Aims and objectives

The scope of the blog could be vast. The world and the challenges of education generally, and physical education specifically, are broad. As such, we need to set some limits and ensure we focus on some specifics.

The idea of this blog was born out of a need and desire to help our graduated students. Those new and recently qualified teachers who were educated at Loughborough University and for whom we hold an ongoing duty of care. If, as a consequence of this blog, we help others along the way then brilliant! But that is not our primary aim or objective.

To best serve this body of physical education teachers we need to find ways to cater for their needs. But how? In the last week of the 2017-18 programme we asked the graduating teachers to tell us what they wanted this blog to talk about. Their responses, unsurprisingly, set the focus of this blog.

There are five main categories/themes for discussion for this blog:

1. Subject knowledge – Specifically the development of subject knowledge about particular sports (especially summer sports): From an English, Welsh and Northern Irish perspective the students were interested in developing the knowledge of Examination PE. Especially which topics to emphasis and the changing landscape/curriculum.
2. Using data to inform teaching (i.e. planning and practice)
3. Challenging Higher ability/achieving pupils
4. Assessment and assessment strategies
5. Giving feedback (with a particular emphasis on verbal feedback)

These are the expressed needs/interests of the 2017-18 cohort and, as such, will be the focus of these blogs for the next 12 months. Feel free to contribute a guest post but please follow the following guidelines:

1. Please sends text in an email (not as an attachment) to A.J.B.Casey@lboro.ac.uk
2. Any submitted blog must address one for the five themes listed about (please state which one).
3. It needs a short title
4. It cannot be longer that 600 words
5. Please provide at least one link to a source of further information for the reader
6. Please provide a digital image for the post and credit the photographer. I recommend https://unsplash.comand https://www.pexels.comas two sites I use to obtain free images.
7. All post are subject to editing and posts that doesn’t fit the themes or aims and objectives of the blog will not be published.

Thanks for your interest