From the Head of PE and Sport 19.02.2022

FOBISIA PE and Sport eConference 2022 (Part 2)

Last week I shared with you some great reflections from Mr. Richie and Mr. Bromley. This week Mr. Watson shares what he learnt from a former UK U21 chess champion in one session. If you are thinking to yourself “what could a chess player possibly have to teach someone about PE or teaching?” Then you may be interested to learn a little about ‘conceptual learning’ and the value in learning how to understand and apply concepts and the transference of knowledge into different contexts in my piece below. 

Miss Watt – An area of pedagogical practice that I first became interested in following sessions attended at last year’s conference is “Concept Based Learning”. The notion that children will often learn more if they are engaged and see relevance or purpose in what they are studying is not new or earth-shattering news to anyone. As well, in a time where the world is changing so rapidly, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to identify what specific skills our students are going to need once they leave school and embark on their own paths and journeys. 

Therefore, is there merit in shifting our focus away from a prescribed set of skills, and instead encourage students to develop their understanding of different concepts which can then be applied and transferred into a myriad of different contexts now, and in their futures – whatever they may look like. 

Instead concept based learning or ‘conceptual understanding’ focuses on key questions and linked anchoring concepts that students can first ‘acquire’ an understanding of, then proceed to ‘connect’ that knowledge and understanding to other similar scenarios. Before finally ‘transferring’ their learning to both similar and dissimilar contexts which can lead to greater creative and out of the box thinking. This is known as the “ACT” model. 

Concept based learning has great potential for engaging students due to its wider scope and allowing students to find their own meaning in what they are learning, therefore increasing motivation and subsequently learning. It also has the potential for students to develop cross-curricular links in different subjects within the concepts they are studying. For example, when looking at concepts of attacking strategies in invasion games there is the potential for students to apply and transfer that knowledge when looking at military invasions, for example what attacking strategies did Hannibal implement as one of the most widely regarded military tacticians in history. 

I am certainly looking forward to exploring this pedagogical theme more whilst undertaking Julie Stern’s Learning that Transfers online course over the next couple of months and examining how it can be applied into curriculum planning at KIS.

Mr. Watson – I attended a seminar called ‘Learning to Lose – How Losing Over 50,000 Chess Games has Helped Prepare for Success’. This session helped me provide many links to skill acquisition. Learning a new skill can be very difficult and often it can be easier to give up rather than attempting to improve. We must try to build a mental framework aiming to stick it out. A simple strategy is to think ACT – Action Changes Things. Commitment to further practice of the skill will, in time, change things, you will improve! Also remembering patterns of the mistakes you’ve made in learning a skill or in a game can allow us to try new things the next time you practise or play.

I was also intrigued by the German word ‘Zwischenzug’ which means an ‘in-between’ move. This led me to the thought that when we play sport we can sometimes get trapped into expecting the obvious but someone playing an in-between or unexpected move could be very beneficial. Zwischenzug can be a powerful idea to mislead opponents from your intended tactic such as an overhead clear before playing your intended drop shot in Badminton. There will be dojo points and merits awarded for students who can be creative in PE and use Zwischenzug!

Medal haul for Kon Han at Sabah Closed Badminton Tournament 

Kon Han (10S) won’t be reaching 50,000 losses in badminton any time soon, instead she continues to excel and add to her already impressive number of titles. In her most recent tournament which was held from the 10th to 13th February 2022 at Keningau, Sabah, Kon Han came away with a bronze medal after reaching the semi-finals of the Girls U16 Singles Tournament, as well as a gold medal after taking out the U16 Girls Doubles Tournament with her partner. 

Congratulations Kon Han on these latest successes and we hope you continue to work hard as you strive to achieve your goals! 

Miss Catriona Watt

Head of PE and Sport