Homework in sports lessons

Hardly any other debate in school is as continuous as that on the effectiveness of homework. While the discussion is normal in the classroom, it hardly arouses interest in the gym. Given the limited time normally available for physical education and the increasing need to document students' performance, homework is almost an imperative in order to allow students to get enough exercise.

There should also be more opportunities to involve parents. Homework has so far been a gap in theory and practice, and so it is not surprising that in a primary school intervention, only 32% of girls and only 22% of boys have done their homework regularly in physical education classes (Smith, Cluph & O'Connor, 2001). Physical education teachers face time and staffing challenges, but they must still meet at least these four quality standards: First, they should promote the development of children and young people in a variety of ways; second, they should compensate for deficits and act preventively; third, they should introduce them to the culture of exercise, play and sports; and fourth, they should prepare them for a lifetime of sports activities (MSJK, 1999). Homework can help to meet these standards in everyday life.

Homework in physical education can basically be divided into two types: On the one hand, theoretical worksheets, which are worked on at home, can be used to relieve the theoretical instruction in advance or to secure it afterwards (Achtergarde, 2015). This leaves more real movement time during the lessons. On the other hand, the effective total movement time can be extended and the number of training days increased by practical exercises at home. The exercises can be taken up and continued in class, or, for example, top lists can be kept.

However, sports teachers have a lot to do, and in order to give meaningful homework and follow it up in class, they should be supported. SportZens offers with the "workout of the week" (WOW) a tool for practical implementation, so that one can create a great added value for the students without much additional effort.
In SportZens you can choose from several ready-made modules, where you can adapt everything to your own needs. From quick creation in a few seconds to sophisticated workouts with changing loads, everything is possible. Each student* must be given a personal ID once, which allows him/her to view and enter the exercises online (in the browser "wow.sportzens.de" or via the app "SportZens WOW"). As a teacher you can always see who has already done the homework and what performance was achieved. By using anonymous IDs, the data can be assigned to students within SportZens. The different types of exercises are based on common and modern CrossFit workouts and do not require any material. In this way, the motivation of the students can be increased.

More about WOW here: www.sportzens.de/wow

MSJK NRW (1999). Richtlinien und Lehrplan Sport Grundschule. Düsseldorf: Ritterbach.
Smith, J., Cluph, D., & O’Connor, A. J. (2001). Homework in elementary physical education: A pilot study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 92, 133–136.