MESHGuides

On first reflection, we can often observe children who flourish in the classroom but struggle in PE, or vice versa. Such observations can lead to the belief that children have different ‘styles’ of learning that are fixed, such that a child who enjoys reading and writing may never be as comfortable learning in the physical domain. Each child is at a different stage of a learning journey that spans from the abstract and theoretical to the practical and physical reality.

In keeping with Vygotsky’s theory of ‘scaffolding’, learning is promoted in a variety of ways. These include breaking the task down in to smaller pieces (technique of a skill), co-operative learning (peer support and teacher input), communication (dialogue between teacher and students), prompts, cue cards and modelling (demonstrations). These strategies develop teamwork, peer dialogue as well as a sense of achievement.

Feedback refers to information provided by an agent such as a teacher or parent regarding performance or understanding (Hattie & Timperly, 2007). In a practical subject such as PE there are two types of feedback which are usually deployed; knowledge of results (KR) and knowledge of performance (KP).

Scaffolding is a valuable tool both for planning lessons to achieve learning outcomes and for guiding observation and feedback in lessons. Zhao and Orey (1999) identify these six general features of the scaffolding process as: sharing a specific goal, whole task approach, immediate availability of help, intention assisting, optimal level of help, and conveying an expert model.

The term ‘scaffolding’ comes from the works of Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976). The term ‘scaffolding’ was developed as a metaphor to describe the type of assistance offered by a teacher or peer to support learning. In the process of scaffolding, the teacher helps the student master a task or concept that the student is initially unable to grasp independently. The teacher offers assistance with only those skills that are beyond the student’s capability. Of great importance is allowing the student to complete as much of the task as possible, unassisted.

Knapp (1973) considers learning to be ‘permanent change in performance associated with experience.’ To help expand on this definition and provide some practical application of how learning takes place in PE, the following 3 stages should be considered; understanding phase, verbal motor phase and motor phase. Phase 1 – Cognitive (understanding phase). This stage is inconsistent and performance is not guaranteed. Students rely on the teacher to inform them of what to do and the technique associated with success.

Chittleborough CR, Nicholson AL, Basker E, Bell S, Campbell R. (2012). Factors influencing hand washing behaviour in primary schools: process evaluation within a randomized controlled trial. Health Education Resources. 27(6):1055-68

Hugonnet, S. & Pitte (2000). Hand hygiene revisited: Lessons from the past and present. Current Infectious Disease Reports. 2: 484.

A set of interactive resources called ‘A Germ’s Journey’ has been developed between a microbiologist and educationalist to teach about germs and the consequences of hand washing, i.e. good health or bad health. These have been developed to engage children in a number of different activities to embed their learning about health and hygiene; a book, a website with games, downloadable colouring sheets and an optional hand washing activity appropriate for ages 3-7 years.

Hand washing has been shown to be the most effective measure in infection control to prevent cross contamination of disease in a number of research studies (Hugonnet & Pitte, 2000). With a 3rd of infections being preventable with good hand hygiene (Judah et al. 2009), however, young children often do not have the appropriate etiquette and knowledge in order to readily implement hand washing routines, therefore educational resources and interventions are often required in order for them to do so (Randle et al. 2013)