Empowering Young Leaders

Empowering Young Leaders

As a PE teacher over the last 12 years, I have regularly tried to challenge pupils’ behaviour and engage difficult pupils into achieving well within lessons. I have found that our most difficult pupils often respond well to praise and the pressure of responsibility. This can be achieved in a couple of examples listed below:

In the teaching of PE, I have often found opportunities to give students leadership opportunities to demonstrate and even captain their peers. This role rotated around the class over a period of weeks is hugely empowering with the self-esteem and confidence of our young learners clearly increased.

A strategy that I often use is to give responsibility to pupils to teach small parts of a lesson: For example, in a football lesson, I will often ask the designated leader to lead their group on their five minute aerobic warm up and then demonstrate the stretches needed and motivate the group. This responsibility requires the pupils to remember examples from previous lessons and use their voice to give instructions. This recall of prior learning really helps to evidence their progress over time.

Another example that I use, for example in table tennis, would be to call the team leaders over to explain the next task, giving them the key teaching points and equipment required. I often show them a diagram of what it should look like and an example of how it should look. These leaders then return to their groups and deliver the information (taking the role as teacher). This responsibility may need some support from the teacher but generally the flow of the activity is good. At the end of the task, the group members feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the student leader and give advice on how their performance could be improved. This Q and A works excellently as a mini plenary.

These examples work really well in PE but I wonder whether they could be transferred into group work situations in the classroom?

These links below identify some strong correlations between improved pupil behaviour and engagement in Physical Education.

http://www.academia.edu/163470/Exploring_the_relationship_between_physical_education_and_enhancing_behaviour_in_pupils_with_emotional_behavioural_difficulties

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmeduc/writev/behaviour/we83.htm

http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/linking-sport-positive-behaviour-7001