"PE teachers are always using formative assessment".

It seems to me that most edu-blogs written in 2019 have referenced at least 1 of 2 important names, Hattie and/or William. With good reason, visible learning and formative assessment are proven to make a positive impact on student learning when used effectively. Teachers are caring but time-poor, so we want to find the things that we can do for the best value for energy!

In the PE teaching world, an important concept to shape our future direction is physical literacy with a spotlight provided by Sport Australia. It is important for NSW PDHPE teachers to understand this because the model, along with the Physical Literacy Continuum sits nicely with the new PDHPE syllabus (2019-2020).

A few years ago I was asked to provide evidence of my faculty’s use of formative assessment which I struggled to do. In response the interviewer/assessor explained that PE teachers are always formatively assessing. For example, if a teacher begins a softball unit they will not begin by asking pairs of students to throw and catch 40 metres apart. The class will start 2-3 metres apart and progressively add distance as the pair is successful. Or the teacher might start with a game of softball, observe that catching is something that most students, or specific students, require some focused instruction and practice on and change the lesson plan to suit the needs of students.

Where was my evidence? I only had comments.

The Physical Literacy Continuum enables teachers to visualise the progression students can make along the 4 aspects. The continuum proposes what most students should be able to demonstrate at the end of each stage of their schooling, up until Year 10.

So if a teacher is able to plot a student at a point in relation to an aspect, then they have answered the first question of formative assessment “where am I now?” Then, the teacher and/or student can ask the next question “where do I want to get to?” That allows us to then answer the question “how do I close the gap?”

Our school is focusing on implementing school-wide the formative assessment strategy of Hinge Questioning. So we identify hinge questions as a key teaching strategy in our teaching programs. My belief is that Hinge Questioning is reflected in the interviewers comment earlier, that PE teachers are always formatively assessing. However, it may not seem like a question, we are usually looking for the answer in physical form. So if a teacher states they are looking for what a player should do when their team gains possession, the teacher can move on when they can identify all students moving into space effectively.

So our hinge question can be posed as a statement, such as the learning intention, at the beginning of an activity. If I refer to the previous softball example, and the teacher sees that most students in fact struggle to catch the throws, the teacher should make the decision to explicitly teach this skill. However, if this is demonstrated the teacher could consider an activity that involves “increasingly complex dynamic contexts” such as catching and throwing on the run. Evidence would be found as notes in the teacher’s day book along with annotated teacher programs.