International E-Journal of Advances in Education

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This paper presents on the significance of Physical Education teachers in the diffusion of thinking on innovative, alternative activities to develop the physical literacy of their students by making Physical Education more inclusive, enjoyable and putting new ideas into practice in Malaysian schools. Primary students of this study having problem to count heart rate (beat) during physical fitness activity. They miscalculated heart rate and almost a third of the class continue to struggle to do simple tasks such as counting very fast and got lost in counting. The case study design was to determine if students are taking their heart rate accurately and the reliability of using tally counter to count heart rate for fitness activity in Physical Education lessons. Six students of Year 5 at selected Malaysian primary schools were involved in the study. Students were asked to count heart rate at the carotid area manually for first trial and using tally counter for second trial to record their resting and exercise heart rate. The findings showed significant differences in counting heart rate by using tally counter. The value of the standard deviation was smaller SD=7.61 for resting heart rate and SD=10.17 for exercise heart rate. The Cronbach's Alpha reliability value of using tally counter to measure resting and exercise heart rate was α=.932. Drawing on the case study investigation and classroom experience, the teacher testified that using tally counter could assists student in counting heart rate accurately. Her idea was to help students develop or improve counting skills, place value understanding and sense of numbers. Despite the challenges, it was also to motivate students to engage and participate in fitness activity. The implications on this study is that the Malaysian education policy makers and curriculum designers need to explore new concepts in teaching and learning of Physical Education, arguing for important changes in curriculum design.