Soon to be teachers boost aquatic education skills

Students from Victoria University in Wellington have had their perceptions on swim teaching changed after attending a Kiwi Swim Safe/Water Skills for Life training session recently.

Having teachers who are confident about teaching aquatic education is vitally important. This course provides these students with the best opportunity to gain this confidence by giving them the skills and knowledge to deliver a quality learn to swim programme at their school.

The students who recently took part in this course are all due to graduate at the end of the year and will then be moving into primary school teaching roles throughout New Zealand, many of which have school pools and teacher led swimming lessons.

Swimming New Zealand Education Advisor Sarah Gibbison led the soon to be teachers through the course and said “it was interesting to hear the students discussing their perception of what they thought school teachers needed to do in line with teaching their students to swim. Many students said they thought there was an expectation to make children into very strong swimmers.”

By the end of course the students indicated they felt much more confident about teaching swimming when they were assured their role was to teach basic water skills to their swimmers as part of their aquatics programme.

The students enjoyed learning about the many different ways these basic skills can be taught to their swimmers and took comfort in understanding the importance of structured play within their classes.

There was plenty of discussion around how school curriculum areas could be supported through swimming and the students enjoyed discussing opportunities for science and technology learning through helping their future students to explore what floats and what sinks and why.

Sarah also shared with the group ideas about classroom learning opportunities they could do with their future students in relation to critically thinking about water environments and how best behave in such environments.

Swimming New Zealand look forward to continuing to work with Victoria University and wish all graduating students the very best in their teaching careers.