This free session is for K-12 pe educators which will be held at Wingate Elementary (150 Wingate Blvd. Belleville, IL 62221) and will be structured with two sessions and presenters.

The first session will be facilitated by Maria Pessman:

• Instant Activities – Do you need activities to get your students moving right away? These instant activities are simple, use minimal equipment, and are fun! Come prepared to move and learn in a meaningful PE way!
• Incorporating Activities within Meaningful PE K-12 – Get ready to move, laugh, reflect, and learn in this session! Participants will be immersed in the Meaningful PE framework through hands-on, active experiences that highlight the core features of MPE: fun, challenge, social interaction, motor competence, and personal relevance. Participants will explore practical strategies to create learning experiences that prioritize student voice, autonomy, and connection.

The second session will be facilitated by Steve Paxson:

• Deconstructing Illinois K-12 Physical Education Standards with Assessments-During this session attendees will take part in a deconstructing standards activities to better understand the standards and to be able to self-assess their own physical education programs to make assertions of potential changes needed.  A practice in the bedrock needs of curriculum design!
•  SBG Assessment Design Pair and Share- Are you grading on dress in PE? Come discover grading practices for objective grading within the affective, cognitive and psychomotor domains. Come to this session to collaborate with colleagues on current grading practices. You will leave this session with data-driven assessments to increase student motivation.
•  Debrief conversations and collaboration

Steve Paxson, sppaxso@ilstu.edu, Health and Physical Education, ISU Lab Schools/University High School.

Steve teaches within the Illinois State University Laboratory Schools at University High School in Normal, Illinois.  He has taught at U-High for 13 years and about to begin his 31^st and has taught at three other Illinois public schools.  Half of Steve’s career has been at the k-8 level and the other half at high school. He has developed a passion for assessment and assessment design in Health and PE. His specialization surrounds Health and PE curriculum and assessment design and practice, standards deconstruction, and standards based grading practice and implementation at all K-12 levels.

Maria Pessman, mpessma@ilstu.edu, Health and Physical Education, ISU Lab Schools/University High School.

Maria teaches within the Illinois State University Laboratory Schools at University High School in Normal, Illinois. She has taught at U-High for 19 years and has been teaching physical education for 22 years. She is the current IAHPERD President, the 2025 SHAPE Midwest High School Teacher of the Year, Nationally Board Certified, and has completed her Doctorate Degree in Education with an emphasis on physical literacy in 2022. Topics of specialization for her include assessment design, standard based practices, curriculum design, physical literacy, and meaningful PE. She loves presenting, networking, and sharing information with colleagues. 

Registration closes October 5, 2026 at 10:00am.