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To cite this article: Sue Sutherland & Jackie Goodway (2010) The Role of Teacher Work
Samples in Developing Effective and Reflective Physical Education Teachers, Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation & Dance, 81:2, 51-57, DOI: 10.1080/07303084.2010.10598435
Article views: 85
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n the words of a teacher candidate, Teacher Work Sample made me think
The following two articles of my students first, rather than just me and my teaching. It really made me
complete this two-part fea- realize that what I did had a direct impact on what students learned and I
ture. In the January issue, learned a lot about myself as a teacher as a result of it.
after an introduction by For the past eight years, Ohio State University (OSU) has systematically infused
feature editor Phillip Ward, teacher work samples (TWS) into their physical education teacher education (PETE)
Mary Jo Sariscsany discussed undergraduate curriculum in order to develop effective and reflective teachers.
the use of work samples Teacher work samples are made up of five main parts: (1) community mapping,
to develop and assess best (2) unit planning, (3) data collection on goals, (4) data-based reflection, and (5)
practices in physical educa- final reflective essay. The teacher candidates (TCs) are introduced to TWS in the
tion teacher education. Part elementary content course in the fall of their third year. During this course each of
one concluded with Melissa the components of TWS are explained, and the TCs work through a mock example
Parker and Christina Sin- of TWS using a hypothetical set of students to complete the process. The TCs
clair showing how teacher then develop the TWS with real students during both the field-based elementary
work samples have been methods and secondary methods courses. During these three sequential courses, the
used at the University of faculty, university supervisors, and mentor teachers helped to refine the TWS skills
Northern Colorado. Ed. for each TC. The culminating TWS occurs during student teaching. The capstone
experience of student teaching is the development of a complete TWS written prod-
uct and a formal presentation before undergraduate PETE majors, faculty, university
supervisors, and mentor teachers. This article discusses the components of a TWS
and the journey and results of TCs at OSU as they negotiated this process.
Community Mapping
The first step in the TWS journey is to conduct a community mapping to help the
TCs understand the nature of the community in which the school they will work
in is situated and the implications this knowledge might have on the children who
attend that school. This involves looking at factors such as mean family income,
types of housing (rental/owned, apartments/single dwelling), crime rates, educa-
tional backgrounds, employment levels and types, community resources (e.g., parks,
library, YMCA, etc.), and school-community affiliations. In addition, the TCs map
the climate and characteristics of the school by looking at school proficiency-test
data, and they interview the principal, classroom teachers, and physical education
teacher to gain a better understanding of their perspectives.
In her community-mapping experience, one TC, Sue, found out that the com-
munity in which the school was situated had a high crime rate; predominantly
rental properties, many of which were run down and did not have yards; and no
Later on during the student teaching placement, when Sue Data Collection and Data Reflection
noticed how delayed the motor skills of the children were, The third and fourth steps in the TWS process at OSU are data
she made the connection between their home environment collection and reflection. The task for the TCs in this section
and their performance in the gymnasium: is to document that when they teach, students learn. The
In the beginning I never really understood the point of com- focus in this part of the TWS is on student performance data
munity mapping; it seemed so pointless. But I get it now. (i.e., documenting student learning), on the TCs ability to
So much of what I learned about them in the community interpret and reflect on their pedagogical accomplishments
mapping influenced the opportunities they had, the skills in fostering student learning, and on reflecting and describ-
they brought to the gymnasium, and the way I needed to ing how this information informs future practice. During the
work with them. unit of instruction, the TC formally assesses five instructional
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By the end of the student-teaching experience, Sue began goals: two motor, one cognitive, one affective, and one physi-
to adopt a social justice approach to her teaching, becom- cal activity. The TCs determine the assessment strategy and
ing indignant that there were such inequities between these when assessments will occur for each goal during the unit-
urban children and their suburban counterparts. She said, planning process. Once student assessment data are collected,
the TCs present a chart (often a bar graph) summarizing the
Im amazed at how resilient these kids are; they have nothing
learning data for (1) the average of the overall class, (2) a
but are so enthusiastic. We need to provide safe places for
high-performing student, and (3) a low-performing student.
urban children to play and be active. They deserve the same
The purpose of looking at the high- and low-performing stu-
opportunities as any other child.
dents is to examine the boundaries of instructional learning
Sues experiences are typical. The community-mapping and whether instruction brought about learning for each of
piece of the TWS secures its value for TCs toward the end these students, regardless of their performance level. Follow-
of their student-teaching experience. In the beginning, TCs ing the presentation of data, the TCs analyze and reflect on
often question the relevance of learning this information. these data relative to their pedagogical instructional choices
Even when the instructors point out the value of knowing and the impact on student learning. The next two sections
this information, they still do not make the connection to will elaborate on this step of the TWS process, highlighting
their instruction. It is not until they have experienced life examples of motor and affective goals.
as a teacher at the school that the pieces of the community
mapping drop into place and become culturally relevant Pedagogical Reflection on Motor Goals
and meaningful. At the end of student teaching, TCs often The motor goals that TCs select vary greatly depending on the
refer to their community-mapping data in their final reflec- nature of the unit of instruction and the grade levels taught.
tive essay and TWS presentation, making the connection Almost all TCs select an isolated skill as one of their goals;
between the outcomes of their unit, their instruction, and however, in team sports, they are also encouraged to write
the lives of the children. motor goals that focus on tactics, such as moving to an open
space in soccer. The writing of a precise, measurable unit goal
Unit Plan Development is usually challenging for TCs. In the beginning of the unit-
The second step in a TWS is unit planning. At OSU, unit planning process, the TCs tend to develop motor goals that
planning consists of (1) a rationale for the unit (why this are imprecise and unmeasurable, such as The student will
unit and why at this time of year); (2) a behavior manage- be able to perform a handstand with good form. However,
ment plan; (3) unit goals (motor, physical activity, cognitive, as they develop the assessment plan for the unit, the TCs
affective); (4) alignment of unit goals to district, state, and realize that they need to specify parts of the goal like good
national standards; (5) task analysis (developing a series of form and be more specific about the conditions under which
tasks, from easy to hard, to be used in the unit); (6) a block the skills are to be performed. As they get further into the
plan; and (7) an assessment plan (specific ways in which unit-planning process, the TCs become more critical of the
unit goals will be evaluated). Although this article does not way they have written their goals. Aha moments happen
have the room to elaborate on this aspect of TWS (for more when TCs figure out that the unit goal they had written
details, visit http://ehe.osu.edu/paes/physical-education/ was poorly constructed, and allowing the TCs to experience
pete/joperd/), it is worth emphasizing the cyclical nature of these moments is more powerful than just fixing the goal
the unit-planning process for steps three through seven. The initially. At this assessment phase of the TWS process, almost
met his overall class goal for the unit, it is not necessarily meaningful for
which was to use four of five critical
instructional effectiveness. the students or the TCs. Often the
elements in a wrist pass: students tap out as they leave the
gymnasium with little accountabil-
I did a good job of explaining the critical elements to the class
and why good technique is important. I also had posters of
ity, or they complete an assessment sheet by checking the
critical elements up around the gym, and all of my feedback level or medal that they feel their behavior reflected. However
reinforced the critical elements I had chosen. I positively pin- when analyzing the data, the TCs realize that this method
pointed students doing some of the harder critical elements provides limited data on the students personal and social
and used these children as peer demonstrators. The constant behaviors and does not allow for critical reflection on how
use of self and peer task sheets helped students know what instruction influenced their behavior.
they were doing well and what needed work. As the TCs progress through the PETE program, their un-
The TC pointed out that the high-performing student derstanding of how to set and assess affective goals becomes
met the goal: more sophisticated. However, to get them to this point it
usually takes the intervention of the faculty, university super-
It came pretty easy to the HP [high-performing student], he visors, and mentor teachers to challenge the TCs thinking in
saw me explain and demonstrate the wrist pass and tried it a
this area. Although the tap-out system is still popular during
few times, then quickly mastered the critical elements. It was
student teaching, TCs begin to add greater accountability
great having this HP as a resource, as I could call on him to
that requires students to think more critically about their
provide individual demonstrations to other students and he
could peer coach them. The HP student soon got others to his engagement and behaviors during the lesson. The account-
level and I was able to extend drills using the wrist pass to keep ability varies among TCs, but includes the following: (1)
challenging him. The assessment data does not really show an individual and a group or peer assessment, (2) different
how well the HP did in applying this skill into more complex components that differentiate behavior (cooperation, respect,
drills; I have to find a way to do that next time. care, etc.) and students awarding themselves a level or medal,
and (3) a rationale (written or verbal) provided by students
In contrast the low-performing student did not meet the
for their choice of level or medal.
goal (only 3 critical elements):
In addition, toward the end of the PETE program, fair-play
It was so hard for the LP [low-performing] student in the contracts (both individual and team) and full-value contracts
beginning; he got stuck for a while only showing 1 critical are frequently used by TCs to assess the affective goals of the
element. I had to make the tasks easier to allow him to focus
unit. The increased level of accountability and depth to the
on the technique. Even though the LP did not meet my unit
data allowed one TC to reflect on how her pedagogy affected
goal, a huge amount of learning occurred for this student.
the students in her classes:
Working with one of the HP students was really powerful and
motivating for this child. One thing I really learned from this I had never really thought about how my instruction might
situation was that I am not the only source of information in be perceived differently by different level performers. It was
the gym; I think that this LP student learned way more from eye-opening to see the differences between the high and low
his peer than he ever would have from me. In the future I performer. I need to focus more on low performers.
intend to tap the many resources in my gym [the children]
more thoroughly to impact learning for all. Continues on page 57
Sutherland, S., & Goodway, J. D. (2010). The role of teacher work reflective essay:
samples in developing effective and reflective physical education
One of the things I finally learned is that a teacher is never
teachers. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81(2), done adapting her planning. Every day she must reflect on
51-53, 57. what she taught and how that changes the next lesson and
Hacker, P. (2006). Selection of assessments for the NASPE/NCATE the rest of the unit. Even when she walks on the gym floor
program report. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, she must adapt to the students and how they respond. I wish
77(2), 25-31. I had learned this important lesson earlier. It would have been
Lund, J. (2006). Creating rubrics for NCATE reports. Journal of Physical a lot less frustrating for me.
Education, Recreation & Dance, 77(3), 13-17.
The developmental approach that OSU has taken to imple-
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2006). Pro-link:
menting and refining the TWS over three courses, culminat-
Developing assessments and rubrics for NASPE/NCATE program reports.
ing with a final TWS in student teaching, provides the TCs
Reston, VA: Author.
with support and guidance to shift their focus from concern
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2008). National initial
about their own teaching to how their teaching affects their
physical education teacher education standards. Reston, VA: Author.
students. Although this developmental process is not always
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. (2008). Profes-
easy, the growth seen in the TCs makes all the time, effort,
sional standards for the accreditation of teacher preparation institutions.
and hard work worthwhile. As the TCs go through the TWS
Washington, DC: Author.
process, they shift from initial resistance to the process to
Parker M., & Sinclair, C. (2010). Making teacher work samples work at
reflecting on their growth in their instructional effectiveness.
the University of Northern Colorado. Journal of Physical Education,
The TWS process is a valuable tool in helping teachers become
Recreation & Dance, 81(1), 36-38.
more reflective. Perhaps the most resounding testimony for
the utility of TWS has come from long-time mentor teachers.
Kevin Lorson (kevin.lorson@wright.edu) is an assistant professor in Chris stated, It makes them focus on children rather than
the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at themselves. I was amazed how quickly they were able to focus
Wright State University, in Dayton, OH 45435. on how their teaching influenced student learning. It was
great. Jane felt that, although the process was challenging
Continued from page 53 This was painful for all of us at times. But they got it, really
got the fact that a broad range of tasks had to be presented
In spite of the difficulties the TCs encounter in this as-
in order to meet the needs of all students. If they had not
pect of the TWS process, it is evident that they gain better
been focusing on low and high performers, I dont think they
appreciation of how an understanding of student behaviors would have gotten this.
influences their teaching. During the secondary methods
course one TC stated, Keeping track of the affective data
really helped me think about how students were behaving Sue Sutherland (ssutherland@ehe.ohio-state.edu) is an assistant
and what parts of my instruction were causing good behaviors professor of physical education and Jackie Goodway (jgoodway-
or misbehaviors. The same TC summed up the feelings of shiebler@ehe.ohio-state.edu) is an associate professor of physical
many of his peers when he said, If this assignment hadnt education in the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services
forced me to track this, I am not sure how much I would at Ohio State University, in Columbus, OH 43210.