This blog is based on episode 260 of the podcast Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education. This blog is almost verbatim from the podcast, so if you prefer the audio version, here is the link for episode 260. You can also listen to the first episodes of this series in the following links #254, #255, #257, and #259 or read the first four blogs #1, #2, #3, and #4. All of the podcasts are listed by category on a google doc that you can find as the pinned tweet on the account @theHPEpodcast on Twitter. Alternatively, you can find it here. You can find the website where you can download the book for free and find more information and resources at the end of this blog.
Quick recap, we have explained the Command style, the Practice style, and the Reciprocal style in previous blogs. Now it is time to talk about Style D-The Self-check Style. In this style, the students develop independent practice and assess their own performance on the task prepared by the teacher. So, this style is marked by individual practice and self-assessment. The teacher still prepares the criteria for the assessment and walks around the class asking questions to encourage conversations about the students’ SELF assessments. This style is not recommended for students who are not familiar with or are still inexperienced with the content. If learners do not have the basic competence to perform the task assigned by the teacher it is not a good idea to give them the responsibility of self-assessing.
So, for example, I wouldn’t use the self-check style with a first lesson on how to overhand throw an American Football. It’s a hard skill and without instruction and practice- the students wouldn’t be able to figure out what they are doing incorrectly in order to improve their skill.
In the self-check style, the teacher will still make all the subject matter, criteria, and logistic decisions. Teachers are also responsible for encouraging conversations through questions and providing a closing reflection. It is important that this role does not take a judgmental approach and that teachers are mostly encouraging the learners’ reflection. On the other hand, the learners will make decisions regarding their practice and work independently checking their own performance guided by the teachers' criteria.
So, let me ask you to think of a quick example of this. We have all done this informally at some point. It’s the scenario where you’re endlessly trying to perfect a set shot – let’s say a penalty kick in soccer, a basketball free throw, or a pirouette in ballet. You get INSTANT feedback. The ball goes where you intend it to, or it doesn’t. The balance in your skill is off…or it isn’t. All of this then makes you give more or less force, effort, extension…etc. The self-check style is just placing this in the PE classroom formally.
The subject matter objectives are focused on the students’ developing awareness of their physical performance by practicing individually and self-assessing. At this point, students should be able to correct errors in their own performance and increase their time on task getting closer to a more automatic performance, since they are more experienced in the task being practiced. The behavioral objectives are focused on the students being less dependent on the teacher or their peers, and being able to rely on themselves for feedback and acquisition of content. They are also able to cope with their limitations, gain self-awareness about their proficiency, develop independence, personal motivation, and learn social manners.
So, you can see many similarities to the reciprocal style we discussed earlier …with the main difference being that instead of having peer teaching, the learners practice by themselves. The self-check style is actually an evolution of the reciprocal style. Meaning that students will practice a task defined by the teacher on their own. The difference here is that instead of having the feedback provided by a peer, this task is shifted to each learner.
There are tons of skills that intrinsically provide feedback to the learners depending on their performance outcomes. For example, juggling a ball, if students are successful, they will be able to continue juggling, if not, the balls will fall and they will not be able to continue the task.
In target activities such as darts, for example, the students can self-assess depending on if they were able to send the dart to the desired target or not. Even in simple activities that have clear results such as stretching exercises (did you reach your toes or not?), students are able to sense if they were able to achieve the criteria of the teacher or not.
So, at this point, we can really see how each style evolves from the previous ones. In the command style, the students follow exactly what the teacher demonstrates, when we move to the practice style the students get a chance to practice the task in their own time and space but still with a lot of support from the teacher, then in the reciprocal style, in which students already have some experience with the task, they get to teach each other, which provides them with a more autonomous practice and encourages them to think about the task more cognitively, and finally, in the self-check style, The learners, who are already somewhat successful in the task and have a better understanding of the criteria for assessment can practice and improve independently.
Let’s think about an example of how this could work in physical education.
Imagine a jump rope unit. Students have already been jumping rope for a few classes and are starting to learn new tricks. So, they are getting pretty comfortable with this activity. Before class, the teacher develops the criteria cards to guide the student's self-assessment. Once again, these cards will have the elements of different jumping rope tricks and images that illustrate how to perform the tasks. If you integrate technology, these skills can be viewed through videos and links can be distributed via QR codes.
As soon as class starts the teacher presents the task by explaining the criteria card and reviewing the critical elements that the learners have been practicing. The teacher also explains the expectations of the lesson. This is when the teacher will explain that the students will not only practice independently but also assess themselves based on the established criteria with the aim of improving and having more practice time.
In the next step, let’s say the teacher pre-set the ropes in specific places where the students should go to start practicing. The teacher then asks students if they understand the expectations of what they are doing and gives them the signal to start their practice.
The learners follow the direction of the teacher related to their position in the gym. Then they practice the tasks while also checking the criteria card to make sure they are improving their performance guided by the model. When self-assessing, learners are responsible for identifying their performance proficiently to decide if they should move to the next jump rope style or if they should continue repeating the same movement to improve.
While learners are practicing, the teacher will be observing their performance, checking if they are using the criteria card correctly, communicating with the students regarding their accuracy, self-check process, and providing feedback.
The goal here is to facilitate learning and reduce frustration. To do this, teachers can ask questions that lead the students to identify where they need improvement, why they think they are struggling, and how they think they can improve. Teachers should not rush into providing direct feedback on how learners should practice but rather use guiding questions to encourage reflection and problem-solving. Only if the learner cannot identify discrepancies or if their assessment is incorrect should the teacher intervene and help the student succeed.
So, the idea is not that the teacher cannot provide feedback and instruction. If the student is not able to find the solution to their challenge, then OF COURSE the teacher should jump in and change back to the practice style of teaching offering clarification and feedback to support the learner. So, the teacher looks more toward developing dialogue with the student by listening to their responses and facilitating learning.
At the end of the class, the teacher calls the students for a closing reflection and talks with all learners about the class and their self-checking role.
Remember, the self-check style asks for more autonomous practice. It starts to be more student-centered than teacher led. So, teachers and students might take some time to get comfortable with the new responsibilities. Take your time to adjust and make sure you are explicit about the expectations. It is also important to communicate with your students about their process of decision-making. Some learners may jump right into it and find it easy and fun while others may get frustrated and wish for the teacher to intervene more. Teachers and students should work together to learn and be more successful in this transfer of decision-making.
The book chapter offers some great examples of how to develop criteria sheets and provides instructions to improve the success of learners’ self-assessments.
We hope these blogs have been helping you learn about the Spectrum of teaching. Next week we will talk about the Inclusion Style (E).
Thanks for reading!
Alba and Risto
For more resources see below:
Full Cite: Mosston, M., & Ashworth, S. (2008). Teaching physical education: First online edition, 2008. https://spectrumofteachingstyles.org/index.php?id=16
Visit: https://www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org
Twitter: @spectrumots