My experience studying Secondary Physical Education

Secondary Physical Education with QTS student, Catherine, tells us about her time on the course including challenges and advice for new students.

Give us an overview of your course and what you get up to

I have done a variety of modules including Anatomy and Physiology, Introduction to Physical Education and Applied Pedagogy in Physical Education. These modules have been comprised of different assessment methods including exams, presentations, session plans, essays and portfolios. The Anatomy and Physiology modules were particularly enjoyable as it taught me about topics that we will have to teach as PE teachers to GCSE or A Level students. The Applied Pedagogy module has prepared me for making and delivering lesson plans and units of work in PE.

During the course, I have also completed two placements so far. One of these placements has given me experience teaching sports such as rugby and football, and my second placement has introduced me to teaching sports such as athletics, tennis and rounders.   

What has been the highlight of your course so far?

One of the highlights for me has been getting to practice teaching a variety of different sports with my course mates. It is fun to trial and error different ways of teaching and to build such good friendships through the practical elements of sports. A specific example is the festivals that we get to teach during modules, where both primary school and secondary schools bring different sets of children each week and we get to teach different sports to them. My favourite was getting to take a lead on the gymnastics festival and getting to teach fellow members how to teach gymnastics. 

My second highlight of the course so far has been placement. I have had the opportunity to build a rapport with so many staff and students. Placement has really been the place where I can get experience and learn from so many different people. Placement has also given me so many opportunities such as the school ski trip, trips to places such as the priory tennis club and to watch the British squash open. It is so lovely when you get to a point in your placement where the kids are excited you are teaching them, and it is a real confidence boost.   

How has your course helped you towards your future career?

My course tutors have been amazing. They have allowed me to go on different trips and find a way to fit everything I want to do into my busy schedule. I have regular Personal Development Tutor (PDT) meetings where I can discuss how I am getting on, what is going well and anything I am struggling with or need help with. Tutors are good at setting up assessment workshops that go into detail on what is expected of us in assessments and how to best structure it. This is something I find particularly helpful.

I also love that the tutors take time to learn about you. You are not just a number; they know your name, they know your hobbies and they always encourage us to take opportunities that are presented to us. In terms of preparing us for our career, they are great at setting up various workshops to target areas we may not be as confident with. 

Have you faced any challenges during your time on the course?

The biggest challenge I have is surrounding my anxiety. Juggling university work with placement, a part time job and sports that I do outside and inside of university can be very difficult. I also moved away from home this year which has taken a lot of adjusting to as well.

However, there are ways to overcome these challenges. One of the main ways I did this was by joining a society. I joined cheerleading in my first year and this was a great way to make friends and bring some fun into my uni life. Another way I overcame these challenges was by speaking to my uni lecturers and tutors to work out strategies that work best for me, for example, setting soft deadlines and taking little breaks during 3 hour lectures to make sure that I can fully concentrate for the duration of the lecture. This allows me to get the most out of it.

I also think that it is important to take time for yourself. I do this by taking at least an hour or two a day to do something I enjoy. For me this is either gymnastics, cheerleading, going for a run or going to the gym. This is a great way to clear my head and de stress. These strategies have all been successful and used to maintain high grades over the past year.  

What advice would you give to someone looking to study your course?

There are three main pieces of advice I have for people wanting to study my course:

1. Join a society. It doesn’t have to be a sport, but if you have a sport you are passionate about it does help. You will find that being on a sports related course, a lot of people will join a sports team. This is a great way to make friends and find other people who share a similar passion to you. We also do linked modules with sports coaching and a lot of them will also be on sports teams, so it’s a great way to make connections. Most importantly, it just gives you a place you can have fun doing something you love.
2. Get your assignments done early. Use the little and often technique that I find useful. After each lecture go home and add that section into your assignment. This technique is especially helpful for portfolios as each lecture relates to a different task. You can make a start on assignments as soon as you want to, even before any assessment workshops, don’t feel you have to wait.  
3. Be confident, you are all in the same position and it is scary in the first few months having to stand up and teach with people, but you will learn so much from each other. Everyone will have come from different schools and parts of the country so will have completely different teaching styles. You should make the most of working with different people and learning from each other. That way you can pick out everyone’s strengths which will help identify the best way to teach different sports when you get to placement.