Rationale for a unit of work as a whole covering its aims and how it links with the rest of the physical education curriculum.
Rationale for a unit of work as a whole covering its aims and how it links with the rest of the physical education curriculum.
Unit of work - Invasion games - Football
Content - Attacking and defending strategies
Year group - 9 Key Stage 3
Duration - 5 weeks (5 lessons)
To provide pupils with effective teaching, it must be clear what is being taught and the aim of the teaching. This can be summed up in the question "What do we (teacher/pupil) want to achieve?" This question can be addressed in a number of ways; in school terms the National Curriculum has clear objectives that are aspired to by all teachers. However if we look at just long term aims over the space of a key stage or year (schemes of work) then individual lessons can lose focus and meaning. To avoid this we break our long-term aims into more manageable objectives known as units of work (medium term planning), and this is from where we draw our individual lesson aims/objectives. Short-term objectives create a focus that can be achieved in a lesson and are part of a logical progression that lead to the achievement of medium term objectives (unit of work) stated in the National Curriculum.
Planning
If the National Curriculum for Physical Education is to be implemented successfully into schools then detailed planning (schemes of work, units of work and individual lesson plans) is an essential part of any p.e. department. Clark & Yinger (1987) stated "...planning influences learning opportunities, content and organisation."
The unit of work I created, developed and implemented was constructed using the schools scheme of work for games activities, with specific reference to football. The scheme of work was derived from the National Curriculum programmes of study and end of key stage descriptions. A set of coherently planned programmes of learning experiences for the pupils were provided by the scheme of work and it also provided me with the knowledge and skills to be learned in the area of football.
The group I was taking and that would follow the unit of work I designed was a mixed ability year 9 class of 22 students. The class contained pupils who were of a high ability in football and so the unit of work needed to address this. When planning the unit my initial thoughts were that it had to be flexible, contain elements that would push every pupil in the class and remain achievable over the five week period.
By looking at the year 8 scheme of work the pupils had followed I was able to get an understanding about what they had covered the previous academic year in football. I aslo acquired some assessment sheets that had been recorded on a number of the pupils when they completed the football scheme of work in year 8. By collecting and considering all this information, plus refering to, and having a sound knowledge of the National Curriculum I was able to start planning my unit of work that would last the five weeks until easter break when pupils changed activity.
The first point I had to consider was the theme of the unit, this would provide me with an area that both unit and lesson objectives could be derived from. I decided to cover 'attacking and defending strategies in football', this was an area that is involved in all games activities and pupils could use knowledge from other sports, to build on and develop these principles to improve performance in football. As I had not taught the group before this theme enabled me to progress the pupils further as most if not all pupils will have experienced tactical principles to some degree even if they had not be the primary focus of what they were learning.
The theme I had selected for the unit progressed the pupils from the previous scheme of work they had followed by focussing on the 'selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas' area taken from the National Curriculum programme of study. Although there would be elements of acquiring and developing skills, pupils would primarily be concerned with the application and implementation of principles of play, this would also require self assessment and evaluation techniques from all pupils.
The National Curriculum programme of study outlines the main areas I was focussing on and what level pupils should be at in key stage 3;
Selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas
Pupils should be taught to:
a use principles to plan and implement strategies, compositional and organisational ideas in individual, pair, group and team activities.
b modify and develop their plans
c apply rules and conventions for different activities.
Evaluating and improving performance
Pupils should be taught to:
a be clear about what they want to achieve in their own work, and what they have actually achieved.
b take the initiative to analyse their own and ohters' work, using this information to improve its quality. (National Curriculum Physical Education 2000)
Under games activities for key stage 3 the breadth of study states that pupils should be taught to respond to changing situations in the game and also "use the principle of attack and defence when planning and implementing complex team startegies." (National Curriculum Physical Education 2000).
The unit of work I designed had to encompass all of this knowledge over just five 50 minute lessons. The next stage of planning was to create unit objectives and decide on intended learning outcomes, what the pupils would be working towards. Another objective I was also considering was implementing cross-curricular themes into the unit and how these could be delivered, such as promoting key skills (ICT, problem solving etc) and promoting pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
"When planning units of work, objectives and intended learning outcomes need to be clearly defined, accessible, and related to National Curriculum programmes of study and end of key stage descriptions." (Mawer 1995)
Unit Objectives
My first unit objective was for all pupils to understand the importance of tactical and strategic principles in football. By discussing certain aspects of the game pupils draw on what they know about strategy, tactics and composition without realising perhaps that what they are discussing falls under these headings. All pupils will bring with them some experience of such principles so the unit objective will be to build on and develop them. So for example if a pupil passes the ball wide during a lesson the unit will focus on why they performed a certain skill in a ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
My first unit objective was for all pupils to understand the importance of tactical and strategic principles in football. By discussing certain aspects of the game pupils draw on what they know about strategy, tactics and composition without realising perhaps that what they are discussing falls under these headings. All pupils will bring with them some experience of such principles so the unit objective will be to build on and develop them. So for example if a pupil passes the ball wide during a lesson the unit will focus on why they performed a certain skill in a certain situation, "passed the ball wide to create space." This objective is designed so pupils understand the game more from extracting knowledge they already have and relating it to certain situations in football. It is an achieveable objective and one that follows on from the previous work they have done in this activity. Tactics will have been touched on in the prior scheme of work but this would not have been an indepth account, also pupils can relate the priciples of tactics and strategies to previous lessons they have had in football. Pupils do not have to be good footballers to have a good understanding and knowledge of tactics and strategies used in the game, so this provides an opportunity for such a pupil to perform well.
The importance of such tactics and strategies can be demonstrated by focussing on the second unit objective, implementing tactical and strategic principles in to the game.
The second unit objective requires pupils using the knowledge they have of tactics and strategic principles to improve performance.. It is a natural progression to implement tactics and strategies they have looked at and discussed. This objective has a number of strands as pupils can be instructed to implement a ceratin tactic at one end of the spectrum and implement and modify tactics independently (not teacher directed) as a result of changing circumstances at the other end of the spectrum. By the end of the unit all pupils will be able to implement a tactic/ strategy in to a game of football and change or modify it depending on how effective it is proving, this could be something as simple as, marking a particular player - transition - mark the closest player to you .The change could occur as a result of too many players becoming tired following the same person or as a result of too many unmarked players. This example was used in lesson 2 of the unit.
The third unit objective was concerned with evaluation, the ability to identify strengths and weaknesses in their own and others implentation of tactics and strategies and offer effective feedback that leads to an improvement in performance. This unit objective provides pupils with a platform to go and build on in the scheme of work that follows the scheme they worked through and for which my unit of work was designed for. Pupils had little experience of providing effective feedback and so this unit provided them with an introduction to evaluation and feedback and the skills needed for it to be used effectively. This ensured that there was key stage continuity as the unit built on prior learning and prepared the pupils for future learning.
Cross Curriculur
Physical education caters for pupils wider educational needs and can help educate the whole person, this is highlighted in the National Curriculum for physical education:
"Physical education provides opportunities for pupils to be creative, competitive and face up to different challenges as individuals and in groups and teams.....pupils learn how to think in different ways....." (National Curriculum physical education 2000)
Team games such as football provide pupils with social development as working in a team involves cooperation, collaboration, responsibility and personal commitment. Throughout the unit pupils were given different roles and responsibilities for setting up and playing the game. Pupils were split into groups, within each group different roles (equipment manager, referee etc) were designated to different pupils each week, each having distinct and clear responsibilities.
Issues such as fair play and positive sporting attitudes that are an integral part of team games help develop the pupil morally. All pupils got the chance to referee part of a football game and ensure the conditions put on the game were followed and abided by.
Pupils' cultural development can be aided by discussing different footballers and their nationality and how different cultures play the game in their own distinct style (Brazil - samba).
The unit incorporated ICT at every opportunity and pupils completed worksheets relating to feedback on the use of different strategies and tactics. Pupils were also directed to certain websites that provided information on the specific principles of play covered in the unit.
Other cross curricular issues that the unit addressed was work-related learning, this involved pupils organising and running their own tournament for the last lesson of the unit. Communication (both verbal and non verbal) formed a major part in all pupils' set plays they designed during lesson 3, also communication was developed through he very nature of playing a competitive team sport. Improving own learning and performance through recognising what they do well and what they need to do better was an essential learning outcome associated with feedback and evaluation skills.
Literacy was another area that was covered through the teaching of effective feedback. Pupils learnt the correct terminology associated with tactics and strategies in football (assertive, positional awareness, switching etc.), this terminology was implemented in the feedback pupils gave to one another and throughout the lesson through verbal communication. The unit of work promoted the use of related terminology throughout the 5 weeks, all lessons had a de-brief session were I would extract the appropriate terms from the pupils in a question and answer session.
Teaching Styles
To achieve the objectives stated in the NCPE end of key stage descriptions and cross-curricular guidelines effectively, a teacher needs to implement a variety of strategies and approaches.
The National Curriculum for PE does not make specific suggestions regarding teaching approaches but one of its aims is to give teachers discretion to find the best ways to inspire and encourage learning. The term 'effective teaching' is used to describe teaching that results in intended learning (Berliner 1987, Rosenshine 1987) (cited in Silvermann & Ennis 1996).
To ensure the unit of work was implemented effectively and to achieve the wide range of skills contained in the unit (social, communication, personal, moral, physical) it was clear that a variety of teaching approaches was needed. Each lesson had different lesson objectives drawn from the unit of work and required a teaching style that maximized learning in the specific context and environment of that individual lesson.
The unit of work required a range of teaching styles for its objectives to be met, to provide the learners with a variety of teaching methods that fostered learning and fulfilled their development needs.
During the second lesson ('marking') I had planned to begin with a games for understanding approach and then move towards more of a command style when transfering from a game type task to a specific task to improve marking. As the pupils performed the games for understanding very well and showed a good understanding for the principles involved, I decided to alter the lesson slightly and move on to a guided discovery task rather than adopting a command style approach. Although some pupils needed instruction many pupils implemented the 'circle drill' on marking implementing their own conditions that they percieved would increase marking skills. The task materialised in to one that was very similar to the one I had planned to lead, but pupils were able to come to the same end product by working together towards a collective goal.
The guided discovery task involved pupils working in groups to create a game using a circle and other resources (balls, cones etc) that would involve marking a range of players. Certain questions were put to the class such as "How do you score?" " Do you score?" "Can one player mark more than one opponent?" This style of teaching involved the pupils in the convergent process of thinking about a particular conceptual and movement problem that had more than one solution. Guided discovery was used throughout the unit as it facilitates the learning of 'selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas' as pupils have to think to solve different problems using different solutions just as they would in a game of football. This is emphasised by Thorpe, Bunker and Almond (1986) who argued that guided discovery approaches are designed to help pupils understand the 'principles' of playing games, and to encourage appropriate decision making within games.
As a result of assessing the success of the first task I was able to adapt and modify the lesson to increase pupil learning and interaction without sacraficing the lesson objectives. At times the guided discovery task was moving away from the lesson objective and so intervention at certain intervals and providing teaching points was necessary, this proved enough for pupils to move in the right direction again. If after the intervention pupils were still unsure or moving away from the objective of the lesson then I would of reverted back to the original task to reinforce the main teaching points, I was pleased that this was not necessary during the lesson.
I feel both my lesson plan and my teaching skills were flexible enough to alter the lesson to achieve greater results with respect to pupils learning and understanding of the defensive principles the lesson was focussing on. According to Silvermann and Ennis this is a sign of effective teaching;
"...Effective teaching involves knowing when and how to apply a principle of teaching to accomplish particular objectives in particular settings." (Silvermann & Ennis 1996)
With feedback and evaluation being part of the unit, reciprocal teaching was an effective teaching style that was utilised. The feedback pupils gave each other was very structured and so they always had a specific focus to their observations. This type of teaching style also aided cross curricular links by enhancing the pupils social development. Research supports the view that children can effectively teach each other, provided the teaching programme is well structured (Cooke, Heron and Heward, 1983). The feedback as mentioned was always well structured and so facilitated the implementation of the reciprocal teaching style.
I was always observing to ensure that any feedback given by the pupils was always effective feedback and pupils were clear on what effective feedback comprised off. When concentrating on 'width in attack' I had noticed that some pupils use of feedback was not always effective although we had discussed it quite in depth as a class, this resulted in me addressing the issue in the lesson that followed - 'set plays'. During the 'attacking set plays' lesson pupils had to evaluate other groups set plays' they had created and attempted to implement against each other as a team. A worksheet was produced by myself for the pupils which comprised of structured observations to focus on and a front cover sheet that demonstrated poor, satisfactory and effective feedback as well as providing all pupils with a comprehensive list of the correct terminology used in this area of football. The improvement in the correct use of feedback was very clear as all pupils progressed not just in this lesson but over the course of the unit with this objective. I feel that through my implementation of the most effective teaching styles in different cirumstances resulted in the learning outcomes meeting thie unit objectives. The above two teaching experiences are examples of the use, justification and reflection of different teaching styles to optimise pupil learning. A wide range of teachig styles and strategies were implemented over the five weeks to ensure the unit objectives were met.
Resources
The resources I used and that were available to me had a major influence on the teaching styles I was able to adopt, the differentiation I was able to implement and the assessment techniques I could use.
Bailey (2001) emphasised the the point that resources effect differentiation in teaching; "Changing resources can increase the difficulty of a task or make it more manageable."
The resources available to me were quite limited as was the time I had in which to deliver the unit. ICT was implemented I feel effectively with pupils completing various worksheets, using worksheets to perform a guided discovery task and as an assessment tool. This demonstrates the point of how resources imapct all aspects of teaching and learning.
In the unit I had planned to use video analysis to demonstrate the use of 'quick attacking set plays' and the use of 'width in attack'. However the very first lesson I taught this group coincided with exams taking place in both the hall and gym and resulted in 3 groups being placed together for the first lesson. Time was restricted before this inconvenience and although I led a lesson on football it was not as directly related to the unit as I had hoped because of the large number participating (roughly 45 - 50 students). This meant my 5 lessons had been cut down to 4 and resulted in me making the decision to abandon the video analysis I had planned to incorporate towards the end of the unit. I did consider using the video analysis for part of a lesson, but as each lesson was only 50minutes long including changing time my decision to use the time practically utilising demonstrations and examples I feel was the right option to take.
For all the lessons except the set play activity the tennis courts were used. This decision was made as the weather was not ideal for using the field and a number of pupils did not own a pair of football boots. This was in my opinion a sensible decision as the unit was concentrating on tactics and strategies. This choice meant the playing surface was consistent and even, aiding the pupils skills and giving them more opportunity to focus on 'where the next pass should go' (selecting and applying) rather than 'controlling the ball' (acquring and developing).
The number of bibs, balls and cones used was not an issue as the department had a large number of each, this alone presented me with a huge range of activities I could incorporate throughout the unit. Space was not a problem outside as I had the use of both sets of tennis courts, however if a lesson had to be brought indoors because of weather conditions then this would of created problems. The school had only a very small gym and an even smaller hall. I had planned a classroom based lesson in the event of such a situation incorporating the video analysis to improve pupils feedback and evaluation skills but I was pleased that the weather allowed each lesson to take place outside.
Differentiation
When planning the unit I was always aware of the importance of providing opportunities for differentiation to be incorporated into the lessosn.Whereas previous to creating a unit of work I had always thought of differentiation in terms of individual lessons, now I was designing a unit, I had recognised it as a process, a process that continues throughout the unit of work. This view is supported in the following quote;
"Differentiation is not a single event it is a process. This process involves recognising the variety of needs within a class, planning to meet needs, providing appropriate delivery and evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities in order to maximise the achievements of individual procees." (NCET, 1993, p21)
The unit was designed to meet the needs of each individual within the class, the tactical and strategic principles focussed on within the unit could be looked at, practiced and developed at a range of levels ensuring each pupils is pushed and progresses as much as possible. The importance of this concept is emphasised by Mawer (1995, p117) "All pupils have an entitlement to a broad, balanced and dynamic physical education."
This is also highlighted in the National Curriculum;
"Teachers should aim to give every pupil the opportunity to achieve as high as standard as possible." (NCPE 2000 p28).
The teaching styles I implemented facilitated the process of differentiation. The second lesson ('marking strategies') involved pupils working on a guided discovery task in two groups. One group required very limited intervention from myself, whereas a second group completed the same task but were aided by a range of teaching points I was able to offer them. The groups were designated by ability and so the set activity differentiated by both task and outcome. The more able group created a 'circle drill' which involved 2 players marking 4 opponents and the less able group designed a similar task but 3 players marked 3 players. Both groups were focussing on marking strategies and both utilised the same resources but the task and outcome were different between the groups due to ability.
Another example were the teaching style employed aided differentiation was during the 'set play' lesson. Pupils worked in groups (mixed ability) and created an attacking set play that they eventually implemented against another group. Each player had a role in the group but the role determined at what point they were involved. Some roles involved dragging opponents out of position by making 'dummie runs', other roles involved making a short pass at the start of the set play. Depending on ability pupils could adopt a certain role but all pupils were learning the principles behind such set plays. This type of reciprocal teaching enbled pupils to work towards a collective goal that was suitable for their individual ability.
Work cards were also used in the unit and these also helped differentiate activities to ensure all pupils are working at the right level. This is highlighted by Williams (1997)
"Where work cards are progressive, perhaps through setting increasingly difficult or more complex tasks pupils may be working at different levels appropriate to their abilities."
The worksheets used in the unit were worded with terminology that would not exclude any of the pupils who were following it, as some pupils were practically very able but cognitively were less able.
The one time I found differentiation difficult to implement was in the final lesson. This lesson was an opportunity for pupils to demonstrate what they had learned throughout the unit in a comeptitive setting. Pupils were grouped by ability and so two separate tournaments were being played (high / low ability). I found that splitting players in to two groups by ability did not differentiate enough as certain individuals dominated games whereas others found it difficult to apply knowledge and skills I know they had acquired throughout the unit of work. I considered putting conditions on the more able players but I felt this restricted thier one opportunity to demonstrate all they had learned over the course of the 5 weeks. After the lesson I felt I had made the wrong decision in not putting conditions on the more able players, as to assess the unit comprehensively it would have been more useful to see all pupils applying their knowledge all of the time.
Assessment
Over the course of the 5 weeks the unit provided me with a number of opportunities to make formative assessments of the majority of pupils in the class. Continued absence of 3 of the students meant assessment of them was very difficult and also there was an issue of 'forgetting kit' with another 2 of the students which resulted in the same problem. However this is an obstacle for all members of the pe depratment at Weston Park Boys School and one that I dealt with according to the school policy.
Assessment is a major theme in the delivery of physical education curriculum within all schools, it is an ongoing process that can range from a very formative informal comment (e.g. 'very good') to a formal assessment involved in marking a written piece of coursework.. A lot of evaluation and assessment is formative and not recorded.
Bailey (2001) described the role of assessment;
"Assessment in education is concerned with obtaining and interpreting information about pupils' skills, knowledge and understanding and their learning needs.......assessment is inextricably linked to pupil learning."
I carried out a detailed assessment on 6 of the pupils in the class after every lesson, this involved me stating the lesson objectives and recording to what extent each pupil met the objective by the end of the lesson. The 6 pupils included two high ability pupils, 2 low and 2 average ability pupils. As mentioned earlier all pupils underwent some form of formative assessment on a umber of occassions but due to my inexperience in this area I performed the detailed assessment on just 6 pupils. My main concern with this type of assessment was that I would concentrate on the 6 pupils at the cost of the rest of the class, so when planning the unit of work I incorporated tasks that used both mixed ability groups and others that resulted in groups being designated by ability. I did not want to find myself in a situation where I was grouping pupils so I could monitor the 6 pupils and ignore the majority of the class. The way I designed the unit ensured that I would not encounter such a situation and by following the unit I could continue the formative assessment of the whole group. By the end of the unit I felt I had assessed the whole class and could provide the department with a level (1 - 8) and a sub level (A - C) for each pupil in football. I then compared this level to the level each pupil had received the previous year in football, I was pleased to find the same range between levels, that most pupils had improved at least a sub level and that the levels they attained corresponded to the proportional progression they shoul make in this space of time.
The formative planning I carried out implemented ICT worksheets, these enabled pupils to demonstrate their knowledge of strategic and tactical principles through providing fellow pupils with written feedback. I collected all the worksheets in and made comments on them that the pupils received the following lesson.
Conclusion
My evaluation of the unit was that it was successful in meeting its objectives in most respects. I was disapointed not to cover everything I had planned but realised this is due partly to my inxperience in planning units of work, not knowing the group I was to teach and other factors which are part of everyday school life, such as exams and lack of facilities.
Each unit objective was met, all pupils made clear progress with their ability to provide effective feedback using the correct terminology. Pupils have learned how to be objective and consistent when applying their knowledge inorder to give effective feedback and make correct observations. Each pupil took the responsibility of observing another pupil seriously and endevoured to improve performance by making focussed observations. This unit objective prepares pupils for some of the key skills they will use throughout key stage 4 physical education.
After 5 weeks all pupils could discuss the importance of tactical and strategical principles in football, offer justification for their answers. However the one weakness of some pupils was to do with their implementation of such principles.
Philip Stock Curriculum Assignment
PGCE Physical Education
6
