More HOW: Propositions in practice

After posting my last blog I felt rather perplexed – surely the new National Curriculum has been implemented somewhere to demonstrate how the propositions can be successfully implemented into Physical Education.

To ease my troubled mind I searched and I searched and I found that very article I was searching for!

As mentioned in my last post, McCuaig, Quennerstedt and MacDonald (2013) consolidated my findings that there is a very limited amount evidence of the implementation of the new National Curriculum… which makes sense since it’s yet to be endorsed. But never fear! Our very own McCuaig, Carroll, McDonald, Rossi and fellow UQ colleagues (2013) are here!

In response to the lack of research, they implemented a Health Literacy unit that successfully integrated all propositions into a number of Ipswich schools. To examine the practices used to achieve this, I will continue from my last blog and focus on how the Strengths Based Approach proposition (as a majority of readers voted it as one of the most difficult to integrate).

In this unit, HPE students were required to create a Healthy Living in Ipswich website that included the following:

• Class front page: identifying 5– 6 healthy living themes
• Theme Home Page – introduce the character/star of your health theme website
• Guidelines and Breaking down health jargon
• Healthy living in action: Interactive challenge activity
• Five Star Resources in our Community
• Reality Check: Tips and strategies from Ipswich young people

How is a strengths based approach used? First, students are required to identify strengths of their community. Rather than asking a question of deficit, “How can the community help me find information to avoid disease or illness?” this asks, “How can the community help me stay active and healthy?” Student knowledge is applied in a novel experience to create a brand new website to assist those in and outside of the classroom.

Second, the students’ discovery of knowledge is heavily dependent on an inquiry-based approach. In doing so, learning is varied between learners depending on students’ strengths, prior knowledge and values which facilitate the direction of their assessment experience. The unit is clearly individualised to each student.

Finally, the unit was specifically designed around student voice. To increase student voice, a high level of group work and brainstorming helped students develop their ideas. Students could build on their values and beliefs, and use their strengths to recreate information to assist others with similar issues. Their voice shaped the focus of their assessment task and the objectives of lessons.

As you can imagine students responded favourably to this unit. Teacher responses, however, bring us back to the difficulties of transitioning to the new National Curriculum. A major problem for teachers was releasing some control of student direction. In reaction some wanted to revert back to a pathogenic approach of to limit student choice, rather than let student voice direct the task.

Surely if a teacher struggles this much to carry out this style of unit plan, creating one from scratch that successfully incorporates the five propositions is going to be even more difficult, right?

I want to know if you have successfully implemented the 5 propositions into your unit or lesson plans, and how did you get there? What kinds of resources helped you to create it?