the teacher-as-researcher and the future survival of physical education

The teacher-as-researcher: the future survival of physical education

Dr Ashley CaseyUniversity of Bedfordshire

We are facing

EXTINCTION

“Nothing short of major

reconceptualisation of physical

education is required

- Larry Locke”

Physical educationalist persistently teach the same introductory units of work regardless of the age and past experiences of the students.

- Daryl Siedentop

There is little vertical progression in the development of techniques [in physical education]

- David Kirk

“physical education makes both enemies and

friends of young people.”

- Richard Tinning

“too often adults have to

recover from experiences as

adolescents in physical

education” - Larry Locke

Schools of the industrial age

Foucault, 1977

‘rank’ defines the distribution of individuals in the educational order.

before Physical Education the term was ‘physical training’, which in turn was preceded by an activity known as ‘drill’.

- Moving and Growing (1952)

Resistance to the overt influence of militarism.

- David Kirk

physical-education-

as-gymnastics

Teaching is a Step-by-Step process

physical-education-

as-sports

-

technique

This has created a

‘Nike’ school of teaching

Just do it- Stephen

Brookfield

David Kirk offered 3 futures

More of the same

Radical Reform

extinction

More of the same

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

- Albert Einstein

It has been repeatedly reported that physical education is failing its students and the adults that they become.

extinction

A recent paper in a medical journal suggested that doctors replace teachers and force students to engage in 20 minutes of exercise a day.

Generation XL

Is this whatPhysical education should be?

More Nintendo Wii

sold than there are people in

TurkeyWii Turkey

01020304050607080

75 M72 M

Is this the Future of Physical Education?

Radical Reform

This change can be teacher-centred or agenda centred

Either we, as teachers of physical education, play a role in change or the change will be made for us

Plan for the future

Schools, unlike crocodiles, *must evolve

*120 Million Years

Need a CHANGE of

Direction

It is impossible to see how there can be an adequate flow of subject-matter to set and control the problems investigators deal with, unless there is active participation on the part of those directly engaged in teaching.

- John Dewey

Take stock

“rapid socialisation into a redundant occupational culture and the obsolete practices it sustains”

- John Elliott

infallible expert model

- John Elliott

TeacherTells

StudentListens

“We are powerful and natural explorers and this never leaves us.”

- John Medina

Change the position of the teacher-as-instructor

Position the teacher-as-researcher and therefore as a listener

StudentTells

TeacherListens

“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.”

- Issac Asimov

An Example of Practitioner Research in

Physical Education

Teacher-as-

researcher

Aims of Practitioner Research

Alternative futures

Who can be a Teacher-as-Researcher?

Me

ellenmac11’s Flickr photostream

Teacher

1996-2009

TeacherTeacher Educator2009-Present

Student2002-2010

Master’s

PhD

AuthorAuthor

CLSE

TGfUAR CPD

Reflective Practitioner

Journal Writer

BLOGGER

www.peprn.com

53

Twee

ter

@DrAshCasey

55

What is

teacher-as-

Researcher?

“a creative and autonomous individual within a broader community of teacher-scholars working in the classroom as a living laboratory and striving for continuing development through thoughtful experimentation.”

- Lawrence Stenhouse

the practitioner takes on the role of researcher

”In order to understand

and improve practice it

needs be understood

within the context of daily

work

We learn because we do and subsequently undergo the consequences of our doing. - Biesta (2007)

“The idea is that of an educational science in which every classroom is a laboratory, each teacher a member of the scientific community.” - Lawrence Stenhouse

“Research functions not as a distraction from practice but as a development of it.”

- Donald Schon

Reflective Practitioner

1st Place - Best

Teacher

Not because they say they are

Practitioner Research in

Physical Education

Teacher-as-

researcher


Alternative futures

The aim is to do something and then test the outcomes

teachers set their own starting point and yet have no notion of their potential destination

- Meyer, Hamilton, Kroeger, Stewart & Brydon-Miller (2004)

The ambiguity of the finishing point in practitioner research is a key facet of the approach.

No hypothesis to prove

Practitioner (or Action) Research

Adapted from Lewin 1946

Overall Plan


First Step


Evaluate the action


Gather new insights


Plan the next step


Modify the overall Plan

Cycles within cycles

An Example of Practitioner Research in

Physical Education

Teacher-as-

researcher


Alternative futures

action research allowed me to change

Adapted from Kemmis(2009)

my practice my understanding of my practices

the conditions in which I practised

Example

Focused on pupil understanding of athletics, not simply their levels of performance.

How did I teach differently?

Enduring teams Lots of work

before and after lessons

Increased teacher movement

targeted use of voice

Responded to student needs

Facilitated not directed learning

MediatedStudent-Learning Teams

Sought answers rather than giving them

Unit of Work

Jumping

How do I jump further?

Students develop key learning points

Throwing

Similarities between pushing,

pulling etc


Running Fast

What is the pattern of my running over 6

seconds?


Running Long

Using different stride lengths


Examples of Learning Cues

Drive knee up Throw hands

back on landing

Hang in the air

Weight forwards on landing

Look UpSprint through the board

Jump up11 pace run up

Don’t look at the board on take off

Results

Participant

LearningProgression

& Motivation

Student-

centred

Unfamiliar

Obstacles

Changing

Role

Participant Learning

Learning was academic and social


Kevin said:

Because I go to a different athletics club I use what we’ve learned in lessons in training so that I can build on what we did in school and put it into practice.


Remi believed that:

We’ve been pushing each other to do better… we played an important part in each other’s learning.


I felt that:

Students learnt how to get the most out of a cooperative learning pedagogy


Progression& Motivation

Alan Said

I was pretty surprised that we hadn’t done the same things again, normally it happens all the time but we didn’t do it, which kinda helped a bit because it feels like you’re being treated like a baby when you go over the same thing about 50 times.


Max thought

you’d think we’d forgot it but we haven’t.


Gary believed that:

Instead of just thinking “oh I can’t be very good at that”, I don’t want to do that, I actually tried a bit and found I was good at certain things like distance.


I said

Students felt better about themselves which had a positive effect on their involvement in the lessons.


STUDENT-CENTRED

‘Carlos’ wrote

With this way of teaching, I think Ashley had built an appropriate learning environment and a positive climate for all kinds of students from low to higher abilities to explore.

STUDENT-CENTRED

Chris said

We worked in our own groups when there wasn’t a teacher there at some times, and that we sort of taught ourselves instead of them teaching us directly.

STUDENT-CENTRED

I belived that the students had

Transferred their learning skills, in terms of vocabulary and understanding of how to act and react in a student-centred pedagogy

STUDENT-CENTRED

UNFAMILIAR OBSTACLES

My familiarity with CL

Helped me to overcome my unfamiliarity with my changing role and become a positive, interdependent and social learner


I believed that

I put myself, and my pedagogy, in serious risk of failure.


Change did not occur easily


My aspirations as a teacher didn’t match the reality I witnessed in my classrooms.


CHANGING ROLES

Stuart felt

Mr Casey just keeps a general eye on everything to make sure nobody’s messing about, or help everyone if they don’t know what they’re doing.

CHANGING ROLES

David said (about me)

He acted like a supervisor, like he went round all the groups if we were struggling, but he left us to do it on our own so if we got stuck we could ask for help.

CHANGING ROLES

I firmly believed:

The use of both action research and cooperative learning allowed me to mature beyond the basic process of ‘use’ and begin to establish my pedagogy as being motivational, progressional and student-centred.

CHANGING ROLES

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSIONS

Action research supported my use of cooperative learning.

“innocence in teaching meant that, as teachers, we believed that we knew what we are doing and how we were affecting our pupils”

- Stephen Brookfield

“action research has begun to

emerge as one strategy for

improving teaching and

learning in physical education”

- David Kirk

“The difference between what teachers feel that they could achieve and what they actually ‘pull off’”

- Hal Lawson

Practitioner Research in

Physical Education

Teacher-as-

researcher


Alternative futures

it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.

- Charles Darwin

We need to change

Direction

We are born inquisitive

“Where teachers are able to reflect, access new ideas, experiment and share experiences within school cultures and where leaders encourage appropriate levels of challenge and support, there is greater potential for school and classroom improvement

- Muijs and Lindsay (2008)”

We can experiment and enhance student learning

teacher-as-researcher

We just need to listen...

Good Luck

Photograph Credits1. Image from iStockphoto2. “Fossil 2” by BTK on Stock.xchng 3. Image from iStockphoto4. Image from iStockphoto8. Image from iStockphoto9. “Ladle in the pit” from losthalo's Flickr photostream10. “Paper” from iStockphoto11. “Wellington Physical Training School Men doing stretches 1898” by National Library NZ on Flickr12. “Physical education class at Nelson College for Girls” by National Library NZ on Flickr13. “TV” by Lilie on Stock.xchng13. “Gymnastics” from Flickr14. Image from iStockphoto15. “TV” by Lilie on Stock.xchng15. “Old Libyan Sport” by azooo on Flickr16. “Nike” by CaglarCity on Flickr17. Image from iStockphoto18. Image from iStockphoto

Photograph Credits19. “Albert Einstein and Others” from Smithsonian Institution on Flickr21. “Fossil 2” by BTK on Stock.xchng 22. “Medical doctor” by Kurhan on stock.xchng23. “Obesity Illustration” by combined media flickr24. Image from iStockphoto25. Image from iStockphoto27. Image from iStockphoto27. “Keaton on the Wii Fit” from Bradjward's Flickr photostream28. Image from iStockphoto29. Grand National Assembly of Turkey image from Google Images30. Image from iStockphoto31. “pregnancy” by Memoossa on Stock.xchng32. “Beneath You” by sveres on Stock.xchng33. “Traffic Sign 39” by Sundstrom on Stock.xchng34. Image from iStockphoto35. Image from iStockphoto36. “Vintage People on a cruise ship” by dyet on Stock.xchng

Photograph Credits37. Image from iStockphoto38. Image from iStockphoto39. “Photo Frame 8” by ba1969 on Stock.xchng40. Image from iStockphoto41. Image from iStockphoto42. Image from iStockphoto43. “Studying for a test” by hvaldez1 on stockxchng44. Image from iStockphoto44. “Sexy Bow” by g-point on Stock.xchng44. Image from iStockphoto44. “Fossil 2” by BTK on Stock.xchng 46. “The Coach” from ellenmac11’s Flickr photostream49. “Flicking Pages” by tomdavies on Stock.xchng50. Image from iStockphoto51. “Thematic Journal” from NG71’s Flickr photostream57. Image from iStockphoto58. “The teacher” by Prozac74 on Flickr

Photograph Credits60. “Photo Frame 8” by ba1969 on Stock.xchng60. “Running on empty” by 28Photos on Flickr61. “Lab” by clix on stock.xchng63. “Rodin's Thinking Man” by tegebug on Flickr64. “Blue Ribbon” by ba1969 on flickr65. Image from iStockphoto66. “Excellent” by kikashi on flickr67 . “Sexy Bow” by g-point on Stock.xchng68. “Target” by 7rains on flickr70. “Chequered Flag” by tharrin on flickr71. “?!” by dhiegaum on Stock.xchng72. Image from iStockphoto81. Image from iStockphoto82. Image from iStockphoto84. Image from iStockphoto89. Image from iStockphoto90. Image from iStockphoto

Photograph Credits116. Image from iStockphoto117. Image from iStockphoto118. Image from iStockphoto119. “Fossil 2” by BTK on Stock.xchng 120. “Charles Darwin” by Colin Purrington’s Flickr photostream121. “Traffic Sign 39” by Sundstrom on Stock.xchng122. Image from iStockphoto125. Image from iStockphoto126. Image from iStockphoto127. Image from iStockphoto

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