Tips for teachers who will teach IGCSE or AS/A level Physical Education for the first time.

I remember the first time the school principal at Courtney House International School asked me to introduce IGCSE Physical Education as a subject at the school. The principal was aware that I had a degree in Sport Science with no teaching experience to my name. I remember being excited and nervous at the same time as I looked at the rubric of assessments for IGCSE and A level PE under the Cambridge International Examinations. Not only was I teaching core PE from grade 4 to A levels, but now the school was going to offer the subject to students for external moderation. This was the first time the school ever did physical education as a subject and I was tasked with being the captain that steers the ship into uncharted waters. Being nervous was an understatement. I wanted to start with the end in mind and that meant I needed my pupils to do well in the subject. ?

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This wasn’t just an opportunity for me to start the subject at the school and learn new skills, such as video editing, videography, teaching, and tutoring. It was also an opportunity for me to grasp core concepts in Physical Education and Sport science that I scrapped through at university. The theoretical concepts that I found difficult in university was anatomy and physiology, sport injuries, motor learning and skill acquisition, biomechanics in sport and program design. Looking through the rubric and syllabus of A level Physical Education I realized that all these topics needed to be covered over the course of two years. It was a matter of float or sink and I decided to learn to tread water through the course of IGCSE PE.

I was fortunate enough that I spent three years teaching IGCSE PE before I had my first students who wanted to do Advanced level PE.

The course focused on teaching the students theory and also provided the opportunity for the students to practice what they where learning through participating in sports. Furthermore, to grade the student on their technical proficiencies in sport, they were required to perform in four distinct sporting codes of their choice under specific categories; invasion games, aquatic activities, artistic activities, combat activities , outdoor and adventure activities, dance activities and net and wall activities. The key though was that they were not allowed to do four sporting codes under the same category. My sport expertise was in Football and I had to make arrangements from word go to teach and assess the students in other sports which I had never coached and played before. Here is my tips for teaching IGCSE and AS/A level Physical Education if you starting out:

1.???? Try and find a school that also offers the subject in your city, province or country where you can get information about the subject from. Make sure you are aligned with what will be expected from you for assessment purposes. Ask questions like when is the best time to record the students and areas of the subject which are difficult to teach.

2.???? Watch YouTube videos on the subject matter and familiarize yourself with how they record the students performing the sports. Make sure you video record are on a higher plane and ensure that the video camera doesn’t face the sun. Also try get a reliable tripod to avoid the video shaking from holding it in your arms. Train a reliable student to record the videos as you narrate the action on the field.

3.???? If your sport specialization is a single sport, outsource the coaching of other sports to service providers who are knowledgeable in these other sporting codes. Ask your former sport science students you studied with to help in teaching and grading activities such as weight training, basketball, tennis, golf, and cricket etc. ?It takes a village to raise a child. Also if a student participates in a local community club or academy ask the coach of the club to help you with assessing the student and provide a rubric for them to work from.

4.???? Become familiar with video editing software such as Final Cut, Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie. This will save you money and time in the editing process. ?Also learning these skills will allow you to gain knowledge on other useful skills you might use in the future.

5.????Manage your work flow and project by Allocating sufficient time for the USB to reach Cambridge and ensure you try and cover the syllabus completely. Cambridge recommends 180 guided teaching hours for IGCSE PE and 380 hours for AS/A levels preparation. Try and reach there hours. Furthermore, familiarize yourself with the IGCSE PE portal where one can ask questions about the subject matter.

6. If you have a large group of students to record, make sure you allocate enough time in the season of recording to capture the students.

?In closing, make sure you follow the schemes of work as prescribed in the CIE guidelines. IGCSE and AS/A level PE is a wonderful course that I miss teaching. If I ever get a chance to teach it again I would do so in one heartbeat.