Call for PhD Student at the UBC Applied Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Lab

Brock University, PhD Candidate, Applied Health Sciences (Expected completion: Fall 2026)

Brock University, 2022, MA

University of the Sunshine Coast, 2015, GradDipEd, (Secondary)

Brock University, 2014, BA(Ed)

• Leadership Education for Pedagogy & Physical Activity
• Socio-cultural Studies

• Physical education pedagogy
• Physical education teacher education
• Meaningful Physical Education
• Contextualized instruction
• Personally relevant learning
• Democratic and student-centred pedagogies
• Teacher identity and reflective practice
• Community-based physical activity
• Qualitative research and self-study

Spencer Briggs is a Lecturer in Physical Education and Health Pedagogy in the UBC School of Kinesiology. His research examines how physical education can become more meaningful and personally relevant by connecting learning with students’ identities, experiences, everyday practices, and communities. His work is particularly informed by Meaningful Physical Education and Contextualized Instruction, with interests in democratic pedagogy, student voice and agency, teacher learning, and reflective practice.

His doctoral research examined contextualized instruction from multiple perspectives, including how teachers enact it, how students experience it, and how it can be adapted within physical education teacher education. He is also a member of the SSHRC-funded Champions of Meaningful Physical Education project, an international longitudinal study of teachers’ engagement with Meaningful Physical Education.

Spencer’s teaching emphasizes experiential learning, student voice, reflection, collaboration, and connections between educational theory and professional practice. He positions students as active participants in their learning through approaches such as collaborative planning, microteaching, school and community-based experiences, and reflective inquiry.

A central feature of his teacher education practice is making the often-invisible work of teaching visible. By explaining the reasoning and decision-making behind his own pedagogical choices, Spencer encourages students to critically examine how their experiences, values, and assumptions shape their developing professional practice. His teaching is grounded in the belief that meaningful movement experiences are different for everyone and that future educators must learn to design inclusive experiences that reflect this diversity.

Before joining UBC, Spencer taught in the Department of Kinesiology at Brock University, where he served as a sessional instructor in fourth-year physical education and teacher education courses, including Reflective Practice in Physical Education and Teaching and Learning in School-Based Physical Education. His teaching emphasized experiential learning, reflective practice, student-centred pedagogy, and helping future educators connect educational theory with the realities of professional practice. He also previously worked as a teaching assistant and lab instructor across courses in physical education pedagogy, movement education, and physical activity.

Prior to university teaching, Spencer taught physical education in Sweden and Australia for several years. In Stockholm, he also held leadership roles including Athletic Director, Head of House, and Acting Head of Year 9. These experiences across K–12 and higher education continue to shape his approach to preparing educators who can create inclusive, meaningful, and personally relevant physical activity experiences that translate into students’ daily lives.

Briggs, S., Fletcher, T., & Ní Chróinín, D. (2026). Teachers’ enactment of contextualized instruction in primary physical education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2026.2650447

Fletcher, T., Ní Chróinín, D., Briggs, S., Beni, S., & Gleddie, D. (2025). Prioritising meaningful physical education experiences: Linking teachers’ participation in a contemporary professional development initiative with student experiences and outcomes. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2025.2609212

Briggs, S., Fletcher, T., & Ní Chróinín, D. (2026). Students’ perspectives on their teachers’ use of contextualized instruction in physical education. European Physical Education Review. Accepted for publication, revisions in progress.

Briggs, S. (2026). Reconceptualizing and reframing the idea of context in the enactment of pedagogical innovations in teacher education: A self-study. Submitted to Studying Teacher Education.

Spencer is committed to translating research into forms that are useful to teachers, students, and the broader physical education community. He has delivered professional development with Canadian physical education teachers, presented his research nationally and internationally, and contributed to public-facing conversations about Meaningful Physical Education and contextualized instruction.

His professional service has included membership on the PHE Canada Research Council Executive Board, roles as Graduate Student Representative and Graduate Student Liaison, and advisory work supporting the development of PHE Canada student chapters. He is also a member of the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP).

Across his teaching, research, and professional engagement, Spencer’s work is guided by a common aim: to help create physical education and physical activity experiences that people can connect with, find meaning in, and carry with them into their lives beyond formal educational settings.