For the TPI profile sheet, I scored an overall score of 167/225 with my scores being predominantly in the low 30’s except for the nurturing perspective (40).

As a teacher candidate in physical education, I am aware of the love/hate relationship students have with participating in Physical education. I would say then that my goal as a future P.E. instructor is to teach physical education such that a broad spectrum of learners will find it engaging in the hope that they will continue to participate in physical activity and lead a healthy lifestyle into adulthood. This philosophy might explain why the heights of the bars on my TPI graph are very similar (flat).

Transmission Perspective

For the transmission perspective, I scored 33/45. This was my second highest score among the 5 perspectives and I feel it accurately reflects my beliefs as an instructor. I often feel that in order to correctly instruct learners in the subject matter, I need to have a thorough knowledge of what I am teaching. Personally I believe that in order to detect errors when performing a movement or making a decision, I need to be able to put myself in the students shoes, and in order to do that, I need to be proficient in whatever activity the student may be performing.  My beliefs, intentions, and actions were identical for the transmission perspective which is likely due to the fact that I feel the most comfortable acting upon what I believe with regards to this perspective.

Developmental perspective

I scored 30/45 for this perspective, making it my lowest score of the 5 perspectives. I think this was probably the perspective that I scored lowest in, because of my unfamiliarity with this perspective and my imbedded beliefs of the transmission perspective. I often find it difficult to withhold the answer and let the students figure it out for themselves. My beliefs, intentions and actions were close together, but as I continue through my teaching career, this is certainly a perspective I would like to improve upon, because I feel it may make me approach my teaching slightly differently, and it could be of great benefit to my students.

Apprenticeship perspective

I scored 32/45 on this perspective, making it my second highest score (tied). The reason I scored high in this perspective probably relates to my coaching background and the fact that I believe students or athletes learn from participating in simulated real world settings. As a coach, I believe that athletes learn the most from playing, and that the skills required to accomplish a task will improve as they approach the end goal. As the teacher, I am able to provide the students with a set goal, but it is up to the students to find a role that best helps each other accomplish that goal.

Nurturing Perspective

This was my highest scoring perspective (40/45), and I think it best reflects my philosophy with regards to students continuing to take part in physical activity into adulthood. I wholeheartedly believe that students learn best when their achievement is a product of their effort, and my TPI reflects this (14 for the belief category). On the flip side, I find applying a nurturing perspective can be difficult in a P.E setting because of the evaluation process, and my TPI reflects this also (11 for the action category). An example of what could boost the score I received in the action category in the future is to manipulate my grading process of my learners, perhaps placing a greater weight on attendance, participation, and improvement, similar to the example the Dr. Butler demonstrated to the class.

Social reform Perspective

I scored 32/45 on the social reform perspective and similarly to the nurturing perspective, my belief category showed a discrepancy to my action category. I think that particularly for this category, the discrepancy has to do with the fact that I would like change the way P.E. is being taught, but I am still unsure of how I am going to do that. This is definitely a perspective that I see growing as I engage more frequently in my teaching practice.

Overall, I think my TPI accurately reflects my current philosophy. Although I feel my beliefs are fairly strong, I am constantly learning and adjusting my philosophy as I develop an instructor, and as such I predict that my perspectives may alter slightly if I was to resubmit my TPI down the road. The goal I would set myself though is to minimize the discrepancies in the subcategories and ensure that I am implementing and taking action with what I believe.