Cooperative learning in physical education: a study of students? learning journey over 24 lessons

Background: Although a review of literature on Cooperative Learning (CL) in Physical Education (PE) has shown that CL can facilitate student learning in all legitimate learning domains for PE [Casey, A., and V. A. Goodyear. 2015. “Can Cooperative Learning Achieve the Four Learning Outcomes of Physical Education? A Review of Literature.” Quest 67 (1): 56–72. doi:10.1080/00336297.2014.984733], we need further knowledge about student learning which results from the sustained implementation of the model beyond the initial unit. Purpose: This paper draws on 24 lessons of CL over two academic years investigating students’ learning journey through (a) teachers’ perceptions on students’ learning journey through CL, and (b) students’ experiences of their learning journey through CL. Method: The study is part of a larger participatory action research project and follows students through four related six-week interventions in PE. The study draws on different data sources such as interviews, observation notes and the researcher’s reflective diary in order to acquire an in-depth understanding of students’ learning journey. Through first author’s close presence throughout the project, Lars was very familiar with the data. Hence, the analysis adopted an abductive approach [Alvesson, M., and K. Sköldberg. 2018 Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. 3rd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage] in which the empirical data were examined with the aid of pre-established theoretical concepts. Findings: Three themes emerged from the analysis. The first, ‘shifting attitudes’ highlighted how students changed their attitudes towards CL from being reluctant to positive. The second, ‘the influence of having learning objectives’ shows that working systematically with learning objectives over time, helped students understand that physical education is, in fact, a subject for learning. The final theme, ‘social- and emotional learning’, identified aspects of students’ learning that eventually results in all students being capable of working alongside their peers to master academic tasks in physical education. Conclusion: After experiencing learning through CL as meaningful, many students developed a positive attitude towards CL and working with their peers in small groups. The paper shows that having learning objectives is something most students appreciate and value. Nevertheless, working with learning objectives must be undertaken systematically over time so that students understand that they are expected to learn in physical education. While other studies have suggested that it took a few weeks for students to work comfortably together [Casey, A., B. Dyson, and A. Campbell. 2009. “Action Research in Physical Education: Focusing Beyond Myself Through Cooperative Learning.” Educational Action Research 17 (3): 407–423. doi:10.1080/09650790903093508], students in this project required up to 17 lessons before they were able to function in their groups. At the same time, all students, with different motor, social, cognitive and affective challenges, can be capable of learning through CL. However, this did not happen by chance, and the teacher must carefully adapt the delivery of the CL model to meet the needs of all students.publishedVersio

Practicum in Physical Education Teacher Education: An Educational Partnership?

The national curricula for physical education teacher education (PETE) in Norway require that practicum is carried out in a partnership between student teachers, cooperating teachers, and teacher educators. The aim of this article is to get insights into how cooperating teachers and teacher educators express and understand their educational partnership and mutual contribution to the practicum in PETE. Focus group interviews with cooperating teachers and physical education teacher educators (teacher educators) were analyzed by drawing on sensitizing concepts from figurational sociology. As such, the study has intended to identify networks between the two groups, as well as the interdependent nature, and consequent power relations in the partnership. The research may shed light on understanding why it seems difficult to reach the aim in the national curriculum of a mutual partnership of the two groups in practicum

Arealbytte etter jordskifteloven §3-4 for tilpasning av eiendomsgrenser

Tema for denne masteroppgaven er muligheten og behovet en tiltakshaver har til å benytte arealbytte for å tilpasse eiendomsgrense til reguleringsplan. Målet med oppgaven er å belyse forskjellige situasjoner det kan bli aktuelt å benytte jordskifteretten fremfor forvaltningen. Arealbytte gir mulighet til å endre eiendomsgrensene slik at de samsvarer med reguleringsplan, men det finnes likevel lite rettspraksis på dette. Hovedproblemstillingen lyder følgende «hvilke behov og mulighet har tiltakshaver til å benytte arealbytte etter jordskifteloven til å tilpasse eiendomsgrenser til reguleringsplan?». Hovedproblemstillingen besvares gjennom tre delproblemstillinger: * 1) Kommunens saksgang- hvordan oppleves den av utbyggere? Hvilke mangler/utfordringer er det ved den kommunale ordningen og hvilke økonomiske og praktiske konsekvenser kan disse medføre? * 2) Hvilke utfordringer og muligheter finnes ved bruk av arealbytte etter jordskifteloven? * 3) I hvilken grad kan jordskifteretten erstatte kommunens saksgang? For å svare på hovedproblemstillingen har jeg valgt å benytte meg av ett kvalitativt studie, ved å innhente empiri fra rettsbøker og intervju av ansvarlige søkere og byggesaksbehandlere. Manglene samsvar mellom eiendomsgrenser og reguleringsplaner er vanlig i utbyggingsprosjekter. Og i de aller fleste tilfeller benyttes kommunen for å oppnå samsvar. Arealbytte blir benyttet i liten grad, dette kommer i hovedsak av at det er sjeldent det er behov eller at saken ikke er egnet for jordskifteretten. For tiltakshaver er tid og risiko ved eiendomsdannelse sentralt, en jordskiftesak tar både lang tid og resultatet er usikkert. Det er likevel flere momenter ved sak som kan gjøre den aktuell for jordskifteretten. Momenter som øker attraktiviteten er prosjektets omfang, hvor det er behov endre mer enn kun grensene. En situasjon hvor målet er å unngå skatt og avgift. Dersom prosjektet ikke opplever tidspress. Ved tvist eller mistanke om at det vil oppstå tvist. Om sakene er bestående av at ett større område som gir jordskifteretten flere mulige jordskifteavgjørelser. Eller er en mindre utbygger som ønsker å unngå den kommunale behandlingen. Informantene som har benyttet jordskifteretten tidligere er fornøyde med resultat og saksgangen, dette er også grunnen til at de fortsetter å benytte jordskifteretten. Jordskifterettens vilkår, virkemidler og prosess bør bli bedre kjent blant tiltakshavere og kommunalt ansatte. På den måten kan jordskifteretten bidra til å skape mer hensiktsmessige løsninger gjennom en effektiv og samlet saksprosess.The theme of this master's thesis is the possibility and necessity for a developer to use land exchange to adjust property boundaries to comply with a zoning plan. The aim of the thesis is to highlight the different situations in which a developer may use the land consolidation court instead of the government. Land exchange allows for the modification of property boundaries to align with the zoning plan, but there is currently little legal precedent on this matter. The main research question is "What are the needs and opportunities for a developer to use land exchange under the Land Consolidation Act to adjust property boundaries to comply with a zoning plan?" This research question is answered through three sub-questions: * 1) What is the municipality's procedure, and how is it perceived by developers? What are the shortcomings/challenges of the municipal process, and what are the economic and practical consequences of these shortcomings? * 2) What are the challenges and opportunities associated with using land exchange under the Land Consolidation Act? * 3) To what extent can the land consolidation court replace the municipality's process? To answer the main research question, a qualitative study is conducted, gathering empirical data in the form of legal texts and interviews with responsible applicants and municipal employee. Inconsistencies between property boundaries and zoning plans are common in development projects. In most cases, the municipality is used to achieve consistency. Land exchange is used to a limited extent, mainly because there is rarely a need for it, or the case is unsuitable for the land consolidation court. Time and risk are central to a developer's property formation, as a land consolidation case takes a long time and the outcome is uncertain. However, there are several factors that can make the case suitable for the land consolidation court. Factors that increase attractiveness include the scope of the project, where there is a need to change more than just the boundaries, a situation where the goal is to avoid taxes and fees, lack of time pressure, disputes, suspicion of disputes, cases consisting of a larger area that provides the land consolidation court with multiple land consolidation decisions, or a smaller developer who wants to avoid municipal treatment. 4 Informants who have used the land consolidation court before are satisfied with the outcome and process, which is why they continue to use the court. The terms, tools, and processes of the land consolidation court should be better known among developers and municipal employees. In this way, the land consolidation court can contribute to creating more appropriate solutions through an efficient and unified process

‘What we have done now is more student-centred’: an investigation of physical education teachers’ reflections over a one-year participatory action research project

Although reflection has a key position in the development of teachers’ pedagogical practices, few studies have investigated the development of physical education teachers’ reflections over time. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to answer the following research question: ‘How does a one-year participatory action research project using Cooperative Learning as a pedagogical intervention influence PE teachers’ reflections about teaching and learning?’ The first author, Lars, assumed the role of researcher-facilitator, supporting the teachers’ pedagogical development while simultaneously collecting data relevant to the research question. Interviews, observation notes and the researcher’s reflective diary were analysed using an abductive approach. The study concludes that the interplay between (a) new theoretical perspectives, (b) the establishment of a collectively reflective community and (c) the prolonged project duration eventually enabled the teachers to critically reflect upon their previous practices. At the same time, their journeys over the course of the project consisted of ups and downs and can be understood through three critical cycles: ‘establishing systematic, collective and cyclical processes’, ‘new spaces of experience’ and ‘the tipping point’. Drawing upon our findings, we discuss various ideas for future educational action research projects aimed at challenging traditional practices within and beyond the PE context.publishedVersio

A relational perspective on students' experiences of participation in an ‘Interest-based physical education’ programme

While many students participate autonomously in physical education (PE), research shows that students who do not participate in leisure sport are less likely to perceive PE positively. Attempting to optimise the reciprocal student (↔) PE relationship and secure equal opportunities for learning in PE, schools in a Norwegian county developed an ‘Interest-based PE’ programme offering students a choice of two PE approaches: a sports approach (SA), focused on sports activities, and an explorative approach (EA), focused on alternative movement activities. Based on a process-relational understanding of adolescent development and learning, this study seeks a deeper understanding of changes in the PE experiences of students in the programme. Sixteen students (ages 17–18 years) who had participated in Interest-based PE for 18 months participated in qualitative semi-structured one-on-one interviews where they reflected on their relationship with PE prior to and during the programme. Data were subject to inductive interpretive thematic analysis showing that ‘the role of sports in PE’ framed student ↔ PE relations and that this sports discourse regulated the relations, also within the Interest-based PE programme. The separation of students into an EA and a SA accentuated the sports discourse and students’ sports competencies, contributing to segregation on the basis of students' confidence, competence and ability in sports. Based on this study, we question the assumption that differentiation programmes, such as Interest-based PE, will optimise student ↔ subject relations if these relations remain governed by the sports discourse, rather than the PE curriculum.publishedVersio

‘While we may lead a horse to water we cannot make him drink’: three physical education teachers’ professional growth through and beyond a prolonged participatory action research project

The article has been peer-reviewed, but does not include the publisher’s layout, page numbers and proof-correctionsCitation for the published paper: Bjørke, L., Standal, Ø. F. & Moen, K. M. (2020). ‘While we may lead a horse to water we cannot make him drink’: three physical education teachers’ professional growth through and beyond a prolonged participatory action research project. Sport, Education and Society. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2020.1799781Instead of ‘the frenetic rush’ to find effective models of continuing professional development (CPD) that will ‘work’, Armour et al. (2017), suggest rethinking the nature of effective CPD by drawing on the work of John Dewey, and particularly his notion of education as growth. Against this backdrop, the study evaluated three physical education (PE) teachers’ engagement with a prolonged transformative CPD initiative using participatory action research (PAR) to implement Cooperative Learning. More specifically, the study posed two research questions: ‘How do three PE teachers experience their engagement with a prolonged CPD initiative using PAR?’, and ‘How do their experiences facilitate and/or obstruct development and growth?’ I, the first author, took the role of facilitator, supporting the teachers throughout their journeys. The study draws on data from interviews with the teachers conducted at four points through their journey, from nine professional development workshops and from about 100 pages of my reflective diary. On analysing the data, we identified four themes relevant to understanding the teachers’ journeys: ‘PAR as an educative CPD experience’; ‘experiencing Cooperative Learning as something that “works” – and “costs”’; ‘reconstruction of mis-educative experiences’; and ‘further development and growth’. We found that the tension between previous experiences of teaching PE and new experiences of teaching through Cooperative Learning challenged the teachers’ established knowledge and practices. However, not all experiences were equally educative, and some restricted possibilities for further development and growth. We found that the teachers’ journeys beyond the pedagogical intervention developed along different paths, making the project both educative and non-educative. We acknowledge that education must be understood as a complex endeavour (Quennerstedt, 2019 Quennerstedt, M. (2019) making the directions of teachers’ learning journeys hard to predict.acceptedVersio

How Has Living with Intimate Partner Violence Affected the Work Situation? A Qualitative Study among Abused Women in Norway

A qualitative study was conducted among 18 abused women from different parts of Norway to explore what paid work means for women exposed to partner violence and how living with an abusive partner affected their working life. Based on systematic text condensation analyses of their experiences as described in individual and focus group interviews, the study’s findings reveal two major themes. The first is about recovery and survival, and the other about the spillover of problems caused by a violent partner into paid work. Work was important to the women, as it represented time off from violence, contact with others who cared for them, and maintenance of self-esteem and self-confidence. Having their own money provided security and strengthened the belief that they could manage on their own. The spillover of intimate partner violence problems appeared through feelings of fear, shame and guilt at work.publishedVersio

Kroppsøvingslæreren som en inkluderende pedagog i skjæringspunktet mellom individ og samfunn

Forskning har vist at kroppsøvingsfaget favoriserer enkelte elevgrupper og marginaliserer andre (se f. eks. Dowling, 2016; Fitzpatrick, 2013; Gerdin et al., 2019; Öhman, Almqvist & Meckbach, 2014). Denne artikkelen baserer seg på data fra et internasjonalt forskningssamarbeid mellom forskere fra New Zealand, Sverige og Norge; EDUHEALTH. Prosjektet har som mål, gjennom et «bottom-up» perspektiv, å studere de presumptivt gode eksemplene på kroppsøvingslærere som jobber sosialt inkluderende i faget. Dette er lærere som anerkjenner sosiale bakgrunnsvariabler og sosial ulikhet, og som tar høyde for dette i sin undervisning for å skape inkludering snarere enn utenforskap. Denne artikkelen bygger på observasjon (Critical Incident Technique) og intervju (Stimulated-Recall Interview) med én kroppsøvingslærer i New Zealand. Vi har benyttet Bronfenbrenners utviklingsøkologiske modell som analytisk rammeverk. Våre analyser viser at lærerens inkluderende handlingsvalg i undervisningen springer ut fra faglige refleksjoner basert på kunnskap om elevene i skjæringspunktet mellom individ og samfunn. Våre funn viser med andre ord at inkluderende undervisning er både en praksis og en prosess som krever refleksjon på mikro-, meso-, ekso- og makronivå.publishedVersio

Perspektiver på kropp i kroppsøvingsfaget i skolen og i faglærerutdanningen i kroppsøving.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.Skolen blir pekt på som en arena som skal hjelpe barn og unge å håndtere problematikker knyttet til helse og kropp. I kroppsøving skal elevene lære både om kropp og med kroppen. Følelser, erfaringer og meninger knyttet til kroppen og det kroppslige synes å være essensielt i faget. Et sentralt spørsmål blir da hva fremtidens kroppsøvingslærere lærer i sin utdanning for å få kompetanse til å undervise mot slike mål. I denne artikkelen trekker vi frem to teoretiske perspektiver på kropp: kroppen som objekt og kroppen som subjekt. Gjennom en teoridrevet tekstanalyse viser vi hvordan disse perspektivene kommer til syne i styringsdokumenter i skolefaget kroppsøving og i faglærerutdanning i kroppsøving og idrettsfag. Analysen viser at både skolefaget kroppsøving og faglærerutdanningen åpner opp for en bred forståelse av kropp, særlig i formål og innledende tekst. I målformuleringene er det imidlertid mindre tydelig at kropp kan forstås ut i fra ulike teoretiske perspektiver. På bakgrunn av dette diskuterer vi hvordan ulike perspektiver på kropp kan etablere et handlingsrom for fagutvikling innen et inkluderende kroppsøvingsfag som makter å konstruktivt møte og bidra til læring og utvikling hos ulike elever.Perspektiver på kropp i kroppsøvingsfaget i skolen og i faglærerutdanningen i kroppsøving.publishedVersio

Kroppsøving og idrett i Norge – overlappende men distinktive felt

Organized and voluntary sport and the school subject physical education have historically been tightly interwoven in Norway. In this study, organized and voluntary sport and physical education are considered as two fields as described by Bourdieu, in the search for answering the research question: How can physical education and sport be understood as overlapping and distinctive fields? In order to answer the question, we analysed the two last steering documents in each field; the curriculum in physical education from 2015 and 2020, and the sport policy documents of 2015 and 2019 (the latter referred to as a long-term plan) from The Norwegian Confederation of Sports. The two main findings of the analysis are, first, that the historical relationship where sport is the dominant part is still identifiable in the contemporary steering documents. The overlaps between the fields can be explained by several and interdependent causes: one is that many of the same actors operate in both fields – sports people are physical education teachers and physical education teacher educators; moreover, the establishment of the physical education field was initiated by powerful people in the sport field. In that respect, it has been a mode of doxa that physical education to a large degree has resembled sport. However, second, we identified an emancipation process in the field of physical education; there are formulations in the steering documents supported by other research, indicating heterodoxic discussions within the physical education field, leading to change. All in all, we identified two fields with various levels of maturity.publishedVersio