Game on! Enhancing primary physical education through a Rosenshine-inspired approach

Since Bunker and Thorpe (1982. A model for the teaching of games in secondary schools. Bulletin of Physical Education, 18(1), 5–8.) introduced Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), there has been a growing recognition of advocating approaches to pedagogy that addresses participant learning with games-based approaches (GBA) advocated. With little guidance of how to apply these approaches in practice, more support is needed for practitioners (Vinson, D., & Parker, A. (2019). Vygotsky and sports coaching: Non-linear practice in youth and adult settings. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 10(1), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/25742981.2018.1555003). This is pertinent in primary where teachers are challenged with teaching a variety of subjects and can struggle to adapt their good classroom practice to Physical Education (PE) (Morgan, K., Bryant, A., Edwards, L., & Mitchell-Williams, E. (2019). Transferring primary generalists' positive classroom pedagogy to the physical education setting: A collaborative PE-CPD process. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 24(1), 43–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2018.1533543). A criticism has been teachers lack of training and low confidence levels in being able to deliver high quality PE (Clohessy, L., Bowles, R., & Chroinin, D. N. (2020). Playing to our strengths: Generalist teachers' experiences of class swapping for primary physical education. European Physical Education Review, 26(2), 571–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X19877195). It is imperative that primary practitioners are given more support in applying PE specific pedagogies. Rosenshine's (2012. Principles of instruction - research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American Educator, 36(1), 12–39.) principles of instruction has gained traction in recent years to inform elements of Initial Teacher Training. It provides guidance on effective teaching; however, the examples are classroom focused, limiting application in PE. This paper explores Rosenshine's principles, provides suggestions of employing GBA, before presenting a conclusion that summarises the paper and provides suggestions for future exploration. The intention is to support trained and trainee primary teachers in developing their PE pedagogy.