Physical Education Lecturer Anne McKay
Anne McKay’s work with Sport New Zealand has been helping schools align sport with learning in other areas, with fantastic results.
As an Academic Leader, Anne looks after the Bachelor of Sport programme, teaching physical education papers and supporting the teachers in her programme. Anne says that students who are involved in sport have often received messages, from school and media, that they are not academic and consequently many students who enrol in sport programmes don’t think of themselves as academically strong. She strives to show them their potential, so they realise that they can be successful learners.
Sport as a context for learning
Anne’s approach to teaching aligns with Sport New Zealand’s ‘Sport in Education’ project, which she’s worked on as a content expert and an advisory committee member since it started in 2012. The project involves schools using sport as a context for learning, student engagement and student leadership across the curriculum and through connecting with their community. Reports have shown the approach contributes to improved academic, social and sporting outcomes for students. The project began with eight schools and has continued to grow, with new schools in Waikato and Southland on board this year, bringing the total to 40.
Murray McCully, former Minister for Sport and Recreation said “Pressing the right buttons so that students are motivated to learn is often the key and that’s where the Sport in Education initiative can make a real difference.”
When asked how the Sport in Education project looks in practice, Anne gives the example of linking sport with maths.
“When learning maths, students would usually work out of a textbook. Sport in Education classes got them out using numeracy and statistics in sport and physical activity settings. One school used statistics to work out what sport activities were offered in their school, and applied their findings to suggest how to engage non-active students.”
Sport can also assist learning in other subject areas.
“The Aotea College first fifteen rugby team developed a media package that promoted their values. And Te Kuiti College went caving and climbing, learning about geography and budgeting for the trip along the way” said Anne.
Connecting sport and learning at Unitec
For Anne, the Sport in Education project has pulled together two of her passions – sport and student learning. It’s also provided real-world opportunities for our students. She’s taken them to visit participating secondary schools to sit in on planning sessions that link physical education with other curriculum areas.
“It’s given our students the chance to get out there in real world, and it’s an example of how Unitec does things, how we teach. People realise that we support both sport and learning. Our students are not just a number to us – we have a real interest in their learning.”
Threshold Concepts – big ideas to change thinking
A focus of the project at present is ‘Threshold Concepts’, which was the topic of recent workshops that Anne facilitated with schools in Wellington and Tauranga. Threshold Concepts are big transformative ideas that open students’ minds up to new ways of thinking and were introduced as a way of designing connected curriculum.
For example a concept might be “Anyone can lead”. A seemingly simple idea, however Sport Lecturer and Academic Leader, Sue Emerson’s research with school students has shown that many students only believe that you are only a leader if you have a designated position, i.e. captain, prefect etc. If we can get students to understand that they can all be leaders, if only to lead themselves, and that you don’t have to be “designated a leadership position, this opens their minds to a whole new way of seeing leadership and leadership potential”.
What do schools say about the project?
The project has received excellent feedback from both teachers and students.
A teacher at a Sport in Education school said students had 34% greater engagement and increase in positive attitudes to maths compared to other classes. “The results were staggering and as a consequence we have more maths teachers on-board for next year!” said the teacher.
Another teacher said “Student behaviour in Sport in Education classes has improved remarkably and behavioural referrals have virtually disappeared.”
Students also enjoyed the new approach to learning. “I have noticed my academic grades improve and it has helped my learning and discipline. It has helped me become a leader” said one Sport in Education student.