Our growth in coming to understand the topic of Physical and Health education seems to be very similar. Like you, I was also mainly focused on the fitness aspect however throughout the course I came to also appreciate the other aspects that are involved as well. Although I was that physical competence, confidence, and motivation influence ones overall physical literacy due to a Physical literacy course I took last year, touching on this topic again really helped to solidify its importance. Ultimately if one of these components is missing, this has the potential to act as a significant barrier to ones involvement in engaging in physical activity and other health promoting activities affecting ones lifelong health and well-being. I think it is so exciting and motivating to know that as educators in this role, we hold a significant amount of power in addressing and promoting each of the components that make up ones physical literacy!
Blog Post #4
Getting to Know the BC Curriculum
Throughout this course, I have gained a more comprehensive understanding of the BC curriculum’s structure and guiding principles. As someone who has grown up in this education system all my life, and who aspires to stay here to pursue my teaching career, I must understand the foundation to help guide and implement into my lesson planning. Before exploring this topic, I was unsure about how teachers knew what material to teach, and how to teach it. Although I was aware of the existence of the BC curriculum, I had a very basic understanding and was unaware of the multiple components that it is comprised of. This framework is a provincial guideline, so as a teacher I will be required to implement it into each of my lessons. But I hope to incorporate as many of the learning standards included within the big ideas, curricular competencies, and content components as I can to create intentionality and purpose to what and how I teach.
Video on the Transformation of BC’s Curriculum
Universal Design of Learning
I found the Universal Design of Learning a very interesting topic. Especially in a time of vast change and innovation, acknowledging the fact that within education there are different ways to engage learners and represent and present information. For example, including verbal, physical, and visual demonstrations of skills are different options for presenting information within a physical and health education class to teach to different learning styles. The creation of the UDL model is an important stepping stone for developing a more personalized and supportive approach towards student learning. Through accepting diversity, and learning differences that are inevitable within the classroom environment, UDL has played an important role in helping people overcome various barriers that may have prevented one from receiving quality education before. It has shown me that there is not “one size fits all approach” to teaching and that a good teacher can tailor and adjust their teaching style in a way that resonates and fits with everyone’s needs. I certainly look forward to this aspect of teaching as I see this as a challenge I am excited to tackle!
Article Discussing the Effectiveness of Implementing UDL within Educational Settings
Journey in Understanding Physical and Health Education
My understanding of Physical and Health education is certainly one that has grown from just the start of the term until now. Before, I focused mainly on the physical aspect revolving around the teaching of fundamental movement skills, maintaining physical fitness, and teaching sport-specific skills. However, this course has shown me to also value the health component as well, touching on various health-related topics such as mental health, nutrition, sleep, and the overall benefits that physical activity has on one’s overall mental, social, and physical well-being. In doing this, it not only helps to support the lifelong health and well-being of students by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to take responsibility for their health by making positive lifestyle choices and building healthy habits. A physical and health education teacher is tasked with a big job, and ultimately has a lot of power in setting students up for lifelong success in leading healthy and happy lives and is one reason why I believe I would love to become a physical and health education teacher in the future.
According to Physical and Health Education Canada (2025), the PHE curriculum is viewed as being “a shared responsibility with each province and territory taking leadership to develop its own response to local and contextual differences.”
References
Physical and Health Education Canada. (2025). Physical and Health Education Curriculum in Canada. PHE Canada. https://phecanada.ca/about/physical-and-health-education-curriculum-canada
Response Post #7
I think your point about incorporating problem based learning to provide practice for dealing with conflict in the real world is a great point! I think this is certainly an aspect that should be focused on more especially in education. Putting theory to practice is a critical skill that ultimately defines one success in life. Exposing kids to real life challenges prepares them to have the tools to tackle any challenges they may face in the future and give them confidence to do so. I also like how you touched on the importance of encouraging students to ask questions and letting students explore and research the answers themselves rather than just giving answers right away. It will certainly help them develop their critical thinking skills and they will certainly remember and understand the information better. I hope to incorporate both of these suggestions into my own classroom one day to develop more well rounded and inquisitive students.
Response Post #6
I like your ideas related to inplementing the SSDL model within your teaching environment. Providing students with guidelines but the freedom to explore topics and create projects that align with their own interests and passions. This ensures that students will stay engaged as they get to dive into topics they are interested in learning more about. Getting students to present and lead activities on their topics is also a great idea so that can share their knowledge and passion with the rest of their classmates as they get to create something they are proud of and motivated to work on.
Allowing for independent learning also prepares students for the real world. Someone is not always there to hold your hand, so it is important that educators teach students from an early age to take initiative of their own learning and development, seeking opportunities to further their understanding and explore their interests.