The Future of Education

Assessment for Learning (AfL) is a daily practice for educators, learners, and peers that investigates, evaluates, and used learning evidence to improve learning through discussions, samples, and observations (Klenowski, 2009). It was seen that Physical Education (PE) teachers were unable to establish a link between theory and practice, and suffered from a lack of sufficient sample and theoretical knowledge while implementation of AfL (Moura, 2021). The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of a PE teacher on using the Spectrum of Teaching Styles (Mosston and Ahsworth, 1986) for implementing AfL practices in PE lessons. The PE teacher received theoretical education about AfL and Spectrum of Teaching Styles then conducted 12 PE lessons (80 minutes each) with two different 9th-grade classes (total of 68 students). In those lessons, she tried to imply AfL strategies through reciprocal, self-check, and inclusion styles of teaching. Data included from (a) a semi-structured interview with the PE teacher to examine her experiences, (b) the researcher's field notes were taken by observing all lessons and interacting in brief reviews with the PE teacher after each lesson, and (c) documents developed throughout the process, such as lesson plans, task cards, and assessment tools. Member checking, triangulation, and peer debriefing strategies were utilized to ensure trustworthiness. Data were analyzed qualitatively using inductive content analysis and the fidelity of AfL implementation was verified through systematic observation. After content analysis, two themes emerged. 1) The alignment between the structure of Spectrum Teaching Styles and AfL Strategies. 2) Encountered challenges of AfL practices and their effective responses generated by the Spectrum of Teaching Styles framework. Putting the AfL theory into practice was easier using the Spectrum of Teaching Styles framework because the teacher was able to find solutions to practical challenges by modifying task cards or the using structure of another teaching style offered by the Spectrum. It is suggested PE teachers use the theoretical framework provided by Spectrum of Teaching Styles while establishing a link between the theory and practice of AfL strategies.