May - June 2008


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Getting it Right

PE teachers upgrade skills with new Physical Education – Secondary degree
by Anna Walcott-Hardy

“One of the failings for us in international sport…is that our athletes do not have the basic skills right – we need to know, for instance, how to kick, catch and throw properly,”

Director of Sport and Physical Education at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Dr. Iva Gloudon explains candidly, seated at her office. Behind her, through a large window there is a panoramic view of the verdant cricket field, perfectly manicured; a roller moves slowly over the pitch. Ironically, it was the legendary cricketer, Sir Frank Worrell who created this field over 20 years ago. Worrell captained a cricket team that was known for deftly throwing, catching and hitting a ball.

When asked why we have fallen in international rankings in sports like cricket, Dr. Gloudon says that we need to introduce the scientific and systematic learning of these basic skills to re-gain prominence. And she has a plan that will certainly help. In the past, she explained, “we roamed our villages – we would stone mangoes in a tree – those were all unconventional ways of practising these basic skills… but now we have become sedentary…before these basic skills were routine – now they have to be learnt. Physical Education informs sport. It is the precursor to sport much in the same way that arithmetic informs calculus and trigonometry.”

The Bachelor of Education Physical Education – Secondary degree programme is the first of its kind at UWI. It aims to provide students with opportunities for learning about the teaching of physical education in today’s world. This three year degree programme is tailored to meet the needs of Physical Education teachers across the region by encompassing some of the best practice examples around the globe, taught by local and international experts in the field. The modules are integrated and yet there is a continuous thread so that students can review, plan, act, reflect and review again on what they are being taught. The structure is a ‘Reflective Practice Model’, cyclical in nature, it encourages holistic thinking.

In-service Physical Education teachers who all hold teaching diplomas are the pioneers of the programme which is a collaborative effort between UWI and the Ministry of Education in Trinidad and Tobago. The innovative degree is held under the aegis of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at U.W.I. It is practical in nature, yet designed to enhance teaching techniques while building on the expertise and experiences of the teachers themselves.

Dr. Gloudon sends a challenge to the first cohort to “grow and expand while cultivating a new breed of physical educators who would become a beacon in our region.”

For the past seventeen years Dr. Gloudon has been working tirelessly to develop sport and physical education on the St. Augustine Campus. She has been able to introduce several cross-faculty programmes, launch an internationally certified half-marathon (currently sponsored mainly by U.W.I. and First Citizens) and significantly enhance the playing fields and sporting facilities on Campus to meet international standards. She is quick to acknowledge the support of the private sector, especially U.W.I. former Campus Principal Professor Compton Bourne, Mr. Ronald Harford, former Managing Director of Republic Bank Limited as well as Mr. Alfred Reid and his team from the U.W.I. Projects Office for their support in developing the modern Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC) and its outdoor facilities and grounds.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Dr. Gloudon is also eager to acknowledge those who helped her create and develop this innovative Physical Education Bachelor Degree programme that has been in the works for over a decade. This latest milestone came about after a conversation about three years ago with the former Minister of Education, the Honourable Mrs. Hazel Manning on the need to develop personnel to teach physical education since the subject was then made an “examinable subject at the CXC level”. While tendering for the delivery of the programme Dr. Gloudon knew that there was aneed for a more “international consensus” and she looked to several international experts, enlisting the support of Prof. Patt Dodds (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Dr. Della Fazey (University of Wales, Bangor) and Dr. Patti Denham-Mason (University of Canberra, Australia), as well as those close to home, collaborating with Mr. Carol Keller (U.W.I.), Dean Ian Robertson (U.W.I.) and Dr. Lennox Bernard (School of Continuing Studies, U.W.I.). She also spoke with several secondary school teachers.

She also underscores the importance of the collaborative work done by Ms. Auldyth Bravo School Supervisor - Physical Education, Ministry of Education and Mr. Mark Mungal, President, the Alliance for Sport and Physical Education, both of whom were “very involved in shaping the programme.”

“I must say that while I created, and designed, the degree I wanted to get more international consensus not only in the development of the degree, but also in its delivery.”

In an effort to also build local teaching capacity at the University Lecturer level, a team of international lecturers from Kent State University, University of Illinois, Urbana and Pacifica Lutheran University as well as Aberystwyth University, Wales, has been working with local lecturers.

U.W.I. lecturer Mrs. Paula Chester who currently teaches the module - Issues and Values in Sport and Physical Education, spoke on the importance of this degree.

“It is a good programme, because we need to ensure that all persons involved in sport and physical education are operating from the same page; that they understand the systems governing sport and physical education and the value system so that the issues are addressed in the development of athletes and students… and only when we have that, when we are all on the same page, can all these objectives be met,” she explained

And so in 2007, seventy-seven (77) certified teachers from throughout all the regions of Trinidad & Tobago were awarded a scholarship to participate in this three year degree. To accommodate their teaching schedules, the classes are held on evenings after 5:00 p.m. and the hours are “stepped-up” during the school vacation period. After these pioneers graduate in 2010, the programme “opens-up” to physical education teachers from the wider Caribbean.

Undoubtedly, the benefits are endless – not only will there be improvement in the teaching and delivery of Physical Education programmes, but also in the health and wellbeing of students. Dr. Gloudon concluded by explaining that some secondary school sporting facilities may also need to be upgraded to complement what these practitioners would have learnt and what they would now be required to implement.

At the end of the programme teachers should be able to understand why they teach as they do and be able to continually investigate more effective ways of helping their students to learn. Surely a significant goal.