Active in My Community

One of the often stated goals of physical education is to promote engagement in physical activity outside of the school gate. However, when I ask my own students what opportunities exist for them to be active in their communities, they are quick to point out the spaces where the activities are pre-defined (i.e. basketball, tennis court, golf course etc.) and while they are also able to identify trails and parks nearby, they had a harder time thinking more abstract about the movement possibilities that could be found in these open, undefined spaces. As we sought to address this, the challenge was that our school is a rural campus, which draws students from all over the surrounding area - some students live in rural farm communities while others live in the suburbs or city. To explore how students could be active in their community, would mean identifying activities that were transferable to many communities. 

The activities we chose for the unit were trail biking, soccer, softball. While soccer and softball can often use specialized facilities, they are also games that can be organized in open spaces with minimal equipment, with substitutes for bases or markers for goals. The towns and cities our school draws from, have  strong trail and pathway systems which students could access via bikes. For one class, park games (target/law games, and slackline) were chosen instead of soccer. 

Lesson Progression
For 3-4 lessons, student sampled each activity. The biking progression we used started on pavement and flat trails before moving to more difficult trails, and finally student-directed biking challenges. At the end each 'activity sample' students reflected on the features of each activity that resonated with them most.  As 'fun' seemed to be the dominating feature, we spent some more time unpacking exactly what about each activity was fun (through which the other features became more prevalent). In interviews, students mentioned how the sense of freedom and adventure were what made biking fun, while previous positive experiences, confidence and social dynamics were motivators for fun experiences in softball and soccer. 

After the periods of sampling were complete, it came time for student's to make choices of which activity they chose to engage in. The below photo shows the choice board. At the beginning of class, students would move their magnet to indicate their choice but also consider why they were making that choice. Logistically, on some days we would only offer 2 of 3 choices so we could manage supervision. This process continued for an additional 3-4 lessons. ​

Heading Out into the Community
We ended the unit by actually heading out into a nearby local community where these activities could take place (and nearby where some of our students live). The local park recently built a pump track (left), which seemed to be the popular choice for many, while others preferred to head out on the pathways or find some dirt jumps. Of course, there were a number of students who were quick to organize softball and soccer games as well. 

Student Interviews
As part of an on-going project to better understand how implementing the meaningful PE framework is impacting our students, we interview a group of 15-20 students at various points throughout the year. At the end of this unit, one pointed question we asked was "through this unit, explain how your understanding of how to be active in your community improved, or stayed the same?". About 60% of the students noted their understanding of how to be active in the community improved, noteable responses include:

• "My understanding of how to be active in my community has improved, because after we did the biking unit, I found myself biking more frequently to get better"   - Grade 8 Student 1 
• "Oh, it's definitely improved. I never would of never really thought of that until you said it, and just assumed the unit was 'field games', even hearing 'active in my community' makes me think oh I can go biking and play soccer where I live"  - Grade 8 Student 2
• "It has improved, I used to bike a lot when I was younger, but forgot I could actually bike around my house. I liked it before and this unit has got me back into biking, I do it every day now"  - Grade 8 Student 3

Quantitatively, we have been surveying this entire grade anonymously for the past 2 years using questions related to the features of MPE, and a likert scale. After stagnation in questions related to 'seeing the connections between PE and life outside of school' we have seen a notable uptick in students 'agreeing' or 'strongly agreeing' that they now see these connections.  

While I think this unit certainly speaks to the importance of democratic and reflective practice when applying the meaningful PE framework, I believe it also speaks to the importance of being intentional  with our learning design. A "Field Games" unit, might very well imply opportunities to engage in these activities in the community. However, if the one of the goals of PE is to inspire participation outside of school, then this shouldn't be something left to chance.