Mess tins, modified badminton and mini-Hyrox: What PE lessons in Singapore schools look like today

SINGAPORE: A class of Secondary 2 students listens with rapt attention as physical education (PE) teacher Karthikesan Kumar outlines the next 90 minutes.

But instead of racquets, balls and cones, this lesson calls for mess tins, matchsticks and tommy cookers.

After a lesson overview and safety instructions, Mr Karthikesan assigns roles to various students: safety in charge, logistics in charge and chef.

The objective is simple: assess risks, and start and maintain a fire. Along the way, students will cook and share a packet of instant noodles in their groups.

The lesson falls under the outdoor education component of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) PE syllabus, which aims to let students engage with nature through adventure-based learning.

At Yishun Town Secondary, where Mr Karthikesan is head of department for PE and co-curricular activities, outdoor education also covers map navigation and tent pitching.

The idea is for students to build self-confidence during PE lessons, he said.

“It can be through running, it can be through handball, it can be through any active, physical thing they do. They should take away (the fact that): ‘Hey I can do this. If I practise enough, I will get better.’”

HOW THE SYLLABUS IS BUILT

MOE develops the PE curriculum through a “collaborative process” involving institutes of higher learning and agencies such as the Health Promotion Board, Sport Singapore and National Parks Board, said Mr Wong Liang Han, a PE master specialist.

The syllabus is designed to be “evidence-informed, developmentally appropriate, current and future-oriented,” he said.

“The curriculum aims to develop physically competent and confident individuals who embrace lifelong, active and healthy living in a safe and responsible manner beyond their school years,” Mr Wong added.

The curriculum is organised around three inter-connected learning areas: physical activity, outdoor education, and physical health and safety. Within these, schools can plan their own lessons.

“We will decide (based on) our school profile, venues available and also the teachers,” said Mr Karthikesan, who has been a teacher for over a decade.

“We will design it in a way that we … work within our resources, but at the same time we stay true to the syllabus as well.”

BADMINTON, ADJUSTED

At Waterway Primary School, students are playing badminton when CNA sits in on their class, but the sport has been modified. They play in smaller sections of the court and hit shuttlecocks across portable, adjustable nets. Racquets of different lengths cater to different abilities.

PE head of department Foo Sze Ling told CNA the aim is for students to learn key concepts rather than the sport itself.

“For lower primary, we focus on a lot of fundamental skills. We don't really term it as a game of badminton, for example,” she said. “The main thing to put across is the game concept – whether they know how to attack and defend in a net barrier game like this.”

Students pick up basic skills in lower primary, then play three categories of games in upper primary: “net barrier” games such as badminton and volleyball, “striking and fielding” games such as rounders, a bat-and-ball game similar to baseball, and “territorial invasion” games such as captain’s ball.

At the primary level, the focus is on “competent participants”, Mr Wong said. Secondary school builds on this and moves towards developing “confident participants”.

“Students deepen their skills and knowledge across a range of sports and outdoor activities, allowing them to discover personal interests and strengths, and learn to apply their skills and knowledge more independently and with others,” he added.

Primary school students learn fundamental motor skills and concepts through athletics, dance, gymnastics and games, alongside health practices such as personal hygiene, regular physical activity and healthy eating.

Ms Foo said she chose badminton for the lesson because the class loves it.

“Sometimes I give them the option, the choice (on what game to play) … So long as they show a certain level of competence, I will go with that.”

Primary 6 student Sarah Amir said: "I liked that I could play with my friends and explore different techniques, as each opponent is different and their playing styles are also different."

Her classmate Divij Pasam, whose favourite sport is badminton, said: “Today was like a special lesson, because we finally get to play doubles, and we can also see our teamwork and coordination, which I really like.

"When I found out that we were playing badminton today, I was very happy that I can also show my skills to my other friends."

LEARNING FIRST, COMPETITION SECOND

Mr Karthikesan said teachers must always emphasise, especially to “very sporty” students, that PE is “a learning environment first, not a competitive environment”. Competition, he said, comes through co-curricular activities.

“At the end of the day, the syllabus outcome is for them to be physically active and healthy. We don't want to create a negative experience during PE, then they just (say): ‘This is not for me, I will never pick up sport.’ … At the community level, we want them to be active.”

Competition still has its place. Mr Karthikesan and his team of teachers organise inter-class tournaments for sports such as handball.

“A competitive environment can bring up a lot of authentic learning,” he said. “But in the lead-up to it, it has to be a learning environment so that everybody is equipped enough to be able to play.”

WHAT HAS CHANGED, AND NOT CHANGED

MOE reviews the PE curriculum every eight years to keep it relevant to “evolving student needs, educational research, and societal developments”, said Mr Wong.

“Between major reviews, targeted refinements may be made to reflect updates in national policies, health guidelines, and new research insights in physical education and health.”

The curriculum was “largely focused” on physical fitness in the 1990s. It was later broadened in the 2010s to encourage “lifelong participation in recreational physical activity”, he said.

“The current PE curriculum adopts a more holistic approach to health that incorporates family engagement and emphasises the development of 21st-century competencies,” he added.

PE teachers who spoke to CNA said students enjoy lessons, as their predecessors did.

“They still like games and sports. They like interaction with their friends, they like to just play, have fun with their friends and interact with them. This has not changed,” said Ms Foo.

“Kids love PE. Even from primary school, they love to move around. And if you ask them, their favourite subject is PE or recess time because they have the freedom to move,” said Mr Karthikesan.

“So I already feel that we’ve won them over in that aspect. The key thing is how we want to design the syllabus, how it’s going to flow week to week." 

Ms Foo said the aim in lessons is to “strike a balance” between instruction and activity time.

“We really need to ensure that as much as possible we try to allow them to have more play time, less talking (from the teacher) if possible,” she said.

“Even time spent on writing (instructions) on the whiteboard takes away from the active participation … It’s about how I can put across certain points short and sweet and make sure they understand and apply.”

Mr Karthikesan said this is what sets PE apart from other subjects.

“Physical education, unlike all other subjects, learning is through movement. And the expectation of students is also to move,” he said.

Teachers also bring in new sports and fitness trends. Mr Karthikesan has run a toned-down “mini-Hyrox” in one lesson. “We need to be attuned to what’s happening outside, and then bring some of that in,” he said.

Students also get a say. In Secondary 3, Yishun Town students rank five sports in order of preference, then spend a term learning and playing the one they are assigned.

For students less inclined to physical activity, building rapport helps get them involved, Mr Karthikesan said. Teachers must look out for less confident students and be “a bit more intentional” in giving encouragement and feedback.

Seeing students become active is what Mr Karthikesan finds most fulfilling. He recalled meeting a former student, previously not an avid runner, at a Hyrox race.

“I may not be the reason (for him doing Hyrox), but I could have laid some foundation or made some small impact into him being active. And that is fulfilling.”

Source: CNA/mt(cy)