Use of ICT by teachers during confinement due to the COVID-19 and the students' level of connection in Physical Education

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) acquired a great deal of importance within the educational system in general and the PE area in particular. The aim of this study was to analyze: (1) the computer applications most used by PE teachers;(2) the variables that influenced their greater or lesser use;and (3) the number of students who connected before and after Easter and the effect of the digital divide. Quantitative descriptive and exploratory design. An on-line ad hoc questionnaire was designed and administered to a sample of 526 PE teachers and different statistical analyses were carried out. The results show that teachers used a wide variety of computer applications in this situation, with a greater use made of the institutional e-mail, cloud storage and word processors, as well as the Office 365 toolkit. The influence of different variables in the use of ICT was analyzed, finding few significant differences, except in the evaluation. Finally, it was found that the number of connected students increased significantly after the Easter holidays, and that there is a digital divide, with increasing connectivity depending on the socio-cultural level of the families. It is concluded that the COVID-19 confinement has powerfully affected the use of ICT by PE teachers and that it would be interesting to carry out more research on its effects in the following courses and in teacher education. © 2023, Universidad Compultense Madrid. All rights reserved.

Formative and Shared Assessment and Final Degree Projects in Physical Education Pre-service Teacher Education

The aim of this research is to analyse the processes of formative and shared-assessment (F&SA) in the development-tutoring and defence-evaluation of the Final Year Projects (FYP) in Physical Education Teacher Education. A case study was carried out with 20 participants (12 lecturers and 8 students), applying four data collection techniques (in-depth interviews, focus group, group interview and seminar proceedings). The results show that it is possible to carry out F&SA processes during the development and final evaluation of the FYP. The main results are: (a) rubrics are not usually used as an instrument for feedback, self-regulation and self-assessment;(b) during the COVID-19 confinement, rubrics were used to provide formative feedback and to justify the online grading of the FYP;(c) teachers and students prefer the defence of the FYP to be face to face, due to the advantages in terms of the feedback they obtain. Lessons learned are provided on how to carry out F&SA processes during the tutoring-development and evaluation-defence of the FYP using the rubrics as a formative, feedback and feedforward element. These results represent an advance in the learning processes using F&SA and feedback in a very understudied subject, the FYP. © 2023, Universidad Catolica San Antonio Murcia.

Student participation in the assessment and in-service teacher education as a tool for transparency and improvement of education quality

The education system requires egalitarian practices of transparency and quality. Formative and Shared Assessment (F&SA) is an educational model that allows students to participate in their learning. Training in F&SA can be provided through In-Service Teacher Education (ISTE) and Action-Research (A-R) cycles. The research objectives are: (a) to analyse the participation of students in all educational stages through F&SA, before and during the COVID-19 confinement;(b) to define the advantages of belonging to a group of ISTE in which A-R is carried out and the proposals for improvement proposed by the participants of the same. A case study was carried out with 24 teachers from an inter-level seminar on ISTE about F&SA. Two questionnaires, a focus group and the minutes of the seminar meetings were used. The results show that the teachers of the seminar value positively the participation of the student in their own assessment, understand the individuality of the students and avoid exclusion with egalitarian practices, especially during the confinement situation, where they used various strategies to ensure that the distance process was followed safely. In terms of the advantages of belonging to the seminar, the collaborative learning between teachers from different stages and the usefulness of A-R systems stand out.

Physical Education teachers facing the situation of distance education due to Covid-19

This study aims to analyse the perception of Physical Education (PE) teachers on different aspects of on-line education in Spain due to the Covid-19 pandemic. An on-line questionnaire designed "ad hoc" has been applied to 526 PE teachers. The results show significant differences between a first period (March 13th-April 4th) and a second period (April 15th-end of course). Educational centres have adapted to the new circumstances in a positive way and teachers have felt less and less insecure. Most of the teachers have used a formative assessment. When grading, most of the teachers have approached what the educational legislation indicates (Order EFP / 365/2020), without fulfilling it exactly, because they have not used the third evaluation in a positive way for students who have been connected. Finally, it considers that the PE should have a more important role during confinement than the one they perceive they have had. It seems necessary to carry out more research about how PE teachers have approached this strange period, as well as to generate dynamics of permanent training to improve teaching work during the 2020-21 academic year.