Class B

This is a secondary class who are physically very able and motivated by sports and activity. Their challenging behaviour is what makes them difficult to teach; one of the first things PE teacher A told me was that they need constant reassurance, encouragement to do things wrong so that they can learn from their mistakes. Their attention span is short and they often fail to listen effectively, talking loudly over the teacher’s instructions when loosing patience. It is a much larger class that can work in pairs or on their own. The teacher explained to me that they enjoy a sense of independence when practicing skills and that it doesn’t make them feel like the centre of attention when they get things wrong - none the less they still need lots of encouragement to persevere, particularly if students are having a bad day.

There are two teaching assistants for this class who appear to have an affinity with most of the pupils in this class. They are able to encourage the students positively and often get involved with the activities themselves which I think the class tend to appreciate and enjoy seeing. However these assistants are equally good at reinforcing the schools disciplinary system and are succinct when it comes to warnings.

At the moment Class B are practicing tennis skills, which will be prolific in coordinative benefits and fine motor skills. A few individual members of the class express quite a natural talent for the sport, but tend to crave more exhilaration from the activities and can end up hitting balls too hard and being silly. Other members are not as fine tuned when it comes to learning tennis skills and frequently emit frustration and a willingness to give up. However once encouraged by the teaching assistants, the PE teacher, or even myself, they tend to get back on the horse.