WHAT IS SPORT EDUCATION?

Sport Education is a curriculum and instruction model designed for delivery in physical education programs at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels. It is intended to provide children and youth with more authentic and enjoyable sport experiences than what we typically see in past physical education classes. This model was developed and introduced by Daryl Siedentop in !"# and has since been adapted and successfully implemented nationally and internationally. Students participate as members of teams in seasons that are longer than the usual physical education unit. They ta$e an active role in their own sport experience by serving in varied and realistic roles that we see in authentic sport settings such as captains, coaches, trainers, statisticians, officials, publicists, and members of a sports council. Teams develop camaraderie through team uniforms, names, and cheers as they wor$ together to learn and develop s$ill and tactical play. The three major goals that guide program development in Sport Education are for students to become competent, literate, and enthusiastic players %Siedentop, !!#&. This means that teachers must design learning experiences that facilitate students learning in realistic settings. 'ccording to Siedentop % !!#&( ' competent player has sufficient s$ills to participate satisfactorily, can execute strategies that are appropriate for the complexity of the game being played, and is a $nowledgeable player. ' literate player understands and values the rules, rituals, and traditions of sport, and is able to distinguish between good and bad sport practices in a variety of sport settings. 'n enthusiastic player is one who preserves, protects, and enhances the sport culture through participation, involvement, and appropriate behavior.

Objectives In order to achieve these goals, students need to develop a set of objectives which Siedentop % !!#& has identified. . Develop s$ills and fitness specific to particular sports. ). 'ppreciate and be able to execute strategic play in sports. *. +articipate at a level appropriate to their stage of development. #. Share in the planning and administration of sport experiences. ,. +rovide responsible leadership. -. .or$ effectively within a group toward common goals. /. 'ppreciate the rituals and conventions that give particular sports their uni0ue meanings. ". Develop the capacity to ma$e reasoned decisions about sport issues. !. Develop and apply $nowledge about umpiring, refereeing, and training. 1. Decide voluntarily to become involved in after2school sport.

Features What makes sport unique and different from other types of physical activity? Siedentop % !!#& developed five features that ma$e sport special. Seasons Sport is played in seasons 'ffiliation Students participate as members of a team 3ormal 4ompetition ' schedule of competition is built into a season amidst practice sessions 4ulminating Event Sport recogni5es individual and team performance through a concluding event 6eeping 7ecords 7ecords of individual and team performance provide feedbac$ to students and encourage goal setting for improvement

Roles Every team or organi5ation has many different roles and responsibilities which need to be performed in order for success to be obtained. In Sport Education, this aspect of sport is emphasi5ed through students fulfilling the responsibilities of an assigned role. These together create a 8team8 environment in which all students can ta$e part. 3or example, a student who is not especially athletic or interested in a sport may be engaged by a specific role that emphasi5es an individual strength. 7oles should be specific to the sport and should be chosen and assigned as the season begins. 9ost often the roles are created by the teacher but are assigned by the teams who will fulfill them. Those who are beginning to incorporate Sport Education should note that it is not a necessity for teachers to include numerous roles. It is perfectly fine to start out with only one or two roles and to slowly implement more and more as you go. The following are some possible roles that may be used in your season: 4oaches 2 directs s$ill and strategy practice, helps ma$e decisions about lineups, turns in lineups to teachers or managers. 4aptains 2 leads warm2ups, helps solve team problems, provides general leadership for their teams. 'ssistant 4oaches or 4aptains 2 helps captains or coaches, ta$es over their responsibilities if absent. 7eferees;<fficials 2 manages contests, ma$es rule decisions, teaches the rules of the sport to teammates. Score$eepers 2 records scores during games, $eeps trac$ of sport specific rule violations, turns over final records to the appropriate person %teacher, manager, statistician&. Statisticians 2 records team and individual performance statistics, compiles game and season stats, interprets data, and turns summari5ed data over to the appropriate person %teacher, publicist, manager&. +ublicists 2 publici5es records and statistics through things such as: wee$ly sports sheets, the school newspaper, posters, or special created sport education newsletter. +ublicists can also be called sports information directors. 9anagers 2 ta$es care of administrative duties of the team, turns in appropriate forms, helps get team players to the right location. E0uipment 9anagers 2 maintains team e0uipment, sets2up and ta$es2down e0uipment. Trainers 2 notifies teacher of injury, leads daily warm2ups appropriate to the sport. Sports 4ouncil or Sports =oard 2 ma$es final decisions on problems that may come up with the fair play rules and competition schedules, may be in charge of pic$ing teams. =roadcasters 2 introduces players and provides play2by2play calls during competition. 3estivity 4oordinators 2 arranges final ban0uet, creates team poster, cheer, and end of the season awards.

Team Selection There are many ways to create teams in your classroom for a sport education season. The selections of teams are important for the success of your season. If your teams are not selected e0uitably, one team may dominate competition lessening the experience for all participants. There are two things to consider when selecting teams, the method of selection and the team si5e. The si5e of the teams can be adjusted for different purposes. These are things to consider when thin$ing about team si5es: 4reate smaller teams within a large team 3actor students who are often sic$ or absent from class 4reate an uneven number of teams so that you can have a duty team 4reate teams with uneven numbers of players so that the extra player can serve on the duty team Develop clear criteria for students who are selecting the teams Select teams when students are familiar with the sport. If the students pic$ing teams do not $now the s$ills needed to be successful in a sport how are they supposed to place people in e0uitably s$illed teams> .hen selecting teams some of the methods of selection are: The teacher selects the teams in advance. +laces teams in accordance to s$ill, $nowledge, attitudes, and attendance. ). Select a sport council that will pic$ the teams, and then the council will draw out of a hat which team they will be on. *. Team captains choose players through a lottery #. +layers may ran$ themselves according to their ability and are placed in teams by teacher or students. Officiating If your objectives include students achieving teamwor$, $nowledge of rules, and student involvement Sport Education is a perfect model for you? In Sport Education students are taught and expected to officiate games. This re0uires students to have $nowledge of rules, to become proactive in competitions, and they learn to self govern their own games. To incorporate officiating into your sport season you must first tal$ about what you expect from your officials and then you can allow your teams to select or as$ for a volunteer to fill the officiating role. Sometimes in the past when you have had students refereeing games you may have experienced poor officiating, bad sports behavior, or timid officials but with Sport Education you create an <fficiating 4ontract to guide performance. This is a contract that the students sign agreeing that they will learn the official rules, implement them fairly in competition, wor$ to improve fair play, and display appropriate behavior. <ne 0uestion you might have is, @Do the officials get to play in the competition>A The answer is @Bes,A players that are assigned to jobs li$e score$eepers and referees perform their job during a @Duty 7oundA. If you are playing a round robin tournament you can create a brac$et where teams that are not playing are assigned to a duty court. This is where the referees and score$eepers perform their jobs. This is also a great chance for coaches and players to scout other teams, create strategies, or finish projects. 4reating authenticity suggests that you allow referees to wear referee jerseys( blow whistles, or sound2ma$ers when there is a rule infraction. Bou will find that this will increase student participation and authenticity. Soon all your students will be as$ing you if they can switch roles and be the referee. .