The title of my inquiry is T.E.A.L., an acronym for Technology Enhancing Assessment List. My plan is to explore different technologies and describe their relationship to the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains of Physical and Health Education (PHE) assessment.

Last week I felt like I was off and running. This week I’m flying! I’m immersed and excited and always thinking of ways to improve my inquiry. I sat down with more teachers at Reynolds Secondary to talk about how they use technology in different ways, especially in regards to assessment. An unintended consequence of these interviews is that I’ve been inspiring teachers to reach out of their comfort zones to integrate more tech in their classrooms. J.J. Atterbury* is a PHE teacher at Reynolds who shared some great ideas with me, and he’s excited to integrate some of the ideas I have already cultivated into his own practice. My interviewees and I enjoy sharing ideas back and forth, and this has been great practice for collaborating professionally when I become a teacher.

Stelly’s Secondary was closed due to an ongoing work stoppage, but my mentor teachers met me on University turf this week to run our weekly seminar, which seemed to speak directly to me and my inquiry. We spoke about two dynamite apps that I’m excited to try. Both Plickers and ZipGrade are both applications to assist in assessment. What excited me most about these two apps is that they garner good student engagement, a cornerstone of my rationale for this inquiry. I strongly correlate student engagement and motivation with effort and participation in a PHE environment. The link between disengagement and dropping out of secondary PHE has been well documented (Azzarito, Solmon, & Harrison, 2006; Biddle et al. 2005; Camacho-Minano, LaVoi, & Barr-Anderson, 2011), especially among female students. I think using different types of technology in PHE will enhance students engagement and motivation.

 

*J.J. Atterbury helps run the CSE (Center for Soccer Excellence) academy at Reynolds Secondary, and his name is used with permission

References

Azzarito, L, Solmon, M.A., & Harrison, L.J. (2006). “…If I had a choice, I would…” a feminist poststructural perspective on girls in physical education. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 77(2), 222–239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2006.10599356

Biddle, S. J. H., Whitehead, S.H., O’Donovan, T.M., and Nevill, M.E. (2005). Correlates of participation in physical activity for adolescent girls: A systematic literature review and update.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2(4), 423–434. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1123/jpah.2.4.423

Camacho-Minano, M.J., LaVoi, N.M., & Barr-Anderson, D.J. (2011). Interventions to promote physical activity among young and adolescent girls: a systematic review. Health Education Research, 26(2), 1025–1049. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/her/cyr040