I. General Information
School Name: Nakusp Secondary School
School District: SD#10 Arrow Lakes
Inquiry Team Members: Jarrett Bass: jarrett.bass@sd10.bc.ca, Peter Gajda: peter.gajda@sd10.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Name/Email: Jarrett Bass/ jarrett.bass@sd10.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)
Curricular Areas Addressed:
- Physical & Health Education
Focus Addressed:
- Differentiated instruction
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Trying to increase engagement among students that have trouble getting motivated to participate.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: I have found that during the pandemic students’ ability to persevere through uncomfortable activities has decreased, and their likelihood of shutting down when pushed to do these activities has also increased!
Focus: One of the most important life skills that P.E. teaches students is resilience. In life you are going to encounter many situations that are uncomfortable, or that you would rather avoid, but it is so important to persevere during these situations.
Hunch: I do not think the practices in our school had a lot to do with this situation; I think it has a lot more to do with the events in our society, and in our world, within the last 2 years. Everyone’s tolerance and willingness to try new things has been stretched to its breaking point.
New Professional Learning: There was not a whole lot that we found when trying to do our preliminary research. We have since found more through this journey, as our Superintendent has some contacts and resources that he is willing to share with us for the fall.
Taking Action: Creating activities that were accessible to everyone, and that really tried to breakdown any skill barriers that were present. Giving clear but reachable expectations.
Checking: By the end of the year, students were participating in some sort of physical activity more often (in almost every situation students were able to do something physical); even if it was just walking on a treadmill, it was as much or more physical activity then they would get without physical education.
Reflections/Advice: This is not an easy question to answer, at least in a way that changes how much your hardest to engage students participate; but, it is definitely a worthwhile endeavour as meaningful participation is the most important part of physical education.