activity, whether it is external or internal.
h. Developmental Age – We have 2 types of age:
 Chronological – Biological age
 Training – The number of years you have spent training
3. Adaptation – To adapt is to be used to an activity. One takes months or even years to adapt to a physical activity. As a coach you should
not rush your athletes to adapt, adaptation is evidenced by physical fitness improvement.
4. Overload – The body at times needs to work under stress in order to adapt, this will enable us to improve the level of fitness. Under
overload we have the acronym FITT which helps us achieve a desired fitness level.
- Frequency – How often do you exercise?
- Intensity – How hard/heavy is the physical activity?
- Time – Duration of the physical activity
- Type – What type of a physical activity are you engaged in?
5. Progression – Physical activities must progress from the known to unknown, and from general to specific ones. They move from parts to
the whole. They must move from quantity to quality, e.g.
a. Quantity – Can be put into numerical values – 100m sprint
b. Quality – Was it up to standard? – One takes 3 minutes another takes 10 seconds.
6. Specificity – It demands that the training programmes must be specific to a particular sport code.
7. Variation – In order to maintain athletes’ interests and motivation in sports, we need to vary our activities.
8. Warm-up/Cool-down
a. Warm-up – These are all the activities done before any strenuous activity. There are different reasons why we warm-up i.e.
- To prepare the body for activities to come.
- To increase body temperature – which increases blood flow through the muscles
- Reduces muscle injury (Ruptures)
- Prepares athlete mentally
Types of warm-up - Walking, Jogging, Running, Sprinting, Stretching (dynamic)
b. Cool-down – It is the activities done after a strenuous activity.
Types of cool-down – Light walks, Light runs, Light Stretches (Static), Breathing in and out deeply,
9. Long-term Training – Athletes must be given ample time to train for a specific skill that can be done for a period of a time.
10. Reversibility – “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” When athletes get to a certain level of training, they must not have to spend too much
time resting because they will lose what they would have gained physically.
P a g e 9 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

11. Balance – Activities in a training programme must be balanced to include those that promote the health aspect and those that promote the
skill components.
12. Recovery – After a training programme has been followed we need to encourage athletes to take a rest from heavy activities, so that
different muscle groups recover.

Periodisation
This is the breaking up of a year or sporting season into segments in order to improve the athlete’s performance. It can be broken into 3 segments
with:
1. Macrocycle being the biggest segment, e.g. a year, 2 years, 4 years (Olympic cycle).
This is the entire season/year which needs to be broken.
2. Meso-cycle which is a slightly shorter period, e.g. 4 months, 5 months or 6 months.
This is usually half a year.
3. Micro-cycle which is the smallest period, e.g. 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 days.
It is characterised by hard/intensive training which follows competitive rules and has a period of recovery.

Phases of periodisation
1. Preparation
Phase 1: The main objective is to increase conditioning of the athletes so that they become adaptive and hence improve their
performance. Conditioning (physical adaptations of athletes) activities vary from low to high volumes and as they progress high intensity
activities are introduced. Preparation is divided into:
a. General
This training is where we target the whole body. The idea is to improve the aerobic fitness.
b. Specific

P a g e 10 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Related training is designed to perfect components of sport technique, e.g. in athletics one can be asked to work with heavy
implements (weight training). You can also look at resistance training, where you are preparing for, gymnastics, swimming or
athletics. They can also do some drills for games, which are specific to a technique. We can rehearse technical rules where the
competition rules are applied in actual competitions.
Phase 2: It is a period full of specialised training which will lead to competition period. It lasts about a month and a half but can stretch to 2 – 3
months. This is where the coach stresses on better performance.
Phase 3: Competition phase – The athlete at this stage is expected to produce optimal performance in competitions. Fitness level and sport
specific techniques should also be high.
Phase 4: Transition – It is when we gradually reduce loading (adding intensity), emphasis should be on the physical and emotional relaxation in
a leisure way/pursuit. This is a period where we should allow our athletes to be active rather than passive. It is also a period of preparation into
commencement of the next training year. It is also a period of rehabilitation of the injured athletes. This period is also characterised by an
evaluation of the previous seasons’ performance.

P a g e 11 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Scheming & Planning – Physical Education, Sport & Mass Display (PESMD
– Grade 1-7)

Scheming – A break-down of topics from the syllabus into teachable units.

Schemes of work are drawn from a syllabus.
This syllabus was written in 2015 and was meant to end in 2022, it is meant to be reviewed and become an authentic
syllabus.
Types of Syllabi
1. The national syllabus is found in every school. Schools have the autonomy to decide what to teach.
2. We also have the school-based syllabus which differentiate due to resources teachers may want to implement.

P a g e 12 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Pre-schemed data
University of Zimbabwe
Centre for Teacher Education and Materials Development
In Association with
Gateway Christian Training College
Diploma in Education (Primary)

P a g e 13 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Tinotenda Anesu Nyatsanza

Candidate Number:
School Name (for Teaching Practice)
Subject: PESMD – Physical Education, Sports & Mass Display
Period covered: e.g. 13 weeks/8weeks etc.
Grade schemed for: Grade 4, 5 etc.
Timetable: e.g. 5 periods a week Number of periods the subject appears
Class Information:
Class/Grade Boys Girls Total Ability
4C 14 20 34 Levels of
learners in
the class
General
Aims:
Ability is indicated from the previous class records. We usually have mixed ability levels.
If they are screened – you put screened (high achievers), rather than mixed.
General Aims are stated as long-term targets/goals. They are picked from the syllabus word for word. Good of examples
are:
To enable learners to …
Appreciate the value of Physical education

P a g e 14 | 24
 Physical Education - teacher

Acquire the skills of athletics

Develop the sense of living a healthy environment

Weekly Aims – This what the teacher wishes to attain within the week. From the general aims we come up with weekly
aims. The stem is:
To enable learners to… appreciate the value of physical activities and hygiene.

Weekly Aim
Week
Topic/Content Competencies Source of Matter Media/Facilities Methods/Activities
Ending
Human Body - Name - National Syllabus - Presentations - Command style
31/03/23
(1)

- Draw 2015 – 2022 - Charts on the - Reciprocal

Humans have external and - Label - School Syllabus external and - Practice style
internal body parts. - Identify - Textbooks internal body Activities
- Discuss parts. - answering
- Mould - Models questions
- Work cards - carrying class
discussions …
- drawing/labelling
Comments
Lesson was taught and aims achieved in the week.
in General
Individual High Achievers Average Low achievers
P a g e 15 | 24
 Physical Education - teacher

comments

A command style is a teacher-centred method where the teacher is the source of all knowledge and the learner is a passive
recipient. It is a method that can be used when we want uniformity, synchronisation of activities and when we want to save
time.
It is a learner-centred methodology which encourages cross-pollination of ideas between the learners.
Practice style – Learner centred method, which engages the learner in practically oriented activities.

P a g e 16 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Pedagogy

It is the method of how teachers teach in theory and in practice. It comes from the word ‘Paidagogos’ which is a
combination of Paidos (child) and Agogos (slave). It was a concept of education that was more self-reflective and was
concerned with skills and knowledge building. It got support from Plato, a proponent of an instructional system that applied
the Socratic Method which uses questions.
It can therefore mean that pedagogy is the study of different teaching methods. When teaching, there are 2 parties involved,
teacher and learner, and they work together in some program which is designed to modify the learners experience and
understanding in some way.

Teaching/Coaching Styles
Physical education is an integral part of the education process which uses physical activity as a primary means to promote
psycho-motor, cognitive, and the socio-affective domains to enhance quality of life. Long back, PE classes focused on the
physical aspects only but it has changed. The focus is now on all the domains of learning, the intellectual, social and the
moral.
When teaching there is an assortment of styles/methods a teacher or coach may choose from. These styles range from
indirect to direct, where direct are more teacher centred and the indirect being learner-centred.

P a g e 17 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Teacher Centred Approach

The COMMAND Style
a. The teacher makes all the decisions on what, when and how to teach as well as how to evaluate and provide feedback.
Teaching and learning strategies i.e., the lecture method, verbal presentations, demonstrations and drills are used.
Harrison and Blackemore (1992), allude to the fact that command style is a well sought out style because it achieves
objectives of precision, synchronisation and uniformity. It is most applicable when safety, efficient use of class time
and teacher/coach control is essential.

Advantages
- Discipline is maintained
- Ensured safety
- Efficient use of learning time
- Gives athletes/learners opportunity to watch a skill performed accurately and observe the critical elements of
the task through a demonstration.
- Athlete may repeat the skill many times.
- Teacher/coach makes additional helpful comments and coaching tips to the learners/athletes when necessary.
- It gives the learner a clear picture of the expectations of the lesson or coaching session.
- Efficient when dealing with large numbers/crowd given limited time.

Disadvantages
- Doesn’t permit some decision making by the athletes as to where they would want to practice/work as
individuals or in pairs.

P a g e 18 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

- It is insensitive to individual differences/needs

- Doesn’t promote originality or innovative thinking by learners.

Question & Answer Technique

The Socratic method brought by Pluto
(Simple to Complex)
- The teacher or coach tries to ascertain and evaluate the knowledge gained by learners with regards to the skill
or subject matter by asking questions and getting answers
- It is a whole group/class program
- It maintains a high level of motivation
- Learners participate in turns
- It helps give a diagnostic feedback
- It helps the teacher to plan appropriately
- The teacher can dictate the pace
- Questions can range from high order to low order

Advantages
- It encourages maximum participation
- It encourages independent thinking
- /creative and critical thinking
- Helps the teacher/coach ascertain individual differences on learners
- It can be used to reflect learners background and attitude
P a g e 19 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

- It is uses to establish good rapport with the athletes/learners

- Can be applied in almost all teaching methods
Disadvantages
- It is time consuming
- Needs a lot of skill on part of the coach/teacher to make proper use of the method & use appropriate language
- Can be dominated and abused by intelligent learners if the teacher/coach is not careful
- It can be monotonous if style of questioning is not varied `

Critically examine some other teacher centred styles of teaching and list S&W of the listed styles
Learner centred teaching styles have their disadvantages, pick on a learner centred approach you have studied and look at its
disadvantages

Child-centred Teaching
When the Learner is in charge of the way they learn
Reciprocal Styles
- Learners provide feedback to each other
- A learner/group perform whilst others observe & provide feedback & exchange roles
- The teacher designs the task and then supervises
- Learners work together with others on a social aspect and acquire knowledge and skills through observing and
analysing in the cognitive
P a g e 20 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

- Task cards may include pictures and descriptions to assist the observer

Advantages
- There is high opportunity for instant feedback on every trial
- It improves understanding since learners will be observing each other.
- Helps communication skills and collaboration
- Promotes patience, confidence and tolerance
- Develops analytical skills in learners
- Helps build up team spirit and encourages them to work harder
Disadvantages
- The task may be too complicated for the learners to comprehend
- Some learners may fail to properly analyse the other’s performance leading to provision of inaccurate
feedback.
- Learners who are socially and emotionally immature may have problems working with others and accepting
feedback positively
- It can be time consuming since learners have to adapt and be comfortable in their new role as observers.

Practice Styles
- Most common type employed in the teaching of physical education and sports
- The teacher/coach makes all the decisions concerning the lesson/session, the objectives to be achieved

P a g e 21 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

Advantages
- Encourages social interaction amongst the learners
- Learners have room for originality and individual opinion
- Learners can decide how to carry out a task and where
- Teacher/coach can offer feedback to specific groups

Disadvantages
- Content/skill may be too difficult to comprehend
- If not well supervised learners may be playful
- Its time consuming in terms of organisation and preparation
- Might not be suitable for learners who are socially withdrawn
- Fast learners might over dominate

Guided Discovery
Problem Solving

Qualities of a good P.E Teacher.

Understanding, nurturing, deal with problems well, encouraging, confident, inspiring, a role model, communicate well,
respectful, etc.

P a g e 22 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

What is quality teaching?

What does it mean to be a quality teacher?
- You should appreciate the artistic viewpoint.
- Knowledge of the subject being taught.
- Interest in the subject being taught.
- Enthusiasm about the subject being taught.
- Good communication skills.
- Solid personality: Demanding learners’ level of achievement beyond normal expectancy.
How does it work?
- It requires you to have a humanistic and ethical philosophy
Ethical – being proper, morally upright, fair (judge free), giving value to things, being friendly, firm etc.
Humanistic –
- You need to be innovative/ creative, what new things are you bringing to the school?
- Are you emotionally stable? – Sports are a centre for sensitivity, as the responsible person you need to be able
to remain neutral.
- You should be able to achieve your objectives by being patient.
- You should share the information you have, you can learn new things through those conversations.
- You should be able to push children beyond their “limitations”.
What are the outcomes for the children?
- When you are emotionally stable you are able to comfort the children when they are distressed.
- When you are knowledgeable about the subject you won’t fall behind the students.

P a g e 23 | 24
Physical Education - teacher

- They can achieve things that they would’ve never imagined.

How will it promote lifelong learning?
- The endeavour is to develop good athletes
What is the role of a coach?
- Empathetic
- Prioritise the athlete over the competition
- Good communication between the athlete and coach
- Consistently discuss progress of the athlete
- Provide an environment where the athlete can participate in long and short term planning.
- Plan for physical, technical, tactical and psychological preparation.

What are some of the qualities of a good teacher?

What are the roles of a coach?

P a g e 24 | 24