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Greetings and Happy Holidays!
This column marks the beginning of my 3rd year as an Interdisciplinary
Section editor. The PELinks4U theme this month centers on holidays
and physical activity; as has been my custom over the last year,
I divide my page into monthly, weekly, and daily observances that
bridge events of the real world and multiple content areas. In the
Elementary PE Methods course I teach, I devote a session on interdisciplinary
PE (IPE) and this semester I went back to Student Learning in Physical
Education (Human Kinetics, 1996) to refresh my knowledge of IPE.
Judy Placek writes about the history of IPE, distinguishes between
IPE and integration, identifies the benefits of IPE and barriers
to implementation, and distinguishes between internal and external
integration. My columns have always been biased toward external
integration -- bridging content areas to reinforce content, themes,
and learning that can't possibly be fully covered in any one class.
As I began as a science teacher, I admit to a natural affinity to
many content areas--not just PE. However, some argue that internal
integration, in which we connect our subdisciplines (e.g., ex phys,
ex psych, PE, sport history, etc.) is perhaps more important b/c
it exposes how disconnected we are as a field while showing tantalizing
possibilities for producing physically educated young adults who
know, value, and do.
On that note and looking forward to a New Year, I challenge us
all to find connections, both internal and external, to enrich the
experiences of our students and athletes.
My next column will be in April and I encourage you to send me
your great IPE ideas, so that I can share them with PELinks readers
while also acknowledging you.
Happy New Year,
David Kahan
Interdisciplinary Section Editor
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