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Background and NeedObesity is affecting people in the United States at an extremely high rate. It is a problem that needs to be fixed, and quickly. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development states that “more than one in two adults and nearly one in six children are overweight or obese.” The way to prevent this problem from growing more than it has already is to create a healthy mind and lifestyle for the youth. Improving body awareness is the first step in that direction. So, as a physical education teacher, this problem needs to be approached at the roots and that is with the youth. If the mold that students are not able to perform well at push-ups can be broken, it will speed up the progress toward having a healthy lifestyle. They become physically stronger, which helps them build better self esteem.
Many students struggle when it comes to performing push-ups. According to the California Department of Education, 38% of 5th grade students did not pass the Upper Body Strength component of the physical fitness test in the state of California. It also states 44% of the students fail the push-up sections on the Physical Fitness Testing in Napa Valley Unified School District, which is below the state average that is already low to begin with. A larger portion of the students did not pass due to improper form last year. Historically, students are evaluated on effort in the physical education class. Now with students having to meet California Physical Education Standards, they are being graded on how well they can perform a task. With metacognition being utilized everyday, students just need to learn to use it in the most effective way. Does metacognition produce measurable changes in students performing a task in physical education like push-ups? Students struggle on the three key components of a push-up: keeping back flat, getting enough depth, and pace. This study will show if video analysis can help build metacognition and self awareness when it comes to students performing push-ups. Needs of the LearnerSociological: At the location where I teach, about 90 percent of the students are from a Hispanic background. Also, 75 percent of my students are from a lower socioeconomic background. Having this background means they could come from a close, family oriented group so they might not have much interaction with people from other cultures. My students need interactions from around the world, which could be something they are lacking.
Instructional: I have an average of 60 students in each class period that I teach. This can be a lot for a single teacher, so the more peer teaching I can incorporate will only increase the amount of affective feedback my students can receive. Technological: Every student at my school has a laptop and uses it in most of their classes. By doing this action research, I have had my students start to use their laptop in my class. Implementing this has helped them become 21st century learners especially when it comes to the communication aspect. Educational: Students in my class need to increase the amount of communication they achieve. A large percentage of students that go onto college from my school district struggle. Two key factors are that they miss their family and/or they do not know how to communicate their needs when they get to a bigger school. This project makes students increase their amount of communication especially with people they might not typically interact with. A Glimpse at My Research Paper
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Design Process
Support and Next Steps
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First Semester Action Research Presentation
Summative PosterAt the end of the program, we had to make an informational poster displaying what our action research covered. It included the results from the action research and what my next steps are going to be. Click image to the below to get a closer look at the poster.
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Literature Review TableIf you click the image below you will be taken to a page that I constructed. It consists of all the literature that I used and viewed during the program.
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