The Future of Education

In variety fields of education at the present time, most especially in physical and technological educations, 5E learning cycle is being used by many teachers as well. The process is defined as five “E”s. These represent the verbs engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate (Bybee, 2001).

The literature has been systematically reviewed and the results showed that the 5E learning cycle is an untested model in physical education. Especially, positive or negative effects of the 5E learning cycle in physical education are unknown. This study is important for relevant literatures in order to be first study about the conceptual constructive of the 5E learning cycle in physical education. Thus, the purposes of this study are to conceptualize the 5E learning cycle in physical education as a new constructivist approach and to prepare sample teaching plans for use in physical education classes.

Sample teaching plans about the 5E learning cycle have been prepared by authors and are ready to use in physical education and sport teaching. For example, a physical education teacher wants to teach basic concepts about the human physiology (like heartbeat, breath, fatigue, etc.), can use this model has 5 “E”s.

First of all, in engaging stage, to draw the students’ attention, teacher asks considerable questions about daily life, and an amazing event or they give the chance of thinking about some visual elements without making any explanation about the topic (What is the heartbeat?, Why do people get tired?, etc.).

In exploring stage, students offer activities about the physical activity and they provide to reach the information on their own.

The students require explaining what they learned by their own sentences after the physical activity, by asking the results they reached, the observations they made and their ideas as well as the things that they noticed.

In elaborating stage, the students make to solve the problems in the physical education, they provide to see new question types about the new taught subject and the students expect to give answers to these questions.

And in the last stage (evaluate), by examining the studies that students make in their school and physical activities, the students’ learning levels are observed. These observations make by considering all the learning process. Student’s physical performances and his developing degree in the process are taken into consideration.

In this context, 5E learning cycle can also be used to teach concepts on physical education and sport teaching as an applied science of education. 5E learning cycle that is being used as a different model can be applied by competent physical education teachers in the course of physical education lessons.

As a conclusion, the plans prepared may be applied by authors, teachers or independent researchers want to study on this model and this study will be a new idea about the constructivist approach on physical education.