Using the Personalized System of Instruction to Differentiate Instruction in Fitness
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how PE teachers can personalize learning to meet a variety of student needs. Differentiated instruction (DI) is a term frequently used in classroom-based learning to describe a method of personalization for individual students. The term can also describe a theoretical model for teaching and research, an instructional model, and a philosophy. Teachers must have a firm understanding of student readiness, interest, and learning profile to differentiate four areas of instruction: content, process, product, and the environment. Students in PE can benefit from DI, but there is a lack of formal methods to differentiate PE content. The Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) is an instructional model that provides a complete framework for PE teachers to personalize learning for all students. Fitness-related content such as resistance, plyometric, and agility training provides a context for applying the PSI model to DI in the secondary school setting.
