#11: Article 11: Our learning from ASEAN Council Physical Education Sports 

Learning Reflections on Asean Council Physical Education Sports Science (ACPES) 2022 Conference

The Learning reflections are divided into five sections. namely, M.E.D.A.N., the location of the A.C.P.E.S. conference.  M stands for Motivation, E is Experience, D is Discovery, A is the application to P.E. & Sports, and N is Names to acknowledge. Do join us as we share our learning at the conference.

MOTIVATION: 

What was your motivation and inspiration behind the trip? What excites you to go?

LOUIS: 

"A mind stretched by a new experience can never return to its old dimensions."

I have always enjoyed attending overseas conferences and learning new things about anything related to P.E., Sports and Outdoor Adventure. It was an opportunity to explore, discover and expand my knowledge. I enjoyed learning and connecting with people.

STELLA: 

 "If knowledge is power, then curiosity is the muscle."

The curiosity of learning with travelling is a bonus! The opportunity to learn from the different countries and their unique practices motivated me to embark on this trip! I love country hopping and dropping by schools overseas to learn about their curriculum and how they conduct P.E. lessons and to understand the cultural influences impacting their education. Pre-covid, I travelled to New Zealand to indulge in the outdoors for my holiday. Curious about how their high schools conduct their P.E. lessons, I wrote in to visit schools to learn more. That was when I realised that teaching was not just a job, it is a passion for which includes anything related to P.E, Sports and the Outdoors! 

Experience

What is one word you would use to describe the trip?

LOUIS: AWSEOME!!! Because I get to travel, explore, discover, learn and make new friends. My colleagues were great travel companions. I have also learnt a lot from my co-presenter's work in PE lessons. I am thankful for the NIE team who allowed my group to be part of their programme.

STELLA: PRECIOUS 

A Precious memory to be remembered.

Precious because of the people met and worked with.

Precious because of my travel buddies who were so spontaneous.

Precious because of the learning opportunities through rich discussions.

Precious because I was blessed through the works of many inspirational passionate professionals.

Precious because of the supportive colleagues and leaders I had.

Precious because it was a near-miss trip from a sudden onset of flu-like symptoms.

What is one object you would use to describe your trip experience?

STELLA: KITE

Going on a trip to fly a kite, one could imagine it would usually be one with your close family or friends, teaching the younger ones to explore flying a kite and enjoying the scenery of the kite taking flight. 

Akin to the kite-flying experience, I had the privilege to travel with Louis, Irwan, Kelvin and the NIE group, who made the experience an exploratory and family-like experience. From keeping a lookout for me, to thoughtfully ensuring that I recover well to present, to the rich discussions of learning in PE & sports, to the thought-provoking questions that pushed me to reflect and re-examine my practices, to the fun, laughters and crazy ideas bouncing off one another in preparation for the year ahead!

LOUIS: JOURNAL

The whole experience of preparing for the presentation, making new friends and experiencing a different culture, was a learning adventure. It piqued my interest in how I can better use formative assessment and music to increase student engagement and learning in P.E. and Sports Coaching. Overall, the trip was like a learning journal where the experiences broaden my perspective and insights. 

Discovery

What is something interesting about the trip that was an eye-opener? Share something interesting about the trip!

STELLA: I loved the cultural introductions of Medan through the dance performance and how the conductor beautifully led the congregation in the National Anthem. There was so much flavour in the music and build-up of the performance!

I recall having no idea what a social event meant, as stated on our schedule. But it turned out to be a heartwarming session of the multi-legged race game. Simple it may be, but it held so much value as it was intentionally designed for collaboration and with some element of competition. When the organising team gave a twist to the groupings - to swop out two Singaporean players for two Indonesian players, it got me thinking and reflecting, that we are often found guilty of falling back to our comfort groups as I recalled how Louis, the NIE PESS students and myself naturally formed a group to represent Singapore. The energy and enthusiasm of our players from our ASEAN countries are uplifting and nothing short of motivating!

Connecting to some of our P.E. professionals from the Philippines and Thailand, I was reminded of the term - "While I live, I learn". I was especially touched when I heard that they appreciated this opportunity not just because they got to learn and share but because they treasured every opportunity in life, especially the people around them. To celebrate life every day without any natural disasters was a blessing to them. 

To visit the Indonesian Badminton Academy was an eye-opener. The grit and hard work they put into every stroke during their training and the long hours they spent leading up to the competition days. To train daily, to give their best for the country, their resilience and passion for badminton are admirable!

LOUIS: I enjoyed the performances at the Opening ceremony of the Conference.  Because of my role in school where I had to oversee the implementation of the Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) programme, I began to better appreciate aesthetic performances and the cultural elements that these performances bring.

Apart from the role of music in increasing participation in P.E. lessons, Another excellent idea is the development of machine learning to enhance P.E. teachers' ability to give feedback. I thought it was great to explore the use of technology to enable P.E. teachers to provide specific feedback based on individual students' performance quickly.

Applications to PE & CCA

How has it supported you in your journey as a PE educator?

LOUIS: It has allowed me to think about how I can conduct better quality P.E. lessons. For instance, how can I use music to raise engagement levels in P.E.? Have I done enough to provide transference of learning from P.E. lessons to other aspects of life regarding character and leadership development? How to conduct better action research projects so that the insights gained to help me be a better P.E. Teacher are evidence-based.

STELLA:   It has given me new perspectives as I learn from the challenges and inspirational success stories of our neighbouring countries. It has endowed me with new knowledge to challenge my thinking and go deeper to refine my curriculum and current practices. It has sparked in me new inspirations and ideas to better provide my students with an authentic learning experience that prepares them for the future.

What are the key takeaways from your trip?

LOUIS:   "Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens." ― Maria Augusta von. Trapp

For PE, the sharing on the impact of music on PE and Dr Koh's presentation on teachers' role in influencing learning transfers to other aspects of life from PE lessons made me reflect deeply. First, how can I use music to enhance the learning experience? How do I get them to enjoy the learning process? How does music impact performance in sports and running? 

The other key takeaway is to a community or network that provides with opportunities to learn and improve. I realised attending conferences is also about building relations and  connecting with others. I remember how a lecturer from the Philippines thanked her counterparts from A.C.P.E.S. when she needed help to support P.E. teachers during Covid-19. It made me realise the importance of building a support network to continue sustaining ourselves as educators and P.E. professionals.

STELLA: Two areas of learning resonated with me throughout and beyond the conference:

MUSIC + PE 

"Music is truly the universal language, and when it is excellently expressed, how deeply it moves the soul."

- David O. Mckay

Ever since I began my journey as an educator, I often share with friends around me that integrating P.E. & MUSIC has been my dream and passion and remains one of my goals to achieve in education one day. Since 2019, I have seen myself exploring music in my lessons, carefully selecting different genres and rhythms to enhance the activity experience and bring about the intended outcomes. 

I was greatly inspired by the works of Dr Gary Kuan and his ideas on sports psychology in action, where he shared in depth about the 5 Elements of Music - Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, Tempo and Dynamics; and how it can be customised to positively impact one's sport performance. He shared applications of music on world-known athletes, including Lee Chong Wei and Michael Phelps, which got me thinking about exploring ways and methods to customise plans for both my P.E. classes and C.C.A. group back in school! 

CHARACTER & VALUES IN PE

Designing my curriculum and lesson modules to teach values & character through P.E. & Sports intentionally has been another focal point of mine. I have been working on Values and Character Education through our Tchoukball module since 2019, and I firmly believe that character education should start early.

Many aspects of Dr Koh Koon Teck's sharing had me thinking. He shared the role of P.E. & Sports and how it promotes positive effects on the social development of our students. He also shared the importance of 'TRANSFERABILITY' in our design of teaching and learning. To facilitate the transfer of learning in our P.E. context and beyond the classroom setting as we prepare them to be future-ready. 

How do you plan to integrate and extend the learning to your areas of work?

STELLA:  Continue exploring the role and use of music in PE, and perhaps, vice versa. Continue designing formative assessments for values and character education in PE that can extend to every sport module and beyond the classroom. Innovate practical ways to prepare our students better to become thinking players who enjoy the process of learning.

LOUIS: My answers are similar to Stella. I hope to explore the use of music in P.E. lessons. I remember (Stella) sharing the idea of getting students to decide on the songs in the playlist for PE lesson, which is an example of providing more autonomy for students in their learning environment. 

In the area of Character and Leadership Development (C.L.D.) in P.E. lessons, I am on the lookout for ideas to better create useful learning resources like assessment rubrics, rating scales, checklists etc, to enhance C.L.D. in P.E. lessons.

Names to Acknowledge

What about the trip are you most thankful for? Who are you grateful for?

LOUIS:   The people. I have worked with people such as my co-presenter Stella, colleagues like Irwan and Kelvin, and the N.I.E. staff to make this trip successful. 

I am impressed by the work of Ms Stella Yap in designing quality P.E. lessons. I have learnt a lot from her work in assessment literacy, especially in character development. While we might be in different schools, our work had common themes. One common theme is our attempts to use formative assessment to improve the quality of learning in our P.E. lessons. 

Others will be my school leaders and colleagues for their support. Without them, I would be unable to explore new ways to deliver quality P.E. lessons. The organisers for accepting our proposal and all the people who made the conference experience enjoyable. Organising any event after two years requires a tremendous amount of work. So I am just grateful that I get to experience all these moments once again.

STELLA: Without a doubt, the people who made this trip possible and absolutely enjoyable for me! I am thoroughly blessed and thankful for the many hearts and hands who granted me the opportunity to learn and improve.

My School Leaders & supportive leaders in my areas of work who have been ever so supportive of my learning and development.

Mr Louis Ho, who has been a fantastic mentor, role model, co-presenter and friend throughout my first P.E. & Sports conference journey! From simple conversations and his sharings, I was very inspired by the practical and effective methodologies and pedagogical approaches he took towards teaching. 

Mr Irwan and Mr Kelvin, for being such great travel buddies! For accommodating me during mealtimes to ensure I recover well, for their spontaneity in exploring the city and for cracking me up with their never-ending jokes!

N.I.E. Staff, especially Dr Tommy, for remembering us in their learning journeys and never failing to check in on us. It was inspiring to finally meet Ms Lena Chng, one of the co-writers of our P.E. Assessment guide, and to hold many thought-provoking conversations with them regarding topics in P.E. & Sports!

To all our A.C.P.E.S. coordinators and participants who have made this trip meaningful for me! :)

Article written by: 

Mr Louis Ho, PE Teacher, Seng Kang Secondary School and Ms Stella Yap, PE Teacher, New Town Secondary School who are both serving in the SPEA management committee.

If you have any questions, you may direct your questions or comments to Yap_sze_hui_stella@moe.edu.sg and/or ho_j_yen_louis@moe.edu.sg