STEAM Sports with the Barb City STEAM Team
By Stephanie Dietrich, Director, Barb City STEAM Team after school program
During the month of October, the Barb City STEAM Team collaborated with Paul Wright, Professor in NIU’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KNPE), to connect our students with his pre-service physical education teachers. The plan was for our students to learn team sports while the pre-service teachers gained valuable teaching experience. When we first entered into the partnership, we were excited because we knew that physical activity had positive effects on a student’s overall health and well-being. What we weren’t expecting was how much this programming would impact our students’ daily interaction with each other, their self-esteem and their leadership skills.
Dr. Wright’s students applied a sports education model (SEM), which allows students to take on leadership roles while in the program. Our middle school students engaged in coaching, leading warm-ups and writing articles that document the season. They were allowed to choose their sport and the role in which they participated because it encouraged buy-in. (We were all surprised when they picked handball, but it ended up being a fabulous choice!) From day one, our students were engaged and cared about being there and about being part of a team.
At Barb City STEAM Team, we align much of our programming with the Illinois Essential Employability Skills. Dr. Wright’s work with our students fits nicely within that framework. Our students exhibited cooperative work skills. They also communicated clearly and listened actively. They respected themselves and others. Most importantly, they all showed a positive attitude. Our students learned that there is more to game play than winning and losing. They learned how to work with each other, and they learned how to work with people whom they may not have otherwise chosen to spend time with. All of these employability skills transfer to other areas of life.
One example of this is Dr. Wright placing students in equal teams. This meant that students were not allowed to simply team up with friends. The teams on which they were place consisted of students of different grades, from different schools, and with different interests and backgrounds. Sometimes, removing the student’s choice for grouping themselves can cause students to shut down and lose interest in an activity. Dr. Wright’s pre-service teachers were able to respond very quickly and reengage the Barb City students through team building activities. Before long, students were listening to one another’s ideas, encouraging each other and cooperating towards a common goal.
On the first day of the program, teams were asked to create a poster that incorporated all of their teammates and showcased the team’s name. Throughout the week, students began voicing concerns about teammates who were absent because they wanted to ensure their input was considered in the design and creation of their team’s poster. We were pleasantly surprised to see how quickly they all came together as teams.
Working with the KNPE pre-service teachers allowed our students to become deeply engaged in the athletic process and improved their overall self-esteem. Many of our students have never played an organized sport and did not know what it felt like to be on a sports team. While in gym class they learn about various sports through playing games, their time with any given sport can be limited. The Sports Education Model allowed our students to become skilled handball players and helped build their confidence. Several of our students expressed how much they loved playing handball and how they never knew they were good at sports.
The experience of pairing our Barb City STEAM Team students with the KNPE pre-service teachers went beyond expectations. We continue to see the positive results of the program every day in how students interact with each other and our instructors, and in the way they view themselves. Our Barb City team is very excited to continue to explore partnership opportunities with Dr. Wright and his KNPE students, as well as other pre-service programs at NIU.
To learn more about the Barb City STEAM Team program and ways to get involved, visit the Barb City STEAM Team website.
