Developing Physical Literacy in Health and Physical Education

A Personal Testimony of a Positive Youth Sport Experience

A memorable positive sport experience occurred in my grade 12 year while playing hockey for the first time. We will begin this scene in the changing room on game day against St. Francis Xavier C.H.S. There were barely enough of us to make a team but my two friends who knew how to play hockey convinced the rest of us girls who have never played, let alone skated very much, to play so that a team could exist. I walked into the changing room with some borrowed, much too big men’s hockey gear that I had thoroughly wiped down with disinfectant wipes the night before. Dressing myself was a bit of a guessing game, but luckily there was Alicia and Michelle to help. Our pre-game routine always started off with some loud music and senseless dancing.

When I walked on the ice, my feet flew out from under me and the next second I was laying down on the ice. Whoever tried to help me up also fell down with me and soon we were a miniature dog pile of girls laughing at our own incompetence. I finally got up and gave myself some sort of pep talk like “no sweat, I’m Canadian. This sport flows through my veins”, but it really didn’t. The game begins. Who was playing each position? We didn’t know. I called any forward position because then at least I didn’t have to skate backwards. We celebrated the small victories that game like winning the puck when the referee dropped it in a face off, successfully stopping without running into anything, staying on our feet, passing and receiving the puck successfully, and getting to the other side of the rink and back in a decent amount of time. We truly had fun that day even though we didn’t know how to play. It was all about practising fresh skills we had learned a couple of weeks before and cooperating together – embracing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Even though we lost that game and all of the games that followed it didn’t matter because it was fun, and we had each other.

The Link Between My Positive Sport Experience, Health and Physical Education, and Physical Literacy

Health and Physical Education (HPE) is for students to develop “the skills and knowledge that will enable them to enjoy being active and healthy throughout their lives, through opportunities to participate regularly and safely in physical activity (PA) and to learn how to develop and improve their own personal fitness” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 6). Not only can these experiences be offered in the gymnasium, but also in other settings such as the outdoors or in a hockey rink during after- school hours. Students need to be encouraged to take part in extra learning opportunities like after-school sports programs to develop their physical literacy (PL). Despite being relatively new at the sport, the team atmosphere offered me a safe place to explore new skills and have fun doing so.

PL is the ability to “move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 7). Providing students with the opportunity to try out new sports will develop their overall PL. Skills and techniques used in one movement setting can translate into another sport. The more sport experiences a child has, the more physically literate they will be. Working around obstacles (e.g., people) in a fast-paced game was not new to me (as I have played rugby and basketball in the past which have a similar objectives) but doing these movements on a new surface with equipment on was. There were transferrable skills that I could rely on to give me some success at the sport. I was not exactly confident and competent at these movements, but had I kept practising I would have been. If students are afforded these opportunities early on in education settings, they will have obtained the ability to move confidently and competently in multiple settings by the time they are in grade 12 as suggested by the LTAD model (Physical and Health Education Canada, 2010).

Certainly, positive sport experiences lead to positive youth development in other domains. Those who become physically literate and enjoy movement are more likely to continue their engagement in PA which may lead to many benefits; these include less anti-social behaviour, engagement in safe and healthy relationships, increased personal satisfaction, increased self-concept, better academic achievement, concentration and learning, and improvements in mental health and ability to cope with stress (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 7). PL is development of the whole child, therefore it encompasses the “child’s knowledge and understanding of why physical activity is important and its resulting benefits, as well as the development of attitudes and habits to practice these skills on a regular basis” (Physical and Health Education Canada, 2010, p. 1). In my personal testimony, we were encouraged to play to achieve our personal best and to respect others.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Education, “the knowledge and skills acquired in health education and physical education form an integrated whole that relates to the everyday experiences of students and provides them with the physical literacy and health literacy they need to lead healthy, active lives” (2015, p. 6). This integrated whole does not simply stand for the ability to move, but for other skills (e.g., teamwork, sportsmanship, or self-discipline) that can be taught through physical education. PL promotes healthy development of the whole person; therefore, it is vital to offer a variety of experiences that contribute to social, physical, emotional, and cognitive development of the student.

In my experience my coach made use of the community hockey rink in order to allow us the opportunity to practice hockey. There are multiple ways the community can be used develop PL and promote life-long PA. These connections are extremely important because after high school students can continue to use resources in their local communities. Not only can community resources provide a place to practice, but they can “provide expertise, skills, materials, and programs that are not available through the school or that supplement those that are. Partnerships with such organizations benefit not only the students but also the life of the community” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2015, p. 17).

As a teacher, I will encourage the students of today to have a similar sports experience by promoting mastery- oriented over ego-oriented learning so that students are willing and unafraid to make mistakes and learn from them. I will also encourage them to try new activities even if they are completely foreign to them. It is also important to clarify that students should refrain from judging their classmates based on abilities by promoting self-comparison over social comparison. In order to master the skills outlined in the HPE curriculum, there must be “ongoing practice, an effort to respond to feedback (to the extent possible), personal reflection, and commitment from students. ... Through ongoing practice and reflection about their development, students deepen their appreciation and understanding of themselves and others, and of their health and well-being” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2015, p. 12). In order to have a quality physical education program, teachers should follow the EDUCATION principles in order to foster PL (Physical and Health Education Canada, 2010).

As a teacher, I will ensure my activity is inclusive and suitable for all learners by creating meaningful sport experiences in and outside of the classroom. Meaningful sport and PA experiences can be fostered by incorporating social interaction, fun, challenges (appropriated to learner’s ability), increased perceptions of motor competence, and personally relevant learning (i.e., the ability to make connections between HPE and their future daily lives). Following Beni, Fletcher, and Ní Chróinín’s five themes to meaningful sport experience, the HPE curriculum can be personalized for all types of learners (2017). In addition, HPE could be modified according to personal interests of students, needs, and abilities.

Author: Christina Nyentap

Date: November 14, 2019

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