PROGRAM RATIONALE – SPN21 IGCSE PHYS ED

There was a very brief period of time provided for organizing the
Physical Education (Phys Ed) syllabus and scheme of work, which had
only commenced on the 11th of August 2009.

Partial implementation by selected pilot schools was proposed to be in

2010 and full implementation to be done by 2012. However, this could
prove to be a risky move due to lack of training of Phys Ed teachers
throughout Brunei especially for those who do not have any Phys Ed
background.

In order Phys Ed to be effectively implemented throughout Brunei

several factors should first be considered:

1. Pilot Schools Program

These schools will give the new syllabus a test run in order to find out
if there needs to be any changes or improvements that should be
made before full implementation in 2011.

These schools are those of which the committee members of

establishing the Phys Ed syllabus are based at, so the knowledge they
acquire first hand during this period will be used to better fine tune the
program.

2. Development Workshops

These will be carried out throughout the year 2010 in preparation for
implementation of the new syllabus in 2011.

The purpose is to equip current teachers throughout Brunei with

knowledge of the new syllabus content, as they will have to be
competent with the technical terms especially for those instructing
year 9 to 11.

Proposed Timeframe for workshops in 2010:

• January to June- Year 7 and Year 8 syllabus

• June to September- Year 9 and Year 10 syllabus
• September to November- Year 11 and Express Route
syllabus
3. FIT Challenge Program

Fitness tests will be incorporated each year during the course of the
students Phys Ed timeline. Ideally this should start at Year 5 and Year
6 where they should learn the fundamentals of the FIT Challenge.

Assessments include:

1. Bent Knee Sit Ups

2. Standing Long Jump
3. Sit and Reach Forward
4. Push Ups/ Inclined Push Ups
5. Multistage Fitness Test (Beep Test)

The results of the FIT Challenge will be reflected in the end of year
transcript for each year.

Norms for the results will be provided and rewarded with Gold, Silver
and Bronze according to the points they have in total. Schools could
strive to achieve excellent FIT Challenges and be rewarded by special
mention by a panel of inspectorates.

4. Dedicated Full-time Taskforce Proposal

In order to commit fully to the establishment of Phys Ed in 2011 a full-

time taskforce ought to be assembled comprising of selected members
from the current committee.

This is because workload during normal office hours is at par with what
is needed for Phys Ed construction, training and review. If this is not
possible, may I then request for them to be given a lighter workload,
as this will allow them to concentrate and commit to the exponential
development of Phys Ed in Brunei.

Examples of posts:

• Media and Technology Administrator

This person will be responsible for creating, updating and

maintaining the official website from which we can access
guidelines, exam or test results, submit queries, etc.

This may also be used as an archive where results of fitness tests

from all schools in Brunei may be submitted and accessed. From
 this we can collect values to create a Normal Fitness Data Table for
several age groups, which will be specific for our country.

• Exams

With regards to the written exam, procedure will be the same as

with any other subject. However, since Phys Ed assessment
includes video analysis on top of the written exam, it would be
recommended that a few officers are given responsibility to assist in
organizing, guiding and conducting video recording of students
performing and analyzing skills.

As per IGCSE guidelines, videos should last 20min for each activity
(inclusive of skill performance and performance analysis by
student). Students are required to do FOUR activities which would
mean each students will need to submit a total of roughly 80min of
recorded content.

It must be considered that in addition to the 80min, there will be

time needed for preparation and editing of the videos, which may
take a significantly long period to organize.

Since this is a very new and different concept, this needs to be

given proper consideration.

• Data Analysts

Data analysts will be involved with the number scrunching and

organizing data into sensible user-friendly information.

They will conduct statistical analysis of any data that is collected

from the year 7 and 8 tests/exams, FIT Challenge results of all
schools in Brunei and have to provide tables and standard deviation
curves of results allowing for the production of yearly normative
data which can later be used as benchmarks for exam result or
fitness percentile range specifically for Brunei.

5. Budget

A proposal is being set up to inquire whether the establishment of the

new IGCSE phys ed syllabus will receive any budget allocation. This is
to cover the needs of purchasing cameras and video editing software
for schools that is required as part of the final assessment in the
syllabus.

6. Resources

Since Phys Ed will be a compulsory subject in year 7 and 8, and will be

an optional subject for IGCSE exams in year 10 or 11, we will need to
provide schools with resources to aide in teaching content. This
includes textbooks, exercise books, revision texts and other teaching
aide material.

Other resources can be a list of websites that provide material for Phys
Ed in general or more specifically IGCSE Phys Ed.

7. National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) for PE

Teachers

There will be a standard coaching scheme for the whole of phys ed

teachers in Brunei in order for them to better facilitate students who
are talented athletes. This basic knowledge of training methods and
training principles will aid them in administering the right type of
training to the talented students.

Initial accreditation will be done through development workshops

conducted by Ministry of Education collaborating with the Ministry of
Sports.

8. Amenities and Facilities of Schools

In order to allow students to perform at their best during Phys Ed class

they will undergo a lot of physically taxing activities where during a
session they will sweat and may get dirty.

For the preservation of good health and hygiene, it will be an

expectation that schools will have changing rooms and showering
amenities for students and Phys Ed staff.