Gender Based Participation in Physical
Education
Ronnie F. Fenton
EDLD 5397 Progress
Report
Furr High School
October 28, 2012
Needs Assessment:
During my nine
years of teaching at my school we have always had co-ed PE. My wonderings are:
Does lack of participation come from being embarrassed around opposite
gender? Does self-esteem play a factor
in participation of the student’s full potential? I feel there is a lack of
participation between boys and girls due to the fact they are required to be in
co-ed physical education at my current school. I feel separating them for a
period of time will raise the student’s self-esteem, dress out rate and
participation levels. There are a lot of activities we do that one gender or
the other are intimidated by playing around the opposite sex. I also this will
allow me the focus on gender based activities that the oppostie sex are not
interested in.
As we all know, every
student does not respond to the same method of instruction or participate
activily in all activities. It is the teacher’s responsibility to find various
avenues to reach each and every student. According to Tracey Hall, senior
research scientist for the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum,
“To differentiate instruction is to recognize students varying background
knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning, interests, and to
react responsively” (Hall, 2002). Differentiated instruction is a method of
changing teaching and learning for students with different abilities within the
same classroom environment. My objective is to determine if gender separation
in PE will enhance the participation, skill and dress out rate in a HS environment.
My vision is to see an increase in skill development, participation without low
self-esteem due to embarrassment from harassing students.
As a
professional educator it is one's duty to try to find ways to reach every
student. One way that may bring more interest to the subject area, and gain
physical education teachers more respect from their peers, may be to show
competency in the use of instructional technology. "Progressive physical
educators embrace technology for a plethora of reasons." (JOPERD, 2001, p.
12) Many find that technology allows for the instructor to gain accurate
feedback as to the fitness of students through the use of heart rate monitors.
Others find that having students create multimedia presentations on the health
enhancing aspects of an active lifestyle are productive to facilitate student
learning and internalization. Still others find that , "a website that
promotes a physical education program to students, parents, administrators, and
colleagues also serves as a well-intentioned and informed validation of the
teacher's philosophy and praxis." (JOPERD, p. 13). The new framework calls for an
effective physical education program that balances
and contributes to children's academic learning. It also expresses the conviction that educators,
working together with students, the family, and the community, can successfully guide our
children and youths to discover their
talents and develop the knowledge and skills needed to use those talents
in achieving personal goals.
(O'Malley, 1994, p. v) Literature
and action research states, "technology
also changes the way teachers teach, offering educators effective ways to reach
different types of learners and assess student understanding through multiple
means" (Edutopia, 2008). According
to the AAPARD Report, using technology
to teach reading is a relatively new field.
The number of studies published in this field are very small,
approximately 21 studies, but all have reported positive results (NEIRTEC,
2004). The limited research suggests that using computer technology to enhance
reading instruction is worth further study. "In particular, the NRP notes
seven studies found positive effects from the capability of computers to
provide spoken versions of written text, which indicates that this may be a
promising use of technology in learning
new skillinstruction" (NEIRTEC, 2004).
Articulate the Vision (ELCC 1.2)
I spoke with the
principal and the campus curriculum coordinator about my idea for action
research. They were both supportive and
were looking forward to the results. The students were give a very brief
overview of the project. Parents were notified with a letter regarding the
project and were invited to contact us if they had any questions. A copy of the
action plan was submitted to the principal, counselors, and curriculum
coordinator for comments and concerns.
The action research
project is an individual effort. I sat down and discussed my action research
plan with my principal and scheduling councilor to discuss what I needed to be
done to implement, monitor and evaluate it. Once the outline of the plan was
done, I sat down with the councilor to discuss my PE classes. First, we discussed
how we were going to assign classes with just boys, girls and co-gender. My
responsibilities focused on developing the survey, group questions and
analyzing the results. To ensure the parents were aware of the project and to
protect the student’s safety, we sent home a letter outlining the purpose of
the research project along with a permission form for the students to
participate in the research.
Manage Operations (ELCC 3.2)
The student's
progress through this study was based on various criteria. I have monitored the skill level between the
boys, girls, and co-gendered classes. I’ve monitored the participation rates between the three
groups. I have assessed the student's willingness to participate in class, thus
showing increased confidence in his or her skills. I also have looked at the
dress out rates from preivious years to determine if gender separation improves
the dress out rates in physical education.
