Grounded Technology Integration: Physical Education
Physical education teachers today are expected to have a deep understanding of how educational technologies can assist students in linking specific
physical fitness knowledge and concepts to measuring,
interpreting, and prescribing appropriate fitness activities. Using digital tools, such as pedometers, heart rate
monitors, and exergames, in physical education classes
can provide creative and motivating ways to engage in and
monitor physical activity. But how can we best choose and
integrate these tools into physical education teaching?
Plan First, Then Choose Tech Tools
One way to help teachers integrate technology effectively is to focus on instructional
planning. Research tells us that teachers
tend to plan instruction according to
students’ curriculum learning needs,
and learning activities are typically content based. We recommend matching
technology integration strategies to how
teachers plan, rather than asking them to
design instruction around a particular technological tool. (To learn more, see “Grounded
Tech Integration: An Effective Approach Based on
Content, Pedagogy, and Teacher Planning,” L&L, September–October 2009, pages 22–25).
To assist teachers with technology integration, we offer
comprehensive sets of learning activity types (LATs) in 10
curricular areas and suggest specific educational technologies that best support each. The LATs are organized into
subcategories so that each content-based collection of
learning activity types forms an informal taxonomy. Once
teachers have determined the learning goals for a particular lesson, project, or unit, they select and combine activity
types in the taxonomy that will best help students achieve
the designated goals. Because appropriate educational
technologies are recommended for each learning activity
type, choosing the activities helps teachers select technologies that support the plan in practical and usable ways.
We think of this as “grounded” technology integration,
because it is based in content, pedagogy, and how teachers
plan instruction.
P.E. Learning Activity Types
We have identified 56 physical education learning activ-
ity types. The complete physical education taxonomy is
available on the Learning Activity Types site at activity-
types.wmwikis.net. Sample activity types with brief de-
scriptions are presented below, along with illustrative (not
exhaustive) lists of technologies that may be used to sup-
port each. We recommend planning each lesson, project,
or unit to include more than one activity from both cog-
nitive and psychomotor categories.
Physical Fitness Activity Types
Physical fitness is a physical state of well-
being that helps people perform daily
activities with vigor, reduces the risk of
health problems related to lack of exercise,
and provides a fitness base for participation in
a variety of physical activities. Twenty-one of the 56
physical education activity types emphasize physical fit-
ness–related cognitive knowledge development and appli-
cation (see examples in the table “Knowledge Development
and Application Activity Types”). Psychomotor learning
activity types help learners practice and apply health- and
skill-related physical exercises to develop and maintain a
healthy lifestyle. Seven physical fitness activity types in-
volve the practice and application of psychomotor skills
(see examples in the table “Practice and Application of Psy-
chomotor Skills Activity Types”).
Motor-Skill Development Activities
Motor-skill development activity types reflect three stages
of motor skill acquisition: understanding, practice, and
automatic learning. Combining and sequencing these
activities can help students understand, acquire, practice,
and perform motor skills automatically. Nineteen of the 56
physical education activity types emphasize motor skill–
related cognitive knowledge development and application
(see examples in the table “Activity Types Emphasizing
Motor Skills–Related Cognitive Knowledge Development
and Application”).
