"Question Everything" Rethinking P.E. For Every Student

What if physical education shifted its focus from selecting standouts to elevating every learner? In this conversation, we sit down with Jarrod Robinson—founder of ConnectedPE and the original The PE Geek—to explore how a learning-first philosophy can reimagine PE as a space where all students thrive, not just the most athletically gifted.

Jarrod reflects on his journey from thoughtful experimentation in his own classroom to cultivating a global movement, illustrating how intentional design, structured reflection, and purposeful technology can transform games from mere activity into rich, enduring learning experiences.

We unpack a mindset shift that elevates PE: treat it as a classroom with objectives, evidence, and progression. Jarrod shares practical strategies you can use tomorrow—like a 60‑second end‑of‑lesson reflection—to help students name what they learned, not just what they played. We dig into the SAMR framework with vivid examples, from slow‑motion video for technique feedback to augmented reality models that make complex concepts tangible, all without sacrificing movement time.

The conversation also spotlights the human edge of PE. Strong relationships, belonging, and clear purpose create a space where students try, fail, and try again. Jarrod explains why digital fluency and backward design matter now more than ever, and how Connected PE connects educators with tools, experts, and community across 35 countries. By aligning activities to standards and gathering visible evidence of growth, teachers can change how colleagues and families perceive the subject.

Walk away with a concrete action steps: upgrade one task with SAMR, capture one short video for feedback, and add one reflective prompt to every lesson. Question everything, test ideas in your context, and keep what works. If this episode sparks a shift, share it with a colleague and subscribe so you never miss a new conversation—and check out Connected PE to explore resources that make movement meaningful.

Resources:

ConnectedPE

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 jarrod@connectedpe.com

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Chapters

• 0:29 Meet Jared Robinson And Mission
• 2:22 Humble Beginnings And The PE Geek
• 4:46 Redefining PE Beyond Sport
• 6:34 Elevating Value Through Evidence Of Learning
• 8:54 Reflection As A Daily Practice
• 10:38 When Tech Helps Movement, Not Replaces It
• 12:32 SAMR Framework Explained With Examples
• 17:17 Skills PE Teachers Need Now
• 19:45 Connected PE’s Impact And Vision
• 22:10 Team, Tools, And Staying Personally Connected
• 24:16 Personal Surprises And Continuous Learning
• 25:26 Taking PE Seriously To Change Perception
• 26:15 How To Connect With Jared
• 26:38 Final Mindset: Question And Act
• 27:14 Resources, Share, And Subscribe

Transcript

Jake: 0:16

Hello and welcome to Voices from the Field, a MAHPERD podcast where we talk with educators to hear about their perspectives and experiences. My name is Jake Bersin, advocacy chair for MAHPERD, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Jarrod Robinson. Welcome to the show, Jarrod. Thanks for having me. Definitely. Jarrod is founder of Connected PE, a global movement reimagining what physical education can and should be. In a time when PE is often misunderstood or undervalued, Jared is leading a shift that pushed students first and empowered teachers to be changemakers in their schools. Whether you're an educator, a leader, or someone who believes moving matters, this conversation will inspire you. Here's a little bit more background about Jarrod. Jarrod Robinson is an internationally recognized physical education teacher, speaker, innovator, best known as the PE Geek. With a passion for meaningful, engaging, and future-focused physical education, Jared has spent his career helping educators rethink how technology, pedagogy, and student voice can transform learning in PE. As the founder of Connected PE, Jared supports teachers around the world through professional learning, online courses, and global events designed to build strong connected PE communities. He is a leading voice in the use of digital tools such as video analysis, social media, and online platforms to enhance assessment, feedback, and student engagement in physical education.

Jake: 1:42

Jarrod is a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop presenter, having worked with schools, districts, and organizations across the globe. Through his work, he empowers educators to be reflective, innovative, and confident in creating inclusive, relevant, and connected learning experiences for all students. All right, let's dive in, Jared. Awesome. Thanks so much for that little introduction. Sometimes you forget all the things that you've been up to. Oh, I hear you. It's amazing. You've definitely done a lot. So, for people who may not know you, what's your story and how did Connected PE begin?

Jarrod: 2:17

Great questions. I have very humble beginnings. PE teacher. Started in 2008. In my first year, I felt the class could be more efficient and effective. I found myself to be really innovative in my own personal classes, that is, doing things or trying things. And at that kind of point, I started sharing what I was doing on a blog. That was the early days of the internet. You know, people weren't really blogging, people weren't really leveraging those platforms. But eventually, you know, that grew into a bit of an audience at the pe geek.com. And, you know, I was just really using it as the reflective vehicle. I had one reader and I had 10, and then I had 20, and kind of snowboard from there. And, you know, eventually being asked specific questions about things, being sought out for assistance and asked to present things and workshops. Over two or three years, that was the trajectory, and eventually it got big enough that I could step away from face-to-face classroom teaching and pursue just helping teachers globally full-time out of that birthed connected PE, which was the platform that was more than just technology and PE, which was my beginning. So that's kind of the journey. It sounds intentional, but it was very much just organic, accidental kind of stumbling into something I was passionate about.

Jake: 3:38

It's interesting you say you started with just a few readers and then it snowballed into more and more. So sometimes we think of it starting off as a big, huge, expansive project, but you started off in humble beginnings. I'm sure that's been amazing to see the growth over the years, right? Yeah.

Jarrod: 3:53

Well, I know that my first reader was my mum. I can't even count that I had an organic reader, but I do really much reflect back in those early days of getting just a couple of comments from people that were reading it and it was useful to them. And that was all I was trying to do. It was hang on, people actually like this. And that was the motivation I needed to continue to write these blog posts that snowballed and it continued to be the core mission of how can we communicate, do blogs, podcasts, webinars, whatever the medium is to help people in this job that they have that we are also kind of passionate about.

Jake: 4:32

Absolutely. So, Jarrod, was there a specific moment in your teaching career that made you realize that PE might need to change or that there needed to be some type of difference?

Jarrod: 4:43

Yeah, I don't know about a specific moment, but I remember my PE experiences and it served me well. I was in that top 20% of students in how you might measure their ability. But there was a cohort of people in my classes when I was a student that that wasn't the case for them. And that had become more present when I was out teaching and noticing it didn't serve everyone. PE still had this space where it was missing a group of people, and that leads to some of the perceptions people have about PE sorts of things. And it was probably this mindset that some people still teach to this, that PE is just about sport or activity and performance and trying to build elite athletes. And, you know, my I guess mind shift and understanding in those early days was that it was about education, a classroom, and learning that was the focus. And I kind of shifted how I thought about PE. Maybe that was the catalyst for me looking at how can we meet the hundred percent of students and not just that top 20% athlete kind of class? So that's been my fuel for most of this stuff.

Jake: 5:57

Interesting. You mentioned that learning physical education is a classroom and it's not just about sports. What do you think pre-service colleges or universities can do to help their pre-service teachers along this avenue or this mindshift about it's not just being about the sports or the units? How can we implement more diversity in the curriculum? That makes sense.

Jarrod: 6:18

Yeah, well, I think that there's this kind of difference in perspectives of what PE is. And, you know, I feel like there's elements of all whatever people seem to think about PE, they're probably true to some ex to some extent, you know. There is sport that you play in PE, performance and these higher-level things that it leads towards. For me and people who are training in PE, I think it's important. Other people might have different views, but that education component, it's part of the name. Sometimes people overlook that. We have curriculum objectives, we have things that we're trying to teach students and match them against. And not all of those things are physical competency type stuff. We're looking at other aspects. So I think that can be elevated when we treat it more as learning and as this whole education-specific classroom where we have data and progression and alignments and reflections and skill transfers. Standards, I don't know. Yeah, exactly. You know, like you think about how can we make PE more valued? It's like, well, let's raise it, let's elevate the kind of learning we expect from the students. It's not just roll the balls out and have some fun. It's no, no, we do all these things, and here is the evidence of that, and here is you know the things that we're trying to instill in students. That's how we can make it more valued.

Jake: 7:43

You kind of just answered the next question, which was sometimes PE is undervalued, and how can we change that narrative? But as you mentioned, we're thinking we have standards, we have the data, so there's many different things we can do as teachers.

Jarrod: 7:56

Yeah. If you looked at other teachers' perspectives and not PE teachers and said, what is it that PE teachers do in your school? Some people would think, I don't know, they just roll some balls out and play games. They might not think it's valuable because to them, it might look like all that is happening is just some sort of movement and that's it. Now, obviously, movement is great. We appreciate that movement is very important. But as a classroom and as a subject, that education component is really important for helping us elevate what it is that we do amongst other subjects. Absolutely. I think some people miss that.

Jake: 8:32

So, what's one small change a PE teacher can make tomorrow or next week that could potentially have a big impact in relation to their students? What are your thoughts on that?

Jarrod: 8:43

I think something that I've always encouraged people to do and always tried to do myself is incorporate reflection in lessons. It's very easy in a PE classroom to try and get through as much as you can in your allotted time and then pack up and rush out. But if you can shift that and say, Oh, you know, let's just have this reflective component that might be something that you do formatively or, you know, maybe just a summative end of class thing. What did you improve today? What was the what was the task? What was our goals? What was our learning outcomes? So we can start to shift it from well, PE is this, oh, we played some games to no, hang on, we actually learnt these things. So I feel like that reflection kind of component, as simple as it can be, 60 seconds, can turn it into just being about games, into hang on, it's now about education, it's now about learning. And I feel like that's a pretty quick unlock for people that don't have that happening in their classes. Just more reflective time. That's something simple as they can start. Don't start a heavy lift, I don't think. It doesn't have to be, no.

Jake: 9:48

Simple questions.

Jarrod: 9:49

What did we actually do today? What was the goal? What did we learn? How did you feel was a challenge? What's next? And if you can't find the time to fit that into your class, I think you should make time for it so that it's not just about the activity and there's some kind of learning that takes place. Because, like I said, education is part of the name.

Jake: 10:10

I like what you said about find time because sometimes folks say, Well, there's not enough time in the day to do this, can't do that. But if you can't find time, make time if you really want to have that impact. Make the time. It's that simple, I think. So let's move on to tech. With different viewpoints about this, some people might say, What does tech have to do with physical education? Or how do you respond to folks who think tech they're not quite sure how it fits in with physical education? What are your thoughts?

Jarrod: 10:36

Yeah, well, I mean, I kind of agree with them. If the technology is there and it's going to be replacing the movement, then it's probably not why that should be sought after. Technology should be part of the learning experience, the teaching experience, if it can help us amplify our feedback, give us better ways to provide feedback to students or capture information or growth, give students some sort of ownership over the learning process, or if it supports assessment, makes things easier, or so on. So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that they're not entirely wrong to look at technology and think, well, that's the enemy of our classroom, because a bad use of technology can be terribly distractive. But good use of technology can be the opposite. It can actually enhance the teaching experience. It can give us more physical activity time. So I really look at it and think it needs some context. And that's kind of why training and those sorts of things is really important. You know, what is what is best practice with technology in a PE classroom? Well, let's replace the physical activity with screen time, using it as a way to improve some of the things that we were doing anyway. If slow motion video helps students see their throwing technique, then you've been able to improve the feedback you've given to your students. And that is something we should probably seek to do. So it's not really about replacing movement, it's about leaning into that learning and education part. But I really do believe that it's about physical and education. I think tech can have a really important role. It's not about more screens, it's about leveraging that learning. Utilizing the technology in the best fit, the appropriate manner, right? If there's this really important framework for technology implementation, not even just in schools, but just in general, it's like the SAMR framework. Yeah. So that is a really good thing for me to think about. Because if all you're doing with the technology that you roll out is making a low-level substitution for something that you can do without tech, then you're probably not worth really pursuing it. You know, you want to be looking for ways that tech can do things that you could never do without the technology. Unfortunately, a lot of the early use of technology in classrooms is just substitutionary type stuff. Maybe we don't need to use that in the classroom. But yeah, I you want to try and evolve the technology usage to be more meaningful. And that takes learning and practice and time. And that's where some of our material can be of assistance. But yeah, I don't think they're necessarily wrong with their viewpoint about it can be a distraction, it can get in the way, because it absolutely can. And that's kind of why I think we exist.

Jake: 13:25

Would you mind touching a little bit about you just mentioned the SAMR framework, just for our listeners, because they might not know if you can just kind of elaborate on what each stands for and what the importance of the different levels mean?

Jarrod: 13:39

Yeah. So I can give you an example of kind of each thing in step. The SAMR framework is this the idea that there needs to be some real value for when you start to think about adding technology to your classroom. At the very first level of that framework is substitution. That's where technology acts as a direct tool or a direct substitute, but it has no real functional change. So it's like low-level, hey, I have a calculator that I can use on my computer, but I've got one on my iPad as well. And they're basically the same thing. They don't really have any kind of inherent advantages over each other. the unfortunate thing is a lot of people's use cases is like just substitution. You know, they're substituting something that happened originally with some sort of low-level tech. We want to evolve past that. We want to start to look at the other levels. S-A-M-R is the acronym. The next one's augmentation, and that's where technology acts as a direct substitute, but it's got some functional improvement. There's some inherently slightly better things that you can do with that particular technology as a substitute. And then as we progress a little bit further, it's redefinition and modification. So modification is the technology allows for you to do a task in a totally different way to how you might have done it without tech. And then the final step is the redefinition, which is technology allows for tasks completely unconceivable previously. Now, I think the best way to articulate this would be in an anatomy lesson. Some of us have probably been in an anatomy lesson before or taught anatomy to students, but it will help us think about this kind of Samar model. So, like the non-tech original task to teach anatomy. How did you learn some anatomy concepts when you were younger without technology? Matching, right? Matching, I just matching tasks. You're sitting with a pen and a paper and you're labeling them. Labeling right. Exactly. So labeling them, that's the original task. If we're going to use technology, we need to elevate it beyond that. Otherwise, you could probably go, well, why are we doing this? It's probably not worth it. The next version of that, the substitution for that original task would be, well, now we're just going to do the same thing, but it's a PDF. We're substituting basically the same tool, and that is not fantastic. If that was all you were doing with the technology, you'd probably think, well, we're not getting a lot of value from it. But for augmentation, what does that task look like if you start to lean into the opportunities that technology provides? Well, that would be the digital textbook with some video components. So now we're not just looking at a piece of paper, we're looking at the digital textbook, got some video. So the task has got some functional improvements now.

Jarrod: 16:30

Now we're looking at an interactive anatomy app where you can move it in 3D panes, click on things and zoom in. But the task is significantly different. And then the final step would be using augmented reality to place a physical model in our in our kind of virtual, in our real classroom where students can walk around it. So I guess that articulates how technology can evolve in a classroom, and that applies to all things. If you're doing an assessment of student skills, the paper-based version of that is tick boxes and the students are looking at each other and assessing each other. But as that progresses, maybe it's incorporation of video and instant feedback. I think it's a really important framework to look at. The basic underpinning here is if the technology or you see in your class just hovers around substitution, it's probably not worth your time.

Jake: 17:23

Well, thank you for explaining that. I think it really outlined for the listeners each level of what the difference is and the importance of it.

Jarrod: 17:30

I appreciate that. It doesn't necessarily mean that the things happening at augmentation are better than the stuff that's happening in the lower levels, but it does help me think about why you prioritize technology use in your classroom. If all you're doing is substituting everything and you're having this impact on students, you might not need to be using the technology. You might want to start to think about not doing that. Find some other ways.

unknown: 17:54

Right.

Jake: 17:55

And that's whether your reflective piece comes in again, they can assess where they're at and what needs to be done.

Jarrod: 17:59

Yeah.

Jake: 18:00

So let's move on to PE again. What do you think PE teachers need today that maybe weren't ever solved 20 years ago?

Jarrod: 18:08

Good question. I think I'm gonna lean into digital literacy, digital fluency, having competencies to be able to leverage the tools that do exist. I feel like, and I can't speak for everyone, but I feel like people's skill sets have evolved a lot in the last five years with digital tools in general. And COVID played a role in that in terms of you know forcing people to have to think differently about how they're going to be delivering when classes and whatever weren't physical or face to face. So that kind of brought some of these things, accelerated them. So yeah, digital skills are important, constructional design thinking is important. You can't, it's no longer okay. I think this is something a lot of people agree with. It's not okay just to run games. How do you design learning experiences intentionally? Kind of backwards design so that you're like, why are we playing this game? It's helping us capture this learning and show this thing. You work backwards to kind of skill or the curriculum objective that you're trying to match. And yeah, like this kind of design thinking skill set, I think, is really important. It's not something that we might have spent as much time on when we were training for PE. And maybe my teacher training programs did that to some extent, but probably not as much as they might be necessary now. There's probably lots of skills, you know. Like, sorry to jump in there, but I feel like all the human components are so much more important now than ever. P teachers have this great opportunity to be in a classroom and build great rapport and relationships with students. Other classroom teachers just don't get that luxury. Those kind of ones that are, you know, person to person. There's heaps of them. So they're more important than ever. And and being able to leverage those skills is probably even more important in the era of AI and technology than ever before. So those relationship skills. I'm very positive about the PE world in the next 10 to 15 years and us having this very important role in the classroom's presence that maybe is different to the other teachers who are struggling with other things in their classes. But I feel like, yeah, our ours is a unique place to be able to leverage that person-to-person stuff.

Jake: 20:30

My next question is kind of two parts. It's focusing on Connected P.E What's something with Connected PE that you've been really proud of in the past few years or recently? And then what do you hope five, 10 years from now, Connected PE will become even more of?

Jarrod: 20:46

Good question. I've been really proud because obviously this all began organically. It was me just sharing things I was interested in and them resonating. Not everything resonated because some stuff was personal, but that journey has led me around the planet. And I've been pretty lucky to run in-person workshops in 35 countries now. Wow. And work with teachers in those places, running workshops and learn from the things that I think are happening across the globe. So I would say that is most certainly the proudest part of that journey. And then just being able to help as many people as we have when you have interactions across our different tools and apps, attends of thousands of PE teachers every year, and you see how they use things that you've made and they miss us when we're not there. And that sticks with me as our core mission. So yeah, in 10 years' time, I hope that is still happening and we can still be relevant in that PE space, helping students and helping PE teachers. What that looks like in 10 years' time, who knows? But we'd hope to still be there and providing things that are useful.

Jake: 21:52

So, Jarrod, do you have a team that you work with or do you work by yourself? How do you manage or keep track of so many people, opportunities, and obligations?

Jarrod: 22:02

So we have a suite of products that all sit under that kind of Connect with PE banner, variety of different tools and apps, and so on. In order to do that properly, you have to have a team of people. People and that is, you know, mostly uh assistants and uh other, you know, contractors and so on that work to do things like customer support or app development. Yeah. So I can be freed up to think about that kind of bigger picture stuff. However, there are some parts of my role as director and CEO that would never be taken away from me. And that is when someone emails me a question about whatever it might be, I answer it. Unless it's through a support channel. If it's jarrod @ connectedpe.com, then you'll get me. That's what people use that channel for to ask questions about technology or pedagogy or whatever the case may be. And the word connected PE has many meanings, but the idea of it in its kind of early days was if I can use the kind of online platform that we've built to create that hub where I know who to direct them to, then I'd be quite happy with our impact. And that's really what I do these days. I connect people to whom I think can benefit them in different topics in that whole PE world. Me personally, I'm really good at tech and innovation. And I'm not so good at all the other things that PE teachers have to do. So I seek those people out, get them to present at Connected PE, and then direct people to them. It's amazing. What a story.

Jake: 23:35

Jarrod, awesome. Well, that's awesome. What's something people would be surprised to learn about you?

Jarrod: 23:42

I have mentioned it wasn't a big plan. It was just that kind of uh evolutionary thing. It seems like it was intentional, was it? Me personally, in terms of my personal life, I enjoy um music. I think that's something that is very much a part of my day-to-day. And some people would think you don't have time to fit that into your life. But I yeah, lean into that fun component as much as possible. You know, there's things that I do every day: music, uh video game, um, exercise. Like obviously they're big parts of my life. People probably would assume that this was very intentional in terms of all the stuff that connected, but I was just figuring it out as I went along. I see myself as a learner involved in a process. Sometimes we get things right, sometimes we get things wrong. Um, and just still deeply reflective about growth. And yeah, that's probably might seem like a surprise because it looks very well orchestrated and like we know what we're doing all the time. It's not the case.

Jake: 24:45

I mean, you have an amazing website, and we're gonna put the link in the show notes, but I encourage all the listeners to go there and check it out. There's so many resources, webinars, courses that you offer. It's really quite incredible. Thank you. So, Jared, as we come to a close, is there a question I did not ask you that maybe you'd like to talk about?

Jarrod: 25:08

Enough of that, that's okay. I'll just reiterate that idea of uh, you know, if we want PE to be taken seriously, and you know, it is increasingly more so in different places. Not everywhere though, then I think we have to take it ourselves seriously. We can't just roll the ball out, we can't just play the games. They can be part of the process, but obviously we've got a bit more to us that we need to remember education components. If we want PE to be taken seriously, then we have to take it seriously ourselves. Some people are still on a journey there.

Jake: 25:40

So, Jared, what's the best way to connect with you, Social media, email. What's really the best way?

Jarrod: 25:45

Um you can go to the PEGeek.com. I'm active on LinkedIn, so feel free to connect there, follow our posts. And like I said, email if you have a question. I'm very passionate about answering them personally, whatever the topic is related to PE. I know someone who can assist you. If not, then I will seek that out and bring that to Connect with PE. Fantastic.

Jake: 26:08

We'll make sure all of that information is also linked. Well, Jared, thank you so much for this conversation. It's definitely expanded my mind, and I'm sure our listeners are gonna love it. So I appreciate that.

Jarrod: 26:20

Like final bit of advice there. I usually just question everything, and that includes me today, too. Obviously, I've got my experiences and my biases whenever you get these podcasts or hear from someone who sounds like they've been successful in a certain area. You just want to question it, you want to reflect on it, you want to think, you know, is this gonna be true for me? Put it to the test, reflect, and question everything, including me saying this at the end. We have to be more open to learning from our and being reflective of that process.

Jake: 26:53

So, to everyone listening, consider taking one mindset shift, one action step from today, and put it into practice this week. If this conversation resonated with you, I encourage you to check out Connected PE and explore all the awesome resources Jared and his team are creating. Also, please share this episode with a colleague, department, or friend. And if you haven't already, please subscribe so you don't miss any podcast. Thank you all for listening. Thanks for the work you do. We will be back soon.