It’s time to take this show on the road!
A couple of weeks ago, I had the honour of being the keynote speaker at the 2022 TAPHE Conference here in Nova Scotia. It was my first in-person conference since the start of the pandemic and – I’m not going to lie – I was nervous!
I take speaking at an event very seriously. Physical and health educators have gone through so much over the past couple of years, which has taken a toll on the amount of time, energy, and attention that they can commit to professional growth. If teachers are willing to share some those precious resources with me by attending a session or presentation I’m putting together, I’d better make it worth their investment!
That said, I had a freaking blast at the conference! Somewhere along the way since the pandemic rocked our world, I forgot how amazing it is to get to connect with teachers not through tweets, posts, videos, or newsletters but in-person where we can share with and learn from each other in real-time.
My experience at TAPHE has me all fired up to connect with teachers through live professional development opportunities which is why I’m writing this post today!
Back in June, I quietly launched my membership-based professional growth community: #PhysEdU. My experience through this endeavour has been overwhelmingly positive as I’ve been able to connect with incredible educators who are passionate about what they do.
Since the launch, I’ve posted hundreds of content pieces to the platform. Each post is designed to help teachers reflect on their practices and identify ways in which they can keep learning and growing. This content has included everything from written posts, to videos, article summaries, games, visuals, assessment tools, live events, and more. Most importantly, the conversations that we’ve been able to have around some of the ideas we’re exploring as a community has helped create a culture of respect, support, curiosity, and excitement within the community.
I want to share this energy with more teachers, all while doing so in a way that brings as much value to those who are willing to listen.
So… let me tell you about my plan!
Between now and June 11th 2023, my goal is to offer free professional development – designed specifically for physical educators – in every state, province, and territory across Canada and the US.
The #PhysEdU North American Road Trip will kick off in January 2023 and will consist of a series of 90-minute live webinars that were selected based on feedback I received from community members. Basically, I asked #PhysEdU members which content I’ve shared through the platform that has had the biggest impact on their teaching and these are the three topics that they helped me come up with:
🧠 Designing Games for Learning: Designing Games That Students Love To Learn Through
When most people think about physical education, one of the first things that comes to mind are games.
Games provide students with opportunities to move, sweat, and have some fun. However, when a game fails to go beyond those elements, it fails to meet its potential to transform students into players who have the capacity to turn the world into their own personal playgrounds. Only by unlocking the power of games as vehicles for meaning-making and learning can we unleash their power to help every student grow as competent, confident players who love to move.
This session was designed to help physical educators make sense of the role of games within a purposeful physical education program and expose teachers to a variety of tactics that can help maximize the impact that games can have on student learning.
Together we will explore the game design process that I have developed throughout my career. We’ll also dive into ideas that can help teachers feel confident that the games they include in their lessons create learning opportunities that are both fun and effective.
This session was built around the following learning targets:
🎯 I can design games that intentionally support student learning.
🎯 I know a variety of tactics for maximizing the impact of games on student learning.
🎯 I understand the role of games within a purposeful physical education program.
🤘 Rockstar Teaching: Unleash The Power Of Clarity And Confidence In Your Instruction.
Since 2010, I’ve had the honour of working with physical education teachers from around the globe. In almost every group I have worked with, I’ve met teachers who felt unsure about how to align their teaching, assessment, activities, and grades to their local curriculum outcomes. Although many manage to hide this via flashy and exciting games, that lingering feeling remains: “I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be teaching.”
This session was designed to help you overcome those feelings and unleash the power of clarity and confidence in your teaching practice. Together, we’ll explore how to grapple with curriculum outcomes, determine clear evidence of learning, craft purposeful assessment tools, and design learning activities that are infused with intention. The goal is simple: for you to leave this presentation with a clear roadmap to feeling like a rockstar teacher!
Just a warning: this session has the power to radically transform the way that you think about how you approach your teaching. That kind of transformation can be uncomfortable. That said, if you are passionate about what you do, this might be the session you’ve been waiting for.
This session was built around the following learning targets:
🎯 I can design learning targets based on curriculum standards and outcomes.
🎯 I know how to grapple with curriculum outcomes to gain clarity in my teaching.
🎯 I understand the purpose of aligning my teaching to curriculum outcomes.
💯 Assesment In Action: The What, Why, And How Of Stress-Free Assessment
There are few topics in the world of physical education that are as taboo as assessment.
Through my work, I’ve come to realize that assessment is a huge source of stress for many physical educators. In many cases, the cause of the stress seems to come back to the fact that few teachers have received the formal training or professional development they need to make sense of what is to be assessed, why assessment matters, and how to bake assessment into one’s lessons.
This session was designed to help physical educators broaden their understanding of assessment and the role it plays in student learning. Together, we’ll explore different assessment tools strategies that pair with a variety of outcomes. We’ll also perform a lesson walkthrough in which you’ll get to see how assessment can add value to the students’ experiences.
This session was built around the following learning targets:
🎯 I can use formative assessment to support my students’ learning in physical education.
🎯 I know how to select, design, and modify assessment tools to support learning.
🎯 I understand the role of formative assessment in student learning.
I’m really excited to take this show on the road! I’m also very aware of how ambitious this endeavour is for my team of one. To help make this crazy project of mine slightly more manageable, I’m launching it with the following stipulations:
If this still all sounds good to you and you want to be a part of this wild idea of mine, go ahead and hit the button below to jump to the registration form!
