Formative Assessment in Physical Education: An analysis of teaching and mentoring in preservice training practice

Abstract

This study investigates the prevalence and quality of formative assessment in Physical Education pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) teaching lessons. Moreover, we draw attention to how mentor teachers emphasise formative assessment in mentoring sessions. Data collection was conducted during the PSTs’ field practice. A multi-case design was chosen and the study included 15 PSTs and 4 mentors. The PSTs were in their second year (fourth semester) of the ITE-program. The participants were in four different groups (School 1, 2, 3 and 4) each consisting of three/four PSTs and one mentor. Results revealed brief instances of formative assessment in PSTs’ teaching and in mentors’ comments during mentoring sessions. The findings indicated PSTs’ limited capability to identify critical elements in an exercise, and partly a lack of ability to differentiate their teaching. Furthermore, we found little evidence of feedback loops between PSTs and students that stimulated learning, and/or promoted students’ understanding and participation. The mentoring sessions had a strong focus on organising the lessons and effective time utilisation. There were no discussions of how the PSTs could maximise students’ engagement for learning. A possible explanation for the PSTs’ modest use of formative assessment may be that campus teaching has failed to introduce the topic in a proper way. Moreover, there appears to be a need to strengthen cooperation between campus and partner schools to stimulate the importance of formative assessment.