What does a physical education teacher do?
A physical education teacher is responsible for devising lessons and strategies to educate the students about health and physical fitness through various sports and recreational activities. It is also their responsibility to facilitate such activities, ensuring the safety and camaraderie between students. It is essential to evaluate and monitor everyone's progress, record all activities, and prioritize every student's health and mental well-being by maintaining a safe and disciplined classroom environment. Furthermore, it is vital to implement school regulations, all while coordinating with faculty and staff.
Physical education teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real physical education teacher resumes:
- Prepare and maintain an adaptive physical education program for students with I.E.P.
- Full time physical education teacher (grades k-12) in charge of students with a wide range of disabilities.
- Set up community inter school/divisional sports tournaments including basketball, volleyball and softball events.
- Design and implement developmentally appropriate, motivating lessons as warranted through IEP goals for adaptive physical education class.
- Maintain NYS OASAS records weekly.
- Maintain control of children from Pre-K through 5th grade.
- Conduct CPR and a for infants and adults unit for students.
- Coach Jr. High girl's basketball, softball and boy's baseball.
- Head fast pitch softball, junior high and varsity football assistant coach.
- Head coach JV basketball and assistant varsity coach, head coach JV lacrosse.
- Teached subject matter and curriculum for 4 plus calluses a day for k-8.
- Evaluate students' advancement daily in mathematics & physics & grading students' homework.
- Develop and implement adaptive instruction plans and techniques to ensure a positive and rewarding learning experience for all students
- Organize and referee intramural volleyball and basketball games.
- Create lessons for elementary age PE students to ensure that they are getting appropriate exercise and physical activity.
Physical education teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Physical Education Teachers are proficient in Classroom Management, Professional Development, and Student Learning. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Writing skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Physical Education Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Classroom Management, 23%
Organized and provided instruction and behavior/classroom management of healthful living, physical education and weightlifting classes at Southern High School.
- Professional Development, 6%
Attend a variety of professional development workshops centered on learning goals, physical safety, student motivation and engaging learning activities.
- Student Learning, 5%
Participated in the career ladder professional growth program maximizing student learning by improving quality of teaching and assessment.
- Public Schools, 4%
Served on Atlanta Public Schools Curriculum Committee
- K-12, 4%
Formulated and implemented curriculum for K-12 grade Physical Education.
- Physical Education Curriculum, 4%
Designed and implemented a physical education curriculum for a city school in Baltimore Maryland according to Maryland & National Standards.
Most physical education teachers use their skills in "classroom management," "professional development," and "student learning" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential physical education teacher responsibilities here:
Speaking skills. One of the key soft skills for a physical education teacher to have is speaking skills. You can see how this relates to what physical education teachers do because "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." Additionally, a physical education teacher resume shows how physical education teachers use speaking skills: "presented proposal to best serve and promote our student athletes. "
Writing skills. Another essential skill to perform physical education teacher duties is writing skills. Physical education teachers responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." Physical education teachers also use writing skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "involved in writing physical education, health education and science curriculums. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for physical education teachers to perform their duties. For an example of how physical education teacher responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a physical education teacher: "assist children in academic and personal/social growth through interpersonal, organizational, and conflict-resolution skills. ".
The three companies that hire the most physical education teachers are:
- Boston Public Schools24 physical education teachers jobs
- Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES11 physical education teachers jobs
- Wayne RESA9 physical education teachers jobs
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Compare different physical education teachers
Physical education teacher vs. Assistant professor of physics
An Assistant Professor of Physics conducts college-level courses in the field of physics. They examine and give students feedback about their academic activity.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, physical education teacher responsibilities require skills like "classroom management," "professional development," "student learning," and "public schools." Meanwhile a typical assistant professor of physics has skills in areas such as "rehabilitation," "patients," "research projects," and "physics courses." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Assistant professors of physics really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $70,119. Comparatively, physical education teachers tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $50,712.The education levels that assistant professors of physics earn slightly differ from physical education teachers. In particular, assistant professors of physics are 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a physical education teacher. Additionally, they're 20.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical education teacher vs. Associate professor of physics
An academic tutor is responsible for assisting the students' learning goals and development by helping them with school work and related academic tasks. Academic tutors implement effective learning strategies to improve the student's academic standing, such as identifying areas of improvement and addressing those difficulties by administering learning activities to evaluate the student's progress and adjust the learning approach as needed. They also review the school's curriculum and present educational materials adhering to the requirements, encouraging the student to set goals for learning objectives.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that physical education teacher responsibilities requires skills like "classroom management," "professional development," "student learning," and "public schools." But an associate professor of physics might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "physical therapy," "astronomy," "physical medicine," and "pharmacology."
Associate professors of physics earn a higher average salary than physical education teachers. But associate professors of physics earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $85,792. Additionally, physical education teachers earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $50,712 annually.In general, associate professors of physics achieve higher levels of education than physical education teachers. They're 11.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 20.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical education teacher vs. Academic tutor
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, physical education teachers are more likely to have skills like "classroom management," "professional development," "student learning," and "public schools." But a academic tutor is more likely to have skills like "math," "academic support," "organic chemistry," and "gpa."
Academic tutors make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $32,838. On the other hand, physical education teachers are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $50,712.Most academic tutors achieve a similar degree level compared to physical education teachers. For example, they're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical education teacher vs. Medical physics professor
Types of physical education teacher
Updated January 8, 2025
