Presentation Script - Gym

Additional Notes:

INTRODUCTION:

Gymnastics has always had a central place in the physical education curriculum - because in its unique way it provides children with an opportunity to develop greater confidence in using their bodies, in a fluent and precise manner - especially when compared to the more favourable sports such as football and explore their creativity - all which can have a positive impact on personal development.

BACKGROUND TO REASONING BEHIND STUDY:

From past and current experiences of teaching Gymnastics in secondary school the response from pupils seems to be very negative, the majority of classes, especially girls have been de-motivated and uninterested in the Gymnastics Unit of work, with many quoting it boring and the least favourite of the sports offered.

I found this very hard to believe after PGCE training where we spent a large proportion of our practical time on gymnastics - focusing on the use of equipment and making lessons fun and challenging.

Where does the problem lie?

I feel the problem lies particularly in Smithdon High School in the teaching style adopted (Command). The unit is taught largely in the style of command teaching, whereby the learner responds immediately to the stimulus or model provided by the teacher and also very robotic, creating an artificial environment - Now in the current climate of teaching and learning at no point are the pupils taking control of their own learning.

THE STUDY AIMS:

Over my chosen period of time I looked at taking the current unit away from the present command style and using teaching styles that focus on pupils greater task involvement such as the guided discovery approach where by the teacher designs a leads the learner through a series of small gymnastics steps to discover the solution to a problem.

This use of different styles aims to involve the learners in the convergent process of thinking about conceptual or movement problems that may occur when developing and composing their gymnastics routine. The pupils will be given the opportunity to take charge, using responsibility and leadership to plan their own learning programme over the 6 lesson time limit seeking the teachers help when required (Teacher Intervention).

The study was not aiming to compare command style verses the guided discovery approach but is aiming to see how the pupils responded to the change in relation to enjoyment levels and their motivation towards gymnastics.

"More pupil centred learning and less direct teaching approached would allow pupils to take more independent and active role within the classroom" WHITEHEAD & CAPEL

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