Danielle Dummel EPS 541 May 1, 2013 Formative Assessment Paper Learning Progression in Physical Education Physical Education

uses a wide range of assessment techniques to determine a students learning. Physical Education assesses not only physical abilities, but cognitive and affective domains of learning as well. The unit that I chose to dive deeper into was the throwing unit. Throwing is a skill that can be used for a lifetime, as it is seen in various activities and sports. As noted in one of our course readings, Learning Progressions: Supporting Instruction and Formative Assessment, by Margaret Heritage, learning progressions help teachers determine the goals and planning steps for what is to come. Teachers must use learning progressions to determine what appropriate next steps should follow in order for students to be successful. The learning progression below is for K-2 students learning the overhand throw:
Learning Progression in My Topic Area Is about.. Skill development for Throwing

Novice: Aim Dominance Body Positioning Throwing on cue

Practitioner: Aim Dominance Body Positioning Partial coordination of eye, hand, & body Essential DETAILS

Independent/Expert: Aim Dominance Body Positioning Fully coordinated throwing

Essential DETAILS

Essential DETAILS

1. Students can repeat throwing cues "ready, aim, throw" 2. Perform basic throwing movements 3. Student can throw near a target. 4. Students can use basic techniques when performing a throw.

1. Student understand and perform basic techniques to throw including turning sideways toward target.

1. Student throws toward target with opposition.

2. Student throws with dominant hand 2. while pointing toward target with nonStudents understand to throw with dominant hand to support accurate dominant hand. throw. 3. Student can comfortably throw while stepping towards target. 3. Student can comfortably step with opposition toward target during overhand throw.

4. 4. Students can perform consecutive Students can successfully throw a ball throws toward target. to a target with accuracy on consecutive tries.

So what? What is important to understand about this? This progression is based on a K 2nd grade skill set. It is important o understand the progression of the skill to determine where students need work. Student first must understand the basic skill components before becoming more advanced as a thrower.

Formative Assessment Tool As I mentioned previously, some of the most important skills to be assessed in Physical Education are the physical skills. It is extremely important as a Physical Educator to assess students with as much objectivity as possible. Designing formative assessments that meet this goal is essential. I have created a sample assessment below to help give this concept a visual. Physical skills are easily assessed through performance observations. A great way to allow for really detailed formative assessments include video taping the performance, so it can be reviewed more than once, to allow for objective grading.

Behavior

Check If Observed

Comments

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Non-throwing side to Target ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Throwing hand starts behind ear _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Steps toward target with opposite foot _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Elbow leads hand forward _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Forearm extension prior to release _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Release point just past the head _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Follow-through toward target

This type of checklist allows for the most objective view of how a student is performing. It is important to note that K-2 students may have a simplified version of the above checklist, depending on their developmental age. It is easy to use because it allows you to see what areas individual students need work. For example, if you check the first 3 behaviors, you would note that the student is struggling during the second phase of the throw. This allows me to reflect and determine my next steps to help the student progress further.

The assessment allows for easy monitoring even with a diverse group of students. If need be, you could differentiate the size or weight of the throwing object to meet particular students needs and it still would not alter the overall goal overhand throwing. The evidence of the learning progression can be seen throughout the checklist because each behavior is embedded from the basic progression of the overhand throw. The instructional model used can play a role in how effective the assessment has been. Linking the Physical Education standards to the assessment is key in making an effective assessment. As noted in The Instructional Models for Physical Education, assessment in P.E. is done for a few important reasons: to show progress within a given amount of time, to evaluate the quality of the learning, and to make decisions on instruction in the future. Keeping this in mind, along with learning progressions, can really help a good teacher develop a solid curriculum. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education website provides great insight into the importance of assessment in Physical Education. The greatest thing that NASPE emphasizes is that the assessments must be valid and reliable. Students come from a variety of backgrounds in skills and knowledge. Formative assessments give students and teachers an opportunity to see growth. Patterns of Performance Student performance patterns are shown in variety, because my students all come from different backgrounds. Physical Education is similar to general education and academics in that sense, because you really have such a diverse group with varying knowledge and skills. One of the biggest problems we see in students

who are just beginning the overhand throw is in the second phase of the throw, where you are stepping toward target with opposition. I was able to collect data by simply reviewing the checklist assessment to determine where most of my students had fallen within the learning progression. Many students are seen stepping with the same foot instead of the opposite. Students would still be in the novice stage because they have not yet mastered the basics of the overhand throw. Students often understood the AIM portion of the throw, but struggled when asked to step toward the target, using opposition. Instead, they used mainly upper body movements. These patterns relate to the progression because you can clearly see that students are falling within a certain stage of the learning progression, in this case, mainly novice/beginners. Informing Instruction After reviewing the data from the checklist assessments, it is easy to use the learning progression to determine the next steps. It is important to evaluate where the student is so that I can plan my feedback accordingly. Students in the novice stage need more assistance with opposition whereas students in the practitioner stage need more assistance with the coordination of the throw. It would be easiest to differentiate instruction by doing station work. That is essentially creating small groups where various stations provide specific work. For example, one station might be a focus on hitting the square target on the wall, while another station might be without any manipulative at all where students practice form only. Each step in the learning progression goes hand in hand, but students

must start with step one. Thus, students in the novice stage need more practice with form, while others need more specific help. Assessment is so important in Physical Education, specifically because of the stigma that is held within Physical Education. As noted in the Physical Education for Lifelong Fitness, Authentic Assessments in Physical Education allow for objective grading based on improvement and progress, which ties directly to learning progressions. Not only do authentic assessments correlate to the real world, but they give students an opportunity to apply real life skills.

References

Heritage, M. (2008). Learning progressions: Supporting instruction and formative assessment. Council of Chief State School Officers, Metzler, M. (2005). Instructional models for physical education. (2nd ed.). Scottsdale, Arizona: Holcomb Hathaway. (2005). Physical education for lifelong fitness. (2nd ed., p. 199). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. National association for sport and physical education. (2013, May 1). Retrieved from http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/