Utilizing Assessment Technology in Physical Education

Assessment in physical education is a key accountability measure for both the student and the teacher.  The primary goal of assessment should be the enhancement of learning (NASPE, 2004), not an add-on (Nye, Dubay, Gilbert, & Wajciechowski, 2009).

Unfortunately, due to time constraints or uncertainty of the purpose, assessment in many physical education programs is inadequate. Common reasons physical educators do not assess include a) “It takes up too much time.”  Teachers may feel they do not have enough time to spend collecting assessment data, when they only see the students for 40 minutes, once a week. b) “I don’t know how.”  Teachers might not know how to assess and/or what to assess. c) “It won’t change anything, why even bother.”  Teachers might assess and collect data, but do not use it to inform instruction.  Fortunately, it has never been easier to collect, organize and save assessment data using technology in physical education. This article highlights two technology resources a physical education teacher can use to collect student data, Kahoot and MetricMe.

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Ethics and the Educator: Conquering the Myths of Ethical Practice

As educators, we think we know what is right.  We think we are ethical. Unfortunately, quantitative data suggests that we are not ethical, we do not know what is right, and we cannot apply basic ethical principles to the majority of ethical dilemmas we confront daily.

Having served as a coach and a teacher at all levels of public and university education, I have been an educator for over 50 years.  I hold a baccalaureate from a liberal arts college, and a master’s and doctorate in physical education in which I read religion, history, and philosophy.  I have been researching moral reasoning in competitive populations for over 35 years.  Throughout my research and extensive work with educators (i.e. teachers, coaches), I will offer five myths[1] that work against an educators’ understanding of ethics and offer an argument that more education is necessary if we are to overcome the myths of ethical practice.

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My Advice: Plan Early for Retirement and Retire Early

(2 Minute Read)

The moment came,
As it comes to all
When I had to answer nature’s call.
~ Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues by Tom Paxton, 1970

Legendary folk singer Tom Paxton wasn’t thinking retirement when he penned these words, but he could have been. All of us at some time will retire. The problem is deciding when. And if you’re like many physical educators, health educators or coaches who love their jobs, that’s often a huge dilemma.

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A Philosophy for Coaching Built on Non-Negotiables

As parents to five-year-old twins, a four-year-old, and a 14-month-old, my wife Rachel and I get asked the question “why” multiple times a day. As is the nature of young children interacting with their worlds for the first time, our kids are curious about seemingly every aspect of their existence. The subject matter of their inquiring toddler minds may range from “Why are the Pop-Tarts strawberry?” to “Why does Frankenstein walk like that?” to “Why do we brush our teeth?” followed by “Why do we have to go to sleep now?”

Our kids have genuine questions about events, decisions, and experiences that are affecting their lives, and they’re simply seeking new information to help make sense of their world, especially at it relates to daily life expectations (i.e. brushing teeth, getting dressed, bedtime, etc.).  As parents, Rachel and I expect a genuine response from them when we ask, “Why did you draw on the wall?” or “Why does your little brother have a Batman mask on his head?”  An answer of “just because” doesn’t suffice as a valid response to their needs. If we have an expectation or make a decision, and the kids want to know why that is, they deserve to know the foundation or standard from which their parents operate. The same firm foundation of standards we set for our family, can also drive our coaching philosophy and decisions we make for our teams.

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End on a Positive

(3 Minute Read)

The whistle blows signaling the completion of the drill.  Some of the nation’s best young athletes, 16 and 17-year old basketball phenoms gather around Coach Showalter.  The setting is the USA Basketball U16-U17 Junior National Team Training Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Flanked by the physical size of the young men, Showalter gains their attention.  He offers feedback on the recently completed drill, then gradually steps back presenting his hands to the two players nearest him. At the same time, he encourages the rest of the huddle to do likewise.  The young athletes and support staff lock hands and begin to form a large circle.  They all face each other, looking towards the center of the circle, each person linked to another player or coach.

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Start Your School Year with a Little SEL in Adapted PE

The intentional practice of teaching social emotional learning (SEL) in physical education is not a new concept. In the past five years, numerous articles have been published in the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (JOPERD) and Strategies on the topics of SEL, cooperative learning, and the affective domain. Each article provides basic information about the topics and offers strategies and activities physical educators could do with their students to ultimately focus on a positive school climate.

tug_of_war

Additionally, SHAPE America facilitated a two-day conference (Exploring the mind-body connection: Social and emotional learning in HPE) in July 2019. This conference was packed with 75 sessions addressing a variety of SEL topics, providing general physical educators (GPE), adapted physical educators (APE), and health educators (HE) with content and hands-on opportunities to engage with colleagues on a variety of SEL concepts (Table 1).  One of the goals of the conference was to help attendees intentionally include SEL concepts in classes for the upcoming school year.

Table 1: SHAPE America Two-Day Conference on Social and Emotional Learning in HPE

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Keep IT Simple: A Vanilla Approach to Teaching Physical Activity with Technology

Early in my career, I sought to be cutting edge with technology to stay ahead of my digital-native students. My ambition was to challenge them with new uses of technology, applied to physical education and fitness on various projects and assignments. What I found was that technology obstructed the learning process. Why was technology hampering their learning?

My curiosity led me to discover that it is a misconception that the next generation of students is inherently tech-savvy (Tanner, 2011; Wang, Hsu, Campbell, Coster, & Longhurst, 2014). While the modern student is often good at accepting and working with new gadgets and applications, they are not necessarily technologically literate.  In other words, do they have the ability to apply technology in the context of academic content and professional communication?

While technology literacy is an important part of the education process, it is less important than students practicing lifetime fitness and physical education. Stated differently, the limited time we have with students should stay focused on learning physical activity. The exception is in physical education teacher preparation and other health-related professional development, where more time is dedicated to technology competence. When working with more general populations where the intent is to promote active lifestyles, it is more important to maximize time focused on each individual’s physical activity. Based on this premise, the best approach to technology in health and physical education is to keep it simple.

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