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Student Engagement Project

YCE II, Spring 2023
{Terance Smith, McGarity Elementary School}

I. Baseline Data: Three (3) Recorded Videos of PE/Health Lessons

a. https://youtu.be/qyYXtR_ZeJc Video1_Febuary15th
b. https://youtu.be/HvgD3JgKFIA Video2_Febuary16th
c. https://youtu.be/4yANuEnbFpg Video3_March9th

II. PETAI Analysis (Physical Education Teacher Assessment Instrument)

a. Video 1 PETAI

b. Video 2 PETAI
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c. Video 3 PETAI

d. Pie Chart for Video 1 PETAI

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e. Pie Chart for Video 2 PETAI

f. Pie Chart for Video 3 PETAI

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III. Reflection of Baseline PETAI Analysis

Everyone chases each other instead of following directions. The students tend to

want to do what they want to do. This is a common problem for second grade. Simply

put, they do not listen and tend to do whatever they want. Second grade also has the

most “drama” and all of them like to tattle on each other for absolutely nothing.

During the weeks I took the video, we were right in the middle of our FitnessGram

unit, so the littles were able to have a free play day as we did not want to set up a lot

of equipment. I think this was also a contribution to the lack of student engagement in

the activities that were planned for them. The students were tired of having so many

free play days in a row and they expected that they could get away with whatever

they want. Another common problem in all 2nd grade classes is that they come in

complaining about the activities that we have planned. A lot of students tend to come

in asking what we are doing on that day. If they do not like the answer, they tend to

say something along the lines of “I don’t want to do jump rope, I want to do …” This

is highly frustrating as it is only a common problem with those students. I love the

idea of giving students choice in the activities they play. However, if I provide them

with a choice of what they can do, they expect to be able to make that choice every
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time they come into PE. This is very apparent in video one and two as some of the

students are not even trying to engage in the activities that they are told they can do.

For example, in videos two there is a group of 5-6 girls sitting in a circle at the

bleachers talking instead of playing. Another example is a student was pushing

another on the scooters. The beginning of the video was cut out, but I explicitly said

that they are not allowed to push other students on the scooters as it is a safety

concern. The main problem that I am seeing in all three videos is that the students

imply are not following the directions and they are doing whatever they want. Even

when they can choose the activity, they want to engage in they are still throwing the

hula-hoops across the gym, sitting, and talking, and doing whatever they want to do.

Looking back at the videos, it makes me a little sad to see the number of behaviors

that are simply unsafe. In the second video, a student puts a hula-hoop around the

back of another neck. This is NOT okay and needs to be discussed immediately.

Another huge example of them not listening is during clean up time. When we say

freeze, a lot of the students do not freeze, and it seems that students have a hard time

cleaning the equipment and lining up without continuing to play. During the time they

are supposed to be lining up. There are students still running around and yelling and

not getting in line and on a T. AN example from video three is the group of 4-5 kids

grouped up near the hula hoop station. For a little background information, we have a

lot of behavioral issues with some specific second grade students and this group is

one of them. It seems like there is always “drama” going on between these two girls

in the class and that is all that they want to focus on. In the third video, the students

had just gotten back from a field trip conveniently just in time to get to specials. The
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video was started late due to them getting right off the bus and walking into the gym.

We wanted to allow students to still have time to play so we quickly went over the

stations in the beginning (jump rope, hula hoop, basketball, four square, and blocks.

Students were then allowed to go pick a station. The second video is cut very short

(this was my fault, the video split into two for some reason due to storage issues so I

was not able to record the first hand of the class). The common problem in all three

videos is simply a lack of engagement in the free play activities as students do not

follow directions and want to do whatever they want. We have a lot of behavioral

issues (students with IEP’s and behavioral plans) in these classes too, so it is a

common issue not only in PE but in all the other classes these students are in. Besides

the obvious behavioral issues, I would identify the common problem to be a lack of

listening skills and a lack of motivation to do the task for the day. When recording

these videos, I wanted to record during these free-play days as I wanted another

perspective of the student’s actions during the days where they can choose what they

do. I wanted the students to be in a “natural environment” while I recorded these

videos so I can truly witness how they behave/engage in my class. Around 15 minutes

into video three, I must talk to two girls about their behavior towards each other.

These two girls are CONSTANTLY fighting with each other, and I had enough. They

were constantly tattling on each other two me both saying that they were saying mean

things about each other. Basically, I had them talk to Ms. Rouse and I and I said that

they must separate from each other. I told them that they should not be talking about

each other to their friends and if they can’t get along, they don’t need to be constantly

around each other. This was starting to become an everyday thing while they were in
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PE class. I instructed them both that if it happened again in my class that we were all

three going to see Mr. Griffith and they would have to tell him what happened. After

this “confrontation”, they separated from each other for the rest of class. This is

another example of the behavioral issues that we have with our 2nd grade students. It

is not just these two girls but there is always some kind of behavioral issue that Ms.

Rouse or I must address whenever they come to PE. I think a good strategy to correct

this in the future would be to implement something like a “zero tolerance rule”. If I

see them (or any other student) arguing like that again they’re going to sit in time out

for the class. If they continue to do it, I will have to write them up and send them to

see Mr. Griffith (our assistant principal). I think one of the most basic solutions for

this kind of behavior is to simply address it as soon as you see it. Luckily, there is not

actual fighting or anything like that as it would result in an immediate office visit but

if left untouched it could escalate into something of the sort. I think in video 3 we had

a lot more behavior management issues compared to the past two videos because they

had just gotten back from a field trip and were tired from skating all day, I think this

caused them to act out more than they usually do. The third video has a LOT more

management time compared to the first two and I think it was because of the field trip

and the lack of structure for them coming into the gym after.

IV. Identification of the Barrier and Theoretical Foundation

Personally, I think that adding a little bit of student choice in the activities that we

play would be a good way to combat the barrier of students not being engaged. For

example, if I were planning a throwing / catching unit, I would allow students to have

a choice on the different games we play that utilizes throwing and catching. Planning
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wise, I could incorporate this into one of my formative assessments on Plickers. I

could do a survey question as the final question and give students 3-4 different

options on what they will play next week. Students can then vote on the game they

want to play and the game with the most votes will win. Students have more of a

desire to follow directions if it involves something that they want to do. I think the

barrier was influenced by the students having a free play day instead of having a

structured lesson. Even though they still act out during structured lessons, it is

nowhere near the same effect as they do during free play days. Typically, students

have better behavior when they have structure and a specific routine that they follow.

If anything breaks that structure, they start to go a little crazy. I genuinely think that if

I allow students to pick an activity here and there, they will have more of a desire to

engage in said activity. One theory that supports this mindset is the self-determination

theory. Self-determination theory refers to a person’s ability to make choices and

manage their own life, intrinsic motivation, and the need to do an activity for a

reward are highlighted in this theory. Self-determination theory says that people feel

more motivated to act when they think what they will do will influence the outcome.

This can easily be transferred into my classroom as students will make their choices

and have more motivation to engage in an activity of their choosing. Personally, I

think that implementing more student choice in my activities will have a positive

influence on my students. However, I do think that some students will not want to

engage if the activity they want to play is not picked by the majority. One way to

combat this is by telling the students that the game with the most votes is the one

that’s going to win and that this is not something that I have to do. If everyone starts
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complaining that their specific game is not chosen, I will take this away and find a

different strategy (more positive reinforcement by giving out mustang money to the

students who choose to be actively engaged the whole class) to address the barrier.

V. Intervention Results

a. {Insert YouTube Unlisted Video Link 4 and label it “Video4_Date}

b. {Insert YouTube Unlisted Video Link 5 and label it “Video5_Date}
c. {Insert YouTube Unlisted Video Link 6 and label it “Video6_Date}

d. {Insert Video 4 screencaps of Teacher Assessment and Student Assessment}

e. {Insert Video 5 screencaps of Teacher Assessment and Student Assessment}
f. {Insert Video 6 screencaps of Teacher Assessment and Student Assessment}

g. {Insert graph/chart comparing the % of teacher instruction and management

across the three videos}
h. {Insert graph/chart comparing the % of student instruction and management
across the three videos}

VI. Reflection of Intervention

VII. Reflection of the Impact of the Student Engagement Project