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A collection of student stories and initiatives about sport.

This section offers access to a collection of toolkits to promote sport at school.

Physical Education Teachers They are the main point of reference for students at school
Teachers Teachers of all subjects can contribute to promote sport at school
School Directors Their support is a key element to promote sport at school
Resources A database of resources for teachers, PE teachers and school directors for the promotion of sport at school.

Sporting events are organised in each partner country

Sport Events Access the page with the sport events information

Guidelines for policy makers willing to raise awareness on the importance of promoting sport in schools

Information& Contacts

Physical Education Teachers

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They are the main point of reference for students at school

Back to the Physical Education Teachers Toolkits

How to Motivate Students
Who Are Not Usually Involved In Physical Education Activities

A Toolkit for Physical Education Teacher

4. Set Appropriate Tasks and Goals - Using the positive values of sport

Students are much more motivated to participate if the tasks assigned are appropriate. A task must be challenging and not too easy or too difficult otherwise student motivation will immediately decrease.
You can also distinguish between short and long term goals. A long term goal can be considered impossible to be achieved, but if you break it into smaller steps the student’s motivation is continuously reinforced.
It is quite common for a class to have students with different skill levels. In this case there are 2 possible strategies:
1) Teaching by invitation
2) Intratask variation
Teaching by invitation is when you invite the whole class to change the task in some way; however, some students may choose to not change the task (Graham, Holt/Hale, & Parker, 2010).
Intratask variation involves changing the task for an individual student or a small group of students (Graham, Holt/Hale, & Parker, 2010). This is useful when a task is appropriate for most students but a single student or a small group of students are either struggling with the task or finding it too easy. In this situation, to motivate students to stay on task and keep learning, you should have a conversation with the individual student or small group and change the task as needed for them while the other students continue to practice the original task.
Sport and PE can build personal attributes that are important for the holistic development of pupils. These include confidence, ambition, self-esteem, aspiration, having respect for rules, being able to cope with winning and losing, forming positive relationships, determination, courage, etc. If these qualities are present, young people are more likely to feel secure in taking risks in their learning, attempting more challenging work, and therefore improving their ability. Schools have found many innovative ways to ensure that these personal values developed through PE and sport are recognized, nurtured, and celebrated throughout the life of the school (for example, through whole school reward systems) rather than having the values be lost after the young person comes off the field of play. This strategy is most effective when it is also used to build a positive ethos and culture across the school.

Learning Objective

The aim of this topic is to provide physical education teachers with suggestions to correctly assign tasks to students.

Online Resources

Survive and Thrive as a Physical EducatorThe book “Survive and Thrive as a Physical Educator” offers support and guidance for the unique challenges of teaching.