I actually first looked at An Truong’s capstone website, “Training with Technology,” among first getting started in this Master’s program, when I had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go with my research. Mr. Truong lays out his journey in a very effective and digestible way within his website. The audience for his capstone appears to be other physical education teachers looking for ways to incorporate tech into PE, insight into tech’s impact on fitness goals, and/or strategies for motivating students in the PE classroom. In addition detailing specific ways of incorporating tech into his PE lessons for the purpose of his research, he shares resources which were effective for him and his students, such as Kahoot, Quizizz, Adobe Spark, Google Forms, Eductopia.
The other capstone websites I explored also seemed geared towards an audience of teachers. When I think ahead to my capstone, the debate becomes whether I want my audience to be PE teachers or students. I think I could make it in a way which could benefit students, but the question then becomes, does anyone create their capstone websites designed for an audience of students? When would students be exposed to and actually utilize the capstone website? The four capstones which I explored were filled with useful information for teachers such as teaching strategies, lesson plans and content standards, so I did not feel like they were intended for students to directly see.
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Before the pandemic, transliteracy was becoming an increasingly valuable skill for students (and teachers) to have. Since the start of distance and hybrid learning in March 2019, transliteracy instantly became not only important, but an absolutely crucial skill for students and teachers to demonstrate in order for virtual learning to function effectively. In some ways, teaching virtually makes incorporating transliteracy into my teaching easier. For example, being able to share screen and walk my students through a given lesson or assignment both visually and with my words, in theory should make understanding the content more feasible for students, as opposed to only talking at them. Hybrid learning has challenged me to include a variety of lesson designs in which students must demonstrate transliteracy skills. My students have had to answer google forms, complete edpuzzle video assignments, make copies of slides and edit them, fill out documents and attach them before submitting to Google classroom, participate in Zoom visually, verbally and in the chat, participate in live peardecks, film themselves inventing a game to be played at home and upload it to Flipgrid, etc. And this is all for PE!!! I can only imagine how innovative some classroom teachers must be in incorporating transliteracy into their curriculum in the virtual classroom.
Sketchnoting includes visual aspects of imagery in combination with reading/writing of words and/or short phrases. Visual learners, English learners and special needs students can benefit from the ease of interpreting a sketchnote presented to them. Likewise, including assignments which allow artistic and creative students to present their work via sketchnoting could greatly benefit those students, rather than forcing them to write, write, and write more with more traditional methods of instruction. I have had students sketch “how they like to stay active” within pear deck, as well as have had them create a personal collage of images on Slides, but now think I may expand on/combine these lessons by having them create a sketchnote representing their personality and how they like to be physically active. Challenge based learning and culturally responsive teaching both focus on the concepts of learning partnerships and creating a community of learners with voice and agency. Within the context of my high school PE classes, these strategies can be implemented to help students take more control of their own health and fitness. Students can cultivate a sense of self-efficacy and a positive mindset towards exercise by participating in lessons which utilize challenge based learning. For example, students can attempt to solve the real-world problem of teenagers not getting enough exercise by brainstorming/researching ways to increase activity levels for themselves and among their peers, and then presenting their discoveries to the class. Students are given voice and agency in how they go about doing their research, and how they present their findings to the class. Classes vote on which group had the most feasible strategies before attempting to implement them into a PE lesson. 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:
What stuck out to me from Zaretta Hammond’s “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain” webinar, was the notion of building a learning partnership between teacher and student. She says it’s on the teacher to use care as fuel to earn students’ trust. Once students establish that trust for their teacher, they will then allow themselves to be pushed more by the teacher.
This resonated with me as I strive for that balance between care and push within my teaching style. I believe I can help my students become more confident in themselves - and specifically be more willing to exercise in front of their peers - by establishing that trust first. I think it’s not that uncommon for a student to have been scarred by a PE teacher of theirs in the past, simply because that teacher may have tried to push too hard before earning that trust from students. It’s important to establish clear expectations - that you essentially have NO expectations - when it comes to their current level of fitness or athleticism. As long as you are giving an effort in class, your skill level or talent DOES NOT MATTER. Another example... This one specific to virtual learning... For whatever reason, students absolutely hate exercising on camera. For many students, if they’ve had a PE teacher who makes them do that, they are completely turned off to the idea of PE immediately. You as the teacher have lost their trust, and therefore, they will not want to be pushed. I made a promise to my students at the beginning of this school year that they will never need to have their cameras on when we are doing any exercise. I believe that has earned me some trust points with my classes and now students are more willing to engage with the class and be pushed! At the time of writing this blog post, I have not yet had an opportunity to watch the speakers, though I look forward to hearing these various experts' ideas on learning. From reading “Can Creativity Be Taught,” many concepts we’ve discussed this semester are apparent throughout this article, such as 21st century teaching and learning.
I have done a lot of thinking about how not just students, but all people learn to be creative. Mobley says we need to unlearn our ways of thinking in linear ways and think outside the box. But this is something that can’t really be learned… There is no simple formula for teaching and learning to think creatively… We have to just immerse ourselves in situations which allow us creative freedom, or even force us to think in a creative way to complete a given task. I can help my students think more creatively, like Mobley, by providing them with opportunities to do so through riddles, simulations and games. Maybe my PE class can ultimately become a mini version of the IBM Executive School. What better place than a high school physical education class is there to challenge the brain through game play. Now more than ever, PE teachers are forced to rethink our practice. Team sports? .... Nope. Sharing equipment?... Out of the question. Moderate to vigorous exercise indoors? … Think again. We are all being forced to discover new types of activities for our students. I have a few ideas regarding what might allow them to think outside of the box, such as scavenger hunts and various team building games. I look forward to discovering not only more COVID friendly PE activities, but now want to find more which will provide students with opportunities to get creative and ultimately enhance learning. 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!) “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must we want for all children in the community. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.”
To me, this John Dewey quote seems like the basis of human decency - The “Golden Rule” - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (or in this case, your children). In “the Flat World of Education,” Linda Darling-Hammond lays out these five policy prescriptions for the American education system…
While Darling-Hammond is considering the educational system as a whole and how we can improve it, I am only one little teacher… I will now try to narrow down these large-scale policies and see how they can be applied or modified to make sense within my practice. 1. Meaningful Learning Goals -- “Content and skills need to be considered together…” (294). When designing PE lessons, don’t put too much emphasis on students being able to quickly memorize new concepts or pick up a new skill. 21st-century “real-world” skills, such as critical thinking, collaboration, and appropriate use of technology should be considered in my lessons as well. However, a lesson which teaches 21st-century skills will only do so effectively if grounded in real, tangible content. 2. Intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems -- “If students are to be expected to achieve higher standard, it stands to reason that educators must….as well …. High and rigorous standards for teaching are a cornerstone of a professional accountability system focused on student learning” (302). This is a bit above my paygrade. To try to make this work on a personal scale, I interpret this to entail that educators should hold each other accountable to be as good as we can! Teacher-leaders need to be supportive, yet set high expectations for their teams! 3. Equitable and adequate resources -- “... a new federal policy must address the deep and tenacious educational debt that holds our nation’s future in hock” (309). Once again, while it is not my job to make federal policy (thank goodness), I must be considerate of the inherent inequities amongst my students and do everything I can to make the curriculum equitable for everyone. Just spitballing here… but in terms of equitable resources on a district level, PE teachers should be willing to reach out to other PE programs across their district when they are in need or equipment, information, or any other resources which might make their class more equitable for all of their students. Sharing is caring! 4. Strong professional standards and supports -- “... it is imperative that the United States develop policies for recruiting, preparing, and retaining strong teachers, especially in high-need schools” (313). Reinventing teacher training and professional development is a big task, but us teachers can help make this happen by sharing our experiences with our professional development opportunities. Be vocal! Provide support to effective ones with positive feedback, recommending colleagues or even pitching something for your school/department to your admin. Be honest about ineffective PD programs and use your voice by providing feedback to help eliminate. 5. Schools organized for student and teacher learning -- “Finally, to transform systems, incentives must be structured to promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing across organizations, rather than competition (326). Simply put -- help your colleagues get better! Just learned something new which might be helpful to other members of your staff? Create a screencast and send out a mass-email! See something that a colleague is doing which you don’t love? Time to collaborate and make each other better! No hard feelings if we all want to learn and be better! 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. Although “An Educator’s Guide to the ‘Four C’s’” had NO mention of physical education whatsoever, I believe applying these principles to my classroom will influence my teaching practices to build 21st-century learners. I’ve always believed PE is more than the class where students learn about health and fitness…
3 Steps to 21st-Century PE Teaching Step 1: Communication/ Collaboration -- PE is the place, more so than anywhere else on a school campus I might argue, where students get to practice communication and collaboration. I’ve always tried to preach and model the values of good sportsmanship and what it means to be a good teammate, and establish that culture of “learning to play nicely together” in my class (perhaps the most important skill one needs, regardless of century). Step 2: Critical Thinking -- Establishing lessons which promote critical thinking and creating takes a bit more consideration. Allowing teams to work together to come up with their own strategies to succeed in a game is one way to promote critical thinking skills (I think of the wide variety of strategies employed by my students over the years while playing capture the flag over). Conversations about long-term health allow for critical thinking opportunities as well. Step 3: Creating -- So far this year my students have created their own personal biography slide (each one of my classes has their own slide deck). I think this has helped them to take control of their identity and proudly represent themselves (with creative freedoms to add images, colors, gifs, and so on, to their slides). They've also had a few assignments in Flipgrid in which they get to demonstrate their creativity (and responsibility) via a social media-ish platform. Recently I’ve successfully challenged my students to create games on Flipgrid on their own and I was truly blown away with their creations! I hope to be able to continue to implement activities which allow for more creative freedom in my class. I wonder what activities are out there that allow for more creativity in PE which I need to know about... |
About Dustin Green:High School PE Teacher Archives
March 2021
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