Here are some samples of student reflections. Give them a 5 star rating. (***** Best/ ** Worst)
I used self-control when I forced myself not to touch the bottom of the pool with my feet for 3 minutes when I trying to do survival swimming or clothed water treading. If I did not use this strategy I would not reach my set goal of being about to tread water for 3 mins. This was hard because after 1 min, my body started to feel heavy and I was very tired because my heavy clothes were dragging me underwater. While doing this activity, I had to concentrate on controlling the urge to rest my toes on the floor of the pool. When my body was weak, my performance was becoming poorer. By using self-control, I was able to keep going and it affected my overall participation because I was so focus. If I had not used this strategy, I would have failed to reach my goal and felt disappointed in myself.
I think goal setting improved my overall participation in aquatics. It motivated me to have short term goals and helped me to focus on achieving them and participating fully. For example, instead of talking or staying off task like TC and EH who were laughing and splashing at each other, I kept on improving my speed and technique. I am not the strongest swimmer in class but I am improving a little each lesson because of goal setting.
I set goals for myself that would challenge my ability in that skill which made me participate more because I want to be able to achieve my goals and improve my performance. An example of this is that I set a goal to finish the 400m swim in a certain time. I made the goal 8min for 400m and set myself little sub-goals to reach this by making me reach the goal of 100m every 2 min. Setting goals for myself improved my overall performance because setting challenging goals for myself and achieving them, though I may not have achieved them the first time, made my performance better than when I first started.
I persevered all the time when training for and completing the 400m swim. I was determined to finish the 400m swim in 10min and 20 sec by the end. I am not good at swimming and I knew I had to try very hard in order to reach my goal. An example of how I persevered is even when I was getting really tired during training I did not stop in the middle of the lengths. Because that was my goal, I was determined to keep going until I got to the pool walls. When I reached each end I felt proud because I did not stop and participated fully. Each small success gave me a lift and made me try harder to reach my long term goal.
Compare your scores with your friends. Explain your rating to each other. Answers at the bottom of the page.
Participate actively or just participate?
The sport you choose allows you to:
take on a new challenge,
have fun,
work as part of a team,
practice to improve,
support others
and to reflect on your performance.
Can you give examples of these?
Your role can be as a single participant, team member, coach, umpire, event organiser and/or a combination of these roles.
"In PE you need to participate actively in a variety of physical activities with a high level of effort and engagement."
‘A high level of effort’ means to work at high intensity and giving your best – 100 per cent.
‘Engagement’ means to be planned, supportive, organised with the correct gear and participating actively.
Some examples are:
participating in the strategies, skills and aim of the game as a player or a coach.
learning to juggle as a new skill/challenge, participating to develop skills of the activity.
training for a local 10 km run, participating to maintain or improve wellbeing.
participating in a social league tournament with mates.
being motivated and reliable as a player in a sports team.
Can you think of more ways?
What influences participation?
Well-being- How fit or healthy are you?
Challenge- What is difficult for you but if you push through it, you will improve?
Fun/ Enjoyment--What do you like to do because it makes you happy?
Sense of Achievement--What makes you feel proud after you do it?
Pushes body to physical or mental limit--What makes you go on even when your body says stop?
Social factors (able to be with friends, choose own group) -- How do your friends make a difference?
Aesthetic appeal-- What looks beautiful? What has a good design?
Can go at own pace-- I can do this by myself. I do this slowly or quickly.
Environmental appreciation-- I enjoy the scenery while doing this.
Cost-- How much?
Equipment needed-- What things do I need to bring?
Technology-- Do I need a computer, mobile phone or other equipment that uses electricity or batteries?
Accessibility-- How do I get there?
This video teaches simple words used in swimming.
1.** The paragraph is not organised. Ideas are repeated. Use connectors. Not a good example of self-control.
2*** Good use of new words. The example is not clear or specific enough.
3 ***** Clear, specific and precise. This is the best paragraph.
4**** Good description of emotions and goal setting.
Now, try writing your own paragraph.