PE Teacher Focus Group Moderator Guide - PE Teacher in P

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-xxxx

Exp. Date xx/xx/xxxx

Teacher Focus Group Moderator’s Guide

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Teacher Focus Group Moderator’s Guide—PYFP Evaluation

1. INTRODUCTION & CONSENTING

Thank you for agreeing to speak with us today.

ICF International is conducting an evaluation of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP). The goal of this focus group is to understand your perspectives, experiences, and insights on the Presidential Youth Fitness Program at this school, including what has worked well, what have been challenges, and recommendations to improve the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. This focus group should take about 60 minutes, and you can refuse to answer a question or end your participation in the focus group at any time. We will maintain confidentiality throughout the entire project and your names will not be associated with anything you say in any of the reports or documents resulting from this evaluation. As the consent form states, we will be audio recording the focus group, so that we have accurate representations of what was said.

Did you all have time to read the informed consent form we sent you?

[If yes] Great, do you have any questions about it? Do you agree to participate?

[If no] Could you please take a minute to read the consent form? I want to be sure that you understand your rights as a focus group participant in this evaluation. Do you have any questions about it? Do you agree to participate?

We do request that all comments stay part of this group discussion and are not shared with others including other teachers, administrators or others in the community.

2. FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

PYFP Professional Development

Let’s start by talking about the Presidential Youth Fitness Program professional development.

1. What was your experience with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program training, whether it was an online course or an in-person training?

*Trainings refer to the courses required for participating teachers to complete in Years 1 and 2 of the PYFP program (Essentials of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, FitnessGram^® online Course, Physical Best Gets Fit, and Motivating Students to Become Their Physical Best). Round 2 and round 3 funded PYFP PE teachers should have completed the Essentials course at minimum.

a. How much of the training have you completed?

b. What was the most beneficial part of the training?

c. What was the most important thing that you learned?

2. What are your professional development needs related to the Presidential Youth Fitness Program going forward? (new)

a. Do you have other physical activity/physical education professional development needs not directly related to the Presidential Youth Fitness Program? (If yes, please describe)

PYFP Implementation & Impact on Physical Education

I would like to switch now to discussing how the Presidential Youth Fitness Program may have affected the Physical Education curriculum and teaching in your classes.

3. How did you go about implementing the Presidential Youth Fitness Program at your school? What strategies did you use? What did you do first?

4. Did you do anything to gain support for the Presidential Youth Fitness Program from fellow physical education teachers or administrators? What did you do?

5. How has the Presidential Youth Fitness Program impacted the physical education curriculum you use, such as the structure or content of your units or lessons? Can you give any specific examples?

6. Fitness education has been defined by the Society of Health And Physical Educators^® (SHAPE) America to be a subcomponent of the total physical education program, focusing on helping students acquire knowledge and higher-order understanding of health-related physical fitness (the product), as well as habits of physical activity and other healthy lifestyles (the process) that lead to good health-related physical fitness, health and wellness. With this definition in mind, how has the Presidential Youth Fitness Program training affected your ability to include fitness education in your physical education classes? (planning fitness education lessons; evaluating fitness)

   1. What strategies have you found successful for integrating fitness education in PE classes?

7. How has the Presidential Youth Fitness Program impacted other aspects of your physical education instruction?

   1. What are you doing differently?

8. How have you incorporated FitnessGram^® into your physical education curriculum? (revised)

   1. How did you use FitnessGram^® assessment data for educational/instructional purposes?

   2. How did you use FitnessGram^® assessment data for goal setting?

   3. How did you use FitnessGram^® assessment data for lesson planning or to modify your instruction?

Student Recognition & Communication

Let’s switch a bit to discussing another aspect of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, student recognition and communication with parents and others.

9. How is student recognition component of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program implemented at your school? (student recognition is specific to achievements in components of FitnessGram^® such as: pacer, body composition, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility).

   1. What items are provided to students?

   2. Do you or other teachers purchase additional items for student recognition? What are the items?

   3. Do you think student recognition is important? Why or why not?

10. How do students react to the recognition?

    1. Do the recognition items motivate students (to work towards fitness goals and/or be more physically active)?

11. How do you communicate with parents about physical education or the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (e.g., fitness education, fitness assessment, and results and/or student recognition)?

1. What have you done?

2. Do you think it is important to communicate with parents about physical education and physical activity? Why or why not?

12. How have you communicated with school or district administration about physical education or the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (e.g., fitness education, fitness assessment and results, recognition)?

1. What have you done?

2. Do you think it is important to communicate with the school community and administrators about physical education and physical activity?

School Environment

I would like to discuss with you any effects the Presidential Youth Fitness Program has had on physical education and physical activity policies and practices in your school.

13. How has the Presidential Youth Fitness Program changed overall support for physical education and physical activity at your school?

1. What changed?

14. How has the Presidential Youth Fitness Program changed the physical activity opportunities available for students, including before, during and after school?

15. How has the Presidential Youth Fitness Program changed physical education or physical activity policies and practices within your school or classroom?

1. What changed?

Resources/Supports Needed for PYFP

16. What resources have you received from the Presidential Youth Fitness Program?

1. How have you used them?

2. Are there any resources you have not used? What resources? Why have they not been used?

17. What, if any, barriers or challenges have you encountered implementing the Presidential Youth Fitness Program in your school?

b. How have you been able to overcome any of those barriers or challenges?

18. Was there anything that helped you implement the Presidential Youth Fitness Program?

1. What factors or resources helped with implementation?

2. Did your school have other grants, programs or resources available to support physical education and physical activity (Fuel Up to Play 60¹, Carole M. White Physical Education Program funds (PEP grants)², Parent-Teacher Organization funds)

18. From your perspective, what resources would be required to continue the Presidential Youth Fitness Program after the end of the funding period?

Those are all of the questions we have for you today. Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this focus group. This has been very interesting and informative, and will contribute greatly to the evaluation of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program and the ability to improve upon it in the future. If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to add something that you think of later and believe is important, please feel free to contact us. You can find contact information for the project director on your copy of the informed consent form. Have a wonderful day!

1 Fuel Up to Play 60 is a school nutrition and exercise program launched by National Dairy Council and NFL in collaboration with the USDA to help encourage youth to lead healthier lives. Funding is available for qualified K-12 schools to support school-based healthy eating and physical activity initiatives. https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/funding/general-information  

2 The Carole M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) awards money to schools and organizations to initiate, expand or enhance high-quality physical education programs.