SUNY Cortland PE Mini-Conference 2009

Yesterday was the PE mini-conference at SUNY Cortland and it was awesome! Lots of valuable information being shared between students and professionals in the PE field. Specifically Judy Rink, from the University of South Carolina and the writer of our textbook for Basics of Effective Instruction in PE, was the keynote speaker. I also learned about the NYSED PE Profile which relates to Judy Rinks message that we have to hold students accountable for what they should be learning in a quality PE program. Holding students accountable for physical activity skills and knowledge will be the key to solidifying and improving PE in schools. The PE Profile provides ways to test students on their physical skill and content knowledge which will make PE grades be based on other things besides effort. This is the first time I heard about the PE Profile and I liked what I was hearing. I think it should be incorporated into PE programs even though some students may have some resistance to it. I like the idea of testing students on their physical skill and content knowledge because in the end it will make them more physically educated than students currently are!
The presentation was given by Lisa Hrehor( NYS AHPERD president), Murphee Hayes (director of health, pe and athletics at Whitney Point CSD), Kerri Bullock (president elect Central South Zone NYS AHPERD) , Lisa Quackenbush and Melinda Hankins (Binghamton HS pe techers).
Binghamton HS already uses the PE Profile in their program. They are a good example of how teachers can use the PE Profile in their program and you can check out how they run their program at their website. I love the idea of having a PE website for their program which can be used by students to understand what is expected of them in class and how they will be graded. It also saves them the trouble of having to print out loads of hand outs. Take a look for yourself!