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PEP reduces bullying behavior.
Benefit 1) - Less emotional stress and time pressures on everyone (students, playground supervisors, teachers, principals and families).Staff can spend less time dealing with tattling and interpersonal strife and more time focused on teaching.
PEP provides a safety net. PEP may have had the biggest impact on a small number students who were the most unhappy on the playground.
Benefit 2) - An intervention that can engage and create a bridge to friendship for students who may be socially at-risk. Interviews and observations suggest that all students feel safer when there are dignified options for peers who are having trouble fitting in on any given day or on a regular basis.
PEP involves students in physical activity and positive group play experiences. Students observe fewer attempts by their peers to harm or humiliate others (see #1 above).
Benefit 3) - Students return to the classroom refreshed, focused and able to process and retain information.
PEP promotes inclusiveness. Students learn how to expand or start games to include more players. Students with developmental challenges or obesity can comfortably take part in many PEP games.
Benefit 4) - All students have an avenue for learning more about themselves and others, and have an opportunity to engage authentically and positively with their peers.
PEP provides a meaningful avenue for parental involvement. Schools can invite parents with concerns about the playground to organize a playground committee and/or get involved as game facilitators at recess
Benefit 5) - There is a strong correlation between level of parent involvement in schools and student achievement. (22)
Students respond positively to PEP. Students played PEP games, and made regular use of the PEP Can (a mobile game resource center) every day. Surveying of playground supervisors and interviews with students reveal that students played PEP games more on days when adult game leaders were on the playground (but did play them other days too).
Benefit 6) - Schools can count on a return for their investment of time and treasure, by simply giving students more of what they naturally need and want on school playgrounds.
Four keys to PEP's success
1) PEP ties in with childrens' natural interest in playing active games with their peers. Finding ways to help students to succeed in doing what they love to do creates intrinsic rewards that reinforce their ongoing development.
2) PEP provides the right kind of games. (23) The PEP game collection makes it easy for chidren to join, stay involved and succeed. The simple games are fun and challenging but non-intimidating. Players are not eliminated. The emphasis is on cooperation rather than winning.
3) PEP constructs for playing games help create a common culture. The goal is to make it possible for players to communicate together effeciently and effectively using common games names, rules, etiquette, locations, configurations, processes, signals, symbols and tools. Some measure of predictability on a chaotic playground helps to create a culture that is charterized by positive social interactions.
4) PEP stimulates greater awareness and the involvement by caring adults in solving a serious school challenge, and provides user-friendly resources that even non-experts can use to directly mentor students and be rewarded with visible results and warm smiles.
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PEP helps meet the basic needs of students
- to feel secure and able to move about freely
- to feel a sense of belonging among their peers
- to gain new skills and confidence
which helps students be at their best
on school playgrounds(24).
..Please look closer at how PEP does this and more:
PEP reduces bullying behavior.
Benefit 1) - less fear of moving about and more willingness to try new activities (less standing around, bored, likely reduces trouble-making too).
PEP provides a wider variety of activity options that students enjoy during school recess.
Benefit 2) - more body awareness and skill development, ie. balance, coordination and movement (also promotes brain development).
Many PEP games require high levels of exertion, and are these games are very popular with students.
Benefit 3) - aerobic exercise and muscle toning is relatively effortless while players are socially absorbed in active group games. This burns calories and promotes an active lifestyle (to counter the obesity epidemic).
PEP provides fun, age-appropriate, cooperative games that students with all skill levels and interests can join and play successfully.
Benefit 4) - creative and playful enjoyment of recess time that is sprinkled with laughter and smiles.
PEP relies on caring adults to personally teach students games, the Ground Rules of Fair Play, as well as pro-social skill sets.
Benefit 5) - greater sense of security and support, opportunities to engage in self-directed game play and learn new social skills (empathy, assertiveness, impulse control, and organizational flexibility).
PEP games are an equisite way to engage even the most intimidated of students and to provide a focus and structure for non-self-conscious participation.
Benefit 6) - friendship, a sense of 'belonging' among one's peers which satisfies a basic need.
PEP involves students in decision-making, planning, problem-solving, strategy, ethics, negotiation and conflict resolution as part of game play
Benefit 7) - stimulates and reinforce students' abilities to remember, conceptualize and communicate.
PEP involves students in physical activity and positive group play experiences.
Benefit 8) - Brain development and learning is generally enhanced by physical activity and satisfactory play experiences. It helps children be more attentive and focused in the classroom. (25)
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