Meaningful PE – just good teaching?

Meaningful PE (MPE) is a framework which recommends drawing upon and applying a set of practices within PE teaching. The essential ones (in my opinion) being; vision, shared language, reflective practices and democratic practices.

Vision (Ní Chróinín et al, 2019) consists of a set of vivid and concrete hopes, practices and purposes. Having one is essential for PE as it provides clarity for the subjects educational purpose and goals to the whole school community. Rather than PE being a series of unconnected learning episodes, a vision can help to shape a coherent approach to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment design and enactment.

Shared Language (Fletcher et al, 2021) refers to a group of people developing understanding amongst themselves to help them communicate more effectively and with greater depth. With many different stakeholders involved within PE, each coming with their own unique knowledge and experience with regards to movement, the development and maintenance of a shared language becomes an important priority if everyone is to understand and learn together.

Reflective Practices (Fletcher and Ní Chróinín, 2021) such as goal setting and individually or collectively making sense of past, present and future experiences within PE and other forms of movement is positioned as a core element of the subject. These practices can take on many different forms from creating time at the end of lesson to guide pupils to reflect on what they liked or dislike to the ongoing use of journals, video logs and portfolios throughout their PE journey.

Democratic Practices (Fletcher and Ní Chróinín, 2021) are about listening to and responding to student voice as well as providing them opportunities to make decisions on their own learning. This can be as simple as allowing pupils some choice within an activity, such as the size of a ball, to providing a range of challenges which they select and move through at their own pace to something more radical such as the co-creation of a unit of work or even the entire curriculum.

A typical response when explaining this to others is is that these practices are surely just good teaching. The simple response is yes – having a vision and shared language and using reflective and democratic practices within PE is good teaching. So then what’s the difference? What is the point of MPE? When using MPE as a framework there are 3 things that make it distinct – 1) meaningfulness is the priority filter for pedagogical decision making, 2) this leads to developing ‘an ecology of practices’ which in turn works towards 3) an educative purpose of meaningfulness.

Meaningfulness is the priority filter for pedagogical decision making

A teacher of PE is a pedagogical decision maker. They make deliberate and intentional decisions on curriculum content, teaching behaviours, learning design and assessment. This is done in a nested way from big picture thinking to in the moment decision making. Taking a Meaningful PE approach means adopting a pedagogical filter that is fundamentally built on meaningfulness. Meaningfulness becomes central to the vision. It informs the shared language (fun, competence, positive social interaction, just right challenge, personally relevant learning and delight). It is the main focus for reflective practice. It is the primary reason for employing democratic practices. Meaningfulness becomes a light to shine on the gap between ideal and reality, which can better inform judgement and decision making, so the gap can be closed.

An ecology of practices

A practice (in this case) is an activity that is done regularly in order to enact PE. These practices should be deliberately selected with a focus to result in specific learning outcomes. Adopting a MPE approach means that the practices are used intentionally to explore and enhance meaningfulness. Additionally they aren’t just isolated or collective good teaching practices, they are an ‘ecology of practices‘, meaning they are set of practices which operate in relation to one another. Essentially the whole is greater than the sum of the parts in this case. For example having a shared language around meaningfulness provides an initial structure to use when reflecting and articulating thoughts and feelings. Goal setting and reflection on experience informs the use and type of democratic practices, whilst simultaneously employing them to enhance the experience of meaningfulness within PE. These practices then become mutually-necessary in order to develop and sustain a Meaningful PE approach to PE.

The educative purpose of prioritising meaningfulness

If PE is about learning in development, why should meaningfulness be prioritised? MPE draws upon Dewey’s conceptualisation of ‘education as growth’. This sees education as an ongoing process of transforming experiences that will lead to further growth and enhancement of experiences. Quennerstedt (2019) neatly summarises this as “that a reasonable aim for physical education is more physical education in which different ways of being in the world as some-body are both possible and encouraged.” A prioritisation of meaningfulness within PE provides an opportunity for young people to individually and collectively engage in active participation in meaningful ways that enrich the quality of their lives.

Is MPE just good teaching in PE? Yes, but what distinguishes it is that meaningfulness is the priority filter for pedagogical decision making. That its good practices (which work together as an ecology of practices), are intentionally used to explore and enhance meaningfulness within PE which looks to encourage the children and young people to actively search for further experiences rather than to avoid them. In seeking out and engaging within these meaningful experiences, there can be a positive transformational change in the relationship an individual has with their body, with forms of movement and the place of movement can play in enriching their existence.