SPORT EDUCATION

Sport Education is a curriculum and instruction model designed for delivery in physical education programs at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels. It is intended to provide children and youth with more authentic and enjoyable sport experiences than what we typically see in past physical education classes. This model was developed and introduced by Daryl Siedentop in 1984 and has since been adapted and successfully implemented nationally and internationally. Students participate as members of teams in seasons that are longer than the usual physical education unit. They take an active role in their own sport experience by serving in varied and realistic roles that we see in authentic sport settings such as captains, coaches, trainers, statisticians, officials, publicists, and members of a sports council. Teams develop camaraderie through team uniforms, names, and cheers as they work together to learn and develop skill and tactical play.

The three major goals that guide program development in Sport Education are for students to become competent, literate, and enthusiastic players (Siedentop, 1994). This means that teachers must design learning experiences that facilitate students learning in realistic settings. According to Siedentop (1994);

    * A competent player has sufficient skills to participate satisfactorily, can execute

       strategies that are appropriate for the complexity of the game being played, and is a

       knowledgeable player.

    * A literate player understands and values the rules, rituals, and traditions of sport, and

       is able to distinguish between good and bad sport practices in a variety of sport

       settings.

    * An enthusiastic player is one who preserves, protects, and enhances the sport culture

       through participation, involvement, and appropriate behavior.

Objectives

In order to achieve these goals, students need to develop a set of objectives which Siedentop (1994) has identified.

1.     Develop skills and fitness specific to particular sports.

2.    Appreciate and be able to execute strategic play in sports.

3.     Participate at a level appropriate to their stage of development.

4.     Share in the planning and administration of sport experiences.

5.     Provide responsible leadership.

6.     Work effectively within a group toward common goals.

7.     Appreciate the rituals and conventions that give particular sports their unique 

        meanings.

8.     Develop the capacity to make reasoned decisions about sport issues.

9.     Develop and apply knowledge about umpiring, refereeing, and training.

10.   Decide voluntarily to become involved in after-school sport.

COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL HEALTH EDUCATION STANDARDS

Through health literacy, healthy self-management skills, and health promotion, comprehensive health education teaches fundamental health concepts, promotes habits and conduct that enhance health and wellness, and guides efforts to build healthy families, relationships, schools, and communities. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Framework discusses recommended health education content in terms of 4 separate but interrelated strands: physical health, social and emotional health, safety and prevention, and personal and community health. Each strand includes several PreK-12 standards (14 in all) that define topic-oriented content and set expectations for knowledge and skills that students should acquire from their health studies.

Physical Health Strand

 

·         Growth and Development

·         Physical Activity and Fitness

·         Nutrition

·         Reproductive Health

Social and Emotional Health Strand

·         Mental Health

·         Family Life

·         Interpersonal Relationships

Safety and Prevention Strand

·         Disease Prevention and Control

·         Safety and Injury Prevention

·         Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Substance Use/Abuse Prevention

·         Violence Prevention

Personal and Community Health Strand

·         Consumer Health and Resource Management

·         Ecological Health

·         Community and Public Health

Within these standards, measurable student competencies are defined for each grade span (PreK‑5, 6‑8, 9­12). 

The Massachusetts standards are organized primarily by topical content, although each standard also addresses skill development. The National Health Education Standards, developed by the Joint Committee on National Health Education Standards in 1995 and revised in 2005, place an even stronger emphasis on the critical health skills students need in order to adopt, practice, and maintain healthy behaviors. The National Health Education Standards state that:

• Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
• Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to enhance health.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Cited from the Pre-publication document of National Health Education Standards, Pre-K through 12, American Cancer Society, December 2005 – August 2006.

The Massachusetts Framework and the National Health Education Standards can complement one another, with the former outlining important topic areas and the latter focusing on the development of health-related skills. 

SELECTING OR DEVELOPING

In Massachusetts, health education curricula and textbooks are chosen locally. Most school districts have established processes to review and select texts and curricula. Ideally, this process involves a team or work group that includes health education specialists, curriculum specialists, physical education and family/consumer sciences teachers, school nurses, school physicians, school counselors, school administrators, food service administrators, parents, and community representatives. The School Health Advisory Committee may also be used for this purpose (see Chapter 2). Including parents and community members on curriculum review teams is important to ensure that the curriculum addresses health topics of local concern and that it is consistent with community values.

By reviewing the entire scope and sequence of the curriculum under consideration, the team can ensure that essential knowledge and skills are addressed, that there are no gaps or unnecessary redundancies in topic coverage, and that skills and concepts introduced in earlier grades are reinforced in later grades.

Effective curricula share eight characteristics:

• They are research-based and theory driven;
• They include basic, accurate information that is developmentally appropriate;
• They use interactive, experiential activities that actively engage students;
• They provide students with opportunities to model and practice relevant social skills;
• They address social or media influences on behavior;
• They strengthen individual values and group norms that support health-enhancing behaviors;
• They are of sufficient duration to allow students to gain the needed knowledge and skills; and
• They include teacher training that enhances effectiveness. (Lohrmann & Wooley, 1998)

Although many professionally developed health education curricula are available, most are either not comprehensive or not fully and rigorously evaluated. Some of the former category target specific age groups (e.g., K-3, early adolescents) rather than all ages. The majority of the latter, those with strong evaluation support for their effectiveness in influencing student behavior, have focused on a few specific outcomes, rather than covering the full range of important health topics. Recently, for example, a number of curricula or school programs which are focused on healthy eating and physical activity (Gortmaker et al., 1999) and suicide prevention (Aseltine & DeMartino, 2004) have been evaluated and have shown evidence of effectiveness. A list of research-based curricula and programs with evidence of reducing behaviors leading to teen pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease is available from Advocates for Youth (2003). The U.S. Department of Education (2002) has published a list of exemplary and promising school programs with evidence of reducing violent behavior and substance use.

It is possible to find comprehensive school health education curricula with evaluation results supporting at least some objectives; four are listed at the end of this chapter under Resources: General Health Education Curricula. However, a school district may find that no single evaluated K-12 curriculum meets its needs and may decide to develop its own curriculum, to use different curricula at different grade levels, or to supplement topic-specific curricula with lessons from other sources. The district curriculum director and other school and community professionals who have expertise in health content and/or curriculum development should be key participants in such efforts.

In the future, the number of comprehensive, research-based programs is likely to increase. As availability increases, so will the expectation that schools will use programs and curricula that have been carefully evaluated. At present, the CDC-developed Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) sets useful guidelines for schools or districts that need to select, review, or develop a school health education curriculum. In addition to step-by-step instructions for bringing together a curriculum review team, the HECAT also provides scoring sheets for team members to use in rating the extent of topic coverage and the depth of student skills practice. CDC has also developed a similar tool, called the PECAT, to assist with evaluation of physical education curricula. It has also provided the Consumer Guide to Health Education Curricula, an interactive, online program, based on the HECAT, which contains expert analyses of critical components of health education curricula. For more information about these tools, see CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health. 

THE COORDINATED SCHOOL HEALTH MODEL

School health programs are most effective in helping youth develop healthy lifestyles when all components are coordinated and when they reinforce one another. Comprehensive school health education can and should work with other CSH components in a number of ways. (See Chapter 1

for a detailed discussion of the elements of the Coordinated School Health model.)

School nurses, counselors, and other school health staff are key partners with classroom health teachers in promoting the health of children and adolescents. Health education content can also be strengthened when health teachers collaborate with other teachers and staff, as well as with students, families, and the community. School nurses are an excellent resource and can offer presentations on a wide range of health issues at all grade levels. They may be called upon to deliver behavioral health education lessons in some areas (e.g., puberty, staying healthy during flu season, dealing with depression and stress), and they can make youth aware of the school and community health and mental health services available to them. Additionally, by working with school health staff, teachers can learn how to access and use the school’s identification and referral system so that they may guide students with health needs toward the appropriate staff professionals.

Physical education teachers and school food service staff are additional resources in promoting health. Students who learn about target heart rate in health class can be asked in physical education to monitor their own heart rates before and after exercise. Food service staff can give teachers and students information about nutrition and safe food handling. Teachers, in turn, can involve their students in analyzing the nutritional content of cafeteria offerings. Teachers of non-health subjects can sometimes be enlisted to deliver health education lessons. The Planet Health curriculum, for example (Gortmaker et al., 1999), includes nutrition and physical-activity lessons to be taught by middle-school math, science, social studies, and language arts teachers.

Older students can also be an effective resource. Some successful elementary and middle-school health education programs involve trained high-school peer leaders in conducting classroom health education activities. Children and youth are more likely to adopt a behavior if it is modeled or advocated by someone they wish to emulate.

Family and community involvement in health education is especially important. Parents/guardians and community agency members (including primary care providers) can and should be involved in school health advisory committees. Many school-based prevention programs also involve parents/guardians and community agency personnel in the implementation of health education curricula. For example, community agency personnel may assist students with assignments that ask them to identify the particular health needs of their communities and/or to locate health-related products and services available in their communities.

Health teachers can encourage family involvement by sending home information about health and by providing parent/guardian education programs focusing on topics that parallel those covered in the curriculum.

TRAINING HEALTH EDUCATION INSTRUCTORS

To be effective in increasing knowledge and influencing behavior, classroom health education should be delivered by well-trained instructors. In Massachusetts, teachers can earn a combined Health Education/Family and Consumer Sciences certification, licensing them to teach health education in secondary schools. This certification requires not only a solid background in health content knowledge but also experience in using interactive skills methods, dealing with sensitive issues in a group setting, devising activities and assignments that encourage students to practice skills, and assessing whether students meet learning standards. In Massachusetts, approximately 4 out of 5 lead health teachers in public secondary schools hold certification in health education (Massachusetts School Health Education Profiles, 2004). Classroom teachers at the elementary school level may be less well prepared, however, since coursework in health education is not a requirement for elementary teacher certification. These teachers should be encouraged to obtain additional training in this area and request mentoring by licensed health educators from the school district.

It is also important that instructors be trained on the specific curriculum to be used in their classrooms. The effectiveness of research-based curricula depends on the lessons being implemented with fidelity. Although teachers can gain an overview understanding of a particular curriculum in an hour or two and can increase their knowledge base in several hours, more thorough and comprehensive training is needed if teachers are to implement the full curriculum skillfully. Like students, teachers need both in-depth information and extensive skill-building exercises related to the curriculum. It is especially important that teachers have multiple opportunities for practice, feedback, and reinforcement in those areas that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable, such as managing student cooperative learning exercises or discussing sensitive topics.

IMPLEMENTING THE CURRICULUM

Whether dealing with a whole K-12 curriculum or just one topic, instructors in health education are encouraged to use methods that are likely to influence behavior, not merely impart knowledge. In general, methods that work best are interactive ones that encourage students to personalize the messages and apply them to their own lives. As with learning any skill, practice and feedback are essential. For example, students can construct healthy menus, role-play alcohol refusal skills, identify personal pressures to engage in risky behavior, or compare the trustworthiness of information about medications obtained from various Web-based information sources.

The likelihood of students learning and applying health skills increases if those skills are practiced in a variety of situations. For example, students can be asked to demonstrate goal-setting skills when constructing a personal plan for increasing their level of aerobic exercise, and these same skills can later be applied to designing a healthy weight-loss plan. 

ASSESSING STUDENT PROGRESS

It is important to assess whether students have reached the learning standards set by the health education curriculum, acquired the necessary content knowledge, and developed proficiency in targeted health-related skills. Health education is not one of the subjects included in the statewide Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), so schools should develop health education assessments aligned with their own curricula. An extensive bank of health education test items, matched to the National Health Education Standards, has been developed and piloted by the Health Education Assessment Project of the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS). This testing collection includes both selected response (multiple-choice) items to assess content knowledge and performance-based questions and activities that require students to demonstrate more complex skills. Additional information about SCASS and health education assessment resources is available at  Test items are password-protected and can be made available only to authorized school personnel who have completed DOE health education assessment training requirements and sign a nondisclosure agreement. To find out more about health education assessment offerings and technical assistance from DOE, contact the department’s Comprehensive School Health Education Coordinator. 

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM

Program initiatives include four goals:

Goal 1: Selective Admissions and Retention

A new program of selective admission and retention will take effect for Early Childhood Education candidates in Fall Quarter 2006.  Changes were designed to improve candidate preparation and to include successful completion of critical program assessments.  Current Transition Points for all unit teacher education programs are at the times of Application for Professional Education, Application for Advanced Standing, Application for Student Teaching, and at program completion.  The new Early Childhood admission/retention system identifies six Phases of progress, given below with performance criteria.  Criteria added for the Fall 2006 system are shaded. 

Phase 1: Admission to Early Childhood Education (and, at the unit level, to Professional education)

1. completion of 45 quarter hours with grade-point average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher
2. completion of each of these courses with a grade of “C” or higher:

- PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology

- Freshman Composition and COMS 103: Introduction to Public Speaking

- two science courses  with a labs

- two mathematics courses, MATH 120 or above (NOTE: A “C” or higher in all             math and science requirements is required for Advanced Standing)

- HCCF 160: Introduction to Child Development

3. a score of 172 or higher in writing and math, an 173 or above in reading, on the PRAXIS I (PPST/CBT) Test; OR a score of 21 or higher on the ACT; OR a score of 990 or higher on the SAT
4. submission of acceptable results of a background check through BCII
5. submission of negative results for a tuberculosis skin test
6. submission of two professional references

Procedures for Application

1. Candidates must complete the application by June 1.
2. Candidates must meet the criteria for selective admission and retention for Early Childhood Teacher Education.  Enrollment in the major is limited to promote quality instruction, appropriate field placements and effective advisement.  Admission is competitive, and not all candidates who apply and meet the minimum criteria will be accepted.  Contact the Office of Student Services in either college for details on the Early Childhood Selective Admission Policy.
3. Candidates who are admitted to the Early Childhood Education major will automatically be admitted to Professional Education.
4. Early Childhood faculty members will select the best-qualified candidates based upon the application materials and available resources.  Candidates will be informed before Fall quarter of the following academic year of acceptance to or denial from the program.  

Transfer students must meet all of the above requirements and submit an official transcript from the institution previously attended.

Phase II: Admission to Advanced Standing

1. completion of 90 quarter hours with a GPA of 2.75 or higher
2. completion of Early Childhood courses (HCCF 160, 160A, 170, 260, 260L, 361, 361L, and EDEC 206) with a grade of “C” or higher for each
3. an accumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher
4. satisfactory reports from Campus Judiciaries and from faculty members
5. application to the junior-year teaching partnership*
6. satisfactory mid-level portfolio review [Assessment #2: Content Knowledge]

*Ohio University’s Teacher Preparation Unit enjoys partnership agreements with three local elementary schools: The Plains, East, and Chauncey.  The requirement that all candidates be members of a cohort that takes coursework together and spends 2.5 days per week in a junior-level field experience in a partnership school will be phased in over three years, as enrollment decreases to a level that the partnership schools can accommodate.

Phase III: Preparation for/Admission to Student Teaching

1. Submission of application, by December 1 of the academic year prior to the requested student teaching experience
2. completion of at least 135 quarter hours with an accumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher
3. completion of all prerequisite Early Childhood courses with a GPA of 2.75 or higher, and no grade below a “C”
4. satisfactory demonstration of effective planning and implementation of appropriate teaching and learning experiences in the Instructional Adaptations assessment given in EDTE 371C [Assessment #3: Ability to Plan and Implement Appropriate Teaching and Learning Experiences]
5. satisfactory completion of the Child Literacy Case Study assessment given in EDEC 421 [Assessment #8: optional assessment]
6. satisfactory demonstration of the Curriculum Reflection Portfolio assessment given in HCCF 455 [Assessment 36: Additional Assessment That Addresses NAEYC Standards]

Phase IV: Completion of Student Teaching

1. Satisfactory demonstration of knowledge, skills, and dispositions in clinical practice and candidate effect on student learning in the Pre-Primary Student Teaching Portfolio assembled in HCCF 474 [Assessment #5: Candidate Effect on Student Learning]
2. satisfactory demonstration of effective application of candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions in clinical practice in EDPL 458 and EDPL 459 [Assessment #4: Assessment of Student Teaching or Internship]

Phase V: Graduation

1. completion of a minimum of 192 quarter hours
2. an overall minimum GPA of 2.75
3. a minimum GPA of 2.75 in Early Childhood courses with no grade below a “C”
4. satisfactory completion of the Exit Portfolio [Assessment #7: Additional Assessment That Addresses NAEYC Standards]
5. satisfactory completion of the pre-primary and primary student teaching experiences

Phase VI:

1. a score of 166 or higher on the PRAXIS II examination “Principles of Learning and Teaching in Early Childhood”
2. a score of 166 or higher on the PRAXIS II examination “Education of Young Children” [Assessment #1: Content Knowledge]

Goal 2: Implementation of Assessments

There are eight and they are identified above in Goal 1.

Unique to the Early Childhood program are assessments 2 through 8.  Much work and expertise have been devoted to designing assessments that require of candidates a synthesis of dispositions, skills, and knowledge gained and demonstrated during the program.  A strong mixture of formative and summative assessments, a commitment to collaborative evaluation, and a design that includes intervention for at-risk candidates form a system of assessment that complements the unit-wide system and demonstrates commitment to program excellence.

Goal 3: Receive NCATE-NAEYC Recognition

The NCATE-NAEYC Program Review Report was submitted on February 1, 2006. 

Goal 4: Evaluation of the Current Curriculum

Plans are being formulated to reorganize the curriculum so that it reflects clearly the following standards promulgated by our specific professional association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children:

a)      Promoting Child Development and Learning

b)      Building Family and Community Relationships

c)      Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families

d)      Teaching and Learning

e)      Becoming a Professional 

UNDERGRADUATE GOALS

1.      Increase annual enrollment of multicultural students by 10% using OU visitations (OU Up-Close), undecided majors data, EDTE 150, and other recruiting venues to distribute new brochures and provide personal follow-up information about opportunities in special education.

2.      Increase quality of advising by adopting an annual departmental TE undergraduate plan for DARs Fest (pre-registration advisement) as well as plans for equitable and efficient advising assignments by student rank and major. Establish a system of advisor backups after determining the roles and functions of Student Services.  Student feedback on advising processes will increase on the positive continuum by 15%,

3.      Increase retention rates by 5% and quality of the freshman experience through targeted advisement of freshmen enrolled in learning communities and EDTE 150 by connecting freshman to SCEC and upper class mentors. A future consideration for EDTE 150 and/or learning communities is to institute an early reading program (book club format) for special education majors tying these activities to an early service learning project initiated by SCEC and supported by faculty.  Seek external funding and/or partner with other disciplines or organizations that may support such a venture.

4.      Use and refine current and future (LiveText) systems of data collection for program improvement to more specifically identify: 1) student factors that may be used to refine Sp. Ed. Selective Admissions criteria and processes; 2) programmatic factors tied to Sp. Ed. Selective Admissions and student block performance; and; 3) student teaching performance data to student block performance. Data analysis of performance of 2005-06 cohorts will be compared to performance data for 2006-07 cohort. Recommendations from this analysis will be recorded in program area minutes.

5.      In conjunction with other teacher education programs, increase program oversight of Student Teaching, e.g. make recommendations for student teaching placements, provide supervision of supervisors and/or seminars, provide direct supervision of student teachers, develop systems of using cooperating teacher feedback and student assessment of student teaching for program improvement.  Compare student teaching performance between cohort 2006 and 2007 with recommendations.

6.      Participate with the COE in redefining/expanding the current singular nature of partnership districts/schools to determine the viability of multi school/district “Partnership” within a program such as special education that can’t be tied to a single school or district.  Identify sp. ed. teachers in Alexander School District that may wish to participate in a pilot tying early field students and student teaching.  Assess satisfaction and performance data of this group with other cohort students not involved in the pilot.

MASTER'S AND PH.D GOALS

1.      Identify, deliver, and evaluate impact of courses in the Master’s programs offered on-line and/or blended so as to expand access and increase graduate enrollment through graduate student questionnaire.

2.      Collect and use data on Master’s program enrollment trends to modify and refine quality of and connection to practicum performance standards to specific course requirements and to student teaching as is done in the undergraduate programs. Design and decide upon some standards for practicum performance for all Master’s students.

3.      Continue collaboration with other Master’s/Ph.D. programs in developing an accurate and timely annual course offering list for distribution to advisees and potential students.

4.      Redesign ECIS program based on student feedback and current resources. Submit for CEC-NCATE approval.  Survey regional campuses and districts to identify target area and audience for a 3-year cohort program.

Overall Program Goals

Use current program funds to design a secure place for specialized equipment that permits greater security as well as access to faculty.

1. Increase WSCH generation by Group 1 faculty through reassignment of courses/load through service course teaching. To permit Group I faculty greater WSCH generation and support research and service obligations, decrease sections offered and increase enrollment caps in these service courses. 
2. Increase public awareness of needs for teachers in special education at undergraduate and graduate levels via use of program funds to a) annually via the Post announce names of those admitted to the undergraduate Sp. Ed. Selective Admission process; b) connect with public relations personnel to highlight via media the work of cooperating teachers in fields and student teaching; c) encourage program faculty to share research via OU media; d) encourage undergraduates and graduate students to apply for competitive awards and/or participate in research fairs conducted by OU. Increase visibility by 15%.
3. Continue to define and refine student and faculty use of LiveText by connecting specific CEC-NCATE competencies and corresponding course artifacts so that by Fall 2007, 80% of instruction/performance is tracked in LiveText.
4. Examine alternative delivery models for course content.
5. Explore opportunities to offer additional professional development (e.g. differentiated instruction) to local districts. Work with CORAS and SEO-SERRC to determine needs.