Research Article

Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements

Volume: 17 Number: 2 October 24, 2025
TR EN

Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate student teachers’ (STs) instructional alignment in lesson and unit plans for teaching swimming in elementary, middle and high school. Methods: Six STs from one Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program in Western Europe who were teaching a unit of at least four lessons were included. The unit- and lesson plans were written for teaching elementary-, middle-, and high school students during school placements. An analysis of the quality and alignment between unit goals and lesson learning outcomes, assessments, and instructional tasks was conducted by trained coders. Coder reliability was 100%. Results: The STs wrote a total of 19 unit goals, of which four (21%) included a behavior, situation and criterion. Thirteen out of 19 unit goals were assessed (68%), varying between 33% - 100% between STs. Only nine of 92 (9%) lesson learning outcomes were assessed, varying between 0% - 25% between STs. Instructional alignment between unit goals and assessment was 10% and 6% between lesson learning outcomes and assessment. For planned instructional tasks 27% (n = 83) were aligned with the unit goals and 28% (n = 85) with the lesson learning outcomes. The STs specialized content knowledge was considered poor, only one ST achieved the 3.0 benchmark for strong specialized content knowledge. Discussion/Conclusion: This study demonstrated a wide variability in results between STs. The STs experienced problems with writing explicit unit goals, developing assessments, and ensuring instructional alignment in lesson and unit plans. Low content knowledge of the STs may have influenced the problems with instructional alignment. PETE programs should focus on teaching instructional alignment as part of content classes and need to hold STs accountable for implementing instructional alignment in planning and teaching.

Keywords

References

  1. AIESEP Position Statement on Physical Education Assessment (2020). https://aiesep.org/scientific-meetings/position-statements/
  2. Anderson, L. W. (2002). Curricular alignment: a Re-Examination. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4104_9
  3. Borghouts, L. B., Slingerland, M., & Haerens, L. (2017). Assessment quality and practices in secondary PE in the Netherlands. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 22(5), 473–489.
  4. Brenner, R. A., Saluja, G., & Smith, G. S. (2003). Swimming lessons, swimming ability, and the risk of drowning. Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 10(4), 211–215. https://doi.org/10.1076/icsp.10.4.211.16775
  5. Carroll, J.B (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64, 723-733
  6. Chng, L. S., & Lund, J. (2018). Assessment for Learning in Physical Education: the what, why and how. Journal of Physical Education Recreation & Dance, 89(8), 29–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2018.1503119
  7. Cohen, S. A. (1987). Instructional alignment: searching for a magic bullet. Educational Researcher, 16(8), 16–20.
  8. Dervent, F., Tsuda, E., Devrilmez, E., & Ward, P. (2016). Content development coding assessment manual. Version 2.1.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Physical Training and Sports Pedagogy

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

October 24, 2025

Submission Date

January 10, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 1, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 17 Number: 2

APA
Mous, A., Lund, J., & Iserbyt, P. (2025). Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements. Journal of Physical Education and Sports Studies, 17(2), 196-217. https://doi.org/10.55929/besad.1601158
AMA
1.Mous A, Lund J, Iserbyt P. Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements. JPESS. 2025;17(2):196-217. doi:10.55929/besad.1601158
Chicago
Mous, Anke, Jackie Lund, and Peter Iserbyt. 2025. “Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements”. Journal of Physical Education and Sports Studies 17 (2): 196-217. https://doi.org/10.55929/besad.1601158.
EndNote
Mous A, Lund J, Iserbyt P (October 1, 2025) Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements. Journal of Physical Education and Sports Studies 17 2 196–217.
IEEE
[1]A. Mous, J. Lund, and P. Iserbyt, “Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements”, JPESS, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 196–217, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.55929/besad.1601158.
ISNAD
Mous, Anke - Lund, Jackie - Iserbyt, Peter. “Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements”. Journal of Physical Education and Sports Studies 17/2 (October 1, 2025): 196-217. https://doi.org/10.55929/besad.1601158.
JAMA
1.Mous A, Lund J, Iserbyt P. Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements. JPESS. 2025;17:196–217.
MLA
Mous, Anke, et al. “Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements”. Journal of Physical Education and Sports Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, Oct. 2025, pp. 196-17, doi:10.55929/besad.1601158.
Vancouver
1.Anke Mous, Jackie Lund, Peter Iserbyt. Student Teachers’ Instructional Alignment in Lesson Plans for Teaching Swimming During School Placements. JPESS. 2025 Oct. 1;17(2):196-217. doi:10.55929/besad.1601158