The effect of assessment for learning on students' motivational outcomes in physical education and teachers' experiences

Assessment for learning (AfL) is the process of searching for and interpreting evidence that students and teachers will use to decide where students are in their learning processes, where they need to go, and how best to get there. This study has two aims. The first aim is to determine whether physical education teachers have a significant effect on students' motivational regulation, motivational strategies, perceived autonomy support, basic psychological needs satisfaction and threats in physical education. The second aim of the study was to reveal the experiences of physical education teachers who use AfL practices in their lessons. The research group consists of 11 teachers working in public high schools and one class selected from the ninth and tenth grades of these teachers. The study included a total of 337 students, comprising 180 students (86 female, 94 male) in the experimental groups and 157 students (91 female, 66 male) in the control group. The teachers in the experimental group participated in a three-day in-service education covering the implementation of AfL strategies before the experimental process began. The experimental process lasted for one academic term (14 weeks). In the first week of the fourteen-week intervention program, student and parent consent forms were obtained; in the second week, pre-tests were applied; in the final week, post-tests were applied; and the remaining 11 weeks were spent conducting the experimental process. While AfL strategies were applied in the experimental group classes, summative assessment principles were followed in the control group classes. To reveal the experiences of the experimental group teachers in using the AfL strategies in physical education classes, end-of-course evaluation meetings were held throughout the experimental process, the teachers and the researcher kept a diary, and structured individual interviews were conducted with the teachers at the end of the experimental process. Analysis of quantitative data was carried out using 2x2 factorial ANOVA, and analysis of qualitative data was carried out using content analysis. The findings revealed that in the experimental group students taught using AfL strategies, intrinsic motivation, identification regulation, intrinsic value, cognitive strategy use, self-regulation, competence need satisfaction, and perceptions of autonomy support increased in the post-test scores compared to the pre-test scores. The findings of the content analysis on the qualitative data collected on physical education teachers' experience of AfL strategies resulted in three themes: 1) Difficulties experienced by teachers at the beginning of AfL practices, 2) Positive effects of AfL strategies on students, 3) Teachers' acceptance of the applicability of AfL strategies. In conclusion, the qualitative and quantitative findings obtained from the research reveal that AfL strategies have positive effects on both teachers and students from different perspectives. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to use AfL strategies in physical education.