Conceptual Teaching and Learning in Physical Education

Concept-based curricula are more effective than topically based curricula, for the world of today and tomorrow, because they take learning to a higher level as students analyze, synthesize, and generalize from facts to higher level knowledge. Stirring The Head, Heart, and Soul: Redefining Curriculum and Instruction. 1995, ix

In most subject areas in the school curriculum we have moved from the practice of teaching isolated facts and skills to approaches that attempt to have the learner understand and integrate experiences, see patterns and relationships and make connections. This approach, referred to as "Conceptual Teaching and Learning," applies equally as well in physical education as it does in other subjects.

The goal of the physical education curriculum, in the context of a concept-based approach, implies a shift from teaching in which a sport or activity (game, dance, etc.) is the organizing element for units and lessons to an approach in which lessons and units are organized around a concept. A concept is a generalization or main idea which is transferable to other situations.

The term concept is used in this document to refer to ideas that have transfer value. Ideas about physical activity, movement skills and personal, social and cultural skills have transfer value when, after being learned in one way, context or environment, they can be used in a variety of other ways, contexts and environments.

Teachers who use a concept-based approach expect that after having taught the concept, Sending—more specifically, the overarm throwing pattern—students will transfer what they have learned to other skills and contexts where this movement pattern is used. For example, the badminton and tennis overhead smash, the volleyball serve, the javelin throw.

Students who understand how to absorb force when landing on the feet are able to use that knowledge in other situations requiring the absorption of force. For example, when performing other types of landings (landings on the hands, landings while rotating) or when receiving an object (catching a ball, collecting a soccer ball, collecting a puck using a hockey stick).

Students who have learned the concept of "zone defense" (defending an area as opposed to a player) can then apply it in various sports (e.g., floor hockey, volleyball, basketball, football, soccer). If students understand concepts such as overload and recovery, they will be able to design their own fitness programs.

While all teaching methods have a place in concept-based education, the use of exploration, discovery and problem-solving are emphasized. Transfer of learning from one situation to other times, places and contexts is a major goal.

Perhaps now more than ever, teaching for transfer is crucial. Given the tremendous variety of tasks and settings that comprise our rapidly changing world, it is clearly impossible to directly teach each particular task in each particular setting that students will encounter in their everyday lives. Instead we must strive…to find effective ways to promote the generalization of learning The Challenge of Teaching for Transfer. Teaching For Transfer: Fostering Generalization in Learning, 1995, p. 16-17

Advantages of Conceptual Teaching and Learning

Shifting the Organizing Centers in Physical Education

From	Toward
Teaching facts and skills	Conceptual teaching and learning
physical activities or sports are the organizing centers for units and lessons the activity or sport is considered an end in itself emphasis is primarily on the performance of sport skills "just do it"—students engage in non-reflective skills learning	concepts are the organizing centers for units and lessons the activity or sport is considered a means to an end; it is the medium or vehicle used to teach and learn the concepts increased emphasis on understanding the "big ideas" associated with the concepts in order to facilitate transfer of learning increased emphasis on thinking (reflecting) while doing—on the "how" and "why" of movement

Organizing Concepts for the Physical Education Curriculum

This chart identifies the organizing concepts that are used in planning for lessons and units. Understandings about each of these concepts are developed from grade one to grade five. Many are developed from grades one to twelve.

What is the Big Idea?
Teaching and Learning
What is Common and Important in the Concept

The key question in all of this is: What is common, important and remains constant regardless of the way the concept is used or the context in which it is used?

This chart uses the Basic Movement Pattern, Landings, to demonstrate how exploring a concept can lead us to see new patterns and relationships, make connections, transfer learning and integrate many ideas.

For discussion of using Basic Movement Patterns in Conceptual Teaching and Learning, see the section on BMPs in Perspective Overviews.