#18 - Motivating Secondary Students Through Student Choice with Austin Olsen and Caitlin Schoville

Second Annual Colorado Health and Physical Education Summit 2025

 

This is a free professional development event. The Summit supported and developed by the Colorado Health and Physical Education Council, the council consists of health and physical education district coordinators and other partners from across the state of Colorado. This summit promises inspiration, networking opportunities, and a shared commitment to fostering healthier futures. 

 

June 4 & 5, 2025 - 8am-4pm

Jefferson High School

2305 Pierce Street

Edgewater, Co., 80214

Register here!

 

My guests today are Caitlin Schoville and Austin Olson. 

Caitlin graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor's in Physical Education and a minor in Health Education. She has earned a Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership through Lamar University and is finishing up a second Master’s degree in Health and Physical Education through Northwest Missouri State. Caitlin was named SHAPE Iowa’s middle school teacher of the year in 2022 and SHAPE America’s Teacher of the Year for the Central District in 2024. Caitlin has been teaching 7th and 8th grade health and physical education for 12 years at Pleasant Valley Junior High in eastern Iowa. 

Austin graduated from San Diego State University, and earned his teaching credential and Masters at National University. He has been teaching for 23 years and was named Shape America’s TOY for the Western District and CA MS teacher of the year in 2023.  He has taught grade Pre-k through 8th grade. Currently he teaches at Pacific Trails Middle School and teaches 8th graders. He will celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary this year with his wife Sarah. They both have 2 girls, 14 and 11. 

In this episode we discuss the benefits of student choice in PE, motivation strategies for middle school students, how to incorporate standards based social skills into your units and lessons and the impact that they have on student engagement and learning, and other topics. 

 

Join us over at The Health and PE Collective! 

 

Want to be a guest on the podcast? Click here to connect!

 

Find DPE merch, including t-shirts and hoodies here. 

 

If you enjoy this podcast and are interested in learning more about how you or the PE teachers in your district can earn licensure renewal credits through a facilitated book study based on the book Becoming a Distinguished Physical Education Teacher, please fill out this form or email gary@distinguishedpe.com.

 

If you haven’t already, be sure to join our Facebook group where we have assembled quite the group of experts, always willing to share their insights and help out colleagues with their problems of practice. Simply search for Distinguished Physical Education.