Applying Hellison’s Responsibility Model in Elementary School Physical Education Classes: A Practical Inquiry Approach

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to describe the practical inquiry framework and how it was applied by a full time Physical Education (PE) teacher in a public elementary school, as he tried to increase his understanding of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TSPR) model in practice and improve implementation of the model; he tried to align his practice with the model by integrating into his teaching various strategies to confront the challenges and difficulties that come with teaching elementary school PE classes. The nine teaching strate-gies from an observational and post-teaching reflection tool called the Tool for Assessing Responsibility-based Education (TARE) documented and shaped TPSR implementation and curriculum development process. Partic-ular tactics relative to each strategy were adapted or created to meet situational needs of teaching; moreover, every TPSR delivery needs to be contoured to fit the teacher’s own style, the students, and the context. This prac-tical inquiry project through in-school PE provided the PE teacher with the opportunity to exploit the structures and strategies of TPSR to change his teaching practice in ways that better reflected his teaching philosophy and what he wanted to impart in his students. These changes in his practice appeared to have established a positive learning environment and to have helped his students to develop personal and social responsibility.