Empowering Student Voice: Rethinking Meaningful Experiences in Physical Education

 Submitted by: Jodi Harding-Kuriger, HPEC Past President

In physical education (PE), creating meaningful experiences that engage and inspire students is a critical goal. The Meaningful PE (MPE) approach emphasizes the importance of democratic and reflective practices to promote experiences that truly resonate with students. Central to this process is student voice—listening to and learning from students’ lived experiences to shape better, more inclusive PE practices.

Why Student Voice Matters in PE

Secondary students bring years of personal experiences that shape their understanding of what makes PE meaningful. These insights provide valuable guidance for educators striving to improve student engagement. After all, students often know best what works—and what doesn’t—in their classrooms. By seeking their perspectives, taking their feedback seriously, and integrating their ideas, educators can create more relevant and impactful PE experiences.

This concept aligns seamlessly with the MPE approach, which seeks to co-create meaningful experiences with students. It reminds us that PE should be more than physical activity; it should be a space where students feel seen, heard, and empowered.

Listening to Alberta Students: A Research Journey

To explore what meaningfulness in PE looks like from a student perspective, we collaborated with 55 secondary students (ages 12–15) from a sports academy in urban Alberta. Using Group Concept Mapping (GCM)—a collaborative research method—we invited students to share their thoughts on what meaningful PE means to them and how it can be achieved.

The goal? To ensure their voices directly inform how educators approach PE, fostering practices that are not only student-centered but also contextually relevant.

What We Learned

This project yielded two key outcomes:

1. A Collaborative Process: The use of GCM allowed students, teachers, and researchers to work together as equal contributors. This participatory approach reinforced the importance of democratic practices in PE, where students have a real say in shaping their learning experiences.

2. Meaningful Insights: Students articulated what makes PE meaningful to them, providing a foundation for educators to refine their practices. Their insights highlighted the importance of tailoring PE to students’ unique needs and lived experiences.

Bridging Process and Practice

One of the biggest takeaways from this research is that process and outcomes are inseparable. The collaborative methods we used—rooted in student voice—laid the groundwork for the findings themselves. They also underscored how essential it is for educators to continually reflect on their practices, ensuring they align with the evolving needs of their students.

Moving Forward: A Call to Action

The MPE approach challenges us to rethink how we engage students in PE. By prioritizing student voice, we can move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to create more inclusive, meaningful, and engaging experiences. Secondary students, with their wealth of lived experiences, hold the key to unlocking these possibilities.

As educators, our role is to listen, reflect, and act. By partnering with students, we can transform PE into a space that not only promotes physical activity but also fosters connection, growth, and a lifelong appreciation for movement.

What steps can you take to empower student voice in your PE classes? Let’s start the conversation and reimagine what meaningful PE can look like together. Connect with me at jodi.harding@gmail.com. 

Further Meaningful PE Connections

Meaningful PE 

Learning to facilitate student voice in primary physical education - Grace Cardiff, Stephanie Beni, Tim Fletcher, Richard Bowles, Déirdre Ní Chróinín, 2024 

Full article: ‘Just let them have a say!’ Students’ perspective of student voice pedagogies in primary physical education 

Meaningful pe starter-pack 

Creating a Learning Environment that Supports and Encourages All Students in Physical Education Class:

Submitted by: Sonia Sheehan, HPEC Vice President Communications

The beginning of the school year is an important time to set expectations, build routines and create the positive, supportive and encouraging environment we all want for our students. Every end of August and beginning of September when the new school year rolls around, teachers are awarded a new opportunity to set the stage for a positive year of learning for their students. In this blog post, I will share how I approach the task of creating a learning environment that allows my students to grow and flourish in a supportive and encouraging manner.

After establishing my expectations and routines in my physical education classes at the start of the school year (see HPEC blog for more information: https://albertahpec.blogspot.com/2023/08/a-successful-physical-education-school.html), I begin the process of creating a learning environment that supports and encourages all students in my physical education class. If I want to see my students cooperate with each other, encourage each other, and problem solve with each other, I need to provide them with opportunities to practice these skills during class time. This is where my cooperation and communication instructional unit comes in. I intentionally teach activities and games to allow students to learn, practice and demonstrate the skills of communicating respectfully both verbally and nonverbally, finding a partner, finding a group, including others, encouraging others, working together towards a shared goal, completing tasks as a group, and problem solving when challenges arise.

First things first, students need to practice the skill of finding a variety of different partners in a class to feel comfortable working with a variety of different students. I learned a valuable partnering technique from a SPARK PE workshop I attended. Using a particular body part (thumbs, feet, backs, elbows, knees, etc…), I will call out “foot to foot 2” and students need to find a student to connect their foot with, if a student does not have a “foot to foot 2” person, they go to the “lost and found”, which is a designated central location in the activity area. The “lost and found” is a place where a student can get help finding their “foot to foot 2” person. If there is an uneven number of students in the class and one student is left over, the class is encouraged to welcome the student from the “lost and found” into their group to ensure everyone feels like they belong. This procedure of “foot to foot 2” needs to be practiced multiple times to allow students opportunities to quickly find a close partner and to go to the “lost and found” for help if needed. An important reminder for students is to make sure each “foot to foot 2” partner is different from any previous “foot to foot 2” partner. It is also valuable to give each “foot to foot 2” partner a task when first trying this technique. For example, the first “foot to foot 2” partner you find could be your thumb wrestling partner, the second “foot to foot 2” partner you find could be your healthy eating partner and the third “foot to foot 2” partner you find could be your secret handshake partner. This will give a task for students to complete with each partner as they practice the skill of finding a partner.

Once partner groups have been established, the number used after “foot to foot” can be increased. “Foot to Foot 3” would mean three students need to join feet together and anyone not in a group of 3 would seek assistance in the “lost and found”. Allowing students to practice creating a variety of groups with different numbers to ensure this task can be done quickly and inclusively is important to build the skill of creating groups where everyone is included and welcomed.

As students learn the skill of finding a partner and/or group, I provide a number of activities and games that use the partner/group and build the skills of respectful communication, encouraging others, working together towards a shared goal and problem solving. Here are some activities that help students build their skills when working together:

Partner Hot and Cold Game – Students are set up in partners using “foot to foot 2”. Each partner group has one gator ball or similar item. This game works on trust, honesty and communication. One partner closes and covers their eyes and shows honesty by not peaking. The other partner hides their gator ball or similar item in the activity area. The partner who hid the gator ball returns to the partner with their eyes closed and covered and uses clear verbal communication to direct their partner who continues to keep their eyes closed and covered to move to find the location of the ball. The partner may say “walk forward 10 steps, turn left 90 degrees, walk forward 20 steps, turn right slightly, walk 5 steps, reach down”. These clear verbal instructions allow students to work on their communication skills and the partner who has their eyes closed needs to listen carefully and trust their partner. The 2 partners switch jobs when the ball is found.

Tarp or Mini Parachute Challenges – Students are set up in groups using “foot to foot 4”. Each group has one mini parachute or tarp and 1 gator ball. The group is tasked with working together and completing the tasks provided by the teacher using their problem solving skills, creativity and communication within the group. Some tasks include:

·       all group members stand on the parachute

·       without stepping off the parachute flip the parachute over

·       without stepping off the parachute fold the parachute in half

·       without stepping off the parachute fold the parachute in half again

·       without stepping off the parachute unfold the parachute fully

·       holding onto the sides of the parachute use the parachute to throw and catch a gator ball a set number of times

·       holding onto the side of the parachute pass a gator ball to another parachute group to catch the gator ball with their parachute

Group Juggling – Students are set up in groups using “foot to foot 5”. Each group begins with 1 gator ball. Students create a passing partner that includes all students in the group with the gator ball passing to each student only once and not passing to a student directly beside someone. Once the passing pattern that includes everyone is established the passing pattern remains the same for the game. The gator ball must pass through the passing pattern 3 times in a row without being dropped. If the ball is dropped, start back at the beginning of the passing pattern. If the group successfully passes the gator ball 3 times through the passing pattern, a second gator ball is utilized and the two gator balls are passed through the passing pattern 3 times. Once the task of passing 3 times through the passing pattern is complete, then a third gator ball is added. Groups can continue to add balls until they have one ball per person and group members are simultaneously passing the balls through the passing pattern. Groups will find the need for clear communication, focus and gentle passes as keys for group success in this activity.

Hula Hut Activities – Students are set up in groups using “foot to foot 4”. Each group begins with 6 hula hoops that are the same size. Groups are tasked with creating a hula hut. A hula hut is a three-dimensional structure that can stand alone with 1 hula hoop as the base, 4 hula hoops as the walls and 1 hula hoop as the roof. Once a group creates their hula hut they can complete the following tasks:

·       have all members crawl through the hula hut without the hut collapsing

·       build the hula hut in each corner of the activity area

·       once the hula hut is built lift the hula hut and transport it around the activity area without it collapsing

·       build a double decker hula hut (one hula hut on top of another) by working together with another hula hut group

·       play hula hut knockdown by building and protecting your hula hut and throwing gator balls to try to knock down hula huts of other groups

Whole Class Long Rope Challenges – Students are set up in one long line with the whole class working together. Have the teacher and a responsible student turn the long rope towards the student line up. As a class, students run 1 at a time through the rope, watching the rope touch the ground and then following the rope as it turns to make it through the rope. This is often called “going through the front door” of a long rope. Once through the rope, students return to the end of the line up. Allow all the students a chance to go through the rope alone. Next, line up in partners in the line facing the rope and 2 students run through the rope together as the rope is turned. Repeat with 3 students and then 4 students together. Finally, allow students the choice of going through on their own, or going through in a group to see how quickly the whole class can get through the rope, ultimately trying to not have the rope stop moving. This whole class long rope challenge allows opportunities for the entire class to work together towards a common goal and for students to use encouraging words and support as they navigate going through the long rope.

HPEC Conference 2024 Highlights and Award Winners

 Submitted by: Sonia Sheehan, HPEC Vice President Communications

Thursday May 9 to Saturday May 11, 2024, the Annual HPEC Conference took place at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park, just outside of Edmonton. Thank you to the Conference Co-Chairs, Heather Rootsaert, Dean Rootsaert and Colette Tercier, and the Conference Steering Committee for hosting an outstanding professional development event. The 2024 HPEC Conference was filled with many learning opportunities, recognition opportunities, social opportunities, and lots of “hands on” physical activity participation. Thursday’s program included the pre-conference sessions and the tribute to all individuals who have served in the role as HPEC President at the HPEC Past President’s Social. Friday included the official conference opening with the Robert Routledge Address by Don Zabloski and the Keynote Address by Dr. Dean Dudley. Following the opening, conference delegates had 4 sessions and the annual HPEC AGM to attend. Friday evening finished off with the Conference “Rock of Ages” Social with many creative and impressive costumes from a variety of rock and roll eras. Saturday was the final day of the conference and included 3 more sessions for conference delegates, followed by the closing Mini Keynote by John Byl and the presentation of the HPEC Certificate of Commendation Awards to Alberta teachers who have demonstrated outstanding contributions in the field of health and physical education.

The 2024 HPEC Certificate of Commendation Winners:

Krystal Mackinnon                    Greater Calgary Region

Bryce Gillis                               Calgary Region

Darren Flynn                            Northwest Region

Cameron Rittinger                   Southeast Region

Steven Reid                             Northeast Region

Vanessa Valgardson                Southwest Region

Janelle Stephens                     Edmonton Region

Congratulations to all HPEC award winners!

Stay tuned for details regarding the May 2025 HPEC Professional Development opportunity. In the coming months the HPEC website, www.hpec.ab.ca, HPEC social media, https://www.instagram.com/hpecab/, and the HPEC emails to members will have details regarding next year’s event.

 

Teaching Quality Physical Education with Dewey

 Submitted by: Darren Dornstauder, HPEC Executive Member

The term ‘Quality Physical Education’ has become a popular way to describe PE in recent years. We’ve created standards, checkboxes, lists, and units about what quality physical education should be, but I believe at times, these characteristics may only distort one’s vision of what quality physical education actually is. For years, I have been after the true meaning of quality PE and what that may look like in my teaching. It wasn’t until I read a book written nearly a century ago that I really started to understand what quality physical education meant to me. John Dewey’s 1938 timeless book Experience & Education may be more relevant to current educational settings than one may first consider. His ideas regarding quality experiences of learning may in fact guide teachers towards better teaching and more meaningful learning for their students. The ideas that I am going to share about John Dewey’s approach to education come from his aforementioned book and the following is why I believe one should consider teaching through Dewey’s lens.

I am going to start with the end in mind by stating my philosophy towards teaching physical education.  As a physical education teacher, I believe physical education should enable students to discover the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to promote lifelong physical activity behaviors so they can live healthy, enjoyable and happy lives. I am sure my philosophy of teaching PE is similar to many others, but even if it differs, please hear me out as Dewey’s theoretical perspective has changed how I’ve put my philosophy into practice.  Let’s put my philosophy aside and get a better understanding of Dewey.

Dewey’s approach to education is quite practical, as he believed education is rooted in experience. It is important to understand though, that Dewey did not believe experience itself was enough when it came to learning, meaning experiences lived in education does not simply mean all experiences are going to be genuine or equal to one another. In fact, Dewey believed that some experiences can even be mis-educative. These mis-educative experiences may affect future learning experiences with the potential of creating a sense of callousness, which could result in a lack of responsiveness or sensitivity. 

Dewey provided a few examples of what these mis-educative experiences could look like. First, an experience could increase an individual’s automatic skill yet land them in a groove or rut. Let’s relate this to physical education. I could create the most detailed fitness unit for my high school students with prescribed activities to complete at different times throughout the school year, where my students had the opportunity to improve in all components of fitness, yet my students' experiences from the prescribed and regimented fitness plan could be overly repetitive, mundane, and disengaging to them. 

Dewey also explained that experiences in education can create immediate enjoyment while still creating a slack and careless attitude. Relating this to physical education again, I think of when my students get the opportunity to participate in racquet sports such as  badminton or pickleball during junior high PE classes. For the most part, students enjoy these activities as most students find success related to basic skills fairly quickly. I could easily roll out the cart of racquets and shuttles or balls and my students would most likely be more than content playing games for two weeks, without receiving much instruction or teaching. What would my students be gaining from either of these examples? What impact would these experiences have on them? One cannot assume learning occurs just because an experience occurs. We need to go further than just checking off boxes, hitting objectives, and meeting required instructional time.

Because learning experiences run the risk of being mis-educative, Dewey explained that everything depends on the quality of the experience which is had. He believed that the quality of an experience is formed by two circumstances:

• 1. A learning experience will have an immediate impact towards whether one agrees or disagrees with the experience.

• 2. The learning experience, whether one agrees or disagrees with it, will influence future or later experiences of learning.

According to Dewey, the central problem of education, if based on the importance of experience, is to select and present experiences that are lived not only creatively but also fruitfully in experiences that subsequently occur. In other words, the quality of an experience impacts learning and future ensuing experiences of learning. Therefore, what and how students experience learning is very important to consider.

After wrapping my head around this understanding of the importance of experiences of learning, I reflected on how large of an impact physical education in a school setting can have on a child’s physical activity behaviors throughout their lifetime and it made me think about my own students. Why do some students enjoy PE while others don’t? Is it because of earlier experiences they had during previous years of school? How did the good intentions of some teachers create quality experiences of learning while it meant little to others? Did a bad experience from PE for one student impact future experiences towards physical activity? What impact has my own teaching had on my students' future learning experiences towards physical activity? In many ways, experiences of learning in PE, whether of quality or not, will have an impact towards future experiences of PE, physical activity and learning.

My list of characteristics to what I believe defines quality PE could be extensive but whatever characteristics go along with it, I believe creating quality and meaningful experiences of learning for students must be at the core of quality physical education. That begins with putting the needs of the students first. If one considers how every experience of learning will impact our students’ future experiences of learning, one may begin to understand how they can help create more quality experiences of learning for the present.

 I’ll be the first to say that I am far from having this figured out. Each year and each class brings new students with different lived experiences which presents its own challenges, and that motivates me. It helps me acknowledge how important it is to know my students’ needs, strengths, weaknesses, and unique differences. If I put quality experiences of learning at the forefront of my teaching, I cannot just rely on my bank of lessons that were successful in previous years. I must be creative, reflective and adaptable in my teaching. If your philosophy of PE is similar to mine, then presenting quality experiences of learning to our students will help increase the likelihood of students engaging in lifelong participation in physical activity.

References

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience & Education. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Everyday Routines for Your Wellbeing

Submitted by: Dr. Astrid Kendrick, PHE Canada HPEC Liaison Representative

As a part of my research into compassion fatigue and burnout, I often hear from educators (through surveys, interviews, and discussions) that their most precious resource is time, and they don’t have time, and are not given enough time, to prioritize their own wellbeing during the hectic school day.

During each school day and class period, we follow a series of routines. Take attendance. Run a warm-up activity. Describe and demonstrate a skill. Practice and play a game. Run a cool down activity. Rinse and repeat. When I was a high school PE teacher, I ran through these routines twice each afternoon, and as a half-time elementary PE teacher, I ran through them six times before lunch.

Gyms are loud places – the sound of excited kids, music, and the ever-rebounding balls reverberate off the walls, and I realized over time that I needed some quiet to recuperate between classes.

I started using my cooldown activities to create quiet times in the gym. At the high school level, the cooldown was 5-10 minutes of yoga and stretching, and in elementary, the cooldown was five minutes of ‘sleepy time’ in which the kids had to lay down and listen to soothing music. Taking this time to calm the students before sending them to their next class resulted in a better transition between gym and their other classes.

Over time, I also realized that the quiet time and space I had created was good for my own wellbeing. I felt calmer and more energized for my next class because my ears and brain had a few moments of rest between classes. This time was also useful for a bathroom break, as the students were preoccupied and could be safely monitored by other available staff while I zipped down the hall.

I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me at hpecpherep@gmail.com and astrid.kendrick@ucalgary.ca

1.      How can you adapt your daily routines to include practices that support your wellbeing?

2.      How do you structure your lessons and units to include time and space for you to take micro-moments during the day for you to breathe, experience calm, and temporarily rest so that you are able to make it through each day?

3.       What advice would you give to other or beginning teachers to include wellbeing in their teaching and learning practices?

I completely respect that the school system is not currently designed for teacher wellbeing, but we can change the narrative – one minute, one strategy, and one routine at a time.

 

Dr. Astrid Kendrick was a PE and English/Language Arts teacher for nineteen years before moving to her new work as an assistant professor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.

 

 

 

"Can We PLEASE Play Yoshi and Fresher Today?" - Two Endless Games That Students Always Request to Play

Submitted by: Maddison Lintz, HPEC Edmonton Regional Representative

Yoshi

Equipment: Pinnies, 2 mats

Game Description: In the PE strategy game Yoshi, teams attempt to be the first to get all of their players on the opposite island. Similar to Capture The Flag, this game requires thinking, timing, and teamwork to get everyone over first without getting caught. It’s a tag-based game with different variables to consider. 

1. Place exercise mats down on opposite ends of your learning space. Create two teams, one on each half of the gym.

2. Players will attempt to be the first team to get all of their players onto the mat on the opposite side.

3. Players can get tagged when in the opposite team's half, so this is where they need to be careful! If tagged, players sit where they are tagged.

4. Sitting players can be ‘saved’ by teammates who safely and successfully get to them without themselves getting tagged. When saved, both get a free walk back to their side.

5. Players can leave the mat to save someone they see sitting, however, then must take the free walk back to their side.

6. If the teacher yells, “YOSHI” then all players make a mad rush to the mat (even if they are sitting, they can get up and run to the mat).

7. First team with all players on the mat wins. 

8. Immediately start a new round, but now the pursuit to a mat is in the opposite direction.

*Modifications*- When “Yoshi” is called, you can change the locomotor pattern to get to the mat (e.g. students will skip, or hop on one foot instead of run).

*Instead of calling “Yoshi”, the game can conclude once all students are on the mat*

*When students are tagged, they have a ‘physical prize’ (such as 10 push-ups) before they sit down and wait to be saved.

Students who are unable to physically participate in this game can be the caller of “Yoshi”, or they can record the score in some capacity.

Fresher

Equipment: Cones

Game Description: Fresher is a tag game in which players have to be “fresher” than other players to tag them. The longer a player is in the playing area, the less fresh they become and the chance of them getting tagged becomes higher.

1. 2 teams play against each other, trying to tag the opponents. 

2. When in their own teams safe area (the endzone on their side) they are completely fresh, but as soon as a player enters the middle zone (playing area) he starts becoming less and less fresh, so if a player from the other team enters that area AFTER, that player is fresher and can tag them. 

3. Once tagged, a player needs to go into the corner prison on the opposing team's side (marked by cones) and hope for someone on his team to come over and rescue him.

4. Once rescued, both players get a free walk back to their team. The round is over if all players from one team are tagged and in prison. 

*If players from opposing teams encounter each other and don’t know who is “fresher” they can do a self-regulatory process of rock, paper, scissors, and the loser goes into jail.*

Both of these activities are highly requested on behalf of our students. These games provide challenges to students' physical abilities, the implementation of strategy and tactic, followed by collaboration and teamwork.

The Power of Healthy Relationships

 Submitted by: Leah Yardley, Healthy Schools, Alberta Health Services 

When it comes to physical activity and movement, we tend to think about the power our bodies give us as we move and play. However, we don’t often think about how relationships can positively influence our physical activity experiences. Relationships have benefits extending far beyond the walls of the school gym, play area, or outdoor space. They’re like a superpower, that can fuel feelings of belonging and connectedness, and get the brain ready to learn.

Neuroscience tells us that as humans, our brains are wired to connect with other humans. When we build strong, positive, healthy relationships, we activate our lower brain (the part that’s involved in emotional regulation and safety). The lower brain acts as a gatekeeper for the upper brain (the part that’s involved in learning). When we feel cared for, safe, and are emotionally regulated, the lower brain opens the door to the upper brain and – voilà – we’ve unlocked the learning brain!

But it takes time to build relationships and feelings of connection, belonging, and safety. It’s the small things: a smile, some words of encouragement, a check-in on how someone is doing. These are all examples of small actions with big impact. They show we care and feed the lower brain. And we’re not just talking about relationships between students – relationships matter between you and your students, your colleagues, and even your relationship with yourself. All types of relationships have a part to play when creating a school community where both students and staff thrive.

Physical education classes offer great opportunities to foster healthy relationships. When you make social connection and relationship building an intentional part of lessons, you help students develop social emotional skills while also supporting positive physical activity experiences. In fact, opportunities to build social connection during physical education can increase participation for all students and boost physical and mental health outcomes. It’s a winning formula!

As you move into the new year, be sure to make self-care a priority, share a laugh with a colleague, and take time to connect. Focus on building relationships with your students and create opportunities for them to connect with each other.  A little goes a long way.

Looking for ideas that work? Check out:

·       Amplify student voice

·       Develop social emotional skills

·       Promote staff wellness

·       Support healthy relationships

·       Welcome everyone