Déirdre Ní Chróinín

Implementing Formative Assessment in Primary Physical Education: Teacher Perspectives and Experiences.

Background: Incorporating assessment as a regular practice can enhance teaching and learning in primary physical education. However, there is little evidence to suggest primary teachers use assessment strategies regularly in their physical education classes. Purpose: To explore the impact of incorporating assessment into primary teachers’ physical education practices on (a) their perspectives on assessment and (b) teaching and learning in primary physical education. Methodology: Primary teachers in Limerick (n = 2) and Dublin (n = 3) participated in initial focus group interviews exploring practices and understandings of assessment in physical education. Each teacher then planned and delivered a series of lessons where assessment was considered in relation to the learning intentions. Their experiences were captured using reflective journals (Limerick) and a mid-point focus group interview (Dublin). Both groups of teachers participated in a third focus group interview after lessons were completed. Qualitative analysis by both researchers involved individual coding of the data using the constant comparison method followed by conversations on alignment of findings. Trustworthiness of the data was addressed using peer debriefing techniques. Findings: The inclusion of assessment in physical education lessons provided structure and focus to the planning, teaching and learning processes and impacted positively on both teacher learning and the childrens learning. The assessment strategies focused the learners, allowed for feedback related to assessment criteria and informed future planning. Challenges for the teachers included the amount of time needed to plan, difficulty in accessing sample assessments and differentiating assessments for different class levels and abilities. Conclusion: The use of assessment strategies enhanced the quality of teaching and learning in physical education and impacted positively on the teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of physical education. The importance of supporting teachers, through provision of information on assessment strategies and samples of assessment strategies aligned with content in physical education to enhance their everyday practice, is highlighted.

Digital video: The impact on children’s learning experiences in primary physical education

Technology can support teaching, learning and assessment in physical education. The purpose of this study was to examine children’s perspectives and experiences of using digital video in primary physical education. The impact on motivation, feedback, self-assessment and learning was examined. Twenty-three children aged 9–10 years participated in a 10-week intervention which focused on learning basketball skills. Digital video was used to provide feedback and support self-assessment using rubrics. The project design involved a qualitative inquiry where data was collected through focus groups, interviews with the children and children’s skill self-assessments. Teacher skill assessments and teacher research diary entries supported triangulation of data. Self-assessment using digital video impacted positively on student performance. Students were motivated and engaged by the feedback provided as well as the self-assessment process. Digital video can enhance motivation, feedback and performance in skill learning in primary physical education.

International Approaches to Whole-of-School Physical Activity Promotion

Increasing physical activity opportunities in schools has emerged as a global priority among school-aged youth. As a result, many countries have designed and implemented whole-of-school physical activity initiatives that seek to increase physical activity opportunities that are available to school-aged children before, during, and after school. Considering the comprehensive school physical activity program conceptual framework, this article includes a discussion of the initiatives from four countries: Finland (Finnish Schools on the Move), Ireland (Active School Flag), Poland (PE with Class), and the United States (Let’s Move Active Schools). Background information, implementation strategies, best practices, development opportunities, and relevant research from each country will be presented. Exploring different perspectives sheds some light on the international landscape relative to whole-of-school physical activity promotion and provides direction for future and continued research and practice.

Meaningful Experiences in Physical Education and Youth Sport: A Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to review the literature about young people’s meaningful experiences in physical education and youth sport. We reviewed 50 empirical peer-reviewed articles published in English since 1987. Five themes were identified as central influences to young people’s meaningful experiences in physical education and sport: social interaction, fun, challenge, motor competence, and personally relevant learning. These themes provide future direction for the design and implementation of meaningful physical education and youth sport experiences. We also highlight the need for the development of pedagogies that facilitate and promote meaningful engagement in physical education and youth sport settings.

The impact of initial teacher education on understandings of physical education: Asking the right question

Evaluation of professional socialisation can provide insight on the impact of Physical Education Teacher Education. A large-scale (n=326) single question ‘What is PE?’ qualitative methodology was used to access pre-service primary teachers’ understandings of the nature and purpose of physical education . Data analysis involved word frequency queries and coding using a qualitative coding framework based on the dominant discourses of physical education. Trustworthiness of the analysis was addressed using memos, coding checks and peer de-briefing. While responses at the beginning of the programme were dominated by sport and health discourses, an educational discourse grounded in the key messages of the primary physical education curriculum with emphasis on equality of opportunity emerged at the end of the programme. The complexity of addressing understandings in teacher education contexts is highlighted.

Flying the ‘Active School Flag’: physical activity promotion through self-evaluation in primary schools in Ireland

Primary schools are key sites where children can be active, advance their knowledge and understanding of how to participate in physical activity (PA) and develop an appreciation of its importance in their lives. This study explored the role of schools in promoting PA asking: how do primary schools approach the promotion of whole-school PA? Data submitted by 21 schools as part of a self-evaluation PA initiative were included in a secondary analysis using an inductive thematic approach. Schools’ approaches to PA promotion were more structured and inclusive, illustrating what schools valued and what they viewed as feasible within their contexts and resources. Self-evaluation and self-improvement processes can contribute to the promotion of whole-school PA in primary schools. While changes to school practices that better reflect educational policy on PA promotion are encouraging, the long-term impact of the self-evaluation process merits further investigation.

Student Voice as Risky Praxis: Democratising Physical Education Teacher Education.

ABSTRACT Background: Student voice agendas have been slow to permeate higher educational institutions. Curricula in universities, like those in primary and secondary education, are still usually made for students by teachers who, while they may have the best interests of the students in mind, rarely if ever engage students in curriculum decision-making. The need for more equitable, dialogic and democratic engagement by students is particularly relevant in the context of teacher education. It has been argued that pre-service teachers should experience democratic practices during their teacher education experiences in order to have the confidence, knowledge and skills to support democratic opportunities in schools. Purpose: Through the participatory action research project described in this paper we sought to position pre-service teachers as pedagogical consultants who would design feedback strategies, gather feedback with faculty and co-construct physical education teacher education (PETE) curricula. We saw this process as a democratic possibility that might create opportunities for pre-service teachers to critique and transform their own educational experiences. In this paper we detail the process we used to support dialogue about teaching and learning between students and faculty members and draw on the perspectives of the students, pedagogical consultant, lecturer and teaching and learning advocate involved in this project. Participants and setting: The project was undertaken with one cohort (77) of pre-service teachers during the final year of a four-year undergraduate PETE programme in an Irish university and focuses on the democratization of one PETE course. Data collection: Data were generated with and by the pre-service teachers, the pedagogical consultant, the lecturer and the regional teaching and learning advocate. The primary data collection methods were interviews and observation. Data analysis: The data were reviewed repeatedly looking for patterns, themes, regularities, paradoxes, variations, nuances in meaning and constraints [Rubin and Rubin 1995. Qualitative Interviewing. The art of Hearing Data. London: Sage]. The authors coded all data sets independently using constant comparison [Glaser 1965. “The Constant Comparative Method of Qualitative Analysis.” Social Problems 12 (4): 436–445] and then shared their processes and subsequent codes. Our analysis engages Greene’s [1988. The Dialectic of Freedom. New York: Teachers College Press] dialectical theory, to explore how naming and holding the tensions involved in this research and pedagogical enterprise was not stultifying but generative. Findings: Three key dialectics were constructed from the data: student–teacher, critical reflection–learning and responsibility–accountability. We speak to each of these themes from the perspectives of the students, the pedagogical consultant and the lecturer who participated in this project. Discussion and conclusion: Our discussion turns to the challenges and benefits associated with the pursuit and realization of democratic possibilities in PETE.

A Layered Approach to Critical Friendship as a Means to Support Pedagogical Innovation in Pre-service Teacher Education

Abstract In this article we describe and interpret how two distinct layers of critical friendship were used to support a pedagogical innovation in pre-service teacher education. The innovation, Learning about Meaningful Physical Education (LAMPE), focuses on ways to teach future teachers to foster meaningful experiences for learners in physical education. Critical friendship was applied in two ways: (1) the first two authors served as critical friends to each other as they taught their respective teacher education courses using LAMPE, and (2) the third author acted as a meta-critical friend, providing support for and critique of the first two authors’ development and enactment of the innovation. Over two years, data were gathered from reflective journal entries, emails, recorded Skype calls, and teaching observations. The two layers of critical friendship held significant benefits in advancing and supporting the development of the innovation while also contributing to the professional learning of all participants. Analysis of the first year’s data showed that we entered the critical friendship without thoroughly considering what we each hoped to give and take from the relationship or acknowledging the potential problems that might unfold. In the second year, guided by suggestions from our meta-critical friend, we took a more rigorous inquiry stance as critical friends, contributing contentious feedback and pushing each other beyond our personal and pedagogical comfort zones. This led to a noticeable improvement in our professional learning about teacher education practices and advanced the development of the LAMPE innovation.

Irish Primary School Teachers' Experiences with Sport Education.

Recent reviews illustrate the considerable literature on Sport Education. However, research on the experiences of non-specialist physical education teachers attempting Sport Education is limited. The focus of this research was to investigate non-specialist teachers’ views on Sport Education and identify what possibilities might exist regarding Sport Education in the context of primary schooling. Eight teachers (four males and four females) from four primary schools in Ireland volunteered to take part in this study. Following in-service in Sport Education, all teachers delivered a unit of work in their schools. Data were collected using individual teacher and focus-group interviews, and each was visited during implementation. Findings indicated Sport Education was an entirely new teaching and learning experience for these teachers which they found to be professionally rewarding and pedagogically refreshing. Teachers discussed high levels of enjoyment displayed by their pupils. An enthusiasm for exploring the integrative potential for Sport Education was evident, and many teachers wished for more examples of how the characteristics of Sport Education could be further integrated across the primary curriculum.

Off-balance: the integration of physical education content learning and Irish language learning in English-medium primary schools in Ireland

ABSTRACTIncreased attention to integrated approaches has resulted from demands to prioritise literacy learning while maintaining a balanced curriculum in primary schools. Limited empirical evidence to support integrated approaches to teaching physical education (PE) exists. This study explored the integration of PE content learning and the learning of Irish as a second language with eight English-medium primary school classes (ages 8–10). Data sources included direct observation, teacher interviews and written reflections, alongside focus groups with children. Careful implementation to balance language and content learning is recommended to ensure the promise of complimentary learning emerges within the spirit of an integrated curriculum.ABSTRACT Increased attention to integrated approaches has resulted from demands to prioritise literacy learning while maintaining a balanced curriculum in primary schools. Limited empirical evidence to support integrated approaches to teaching physical education (PE) exists. This study explored the integration of PE content learning and the learning of Irish as a second language with eight English-medium primary school classes (ages 8–10). Data sources included direct observation, teacher interviews and written reflections, alongside focus groups with children. Careful implementation to balance language and content learning is recommended to ensure the promise of complimentary learning emerges within the spirit of an integrated curriculum.