At the end of my inquiry project these were my “next steps”
Where I’m going
During my ten-week practicum I have planned units which will allow me to put into practice much of what I have learned through my inquiry project. First and foremost, I have designed units which have varied assessment forms that include assessment for as and of learning. Examples can be found in Appendices B, C, D, E and F. These varied assessment formats allow for the fair and equitable assessment of students (Alberta, 1993) while also fostering a growth mindset through opportunities to reflect and improve learning (Dweck, 2007) and engage students in the self and peer assessment for learning process (William, 2011; Kaftan, Buck & Haack, 2006; Davies & Herbst, 2013; Louis & Harada, 2012). Lastly, the use of these varied methods allows students the opportunity to self-regulate their own learning (Davis & Neitzel, 2011) through self-assessment and reflective learning.
Secondly, I have planned for project based learning (Wanner & Palmer, 2015) which will engage students in the co-construction of criteria, will challenge me to create and implement clear goals which should foster my students’ self-regulation (Louis & Harada, 2013; Davies & Herbst, 2013; Davis & Neitzel, 2011). Additionally, I will be planning to incorporate mindfulness into my teaching practice through the implementation of a coping with stress unit. This unit seeks to teach students about the stressors in their daily lives and coping strategies. In connection to assessment I will be modelling the use of meditative practice prior to test writing, public speaking and presentations by giving my students 3-5 minutes to meditate and prepare their minds for the upcoming stressor (The Hawn Foundation, n.d.).
Lastly, I wish to include technology to improve my assessment practices. As part of my learning for this inquiry project I attempted to learn how to use a digital platform for assessment, Edmodo. The limitations of this tool which include is privacy storage and difficulty to use have been reason I have decided against continuing its use into my classroom. However, the benefits of a digital tool for assessment are not lost on me and I will be trying to use Fresh Grade as part of my teaching practice during my ten-week practicum. Previously I have had my students set goals for the time they spend doing co-operative project work. These goals have been written on a note and then been reflected on at the end of the lesson to see if they were met and then adjusted. My hope is that I can use this similar method through Fresh Grade to allow students to share a goal, and to document their learning process as we work through an assignment. This platform will allow me to give my students feedback and allow them to make revisions and improvements along the way which promote self-regulation and a growth mindset. I will not however, be using this tool for all of my teaching because not all of my students have access to an electronic device. For this reason, I will be implementing this tool only when we are in the school computer lab which allows all of my students’ access to an electronic device. In addition to Fresh Grade, I will be using Kahoot as a formative assessment tool with my students. Kahoot is a website that allows for the creation and use of a quiz format in an interactive classroom manner. I will be using Kahoot in preparation for test taking, and to check if my learning intentions are being met for my students. By going through this question and answer format I can ease student anxieties towards test taking, allow for self-regulation for what areas students need to focus their studying on and promote a growth mindset. Both of these uses of technology for the purposes of assessment align with suggestions made by Bures et al, 2013 and Allsopp et al, 2010.
Having completed this process I have found myself with questions that the theoretical understanding I had going into practicum was unable to answer. I found it exceptionally difficult to find meaningful ways to include formative assessment in the physical education setting. One thing I did use was a fist of five self assessment where students rated themselves 1-5 based on the effort they thought they displayed that day. While this was beneficial for me as a teacher I believe it can be done better. With my position next year at St. Georges’ Junior School I hope to continue learning in a mentorship setting where I can learn from other physical education professionals. Furthermore, these new questions have brought my inquiry back to its initial spiral to try and answer these new questions. I have heard that during the PE conference in October this year there will be a presentation on innovative assessment in PE which I hope can serve as another great professional learning opportunity. 
