Teaching Inquiry

**How can one teacher really facilitate maximum student participation
and enjoyment in a PHE setting?**

Students have a variety of different motivations, interests and reasons for participating -or not- in their physical health and education classes. With studies showing the effectiveness surrounding student-centred learning, motivation theory, and optimal challenge, is it actually realistic in a classroom of 24-28 students, that one teacher can encourage everyone to ‘buy-in’ and have fun?

Abstract

Students have a variety of different motivations, interests and reasons for participating -or not- in their physical health and education classes. With studies and pedagogical cases showing the effectiveness surrounding student-centred learning (Betcher, B.E et Al,. 2019), motivation theory (Hochanadel, A., & Finamore, D. 2015), and optimal challenge (Wilson, G., & Mills, C. 2013), is it actually practical and realistic that with a standard classroom of 24-28 students, that one teacher can encourage everyone to participate and be engaged? Leading a PHE class with high student engagement and participation can provide more positive experiences, which could motivate them to continue with active and healthy behaviours long past their high school years (Tammelin et al. 2003). Through a combination of anecdotal reflections on the effectiveness of my units and the reflections of my students, I will offer my experiences in adding to this engagement-based inquiry.

Personal Experience:

This proposal has been selected because, anecdotally, although the majority of educators believe that PHE classes are settings where students are fully engaged in physical activity, what is actually being noticed by most of my PHE cohort members is that there are noticeable portions of students who are not invested nor want to be involved in PHE at all. I believe physical activity can prevent a number of chronic health conditions – however, personal participation and enjoyment in physical health and education is equally as important as it could mean that students can engage in healthy activities for life, driven by their own motivations (Tudor, Kate, et al 2019).

Before, as a sports coach, my goal during typical practices were to constantly have my athletes engaged physically, cognitively, and also working affectively with others. Currently, transitioning into teaching at a secondary school PHE setting, while I had competent classroom management, instructional tone, and organization, I was quickly reminded that most school students needed different sources of motivation and a variety of student-centred choices and learning to become engaged in class. Without students feeling those forms of personalization, they – in general – would not typically be motivated to participate and enjoy learning in a PHE setting. In fact, even with student-choice, I’ve found that some students still were not motivated to participate at all. This inquiry is significant as it can add more anecdotal experiences into teachers who attempt to implement more student autonomy, and it’s success opportunities for not only classroom management but also student engagement. If we can create positive engaging experiences for the students, I believe they are more equipped and open to practice healthy and active behaviours post-secondary.

Evidence:

Engagement in a class or lesson is important because it benefits the student as they interact with class content, learning outcomes are covered but it can also suggest that students are not being distracted and misbehaving otherwise (Morales, E.E. 2017). Thus, student participation and the effectiveness of being engaged with class content becomes a sought of goal of many educators. A strategy that can lead to engagement is student-centered learning. As Betcher, B.E et al (2019) shares in their investigation, students who took part in student-centered PE classes, as compared to teacher-directed classes, “ displayed more positive change over time on autonomous motivation” (p. 7).

Student-centered learning, sometimes referred to as ‘autonomous’ approach in teaching, has also been questioned for its practicality as students often times must be present to classes. As students generally have unfavourable consequences for skipping class, Sun & Chen (2010) argue that “physical education may not be able to provide opportunities to satisfy the need for autonomy due to potential conflict between control and autonomy” (p. 37). How can students really feel like it’s their own choice in engagement?

While engagement can also be driven from a teacher-directed instruction, the development of self-determination theory is important as motivation is needed for a student to decide they are invested and engaged in the content and task at hand. Quoted from the research of Betcher, B.E et al (2019), “When experiencing higher-quality motivation, individuals may pursue an activity (such as PE) for autonomous reasons, such as (a) an inherent interest in, or enjoyment of, the activity (i.e., intrinsic motivation), (b) a feeling that the activity aligns with one’s identity and sense of self (i.e., integrated regulation), and/or (c) an endorsement of the value or importance of the outcomes of the activity (i.e., identified regulation). On the other hand, individuals might participate in an activity in light of relatively more controlled motives, such as the desire to avoid feelings of guilt associated with non-participation (i.e., introjected regulation), and/or to avoid punishment or obtain praise from others (i.e., external regulation)” (p. 2).

Pedagogical cases have shown success stories of educators who have implemented more ‘self-guided’ learning strategies in their PHE classes. For example, teacher Stephanie was able to include modifications in games that allowed many students to feel in control and successful by “encouraging students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of different forms [which helped] accommodate a variety of learning preferences, [encouraged] creativity, and also [made] assessment and evaluation experiences more personally relevant” (p. 3).

Inquiry Design:

When considering ways to measure observations and successes regarding my inquiry, my end purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of a PHE class based on the number of students engaged in the activity, including some subjective measurement of enjoyment observed. But how do we measure engagement in PHE classrooms? People communicate and show their emotions differently and I anticipate there will be some difficulty observing enjoyment of some students. Lessons should be designed with a key reflective question: In our lesson plan, how will we know students are engaged versus being distracted? Having 100% of the class engaged would be ideal, but I understand there are times where students, adults included, need time to themselves where their concerns are on other outside factors.

Perhaps it is more realistic to say “maximum participation” is expecting more than 90% or 26/28 students of the class engaged while only one-to-two students has an ‘off-day’. In addition, those scenarios should present an opportune teachable moment for the teacher to connect with the disengaged student on a deeper level of understanding and care. Unknown factors that may also count as skewing my field observations may be a student who is actually enjoying the activities but does not show their emotions outwardly.

Below are some considerations for how I might measure achieving maximum participation and enjoyment in PHE settings:

Start the class semester or term by being open and authentic with students to communicate what my goal is, which is to have everyone have a positive and fun experience participating in PHE.
Immediately start creating an inclusive space for students and peers to feel safe to share their thoughts, feelings, and feedback surrounding their emotions and their choices for PHE activities. This can be supported by playing 5-minute mini-games as warm-up activities at the start of each class.
Create comprehensive lesson plans considering a variety of instructional models that focus on my achieving inquiry objective (Metzler, Mike. 2011).
Comments and inferences taken from the Resources and Peer Reviews section can support my lesson plan creation to ensure I cover most ways to engage my class for future observations.
Establishing routines from the beginning. Offer games and challenges for students to feel competent by introducing a criterion-based assessment in the activity that can offer a challenge and ‘bonus’ marks. I would make sure to include an option for helping teammates and they could fill that in (PEProject. 2019).
Personal assessment of the effectiveness of how engaged students are can be evaluated through journaling each class asking “How many students were not engaged with the class today, and why do you think so?”, and “What positive takeaways and learning moments do you have?”. It is best to revisit the assessment routine after two weeks. (Created in original appendix)

Links to Practice:

Building on the inquiry design the following reminders and practices will be implemented at certain moments during each unit or lesson:

First day of class:

Students will be in predetermined groups set by myself. I will implement Social-Emotional learning (SEL) through an inclusive environment by coordinating collaborative team building games for students to get to know each other more. While the students prepare to present to the class, I will ensure our class works together to start building a class contract and behavioural expectations on how we support each other. By addressing respect and understanding for each other, we will build upon further social-emotional learning behaviours through future interactions (demonstrations, skills learning, other presentations).

PHE lessons:

I will be proactive with my lesson plans to ensure all elements and stages of the lessons can create a positive and enjoyable learning experience for the students through implementing a FIDOSPA learning environment (Making Movement Matter, 2013). All lessons created will be approached with the intentions of fun, inclusive environment, developmentally appropriate activities, organized nature, physically and emotionally safe for all, purposeful feedback and activity, and as active as possible.

During PHE lessons:

Each unit during my practicum includes elements of collaborating and working together in teams. I will continue to implement SEL opportunities where I will remind students of the class contract that we create together, which will include aspects of respect, positive communication with each other, and understanding people’s competency levels vary. I also implement student agency strategies by allowing students to choose the intensity and/or format of some activities and games. By doing so, we can help create spaces where students could feel less pressured or intimidated by traditional aspects of a competitive game (ie. collectively score XX of points vs team A vs team B).

Ongoing Assessments:

I will be implementing a system of formative and summative assessments where the formally reported grade partially relies on students’ authentic experience with their PHE content and units. Through their written or expressed reflections, I will be able to understand how they relate the subject matter to both the curriculum core competencies and how it relates to their own lives. The reflections and other forms of assessments are based on my teaching philosophy that PHE is about students learning about multiple outlets of achieving optimal healthy lifestyles; students may not need to like every content but are encouraged to try and see how it could relate to their lifestyles. Read more about my teaching philosophy here.

Future Considerations

A large portion of my inquiry will rely on interpreting the surveys and reflections from my students. I will ensure there is no reflection of their real names, nor announce this surveying as ‘research’. The information and sharing from the students will guide me in my anecdotal reflections regarding my inquiry. This will be the same when having discussions with my school advisor; no real names of my practicum school or my school advisors will be shared in the final presentation.

While there may not be clear and templated approaches as how to illicit all students to participate and be engaged, common elements of teachers abilities to proactively plan, motivate, and connect with students are consistent with many research articles and pedagogical case studies. The field of PHE will become rich with experience as more teachers share their success or learning moments.

Is there really student autonomy if students have to attend class?

Do our links to practice rely on the effectiveness of our tool design, or teacher character?

How do high school PHE experiences affect physical activity participation in adulthood?

How does a positive PHE experience in high school prepare students for lifelong healthy physical and emotional behaviours?

References

Bechter, B. E., Dimmock, J. A., & Jackson, B. (2019). A cluster-randomized controlled trial to
improve student experiences in physical education: Results of a student-centred learning intervention with high school teachers. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 45, 101553. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.101553
http://tinyurl.com/weazv58 or https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029218307453

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and
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https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01.

Goodyear, V., & Dudley, D. (2015). “I’m a facilitator of learning!” understanding what teachers
and students do within student-centered physical education models. Quest, 67(3), 274-289. doi:10.1080/00336297.2015.1051236 http://tinyurl.com/yxyqw84e

Hochanadel, Aaron., & Finamore, Dora. (2015). Fixed and Growth Mindset In Education And How Grit Helps Students Persist In The Face Of Adversity. Journal of International Education Research. 11:1. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1051129.pdf

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1
https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/abs/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1

Metzler, Mike. (2011). Instructional Models: Blueprints for Teaching Physical Education. Georgia State University. Powerpoint. Link accessed through https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/40747/files/5313275?module_item_id=1348695

Mandigo, James, L., & Holt, Nicholas, L. (2002) The Inclusion of Optimal Challenge in Teacher Games for Understanding. Brock University. Department of Physical Education.
https://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~jmandigo/inclusionOC.pdf

NellieMaeEdFdn. (2015, March, 12) Transformation. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6ieXLVCss4

Noddings, N. (2007). Philosophy of Education: Second Edition. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

PHE Canada. (2010). What is the relationship between Physical Education and Physical Literacy?. Physical & Health Education Canada. 1-6. Accessed electronically on 25 November 2019. https://phecanada.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/resources/Physical_Literacy_Brochur e_2010.pdf

Portman, Penelope A. (2003). Are physical education classes encouraging students to be physically active?: Experiences of ninth graders in their last semester of required physical education. The Physical Educator. 60(3), 150. https://js.sagamorepub.com/pe/article/view/3848 2ac83aec128%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1za XRl#AN=507857537&db=eue

The PE Project. (2019).Retrieved from http://www.thepeproject.com/MSE/index.html

Tammelin et al., (2003). Adolescent participation in sports and adult physical activity. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 24(1). 22-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(02)00575-5

Tudor, Kate., Sarkar, Mustafa., Spray, Christopher. (2019). Exploring Common Stressors in Physical Education: A Qualitative Study. European Physical Education Review. 25(3). 675-690. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1177/1356336X18761586
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Warner, B. (2015). An exploration of engagement, motivation and student-centred learning in
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