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 The
Challenge of Creating Environments that
fully Engage Every Child
Written by: GS
Don Morris*, Ph.D.
What can physical educators do to adjust
activities that support their program
goals while also maximizing participation
among all students? Is it possible to
create learning environments in which
all participants feel safe, capable,
motivated and have a sense of connection
to others? Would such environments include
all individuals, particularly those
who may be embarrassed with their movement
competence, and those who may fear being
injured? What about those whose fitness
levels are so low it’s prevented
even minimal participation?
Questions such as these constantly
challenge physical educators. Fortunately,
successfully teaching physical education
in an environment that includes students
with diverse needs is not only doable,
but is occurring in schools throughout
the country. Reflecting upon children’s
needs, Richard Sagor
(2002) commented: “Skateboarders
need to feel competent, have a sense
of belonging, feel they are useful,
feel potent, and feel optimistic.”
Surely the same can be said of most
young people regardless of activity,
age, or ability?"
How can physical educators create a
movement environment that enables all
the participants to be fully engaged?
Stiehl et al (2008) noted that “Unmet
needs will undermine any participant’s
involvement in an activity. Someone
who feels incapable, excluded, useless,
or controlled is unlikely to be an enthusiastic
participant.” Stiehl condensed
Sagor’s five needs into the following
three needs:
1. The need to feel competent
(capable, proficient, successful because
of effort)
2. The need to feel connected
(safe, belonging, useful, an important
part of the team)
3. The need to feel confident
(autonomous, optimistic, hopeful in
outlook, having a positive identity)
Think about these three needs in your
life. How do they apply to your life
at work? With friends on the golf course?
When invited to a party with many unknown
participants? Try the following exercise:
Think about two movement activities,
one that you enjoy doing and one that
you avoid doing. Ask yourself, "Do
I feel competent enough to take on meaningful
challenges? Do I feel safe enough to
make mistakes in front of everyone?"
I suspect that your answers depend on
the mind-set that your bring to the
selected activities? “Evidence
is clear that the circumstances under
which physical activities are presented
will have a bearing on an individual’s
motivation to participate” (Standage,
Duda, Ntoumanis, 2003).
Meeting the needs of everyone might
at first sight seem impossible. In addition
to over 6 million special education
students (US Department
of Education, 2006), almost 40
per cent of public schools are comprised
of minority students (US
Department of Education, 2002).
Due to the increased levels of obesity
among American youths, physical education
and youth leaders are serving more low
and unfit youngsters than ever in our
country’s the history. Today’s
teachers and leaders face huge challenges
in meeting the needs of students who
bring to their classes a wide range
of movement skills, fitness levels,
and motivation to engage in movement
activities. Each of these conditions
influences our students’ willingness
to participate in physical activity.
But rather than view these student differences
as insurmountable obstacles, effective
teachers have learned to use the concepts
of change, challenge
and choice as opportunities
to address these differences.
Regardless of program goals it is common
sense to understand that any program
will be more successful when participants
are fully engaged. So, how do you select,
design and customize activities that
encourage involvement? Some time ago,
writing with Jim Stiehl, I suggested
that physical educators have three options
with any activity-you can “keep’em,
dump ‘em or change ‘em”
(Morris &
Stiehl (1999). I’d suggest
that you choose the third option - change
‘em. This approach allows you
to alter an activity to retain or enhance
its positive features, while reducing
or eliminating its negative features.
Fortunately, if children, students and
performers are more important to you
than the actual activities you teach,
then you are already over any discomfort
you might have about examining, and
then employing, some new strategies
to create an engaging environment.
What is common to all leaders/teachers
of students? Every day they must engage
in two processes: they must decide what
to teach and then how to teach
the “program activities.”
Answers to the “What and How”
directly reflect a teacher’s program
goals. Goals are dictated by one’s
set of beliefs. Specifically, what you
believe is the role and responsibility
of movement activity programs, coupled
with what you believe about your participants
(how they learn, what they are capable
of doing, how they develop), shapes
the design of a movement programs. And
it’s here that clear and concise
thinking is essential.
Applying the 3C’s approach to
both the design of the activities and
the means through which these activities
are presented ennobles all of the participants.
It’s through design that students
are included, accepted, and cared for.
Change grants “permission”
for the design of any movement activity
to be altered, modified, adjusted and
created to match the entry level of
fitness, skill and motivation all participants
bring to each movement session. Challenge
provides the necessary degree of difficulty
structure for all activities that allows
for inclusion of all.
Stiehl and his colleagues provide specific
strategies to enhance these 2 Cs (2008).
A simple activity model can provide
a recipe or algorithm for designing
or altering the design of any movement
activity. Developing appropriate challenges
is a logical extension of the change
strategy. You do this by considering
the activity’s degree of difficulty
relative to the abilities of those participating.
In addition you can challenge all participants
at a more appropriate level if the degree
of difficulty is adjusted to suit individuals
as well as an entire group. This technique,
referred to as task
differentiation (Mosston,
1966), and intra-task
variation (Graham,
Holt/Hale, & Parker, 2007),
prompts the instructor to modify a task
for individuals or small groups within
a larger group.
Choice is a deliberate
attempt to provide options among various
challenges. Offering choices is a logical
and crucial extension to providing challenges.
Choice abounds in the movement environment.
Leaders and participants can make choices
with respect to activity design, individual
task selected, challenges accepted,
as well as the level of participation
in an activity. There is another arena
where this concept matters. I call it
the “language of choice.”
The words that leaders use in their
physical activity setting can make an
enormous difference in their students’
attitude and participation. It pays
to choose your words carefully. Let
me introduce you to a style of verbal
communication that emphasizes personal
choice and encourages personal responsibility.
Our choice of words is crucial to student
participation. Yet, despite the undeniable
connection between our words and students’
behavior and attitudes, many of us often
use words without thinking about their
effect. For example, when a group solves
a problem or develops a new game strategy,
consider the difference between “Well
done, I’m proud of you!”
and “Your solution is the result
of persistence and hard work. You have
every right to be proud of yourselves.”
When using the first sentence, you risk
making the group more dependent on you
and your approval. In contrast, the
second sentence gives the group a sense
of its own abilities and accomplishments.
If we plan to shift important decisions
to players, then we must be mindful
of the words and style of communication
used in that process.
What participants hear, and the interpretations
that they attach to leader messages,
can bolster or undermine their sense
of security in a physical activity setting.
Our messages may ultimately also influence
a student's sense of self and the degree
to which she or he will display personal
control and appropriate interactions
with others. When messages are positive,
participants can become "powerful."
Powerful here does not connote force,
manipulation, or control; rather, a
sense of being able, a sense of empowerment.
A player who is powerful possesses a
sense of being valuable and capable.
A leader’s words should also
advance each student’s sense of
appropriate behavior. For some, this
requires speaking in ways that provide
a wider range of possibilities in the
physical activity setting. My colleagues
and I have drawn upon Faber and Mazlish’s
(2003)
discourse on the types of teacher talk
that encourages students to become accountable.
They suggest that we break “the
cycle of unhelpful talk that has been
handed down from generation to generation,
and pass on a different legacy to our
children” (1990,
p.233). The following serve as
examples of this “fresh”
language. The language may appear unfamiliar,
even awkward to use at first. But as
with any new skill, in order to succeed
one must be willing to practice and
persevere.
The type of language we recommend is
inviting and encouraging; it is a language
of acceptance creating a climate
of respect. It also requires
constant feedback and acknowledgement
about the sorts of participant behaviors
that lead to increasingly responsible
and appropriate behavior.
Supportive language lets participants
know, “You are capable. You are
worthwhile. You matter.” When
conveyed honestly, these messages can
enhance two aspects personal autonomy
and internal locus of control and perceived
competence. Participants who have an
internal locus of control are less susceptible
to the opinions of others regarding
their own self-worth and potential actions.
They believe that what happens to them
is largely a result of the choices they
make. When they can’t influence
what happens, they can still decide
how they will let circumstances affect
them.
Perceived competence refers to a person’s
subjective idea about his or her own
competence. Frequently, it includes
an objective assessment of one’s
ability to meet challenges, with success
being based on skill demonstration.
Perceived competence is influenced therefore,
by one’s own skill assessment
as well as by the judgments of others
who are viewed as important. People
are remarkably “aware of what
they can and can’t do and they
constantly probe their surroundings
for feedback about their capabilities”
(Damon, 1991,
p.14). Inoculating participants
with bland admonishments of who they
are can lead to a distrust of leader
communications (Stiehl
et al, 2008).
Summary
It’s possible for physical educators
to create environments that engage all
students. By attending to the design
of activities, and through the use of
language that empowers participants,
you can create magic in your program
without any sleight of hand. Strategies
exist that enable all movement leaders
to intentionally develop programs that
include all of their diverse populations.
Using the 3Cs of Change,
Challenge and Choice
your days will be short, your participants
will be excited, and all of you will
eagerly await tomorrow.
references
Richard Sagor (2002). Lessons
from skateboarders. Educational Leadership
September:34-38.
Stiehl, Jim, GS don Morris, Christina
Sinclair. Teaching
Physical Activity-Change, Challenge,
and Choice. Human Kinetics-2008
Standage, MJL Duda & N.Ntoumanis.
(2003) Journal of Educational Psychology,
95:97-110
Morris, GS Don & Stiehl J. (1999).
Changing
Kid’s Games (2nd edition).
Human Kinetics Pub.
Mosston, M. (1966). Teaching
physical education: From command to
discovery, Charles E. Merrill Pub.
Graham, G, SA Holt/Hale & M. Parker
(2007). Children
moving: A reflective approach to teaching
physical education (7th ed), McGraw-Hill
Pub.
Damon, W & D Hart (1991). Self-understanding
in childhood and adolescence. Hillsdale,
NJ: Cambridge Press
Faber, Adele and Elaine Mazlish, “How
To Talk So Kids Can Learn,”
Avon Books, New York, 2003
* G.S. Don Morris, PhD, is a former
professor at California State Polytechnic
University at Pomona, serving as coordinator
of curriculum, instruction, and teacher
education in Kinesiology. Dr. Morris
spent over 25 years teaching in local
elementary schools. He designed and
created a model elementary PE curriculum
used in many California school districts.
Currently he is associated with Wingate
Institute and Zinman College in Israel
and divides his time between Cal Poly
Pomona and Zinman College. In his leisure
time, he enjoys snow skiing, participating
in all water activities, and spending
time in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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