Today we had the opportunity to tour the Pacific School of Innovation & Inquiry (PSII). It was interesting to hear about a different style of teaching and learning, and be able to see what that looks like in a non-traditional school setting. I appreciate how there is equal opportunity for students to attend the school (ie. admission is not based on grades). It was inspiring to see how they allow students to meet educational competencies using an inquiry-based approach, where students are provided with a balance of independence and support that is personalized to them. As mentioned on the PSII website, this is also known as working in their “zone of proximal development” (Vygotsky). 

I was particularly interested in how assessment in PHE would look at this school so I looked on the PSII website and found the competency assessment framework. I have attached the framework here: 

They have curated a list of competencies specific to this school, which differ from the BC standard competencies. I only saw one mention of PHE related content:  “How do you consider physical and mental health when setting priorities?” This question is quite ambiguous and in my opinion does not ensure that students are participating in daily physical activity, developing physical literacy, or demonstrating knowledge of health-related behaviours. A student could be “proficient” at reflecting on health or movement without actually demonstrating healthy behaviours or physical activity.

However, I am hopeful that public schools will gradually transition more towards this inquiry-based format, making it more accessible for all students. While many PHE classes are still mainly built around traditional sports, I am a big advocate for learning about health holistically and introducing students to many options for physical activity that are non-competitive and can be done individually, and in various settings. I also see large value in cross-curricular opportunities for learning, for example a biomechanics inquiry project where students can meet both their PHE and physics competencies. While we are sometimes limited by the larger class sizes and rigid schedules, I think it is feasible to implement this style of learning into PHE classes in public schools, but unfortunately we don’t often see it.