Baseline Data

The target group for my inquiry is my Year 11 Physical Education class. The reason I chose this class is due to student perception that this subject is purely practical and involves no theoretical component. Therefore a lot of practical orientated students opt to take Physical Education due to the hands-on nature they experienced in junior school. Now, the presumption is that practical orientated students have lower literacy levels due to the nature of how they learn. So I wanted to gather some data in regards to literacy levels to see if this was true. The data I could draw on was each student's E-AsTtle writing results from 2017.

From reviewing the snapshot, there is a vast range of writing ability in my class. Writing levels range from 1A to 5P, which is 12 sub-levels. Catering for a vast range of abilities is going to present a challenge, especially if these students are to achieve work at Level 6 of the curriculum. I quickly concluded that there was a problem with writing among my students and something drastic was needed to be implemented if they were to achieve in this subject. 

Hunches

Meeting as a whanau group to discuss our inquiries allowed us to bounce ideas off each other and compare initial problems. What was beneficial about this process was the common hunches (problems) that colleagues had in their classes. We were able to share these ideas and also hypothesise reasons for these hunches. After leaving the meeting it gave me plenty to think about. I had clearly identified problems in my Year 11 Physical Education class that were common among other staff. But I really wanted to dive deeper and explore reasons for why these were identified as problems.

Hunches I found in my Year 11 Physical Education class:

1. Low Self-efficacy
2. Lack of engagement in set tasks
3. Low Literacy 
4. Perception of a Practical Orientated Subject

These were common problems that majority of teachers had in their classrooms. However, like I mentioned earlier I wanted to explore why these were problems for our students.

I hypothesise a couple of points that I see as the reason for the hunches in my class. Firstly, a lot of these students have continuously struggled with their writing throughout their schooling years. They have been below the national average for many years and have had teachers constantly trying to catch them up to the appropriate level. However, without the support structures in place to help cater for these students, they tend to slip through the cracks and get left behind. They have to deal with set-back after set-back and this dents their confidence in their writing. After numerous set-backs students lose faith in their ability to perform the task and give up. 

Secondly, there is a culture created in our community that the bare minimum is enough. Students tend to think that writing a couple of sentences is enough for them to achieve. Where this culture has been established is beyond me, but seems to be prominent among our students. If we compare it to Bloom's Taxonomy, students are comfortable using the bottom tier when it comes to writing. Remembering and Understanding are the foundations of his theory and this is the level many of my students do not leave. Getting them to analyse and critically think, which is essential in the senior school, is a difficult task.

Breaking these two habits will be the key to my success. How I do this, is going to require a lot of work and patience, but I prepared for this challenge to help lift achievement outcomes for my students.