Using Augmented Reality to Create Cognitive Assessments in #PhysEd
Augmented reality is a great tool for education, and it is so simple to use. All that is needed is a mobile device and a target for students to scan. For more on the basics of augmented reality see Creating Augmented Reality Fitness Task Cards, Using Augmented Reality to Increase Physical Activity Outside of School, and Augmented Reality: Building Resources and Student Independence in Physical Education. The latest way I’m using augmented reality within my class is as a tool to assess students’ cognitive understanding of learning outcomes. Read More
Teacher Evaluation reform: Why the #PhysEd profession needs to pay attention
Authors note: The context of this post is written in response to United States educator evaluation reform and the state of Oregon. Specifically, requirements imposed by the U.S. Department of Education for the majority of educator evaluation to be based on student learning and growth (SLG) as per requirements for states to keep ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) flexibility waivers from some of the stricter provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. I have no knowledge of teacher evaluation reforms that are taking place outside of this context so this post may not be entirely relevant for everyone.
This week I had the opportunity to attend the Summer Assessment Institute in Eugene, Oregon with the curriculum team in my district. While spending three days talking about data, numbers, metrics, and assessment may not seem like everyone’s favorite way to spend three days, there are some very important lessons to pay attention to as physical education teachers who are part of the #PhysEd profession. The last session I attended (which actually will play pretty heavily with my new position) talked about the new student learning and growth goals that educators must write and be held accountable for as part of their evaluations. My intent is not to describe the details of them, but rather inform you of one very important take away and it is this:
Federal and state requirements MANDATE that student learning and growth MUST be included as a significant factor of educators’ summative performance evaluations.
Let that sink in for a minute…
Analyzing Student Behavior
It’s human nature to quickly blame an external source when something goes awry within your class as a teacher. I often catch myself wondering why students are not listening to me as opposed to what I can do as a teacher to change this. Students’ behaviors in class can be seen as an indication of whether or not the lesson being taught is engaging and developmentally appropriate. For the fifth installment of my systematic observation series on PHYSEDagogy I will be discussing using event recording to analyze behaviors exhibited by students.
PHYSEDAGOGY 