So what’s all the ‘fizz’ about?

Think of that moment when a fizzy drink bubbles to the surface of the glass, pretty cool huh?

Imagine that moment in class when student engagement, creativity, achievement, collaboration, clarity of purpose, fun and genuine learning all collide to make the most amazing learning experience. Our fizz moment.

What has become central to my development in recent years is how we ensure that our role as educators is fulfilled in the most valuable way, making every minute count when we have the opportunity to connect with our students.

Time allocation for PE in schools is a conversation for another day (or post) but the likelihood is that you share my frustration sometimes over what can be achieved in the time we do have with our classes. Having said that, it is far more more rewarding to look at what we do in the the time we do have, rather than complain about the time we don’t.

This has led me to consider and analyse a few areas relating to how I teach and, more importantly, how the kids learn;

5 areas of fizz

1. How theory is taught through practical activity so as NOT to have too much ‘sitting down time’ in class.
2. We are not sport coaches- it is not our job to relentlessly push skill and drill repetition practice, the ideas and concepts we teach have to be bigger, more valuable and have a life long impact.
3. ICT and mobile devices have to be integrated and used with the sole purpose of improving student learning.
4. Sound evidence based pedagogy (much of which is focused on classroom teaching and learning) must be adapted for our gyms, playing fields and swimming pools, to ensure we are having the greatest impact in the time we have.
5. As a physical educator in the modern day, we all have a duty to expel the myth that ‘Gym teachers’ are simply facilitators of play time.

Over the coming weeks and months, each of these areas will be explored on these pages.

If you are reading this then you are no doubt one of the goodies. Through social media groups, professional development networks, and relentlessly pursuing best practice (and sharing it) we are all responsible for raising the bar and fostering in our students a passion for lifelong health and physical activity.

When all of these components are working in synergy, we get those moments in class that are hard to describe. Moments that put the “fizz” in Phys-Ed if you like.

With your help and collaboration, I hope we can encounter these moments more often. We can make them deliberate and we can leave our students feeling truly inspired.