Canada Sports Hall of Fame

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Learning from mistakes 3

1. Relevant Courses

The focus of this lesson is growth through reflection upon the outcomes of personal efforts. As such, it would be relevant to any course exploring personal growth. Primary areas of the curriculum would include:

  • Business Studies
  • English
  • Guidance and Career Education
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Social Sciences and Humanities

2. Specific Learning Objectives

  • demonstrate an ability to access the internet for research purposes
  • practice working as a team
  • model effective interpersonal and group skills
  • demonstrate effective research skills
  • organize research data for the purposes of presentation
  • demonstrate effective presentation skills
  • analyze group and personal reactions to interview comments
  • practice effective writing skills

3. Skills Targeted for Development

  • research skills
  • cooperative and interpersonal skills
  • presentation skills
  • writing skills
  • analytical skills

4. Estimated Time for Implementation

  • Two classes - approximately two hours

5. General Overview of the Lesson

Because sports provide continuous opportunity for improvement that is readily measurable, it can provide important lessons on learning from mistakes. In sports, mistakes can be physical, psychological or related to planning-it is rich with learning potential. In this lesson, students will learn that the way we define success for ourselves also sets us up for evaluating our efforts in terms of success or failure.

The topic of learning through our mistakes will be introduced and the students will be directed to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame website as the primary resource for the study of the topic. Students will research specific Honoured Members and in groups prepare a presentation to other groups. Once the group activities have been completed, a plenary, summary discussion will follow. The concluding activity will be a personal writing activity.

6. Resources Required

Classroom Internet access to the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame website to view the following video clips:

Supplementary Honoured Member Information

Silken Laumann http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=208

Paul Beeston http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=264

Norm Kwong http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=100

Lucile Wheeler http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=287

Laurie Graham http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=206

Larry Robinson http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=225

Carolyn Waldo http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=198

Paul Henderson http://www.sportshall.ca/hm_profile.php?i=291

7. Suggested Implementation Strategy

The lesson will start by placing before the students the proverb:

"If wishes were horses then beggars would ride."

The teacher will lead a class discussion asking the students to provide meaning for the proverb - If just wishing could make things happen, then even the most destitute people would have everything they wanted. (See additional resources for other quotations which could be used to generate this discussion).

The focus of the class discussion should follow the following progression leading to the introduction of Canada's Hall of Fame website and the task for the lesson:

  • the quotation raises the issue that it takes more than wishing in order to accomplish a goal
  • with action comes the chance of success or failure
  • reflection on the outcome - be it success or failure - is needed in order to continue to accomplish goals and be successful
  • sport is a microcosm of life and offers this opportunity for action and reflection look at individuals who have been recognized as successful and their attitudes to learning through the outcome of effort.

The class is now broken into groups and each group is assigned two Honoured Members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame:

Each group would be asked to prepare a biography of the Honoured Members and a summary of her/his attitudes concerning learning through failure as expressed in the video clip. Each member of the group would become an expert on their assigned Honoured Members in preparation for the jigsaw activity which will follow.

Jigsaw Activity:

Two members from each group would visit each of the other groups and once these groups had been formed they would share their findings with the new group so that by the end of the discussion every student in the class would have heard a biography and comment summary for each of the Honoured Members.

The students would then reform into their original groups and compare their findings with the other members of the group.

The groups would then be asked to decide which comments had the greatest meaning for them in clarifying the value of reflecting upon efforts and learning from those efforts. Each group would then present their thoughts to the class as a whole.

A summative, teacher-led plenary session would conclude this part of the lesson.

As a final activity, students would be assigned the following 2 page writing assignment which they would submit to the teacher for evaluation:

"Reflecting upon the outcomes of our efforts is invaluable in establishing our self image and our determination to set and attain goals. Having heard and discussed various attitudes and ideas regarding learning from our efforts, define success and identify the methods you would use to determine whether or not you were being successful?"

8. Suggested Follow-up Activities

Various follow-up activities could include:

  • examinations of and reports on role models
  • the value of planning and goal setting
  • the balance of rights vs responsibilities

9. Suggested Evaluation Activities

  • peer assessment of group members
  • teacher assessment of group presentations
  • teacher assessment of written assignment

10. Links to other Relevant Resources

11. Appendix

Link to Relevant Video Clips

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame website http://www.sportshall.ca/tpl_honoured_members.php