Pedagogical principles that support the prioritisation of meaningful experiences in physical education: conceptual and practical considerations

Abstract

Background: An emphasis on meaningfulness may facilitate the types of experiences that are more likely to lead children towards a commitment to physical activity participation in ways that enrich the quality of their lives. While several authors have highlighted the importance of prioritising meaningfulness, direction is lacking on how teachers can consistently and intentionally foster meaningful experiences for pupils in physical education. Purpose: Our purpose in this paper is to draw on conceptual understandings of meaningful experiences to propose a coherent set of pedagogical principles that can support teachers in making decisions that facilitate meaningful experiences for pupils. Pedagogical Principles: Interrogation of the concepts meaningful experiences provides two preliminary pedagogical principles for teaching for meaningfulness. First, the personal nature of identifying experiences as meaningful indicates the value of adopting democratic approaches that allow for ownership and individualisation of experience. Democratic principles include teachers fostering inclusive environments and helping pupils actively make authentic connections between their lived experiences inside and outside of their classroom and communities. Second, the introspective and retrospective characteristics of meaningful experiences points to the central role of reflection. Reflective principles capture the continuity of experience (past-present-future) to help pupils look back and generate awareness of what makes an experience meaningful while also moving toward future meaningful experiences. These principles also provide insight into ideas and actions that do not represent an approach where personal meaningfulness is prioritised. Conclusions: Reflective and democratic pedagogical principles provide concept-based practical direction for teachers in facilitating meaningful experiences for pupils in physical education and for future research on meaningfulness in physical education.

Assessments Related to the Physical, Affective and Cognitive Domains of Physical Literacy Amongst Children Aged 7–11.9 Years: A Systematic Review

“…Self-assessment aligns with the personcentred philosophy of physical literacy [48] and has been found to promote self-regulated learning and selfefficacy [203]. Self-assessment could also provide an opportunity for children to evaluate and reflect on their progress and help to develop their self-awareness of meaningful experiences [202]; in turn, empowering children to take ownership of their relationship with physical activity [48,202]. Few of the assessments identified within our review utilised technology.…”

“…Our findings suggest that there is scope for more research developing and examining rigorous qualitative methods of physical literacy assessment for use in primary school contexts. Such methods might include interviews, verbal discussions, pupil diaries, portfolios, photographs, video, text, drawing tasks and storytelling [42,48,202]. Given teacher time constraints [51,52], future studies could also explore the development of selfassessment and reflective strategies and the use of technology [194].…”

“This Is Not Gym”: Enacting Student Voice Pedagogies to Promote Social and Emotional Learning and Meaningful Physical Education

“…Students came to interpret and understand these pedagogies, which prioritized SEL and MPE, as a necessary part of their learning experience, assisting them in making more inclusive and considerate decisions about class content, physical activity, and how they interacted with others and participated in physical activity. In this way, the deliberate enactment of democratic and reflective pedagogies deepened students' understandings of their experiences and helped them make multiple connections supporting transfer to other contexts in their lives (Rovegno, 2006 ; Fletcher and Ní Chróinín, 2021 ). While early days, enacting SVP helped students become successful, active, dynamic, and democratic agents within their learning community, adapting, and developing practices to promote participation in PE and physical activity through these continuous interactions (Azzarito, 2016 ).…”

“…In this regard, Ní Chróinín et al ( 2018 ) have encouraged researchers to further explore “the value of making the prioritization of meaningful experience explicit through modeling and discussion, engaging with meaningful experiences as both a teacher and learner as well as reflecting on those experiences” (Ní Chróinín et al 2018 , p. 131). Central to MPE is the deliberate enactment of democratic and reflective pedagogies which embody SVP approaches and help students engage and interact with others in an enjoyable physical activity environment (Ennis, 2017 ; Fletcher and Ní Chróinín, 2021 ; Ní Chróinín et al, 2021 ).…”

A Novice Teacher as Facilitator of Learning During a Hybrid Sport Education/Step-Game Approach Volleyball Season

“…In this study, the opportunity to contribute for the class in a more active way allowed students to felt autonomous and endowed by an increased sense of control in lesson activities, which seems to contribute to a positive perspective about PE. This finding suggests that for students to attribute meaning to PE -a foundational curricular goal (Fletcher and Chróinín 2021), it is important that teachers listen to the students, consider their opinions, and share decision-making power with them (Phillips et al, 2021).…”