My action research will utilize quantitative data only. My action research will take place over the course of two separate weeks, and research questions will be answered using the following data collection methods...
Research Question 1: What is the impact of incorporating the use of running apps within PE lesson design? a)Do students run more often and further distances when using the tools? b)Does using running apps have an effect on student run performance (distance, time, pace)? Quantitative data collected:
Research Question 2: Will students setting their own personal fitness goals have an impact on student physical activity levels? a) What are their current exercise habits? b) After setting personal goals, did their activity levels increase? Quantitative data collected:
Research Question 3: Is the utilization of running apps and personal goal setting a practical course of action in a hybrid-model (in-person and online) secondary physical education setting? a) Survey provided to participants both before and after the action research discovering if the implementation of personal goal setting and/or use of fitness trackers had an effect on attitudes towards health and fitness. Quantitative data collected:
3 Comments
This week is particularly full of unanswered questions.... I am now thinking of an episode of one of my favorite cartoons -- Futurama -- which featured an all-knowing giant alien brain which could answer any question in the universe. I think many teachers across the district, one week before we return to in-person/hybrid model/phase 2 (whatever you want to call it), would like to ask that brain a few questions at this point.
At the time of writing this post, I have not yet had the chance to partake in a deeper dive into literature covering my topic this week, although I am hopeful to discover what contributions have already been made regarding the relationship between fitness trackers and student motivation and performance in PE. I have already administered a “Personal Health Profile” survey to collect data on students’ exercise habits and feelings about exercise. My students have also created their first “Personal Weekly Activity Plan,” which could lead to discoveries regarding how personal goal might improve a student’s motivation or performance. I plan to continue to collect student data in the form of running performance data. Students will participate in a series of long distance runs (Student in Group A using fitness data trackers such as Nike Run Club, Group B using no tools), and track their times and distances on a running log. The running log will also have students set goals for each run. Runs will be completed in-person as well as asynchronously. After participating in a series of runs, while setting goals and tracking their progress (some using fitness tracking tools), students will be resurveyed about their habits and feelings about exercise. Unanswered questions… Will my methodology be able to prove that the fitness trackers in combination with goal setting were impacting motivation or performance in any way? Should I have a Group A (students who use fitness trackers) and a Group B (students who do not use fitness trackers), and compare data within the two groups? Does it make more sense to have all students not using fitness trackers for their first set of runs, then have all students (or some) use them for another round of data collection? I fear not all students have access to these tools (those who do not have smartphones). Will I be losing all of my students who are staying virtual and how will that impact my study? (This is specific to NHS PE… We are meeting with admin today and hopefully at least this much is answered!) Wowser! I climbed into the rabbit hole of academic journals and scholarly articles, and I’m hoping I'm maybe beginning to find my way out. I’ve stumbled upon a few different pieces of literature so far which seem to be along the same lines with what I plan on researching. So far nobody stands out as “seminal" so far, although one of the articles I found is cited 117 times (does that qualify as seminal?) -- “Feasibility and Effectiveness of Using Wearable Activity Trackers in Youth: A Systematic Review,” published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) in November 2016 (1). Much like what I plan to investigate, “the aim of this review was to examine the effectiveness of wearable activity trackers as a tool for increasing children’s and adolescents’ physical activity levels.” It was a bit of a relief to read the first sentence of this study’s conclusion: “There is a paucity of research concerning the effectiveness and feasibility of wearable activity trackers as a tool for increasing children’s and adolescents’ physical activity levels….” (I had to Google ‘paucity’ ... it means there is very little research done on this). Hoping that the work done by this study can aid me in my research and provide validity to my discoveries.
I found a few other articles that relate to my research as well, although they are not cited as much as the one above… “Using Novel Technology within a School-Based Setting to Increase Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in School-Age Children from a Low-Income, Urban Community” is cited 6 times and concludes that fitness trackers in combination with goal setting did not increase physical activity in 5th and 6th grade students, but “It is also possible that this intervention was not successful because a single step goal was set, used for all participants regardless of their baseline activity levels.... it is possible that the intervention would have been more successful if participants received individualized goals based on baseline activity levels, as was successfully done by Koufoudakis...” What do you know?! The conclusion of this study leads me to another -- Koufoudakis’s study: “How Feedback and Goal-Setting Impact Children’s Recess Physical Activity” (cited by 3). THE CYCLE CONTINUES!. This study could also help validate the methodology I plan on employing within my action research, in which students will set their own personal goals based on their individual levels of fitness and development, though I’m not sure if the article is impactful enough to use in my research, only having been cited 3 times… I’m a bit all over the place right now in terms of finding the right literature. But I’m feeling better than I did a couple hours ago. Hooray for progress. Where am I at now with my action research?
Answer: Have not officially started collecting data, but getting all of the following information dialed in... DQ: What tools and procedures can a PE or athletic program put into place that will easily transition from face-face-face to distance education? RQ1: What is the impact of incorporating technology into PE lesson design? a)Do students exercise more often when using the tools? b)Does student scores improve with the use of tools? How I will measure: I plan to collect this data first by providing a Google Form Survey to students: “Fitness Trackers/ Running Apps Personal Use Survey.” This survey will spit the students into two focus groups…. Those who use fitness trackers and those who do not. (a) The survey will go on to ask them about their exercise habits in their everyday lives. Through their answers provided, I will see if there is a correlation between use of tools and daily exercise habits. (b) Allow students who use fitness trackers to use them during class time and assign the class a long-distance run. Collect data in the form of students run times…. At a later date, re-assign run, but this time require students who previously did not use a fitness tracker to now use one. I hope to see if there is any correlation between the use of trackers in class and student performance. RQ2: Does this use of technology improve students’ health and fitness? a) What are their attitudes towards exercise b) What is their personal fitness status? c) Do they follow a personal workout plan? How I will measure: (a/b) Survey students on current attitudes towards exercise and their current habits related to health and fitness, like whether or not they already follow a personal workout plan. After providing all students with a chance to use tools, requiring them to create a personal workout plan, and follow through with their plan, re-survey students on their feelings towards exercise and their personal fitness status. (c) See if there is a correlation between students who have already followed a personal workout plan in the past and their responses regarding feelings about exercise. (CONCERN) Is subquestion (c) in the right spot here? Does it go along with the overarching RQ2 (“use of technology”)? Would it fit better under RQ3, or should it perhaps be scrapped altogether? Should RQ2 just be reworked? RQ3:What tools and strategies support face-to-face and online learning? a)How can I leverage digital tools and media to make physical fitness a social enterprise? How I will measure: Refer to answers provided by survey in RQ1 to gather data on which tools students generally prefer to use on their own time. Provide new survey which gathers data on students’ feelings about tools and strategies used in class this year. Informal and formal assessment of student work provided in distance lessons. Reach out to physed experts on social media to gather data on what tools and strategies other teachers are utilizing -- teachers on Twitter, PE Central group on facebook, Journal of Physical Education Research. (Questions!) Do RQ3 and sub-question (a) work together? Is having only one sub-question okay here? Are these methods of data collection sufficient? When making the decision in the spring to commit to this masters program, the wicked problem I wanted to solve was “How can we do PE online?” Since then, it’s evolved to be a bit more specific, as well as applicable to both online and in-person learning... What tools and procedures can a PE or athletic program put into place that will easily transition to distance education and support students to develop lifelong habits?
Because my passion behind this research has always revolved around online learning, our current format for school hopefully shouldn’t be an impediment on my research. I’m hoping that on the contrary, this period of distance learning could be conducive to the research that I need. With that being said, I still have a ways to go in dialing in exactly how I will go about collecting data, and I feel that I need to figure that out quickly. Whether we continue to do distance learning, or return to in-person, I’m hopeful that I’ll have enough experience in both realms to get to the bottom of my driving question. I can apply design thinking to my dilemma by considering my end user…secondary PE teachers and students. What have other PE teachers found to be effective in supporting learners develop lifelong habits while teaching from a distance? What motivates students to want to be active when learning online? Will effective strategies for online learning in PE transition well to in-person learning? |
About Dustin Green:High School PE Teacher Archives
March 2021
Categories |