Welcome to this month's secondary section. As this month's issue of pelinks4u is dedicated to celebrating National Physical Education and Sports, I've focused the majority of my section on issues and ideas that get at the heart of these concepts.

In the first section, I evaluate the "team vs. self" dynamic, as it relates to teaching physical education and the character development of students. I've also included a link to Adam Curtis's ground-breaking, four-part documentary Century of the Self.

In the next section, I propose a method for combating the stigma against observed assessment as a means of grading students. Using a system based on objective data, I've created a system for effectively evaluating/grading students on their teamwork abilities. Although this idea may seem somewhat controversial, I encourage you to give it a read, and to think of how you might incorporate similar ideas into your curriculum. A number of links on teamwork, including assessment alternatives and rubrics, have also been included at the end of this section.

The next section reviews two articles about accountability and physical education: "Creating an Effective Accountability Plan in Physical Education" by Alisa James and "Assessment Benefits and Barriers: What Are You Committed To?" by Anne Marie Gallo, Deborah Sheehy, Kevin Patton, and Linda Griffin.

In my final section, I pay tribute to my father, a man who, until his recent death at the age of 79, put everything he had into promoting physical education and fitness.

David Rojeck
Secondary Section Editor

I don't know about you, but as a physical education teacher I constantly struggle in the "team" vs. "self" realm. To simultaneously encourage the development of both would be ideal, but rather consistently the "team" and the "self" come into conflict.

For example, every PE teacher has most likely encountered the reluctant group-activity participant, that individual who lacks enthusiasm about being part of a team effort, despite the fact that his/her teammates are relying on them to complete the activity. To avoid participating, these students produce perfunctory excuse notes, signed by a parent too caught up in the morning rush to realize they are enabling their child's unhealthy behavior.

It's not only the child who suffers, however. The rest of the class and/or team also misses out because their teammate, who was capable of participating that day, decided to take a pass. The allure and motivation of grading is not important to this student. As teachers, we don't dare persuade the student to participate, because the "excuse note" has been signed by the parent. In our heart of hearts, however, we know the student was able to participate, but just didn't feel like it. The "team" loses to the "self" again.

Some consider the 20th century as the "century of self." I invite you to watch Adam Curtis's documentary by the same name: The Century Of The Self - Part 1 of 4 - By Adam Curtis.

To counteract this negative trend, the scales need to be tipped more in favor of the needs of the team or community, rather than the needs of the self. Thriving communities, in order to sustain and grow, care deeply about the development of the individual, because this is directly related to the overall strength of the community. This is not only about addressing the relationship between the "self" and community, it is about a real paradigm shift in the ways schools are conducted. As physical education professionals, we need to be at the forefront of this movement, leading the charge for change. We know the importance of teamwork and making sacrifices for the team.

How many of us, as physical educators, are shown disdain from our administrations and fellow teaching staff if a large share of our student assessments are in the form of observation, versus objective data? When parents question the grades earned by their children, they often seek evidence of the assessment process. My answers consistently focus on the fact that their children simply did not try very hard over the course of the class, and that their efforts need to be improved in order to receive better grades.

For the sake of accountability, however, we must often implement objective measures to validate our assessments. I believe teamwork is very important. This past quarter, I devised a simple system with which to objectively observe teamwork.

On the average of twice a week, on a four-day week of physical education classes with our middle school students, we practice team sports. We do not have a gymnasium at our school, but we do have a field, volleyball courts, and a basketball court. On the field this past grading session, we conducted units on both field hockey and lacrosse. After providing the students a basic understanding of the sport, as well as safety measures and basic skills, it was time to play games. Teams are chosen randomly, by name cards, each day. On some days, teams are evenly matched, in terms of skill levels of the various student players. On other days, one team holds a definite advantage over the other.

As I reviewed all of my student's teamwork grades, I noticed that every student, except the one mentioned above, had received a grade of 80% or better. A grade of 80% is above average, right? The student in question, through my observation, did not regularly try very hard even when encouraged by her teammates. Teams never had more than six players to a side, which demonstrates, at least on teams of six or fewer, the role individual effort plays in determining the overall success of a team. By comparing my observations of this student against the grade she had received for teamwork, I believe I validated my objective system of evaluation.

Here are some sites that allow you to generate your own teamwork assessments: teachnology, & quick teamwork assessment. Here is a sample of a teamwork rubric.

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Cholesterol and triglycerides are two forms of lipid, or fat. Both cholesterol and triglycerides are necessary for life itself. Cholesterol is necessary, among other things, for building cell membranes and for making several essential hormones. Triglycerides, which are chains of high-energy fatty acids, provide much of the energy needed for cells to function. But, find out all about these two fats, and how elevated levels of these fats in your body are harmful.

High Triglycerides - Overview
Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood. They are a major source of energy and the most common type of fat in your body. When you eat, your body uses the calories it needs for quick energy. Any extra calories are turned into triglycerides and stored in fat cells to be used later. The excess calories are stored as fat regardless of what kind of food you eat-fat, carbohydrate, or protein. If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, you may have high triglycerides. Read more.

Understanding Triglycerides - some more good information. This site provides some very thorough information.

Although I have been a PE teacher for over 15 years, I can honestly say that I have never once been taken to task by any school administration about the development and progress of my students. I'm sure there are school systems that hold all of their teachers accountable; I just haven't run into it yet. I don't consider myself lucky, however. In fact, my own growth as a physical educator has most likely been stunted as a result.

If we are graduating unhealthy students, at what point will our physical education departments be held accountable? A consistent and strong dose of daily exercise could dramatically improve the general health of many students. Unfortunately, due to personal priorities, budget constraints, etc. no real answer from school administrations has emerged yet. Perhaps it is time for physical educators to hold each other accountable. Below are a number of links to get you started.

Read an experimental study conducted on teacher accountability in physical education. Here is the link to the full 20-page PDF.

Read how some states are tackling the issue of accountability for teachers in physical education. Check out PE4Life for more insight into how increasing teacher accountability in physical education can help reverse the obesity crisis in American children.

My Father, Chester Rojeck, was killed in a car accident on February 9, 2007, while still working at the age of 79. He was a great, decent and honorable man. He graduated from Ohio University in 1950, where he played four years of football. Taking his first job as a teacher in 1951, he soon began a long and storied career as a secondary school sports coach in Ohio, winning multiple titles and championships in both track and football.

After developing the Pull-Up Trainer in 1985, he was consistently involved at the state, regional, and national AAHPERD conventions. Chester Rojeck took Physical Education seriously. Even just two weeks before his death, he delivered a Pull-Up Trainer to a school in Indiana and taught a lesson to the students on how to use the device, his last ever as a PE teacher.

Truly, my father was a PE teacher for over 50 years, and was enthusiastic about it until the end.

To commemorate the legacy of Chester Rojeck, pelinks4u is rerunning an article entitled "Dad and Me and PE," submitted by David Rojeck in March of 2006. For anyone with an appreciation for physical education, or the sacred bonds between parents and children, this article is well worth the read. Below is a brief excerpt …

"The profession of Physical Education goes back quite a ways in my family. My Dad graduated from college with his degree in Physical Education sometime around 1950. He taught physical education, and coached for a good 25 years. It seemed to me that he was always ahead of the curve in good teaching practices. Dad was making classes fun before the profession was advocating fun. He was breaking down classes and teams into various forms of statistics before statistics became fashionable. You should see his baseball efficiency rating system.

When my Dad retired from teaching, he was far from ready to officially retire. Chet was concerned that fitness scores were going down, particularly students' ability to pass the pull-up test. Dad reasoned, quite sensibly so, that all students should be able to pull their own body weight, at least once, right? But, if students can't do even one pull-up, how can we, as teachers, effectively and efficiently help them to improve to the point that they can pass the pull-up test.

So, my Dad invented the Pull-Up Trainer, a simple, practical device that allows all students to do pull-ups by taking their body angle from upright to various angles by laying on a wagon and successfully executing pull-ups. He even set up programs on how to use the Pull-Up Trainer in elementary and secondary classes within the regular class format."

Read the full article.

Furthering this section's discussion on accountability and physical education, I've included a brief review of two articles: "Creating an Effective Accountability Plan in Physical Education" by Alisa James (Strategies, May/June 2006) and "Assessment Benefits and Barriers: What Are You Committed To?" by Anne Marie Gallo, Deborah Sheehy, Kevin Patton, and Linda Griffin (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Oct. 2006).

Creating an Effective Accountability Plan in Physical Education – Alisa James

According to James, the purpose of her article is twofold: "1) to discuss some of the techniques that teachers can use to hold students accountable for achieving learning outcomes; and 2) to propose specific steps to facilitate the creation of an effective student accountability plan." James believes the incredible amount of time invested by physical educators into developing learning outcomes is often maligned by their inability to effectively measure or enforce how well students accomplish the objective of activities. Without a system of accountability to assist in this process, James believes student interests, rather than teacher expectations, will inevitably dictate what happens in class.

James describes three types of accountability, which seem to operate along a continuum of involvement: informal accountability, formal accountability, and embedded accountability.

continued top of next column.

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While it has been known for a number of years that high HDL cholesterol levels (the "good" cholesterol) seem to confer some degree of protection from heart disease, until relatively recently almost all the attention in the "cholesterol wars" has been focused on lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels (the "bad" cholesterol.)

It was not until the last few years that low HDL cholesterol levels have been recognized as an independent risk factor for heart disease. That is, even if their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels are normal, people with reduced levels of HDL have an increased risk of early coronary artery disease. (HDL levels, to be considered "normal," should be at least 35 - 40 mg/DL.) Why is HDL cholesterol protective? Find out.

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continued from previous column

Informal Accountability - "accountability that is not linked to students/ grades" - includes monitoring, active supervision, and public recognition. Monitoring, which is the most common form of informal accountability, involves observation for a specific purpose. Active supervision is the same as monitoring, but includes feedback from the instructor to help students reach his/her expectations. Public recognition requires the use of bulletin boards or similar devices to display the progress of students, such as individual performance, team performance, etc.

Formal Accountability - accountability that links performances to a grade - includes checklists, rubrics, exit slips, and written tests. This form of accountability can also be used on behalf of the students to assess the effectiveness of the instructor's teaching efforts. This in turn provides valuable feedback for instructors to 1) better understand their students' learning expectations and 2) track their own teaching effectiveness.

Embedded Accountability - The final type of accountability discussed by James is "accountability that is built in to the way that activities are developed and goals are achieved." To illustrate embedded accountability, James outlines a fitness unit held over the course of several weeks. To engage the students in their own progress, James suggests students use exercise log books throughout the unit to "record frequency, duration, and intensity, along with journals that record [their] feelings about each exercise session." This type of feedback is not only useful for helping students establish a sense of personal investment in class sessions; it can also be used by the instructor to monitor the effectiveness of the lesson plan.

James concludes this article with a four-step approach for creating effective student accountability plans.

STEP 1: Examine Your Instruction.
James suggests teachers use video to record and assess their own teaching styles. Paying particular attention to how you interact with different types of behavior in class and the accountability methods implemented in each situation are of key importance.

STEP 2: Implement a Variety of Informal Accountability Techniques - James encourages the diverse use of accountability techniques described above as a means of increasing student accountability. This approach helps the students realize your commitment to their learning and enables them with numerous tools for meeting your expectations.

STEP 3: Use Formal Accountability through Linking Assessment of Performance Outcomes to Students' Grades - Assessments linked to students' grades are particularly useful in helping them understand your expectations and what skills they need to improve upon. The additional motivation of grades also serves to further student progress. James also encourages physical educators to pay specific attention to the characteristics and ability levels of each of their classes in order to create developmentally and instructionally appropriate assessment models.

STEP 4: Implement the Plan.
Once the student accountability plan has been completed, the next task is to inform all involved of your intention to use it. A newsletter is a good way to send this information to fellow teachers, students, and parents. For situations of resistance, James suggests implementing the plan piecemeal, or with one class where success is a virtual guarantee. This will allow everyone involved to better acclimate to your ideas.

Assessment Benefits and Barriers: What Are You Committed To? – Anne Marie Gallo, et al

This article summarizes the perceptions of 53 physical educators who took part in a workshop on middle school physical education assessment. The goal of the workshop was to help these physical educators identify and review their own assessment practices, while simultaneously introducing them to other efficient ways to promote physical activity and incorporate more assessment tools into their lessons. Below are the major points of their responses, divided into "benefits" and barriers."

Benefit: Evidence for Grades.
Most or the response group saw assessment as a valuable tool for justifying the grades of their students. Specific responses included "maps out improvement," "increases self-esteem," and "sets forth expectations."

Benefit: Teaching, Learning, and Assessing are Related - Assessment of student learning offers instructors information on the effectiveness of their teaching, while providing ideas/possibilities for future lesson plans. Assessment also serves to better engage students in lesson plans by motivating them to improve upon their previously assessed skill levels.

Benefit: Credibility
This benefit addresses the larger context of the school system. Often straddled with the burden of validating their roles in the development of healthy, well-rounded students, the response group saw assessment as a means of producing objective evidence of their usefulness and the usefulness of their programs.

Barrier: Who Gets the Best Grade?
The use of normative standards, which are used in other subject areas, are problematic for physical educators for a number of reasons, including the great variation in maturity levels, fitness levels, and abilities of students. Gallo and her colleagues recommend physical educators "value and balance the cognitive, affective, and health-related fitness domains with the psychomotor when teaching, assessing, and grading students."

A student lacking in athletic ability may excel at knowledge of the game, etc. This information can be used to create a more accurate grade reflective of the student’s abilities. Another suggestion for overcoming this barrier involves the use of diverse activities that require a broad range of skills, such as dancing, soccer, etc., to more accurately assess students' abilities.

Barrier: Lack of Time
Many from the response group considered assessment too time consuming to be incorporated into a PE setting. Gallo and her colleagues believe this is symptomatic of many physical educators' incomplete understandings of what assessment entails. Rather than using a written test at the conclusion of a unit, the authors recommend incorporating assessment into the course of the unit, such as homework assignments or projects outside of class.

Barrier: Too Many Students
The sheer size of PE classes can make the task of gathering and tracking assessment data of students difficult for instructors. Gallo and her colleagues recommend instructors take a proactive approach to assessment, incorporating the use spreadsheet programs, master class lists, etc. for organizing assessment efforts and information. Placing the task of gathering assessment data can also be placed in the hands of students through the use of individual, color-coded scorecards.