KSP 643 – Inquiry Lesson Project Scott Tiedens
My district has invested considerable time in vertical teaming amongst disciplines and we had a PE meeting about the time that this class started. Currently, the different levels of PE in our district are not at all united as to the direction that our program must be going. There are those of us who are progressive thinking and there are a number of folks resistant to any change. Assessment seemed to be a sticking point at the aforementioned meeting. I left that meeting very frustrated and decided to take a more active role in educating myself and trying to find a way to make some progress toward improving our assessment.
Focus of the Investigation
The focus of the investigation was narrowed quite quickly in the process. In our district, the elementary levels and the middle school levels were lacking in objective assessment of their students. There were many excuses or justifications made but they were not very willing to make changes. I needed to convince them that there are other and better ways to assess students and I chose to focus on the elementary level. I have taught at all levels in the district and I felt that this effort would be more productive if I focused on the elementary level. I had better relationships with a couple of those folks.
Questioning
Questioning was both directed toward actual assessment protocols and also personal attitudes and group dynamics. Who are the experts? Which of our teachers are on board? Will our administration back the changes? Can assessments be done efficiently with our schedules? Not all Elementary schools are on the same class rotation, how does that affect the process? Where do we go to get practical information? The early steps generated more questions and I gradually was able to answer those and focus on collecting actual assessment samples and share these with the team.
Information Gathering
Information was gathered primarily through networking and searching the internet. This was done both individually by me and collaboratively with the help of Steve Hack, administrators at multiple buildings and contacting other professionals.
Information Evaluation and Analyzed
The primary litmus test was; was the assessment already being used by a teacher/school and did it align with our district standards and benchmarks. A secondary consideration was the practicality of being modified to meet our teacher’s schedules, how many minutes and how often they see their students. Only information from credible professional sources was used.
Variety of Information Types
Information was gathered electronically and via personal discussions. The sources of information included; professional organizations, other districts, and professional publications.
Synthesis of Information and Organization of Finding
Personal communication and discussions were added to the blog for review and collaborative discussions. File and electronic data / templates were disseminated through the PE department Wiki. Templates and ideas were shared with department members at our last vertical team meeting in February.
Shakopee Physical Education Department Wiki Assessment Page
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Scott,
ReplyDeleteYour inquiry and final product are obviously the result of a great deal of work, thought, reflection, and effort. In reading through the emails, discussions, and posts of your blog I got to thinking about how I was "assessed" back in my PE days. I can recall attendance and "proper attire" (PE uniform we were all required to purchase and wear) as being two major components of our grading. The other thing we would do is have written or multiple choice tests on the rules of the sport we engaged in (volleyball, kickball, etc). After that it was just about playing the game and hopefully improving. I never really felt it was our PE teacher's job to have us improve that much over the course of the semester. I thought the basketball and baseball coach might have that responsibility. But for the PE coach, it was more about introducing us to sports, teaching basic skills and basically keeping us active. We sat the rest of the day right?
I wonder how you assessment issues will turn out? Doesn't sound like there are many easy answers any which way. Good luck with the process. Your blog should be help educate and inform and hopefully enough of you can change attitudes as well.