This is the first part of a 4 part blog series that Ross Chakrian created to have teachers become more familiar with the Movement Ed Model within Elementary PE. This first episode in the series will focus on a basic overview of what the Movement Ed Model is and why it is beneficial for both students and teachers.
[0:00] Today on the PE Express podcast, we’re going to explore the first of four sessions that are focusing on the foundation of the movement Ed model in elementary physical education, Let’s get to it.
What is Movement Education?
[0:30] So the term Movement Education model might kind of bring up some memories of when you were in College or University and you’re thinking back to your elementary methods coursed and maybe it’s something that you have kind of forgotten along the way with your years of teaching. But it’s a great, great, great instructional education model for physical education, for the elementary level that I want to make sure that I bring to light.
[0:51] So today, on our podcast, we’re really going to kind of focus on the specific tenants of movement education and kind of give you a little bit of background what it is before we explore a little bit more in-depth about the different concepts and elements of the model in our next podcast.
Success for All
[1:08] So the first tenant or belief of movement education model within elementary physical education is the idea of success for all and within the context of the model, this really means that it allows for and encourages divergent thinking amongst your students. So there’s often multiple right answers to a movement problem that you kind of present to your students as a teacher. So were still kind of used to kind of prescribing how to do skills, Movement Ed kind of flips that on its head and it allows students kind of explore the different ways they can do things, not just the one right way that might be described by a list of cues or something like that.
Activity for All
[1:47] The second tenant or belief of the Movement Education model within elementary physical education is activity for all and within the context of the model this kind of really means that the Movement Ed model as a whole is inclusive by nature and through the promotion of divergent thinking like we mentioned with success for all, that first belief, students learn to be active by moving their bodies in ways that allow for creativity, meaning, and enjoyment.
Contribution by All
[02:14] And the third tenant or belief of the movement education framework or model within elementary physical education is contribution by all and within the context of the model, this really means that movements could look different from one student to another, and they often will, and that should be promoted and encouraged and students kind of learn within that context to appreciate the differences in their movement from one person to another within their class. Compared to a traditional skill theme approached that a lot of elementary physical education teachers might be using, the Movement Ed model allows for students to be at the center of their own learning versus the idea of the teacher telling students what to do and how it should be done, which is a really powerful way to kind of approach the learning process when you can allow students to have the creativity and autonomy to kind of drive the lessons in the ways that they best see fit for themselves.
[03:04] And in terms of the three domains of learning psychomotor, cognitive, and affective, the Movement Ed model is a well-balanced approach that covers each of these three areas really well. So the Movement Ed model really prioritizes concept-based learning, and as such provides opportunities to reinforce vocabulary that students have likely seen in other curricular areas within the school building and even beyond that based upon their lived experiences outside of PE and outside of school and altogether. And it allows them to build upon this base of knowledge in a different context through movement. And if you’re familiar with the idea of constructivism or constructivist learning theory, that’s what movement is really based upon. It focuses on the concepts that students need to know and how they can apply these concepts in different ways.
[03:52] So now you know a little bit more about the foundation of the Movement Ed model. Be sure to tune into my next podcast on this topic that’s going to explore the specific concepts of the movement at model and the elements within each thanks for listening, and I hope to see you next time.