School Physical Education Curriculum Planning

Most schools have integrated the process of P-I-E (Planning, Implementation and Evaluation) into their school PE curriculum plan. The five-stage cycle for whole-school curriculum planning¹¹ is proposed to refine the above process to achieve the school curriculum goals. The five-stage cycle can also be adopted to help schools plan the PE curriculum by identifying the basis, key issues and situation for school PE curriculum planning, and tying them closely to the plan for the next cycle. The five-stage cycle is not necessarily conducted in a linear or single direction. Schools may revert to different stages to make adjustment to planning and deploying resources while considering the circumstances and needs of each stage of the planning process (refer to Chapter 2 of the BECG and Booklet 2 of the SECG for details).

It is useful for schools to take note of the following elements in designing the content for the school PE curriculum.

3.3.1 School Context Analysis

The aim of school context analysis is to help schools set the direction, priorities and major concerns for curriculum planning through analysing the impetus, the experience and the emergent needs of schools as well as the implications of the changing society for the development of a school PE curriculum. Schools are recommended to review and plan the curriculum flexibly and make appropriate re-adjustment according to the situation in order to:

 ensure the curriculum planning and implementation of the school PE curriculum is aligned with the vision and mission of the school; and

 meet the learning goals and address their major concerns.

3.3.2 Student-focused

Taking into considerations of students’ needs and aspirations, teachers should:

 Design graded learning tasks, and group students for co-operative learning and personalised learning.

 Provide opportunities for students to have enjoyment and sense of achievement, and to learn to do well in physical activities.

 Consider students’ views when selecting activities and providing elective physical activities to arouse their motivation.

11 The five stages of the whole-school curriculum planning include: Stage 1: Context Analysis; Stage 2:

Curriculum Planning and Effective Use of Resources; Stage 3: Curriculum Implementation; Stage 4:

Continuous Monitoring; and Stage 5: Review and Evaluation.

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3.3.3 Selection of Activities and Content

Schools should provide students with broad and balanced learning experiences in the PE Key Learning Area (KLA). Teachers should teach students the fundamental movement (FM) skills in Key Stage (KS) 1 and provide opportunities for them to develop and apply the basic skills of at least eight different physical activities from not less than four areas from KS2 to KS3.

Activities including athletics, swimming, basketball, football, volleyball, handball, badminton, table-tennis, basic gymnastics, dance and physical fitness are recommended to be covered as far as possible (see Table 3.1 for details).

Table 3.1 Examples of Physical Activities Key

Stages

Areas of

Activity Activities

KS1 Fundamental Movement

KS2 to KS3

Athletics Track Events, Field Events, Cross Country Running, etc.

Ball Games

Team games:

Basketball, Football, Volleyball, Handball, Rugby, Netball, Hockey, Softball, Baseball, etc.

Racket games:

Badminton, Table-tennis, Squash, Tennis, etc.

Gymnastics Basic Gymnastics, Educational Gymnastics, Trampolining, etc.

Aquatics Swimming, Lifesaving, etc.

Dance Western Folk Dance, Chinese Dance, DanceSport, Creative Dance, Jazz, etc.

Physical Fitness

Physical Fitness Activities (e.g. Circuit Training, Resistance Training, Cardiorespiratory Fitness Training and Endurance Training)

Outdoor Pursuits

Hiking, Camping, Orienteering, Canoeing, Rowing, Sailing, etc.

Others Rope-skipping, Shuttlecock, Golf, Bowling, Chinese Martial Arts, Cycling, Ice Sports, etc.

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Table 3.2 provides the selection criteria to help teachers select activities for the school PE curriculum. Teachers may weigh the activities in terms of scores and activities with the highest scores should be accorded the first priority.

Furthermore, teachers may also consider the feedback from students during the selection and evaluation process.

Table 3.2 Selection Criteria Rating Table Examples of

Activities

*Rating

Selection Criteria

Athletics Basketball Badminton Basic Gymnastics Canoeing Football Circuit Training Rope-skipping Rugby Swimming Western Folk Dance

Educational Aims Vision And Mission

Major Concerns Facilities Within School

Facilities Outside School

Safety Fun Element

Continuity Popularity Exercise Intensity Teacher Expertise Student Ability Carry-over Value

Total Score

*Rating: 1 - Very Low 2 – Low 3 – High 4 - Very High

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When preparing the teaching content of a particular physical activity, teachers should:

 make reference to the supporting materials issued by the Education Bureau (EDB), such as An Introductory Guide to Fundamental Movement (2007), Physical Education Learning Outcomes Framework (2008) and PE KLA: An Overview of the Learning Topics in the Six Strands (2013);

 observe safety measures when organising relevant learning activities, such as professional qualifications, administrative measures, management measures, environment and facilities, teaching considerations (refer to the Safety Guidelines on Physical Education Key Learning Area for Hong Kong Schools, Guidelines on Outdoor Activities, Guidelines on Extra-curricular Activities in Schools, and other related circulars, letters and resources issued by the EDB and relevant sports governing bodies for more information);

 consider the school context such as teacher expertise, student ability and availability of sports facilities;

 ensure the smooth transition between different key stages;

 consider the popularity and trends of activities, and physical activities with carry-over values to benefit whole-person development; and

 cover elements of the Major Renewed Emphases (MRE) of the ongoing curriculum development as appropriate.

3.3.4 Mode of Delivery

The delivery of the PE curriculum should not be confined to PE lessons. The school administrators and PE teachers should join hands to organise a variety of physical activities within and outside the school to provide diversified learning experiences to students. Activities for the PE KLA can be organised in different modes as listed below:

 Daily exercise

Morning exercise and/or exercise between class periods cultivate exercise habit, team spirit, sense of responsibility, perseverance and commitment of students (refer to the handbook of “Morning Exercise and Exercise between Class Periods in Primary and Secondary Schools” (2010) produced by the Physical Education Section of Curriculum Development Institute for details).

 Major sports events

Games day, swimming gala and sports day provide essential learning opportunities for students. A whole-school approach towards such events allows students to experience different roles in an organised sports function, which further enriches students’ learning in PE.

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 PE-related co-curricular activities

School team training, interest group and PE-related co-curricular activities are commonly adopted by schools to provide extended learning of the PE curriculum.

 Outdoor activities

Hiking, orienteering, outdoor educational camp and water sports help students face challenges and enrich their life experiences.

 Cross-curricular activities

Project learning week or sports month can enrich student learning through cross-KLA collaboration. These may help students develop connections between ideas and concepts, and allows them to see things from different perspectives (see Figure 3.1 for an example of a sports month in a primary school).

3.3.5 Use of Resources

Schools may utilise different facilities and resources to provide more opportunities for students to take part in physical activities, such as use community sports facilities, hire sports coaches and join various sports programmes organised by various Government departments and non-governmental organisations (refer to Section 6.4.1 of this Guide for details).

3.3.6 Strengthening Values Education

Cultivating students’ positive values and attitudes is one of the aims of the PE curriculum. Schools should strengthen values education and emphasise in particular the seven priority values and attitudes (refer to Section 2.2.4 of this Guide for details).

In the PE KLA, teachers should encourage students to strive for excellence in the spirit of the Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, which is Latin for “Higher, Faster, Stronger”. Through taking part in physical activities, students can develop the Olympic spirit of mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play.

By choosing Olympic Games as the main theme in project learning, students can also learn the various features in promoting peace and love, e.g. the Olympic Rings is a symbol representing the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from different parts of the world at the Olympic Games.

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Figure 3.1 Cross-curricular activities – Sports Month (Source: Yuen Long Government Primary School)

According to students’ needs, interests and abilities, teachers need to:

 develop students’ skills to reflect on and apply their beliefs, including identifying, clarifying, evaluating and upholding positive values and attitudes in authentic sports situations; and

 deepen students’ understanding of positive values and attitudes from multiple perspectives, such as values and philosophy of sports, etiquette of participating in sports competitions and attitudes towards participation in physical activities.

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For senior secondary students, teachers may engage students in discussions of controversial issues in sports such as “anti-doping”, “racism in sports” and

“sports and gambling”, which can inspire students to reflect on sports-related issues.

Teachers may also provide students with opportunities to nurture the sports-related values and attitudes through:

 a debriefing with students with a focus on values after games;

 sharing of personal reviews of stories about celebrity athletes; and

 projects on topics with elements on sports-related values such as fairness, perseverance and respect.

Regarding the Basic Law Education, schools may conduct and engage students in different sports-related activities with an aim to fostering students’ national identity, e.g.

 conducting the national flag raising ceremony and displaying the national anthem at sports events;

 nominating students to participate in Mainland exchange programmes related to sports; and

 seeking opportunities for students to take part in the elite athletes’ sports demonstration and exchange activities during the Mainland Olympians delegations’ visits to Hong Kong.

3.3.7 Promoting STEM Education

The development in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is closely related to improvement in the quality of life in the contemporary world.

The experience of integrating and applying knowledge and skills in STEM education activities is helpful to students’ whole-person development.

Schools may incorporate STEM education into the PE curriculum through diversified physical activities and cross-KLAs activities. When designing learning and teaching activities, PE teachers can collaborate with teachers of the Science, Technology and Mathematics Education KLAs to facilitate integration and application of knowledge and skills across KLAs. Depending on the school context, students’ interests and abilities as well as teachers’ expertise, different approaches such as project-based learning and context-based learning can be adopted. Refer to Example 4.1 (Volleyball – Spiking) in Chapter 4 of this Guide for illustration of incorporating STEM education in PE lessons.

3.3.8 Strengthening Information Technology in Education

With the advancement in technology, students can access different learning resources on the Internet and communicate with their peers and teachers almost anywhere and anytime. Teachers are encouraged to make use of electronic

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devices and applications to create an interactive learning and teaching environment. For example, teachers can extend students’ learning beyond PE lessons through sharing of video clips uploaded to an e-platform for motion analysis and skills enhancement. When strengthening e-learning in PE, teachers may adopt a more student-focused approach to their pedagogical and assessment practices to help students develop self-directed learning. Through synergising e-resources, such as e-textbooks, electronic devices and e-database, students can set individual learning goals and monitor their learning progression. They can also conduct self-assessment and adjust their individual learning plan after evaluation.

Students should develop information literacy and adequate Information Technology (IT) skills and attitudes to process PE information effectively and ethically, and assess the validity and reliability of the information. Teachers should provide guidance to students for the ethical and legal use of IT in PE activities, such as respecting personal data privacy and intellectual property rights in the digital environment, and downloading information from the Internet legally (refer to Section 4.2.5 of this Guide for details).

3.3.9 Strengthening Entrepreneurial Spirit

Students with an entrepreneurial spirit are able to conceive new ideas and turn ideas into actions. Promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in school curriculum focuses on developing attitudes, skills and knowledge which will benefit students in their personal development and the direction of future endeavour. Through participating in sports training and competitions or organising sports activities, students can develop their perseverance, resilience, independence, responsibility and willingness to take calculated risks, which are the attributes of entrepreneurial spirit. Schools should involve students in organising school sports events such as sports day, swimming gala and inter-class sports competitions so as to provide opportunities to foster their sense of responsibility and realise their innovativeness.

3.4 Smooth Transition between Different Key Stages and Multiple