In sport, to get the best out of an individual or team, they must compete with 'like' athletes. Divisions, rankings, leagues, levels...they are all required in competition, and I have considered this with my PE classes. Here I will explain one of the methods of streaming students I have used, and reveal the results.
Streaming Yr 6 Volleyball
My first lesson in this unit involved a student constructed quiz to test each other on how much of the rules and teaching points they retained from last year. Then I threw them into a game and observed. This informed me as to what skills and game procedures needed the most work, and it enabled me to split the class into a Blue group (better skilled) and a Gold group (lesser skilled). The following lesson I set the two groups onto separate skill-drill progressions to accelerate the Blues in applying their skills, and to catch up the Gold group on the fundamentals. When it came to game time (culmination of each lesson which was more and more each week) the results were amazing.
The Results
My Blue group played the best volleyball I had ever seen from year 6s. The rallies consistently went 4-5-6 times over the net. They thoroughly enjoyed their games. All students were involved and confident enough to offer suggestions and support to their team mates. They were even able to umpire themselves fairly without any major disputes.
My Gold group also picked up their intensity compared to what I had seen from some of them in previous units. The game was played at a slower pace to the Blue game, so they all felt like they could contribute (there were modified rules to allow the game to flow, like being allowed to catch a serve). They played with confidence because their team mates and opposition had similar skills and so refrained from making criticism when mistakes were made. Mostly I could stand back and observe and make assessments on their skills, understandings and teamwork.
At the end-of-unit-debrief and reflection I was pleased to hear how much the class enjoyed playing volleyball. I fed back to them how much they had improved, what their greatest attributes were, and what they could work on to take it to the next level in high school.
Summary
If students enjoy playing sport and being active in PE, they will be more inclined to pursue physical activities in their own time. This will lead to them becoming life-long participants in sport and as we know - the physical, social and cognitive benefits are endless. Naturally skilled students find enjoyment from being challenged when playing at a pace and level that is exciting and involves risks and failures. Lower skilled students need an environment that is less risky, a suitable pace for easier decision making and with rules that are easy to follow. Both groups can get the same enjoyment out of the same activity if the environment is suited to their abilities.
My favourite hour of the week is when I play basketball for a team called 'Vintage'. It's not the NBA - it's Tuesday night social Men's B division at my local recreation centre. I can keep up with the pace, I don't get criticised if I miss a shot (and it happens ...oh it happens!) and I thoroughly enjoy the level of competitiveness and teamwork. I have found the right environment for me, and I will continue to find the right environment for my students.
Note - Of course there are benefits of having mixed ability groupings as well, and I use this often in my teaching. But this is a topic for another blog.....
My next blog will be on how I streamed my Yr 5 basketball class by rotating groups through stations.
Until then I'd love to hear how you group your classes - skill groups, mixed abilities, friendship groups?
