story by Claire Miller
Not only must teachers design lesson plans to convey information to their students, but they must also develop effective ways to assess their students’ knowledge and adjust their teaching practices accordingly.
The assessment process looks different for health and physical education teachers compared to their traditional classroom counterparts, and this is where Assistant Professor Xiaolu Liu’s research comes into play.
She co-authored a study with colleagues at the State University of New York and California State University that explores how physical education students navigate the assessment process and how programs can adjust to ensure their students are prepared for this step in the teaching process.
The study, published in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, focused on four college students in a physical education teacher education program during their final semester of classes before beginning their full student teaching experience.
These students were divided into pairs, and each pair taught physical education classes to third, fourth and fifth graders at a suburban elementary school for 10 days.
One pair implemented the Peer Teaching Model, which “emphasizes collaboration and feedback, and tools like checklists are often used to ensure that learners receive feedback in a structured but straightforward manner,” and the other pair used the Inquiry Model, which “offers flexibility in assessment, incorporating both informal and formal methods to assess learners’ cognitive learning outcomes,” according to the research team.
The researchers collected lesson plans, assessment samples and weekly self-reflections from the students; they also conducted field observations for both pairs of students and asked students to complete a mid-course survey and participate in a one-hour focus group interview to discuss their experiences.
Liu and her colleagues found that the participants had a thorough understanding of the assessment concepts for the Peer Teaching Model and the Inquiry Model, and often found ways to adapt their assessments to meet the elementary students’ needs. They also shifted from using paper assessments to digital methods to save time and keep the elementary students engaged in the work.
However, the pre-service teachers often felt constrained by certain elements, such as large class sizes and limited time to teach and assess their students. They also struggled to develop higher-order thinking questions for their assessments and give individualized feedback to the elementary students they worked with.
These findings could help physical education teacher education programs adjust their coursework and emphasize hands-on teaching practices in authentic school settings to incorporate assessment literacy more effectively, according to the research team.
“First, physical education teacher education curricula should strive for better alignment between model-based instruction and assessment literacy, ensuring that pre-service physical education teachers understand not only how to teach within different instructional models, but also how to assess learning effectively within each. To support their readiness, courses could incorporate more practical, low-stakes opportunities that encourage reflection and adaptation in formative assessment,” they wrote. “Moreover, continuous professional development can be valuable in helping pre-service physical education teachers navigate the complexities of equitable and effective assessment as they transition into practice.”
About the Researcher
Xiaolu Liu
Department of Kinesiology and Health
Xiaolu Liu is an assistant professor of health and physical education in the Department of Kinesiology and Health. She is also a faculty fellow of the Snap Inc. Center for Computer & Teacher Education. Her research interests center around physical education teacher education, with a primary focus on preparing future physical education teachers for assessment literacy. Additionally, she explores AI literacy integration across physical education teacher education courses to better prepare future teachers for K-12 contexts in the AI age. She has published in a variety of leading journals in her field including Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, European Physical Education Review, and Kinesiology Review. She has recently been selected to be awarded the Helen M. Heitmann Young Scholar Award by SHAPE America, recognizing her outstanding contributions to research in the field of curriculum and instruction and reflects emerging scholarly impact in health and physical education.
Citation
Liu, X., Fan, X., Wang, B., and Liu, J. (2025). “Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers’ Assessment Literacy in Model-Based Instruction: Peer Teaching Model and Inquiry Model.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2025.2563232.