Concept to Content

Just last week grade 9 (MYPPHE4) students at the International School of Düsseldorf finished their ”Netgames” unit. This actually is a nickname given to the unit as it shows what physical activity is happening and what equipment/learning space is needed. The concept however, overarches the content. 

As we use the MYP framework we make use of a so-called Statement of Inquiry. The SoI for this unit was:

Through the act of repeating a process, I am able to improve my skills and become a better player. ”Perfect practice makes perfect”

Together with my colleague Rachel Smeding, we have been working on developing and refining this unit for the past three years. Every year we get closer and closer to perfection. Three years ago this unit was quite skill progression based with the teacher giving direction to the students about skills that needed improved. Over the years we have loosened this up to allow for more voice and choice for our students. We didn’t want to throw our students off the deep-end without giving them some guidance and practice. To allow for some sense of direction we created a Google Slides presentation, which the students used as a learning and/or progress journal. Through collecting video evidence during class, students were able to analyse their current skills and to set goals which they wished to achieve at the end of the unit. Once the students understood their current situation and their final destination we asked them to built a bridge between current skills and future skills through the means of research and practice.

Unless specifically asked for feedback on their movement repertoire we did not give students advice on how to improve the movements. We did share our perspective as to how they could coach themselves using recordings of their skills. We rather asked questions then giving them answers. Questions our students might have heard were:

What is your learning goal?

Are you moving towards your goal or are you just moving through time?

How do you know you have learned something?

What is your deliberate practice?

What assistance do you require to move your learning forward?

How do you know you have mastered the skill?

When are you ready to increase the level of difficulty?

How can you make your practice more…. intense/efficient?

What materials do you need for your drills?

Can you explain to me how you are performing your skill?

Some students went full out on the research and gathered lots of information to improve the quality of their techniques and game sense. Others needed some more assistance as the freedom of time-management seemed to sometimes pull students into the “just play mode”.

For us, the teachers, we recognized that our next step in refining this unit should be on introducing the unit with some more directive instructions. Making sure that the framework is robust and strong. Allowing the students to experience examples of deliberate practice and teach them how to navigate through the landscape of drills and practice.

Further reading:

Kaplan, Elle. “How to Learn and Master Any Skill Twice as Fast, According to Science.” The Mission, Mission.org, 2 Sept. 2016, medium.com/the-mission/how-to-master-any-skill-at-turbo-speed-through-the-secret-of-interleaving-3ac4b9a8166a.

Wilkinson, David. “At What Point Can You Say You Have Learned Something?” The Oxford Review, The Oxford Review, 5 Aug. 2017, www.oxford-review.com/have-learned/.