06/25/2019
2 minute read
One complaint about physical education programs is that they take away focus from academic courses. When a program is designed well, though, it has the opposite effect. Your school program can give students a break in the day, energize their bodies and minds, and help sharpen their minds in the process. Build in the right activities, and your school’s students will thrive.
A poorly designed physical education program involves a lot of standing around. A few people might be playing hard in sports while the rest stand around or slink away from the action. The stereotypical image comes to mind of a full-class game of dodgeball, with a few bigger, stronger kids hurling red balls while the masses try to hide behind each other.
The more you can do to boost the action for everyone, the more successful your program will be. Build in activities that have all of the students moving and actively participating. This spreads out not only the physical health benefits, but also the cardiovascular effects on their minds.
In education coursework, prospective teachers learn the value of giving students more than one way to learn. This can include both reading and listening, or in some courses tactile work to learn by doing. Your physical education program can do similar work. Teaching new games and skills, both by explaining and having them try it, fires up neurons to activate the brain.
By teaching new skills through both discussion and motor activity, you activate different parts of students’ brains at the same time. This kind of engagement keeps them focused and helps them learn better–both during the activities you are teaching and well after.
We all learn more effectively when we enjoy what we are doing. A challenge in physical education classes is to take a diverse group of students, with various interests and physical gifts, and give all of them something they can enjoy. You need to use the space you have to its maximum potential, keep as many students active as possible, and find a way to make it fun.
An activity that involves frequent movement can help. In addition, a new twist on a familiar activity gives your students, in some ways, a level playing field. Everyone is learning and adjusting to something at the same time. This provides a real opportunity to both get them to focus on learning and create a fun new experience.
360 Hoops is a product designed to help your school build a more effective physical education program. Everyone has seen basketball, but no one in your class has seen it quite like this. The unique, patented design helps engage more students in a smaller space, both allowing greater simultaneous participation and requiring a focus and engagement much more constant than what a regular court entails. Contact us today to learn how we can improve your physical education program.
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