Monday, February 28, 2011

256 Prep

After sitting through our seminar for 256 (Field Experience) I'm both nervous and excited. This really is the semester that tests if you are in a major you belong in. There is no more messing around and just squeaking by. As we work every day, every move we make is towards our professional career. The fact that this is all real now makes me a bit nervous. I have so many assignments, deadlines, and things to keep track of between activity classes, scheduling events for club lacrosse, 201 TAing, and taking 255, it gets a little stressful. For all those who come after me, my advice to you is keep on top of things early.

Write our your schedule for each class from their syllabus and keep important dates in mind. I am at the point in the semester where everything is catching up to me- crunch time! No matter what I always get my work done, but year after year I don't organize properly. That is one thing I'm learning bit by bit each year which will help me become a successful teacher. Time management and organization are key to success!
Even with all these assignments I still try to get active and stay fit. In fact, I even get less stressed after playing lacrosse, broomball, or swimming. Balance is they key, and I'm still figuring it all out.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Jolly Jumpers!!



For lab B1 I taught two different jumping skills. I Worked on the Scissor Jump and the Side Straddle Jump. Overall I think the lesson went pretty well. I was enthusiastic, happy to be there, and pretty vocal. I believe I could have worked on having a better demonstration for the class. Possibly demonstrate numerous times to make sure they understood what was going on. I used scaffolding for each of these jumps. for the Scissor jump I used the movement of a lung to help lead into the jumping skill. For the side straddle I introduced the movement first as a jumping jack, then added the rope. Using things that students are familiar with can help them become more comfortable in working on that specific skill.
Another thing I could work on is my visual aids. Once put in a large gym they seem much smaller. I needed them to be bigger so when I had my students spread throughout the gym they could see the cues clearly.
Some things I believe I did well was try to address most of the students. I used a lot of names and gave feedback. One downfall of that part of my lesson was repeating the same people, and not being specific enough in their feedback. I usually said "good job", or "Keep it up" instead of "I like the way you're light on your feet with writs tight." Also some of my feedback was negative. For instance when addressing Josh once I corrected his arm form without first giving him a positive comment. To see an exact transcript of my lesson click here. With the students in our 255 class doing that isn't a huge deal, but in practicing for real live teaching I must be able to give a positive before critiquing a student. To see further detail in how I was giving feedback, please see the feedback analysis form.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Chapter 9 Questions

Question 2: State at least five general principals that are implications for teaching from motivation theory

1. Positive/Safe Enviornment: Teachers must create a positive teaching environment that is safe in order for students to learn.
2. Numerous Methods: Using different teaching strategies is important in teaching any subject. This will allow students not to get bored, and help those who learn in different ways.
3. Stimulate Senses: Using music within a lesson gives an extra kick to any lesson and gets students motivated even more. Also using visual aids help students to understand cues to a certain skill you are doing and helps them be more creative.
4. Observation/Analysis: As an educator you must know where your students are in specific skills you teach. You must be able to observe them, then positively critique them and help their skill. Here is where you could use challenge by choice, or notice a skill is too hard for your students and modify it to something easier (scaffold).
5. Be YOU!: As a teacher you must have your own personality, enthusiasm, and way of teaching. Don't be a cookie cutter PE teacher, be who  you want to be. Bring humor to your class, friendship, and respect. A quote I came across last semester was, "They don't care how much you know, Until they know how much you care." You may be the most knowledgeable PE teacher out there, but if you are not enthusiastic and passionate about your students, no amount of knowledge will impress them.



Question 3: Describe nine ways that teachers can promote the personal growth of students through personal interaction. 
1.  Know your students: As we did earlier in the year, playing the name game, or having an exercise that will help you remember the names of your students is vital. Trailing from the past question, if you don't know the students names, it seems as if you don't care. If you know each student personally and give feedback using their names they are much more likely to respond positively to your class

2. CARE! Once again enthusiasm plays a huge roll in teaching. Kids know if you want to be where you are and if you are excited to be teaching. If they see a bored look on your face, no smile, they respond negativly to that. On the contrarry if you come into class smiling happy with a positive attitude it will rub off on your students.
3. Follow School Motto: Usually every school has a motto. For example my high school was a "Community of Caring". Intergrate good moral values into your teaching and attitude to produce well rounded students who are not only physically fit, they are a good member of the community.
4. Discipline: It is important to have students respect you as a teacher. You must have an attitude where you will be listened to. Behaviors that are negative, such as fighting or students disrespecting each other or equipment need to be addressed. Don't let students walk over you.
5. Be strong! Students will be intimidating and try to break you in any way possible. Keep confidence and don't take students misbehavior personally.
6. Be Fair: All students should be created equally regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or athletic ability. Your goal as a teacher is to have these students see physical activity as a fun activity that they like to do. Being fair to all those in the class will help.
7. Observe: Not only observe students skills, also observe their behavior. You will notice patterns of a child getting away with not doing a specific skill you ask them, or you'll notice a lack of confidence in a student, or conflicts between students. Being observant and acting on you observations will keep students safe and learning to the best of their abilities.
8. Step out of your comfort zone! Sticking with the traditional PE activities that you feel comfortable with makes you a poor PE teacher. Introducing some new activities, that you yourself may not be the best at, is a great way to expose students to a verity of different physical activities that may get them interested in physical fitness.
9. Be Confident! When in doubt, smile and pretend you know what you're doing. Don't lose your cool and dont panic. Usually if you make a mistake your students wont notice if you just keep rolling with the punches. Nothing is ever static so be prepared for sudden changes and be flexible with them.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

4.) In any class, physical education or not, teachers will have a direct effect on their classes. Depending on the teachers attitude, knowledge, and preparedness- these effects can either be positive or negative. First and fore mostly teachers should have a safe environment, and encourage students to be safe within that environment. Being prepared for class and having directions and specific goals instructed to the students clearly will have a positive effect. After giving out tasks it is important to observe the students reaction to the task at hand, and help them depending on their level of ability with positive feedback and correction. Within this feedback the teacher may notice the class is ready for more challenge and modify the lesson to make it more difficult. Likewise there may be classes where the task at hand is too difficult and the teacher may modify the task into something easier and help the students progress to the more difficult skill.

6.  In every class students will get off task. No matter what grade or what activity you've prepared and how exciting it is, there will always be at least one student who gets distracted. There are a few ways to get the attention of stray students back on task. If there are students who seem to get bored because they know the skill, you may change the task for that specific student to make it more challenging and require more concentration on that specific task. You may also pinpoint the student with positive feedback in front of the whole class to make them feel involved and possibly even more excited by their physical ability. 

7.  Types of feedback include.. a-A general closing statement to a class which is positive and directed towards the whole class- "Great job passing the lacrosse ball to your partner today! You look so good next class we'll work on passing on the move!" b- "Red team- make sure you don't get called for offsides, one of you has to stay behind this line every time!" c- "Great job following through with a step and your throwing hand, Danielle. Thats the right way to throw a football!"

Sunday, February 13, 2011

JUMPING into Lab B

You'll find my lesson plan for lab B here. I will be teaching the class how to Scissor Jump and how to Side Jump with a jump rope.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Chapter Questions Chapter 1&2

Chapter 1:

1.What is meant by the idea that teaching is a goal-oriented activity?
Goal oriented activity basically means to have an objective for your lesson in mind and teaching toward that objective/goal. This includes the three domains-cognitive affective and psycho motor. As an educator you also work to have your students reach the national PE standards.



4.) Why is the process that teachers choose to use content important?
This process is variable depending on what the goal if the lesson is. Depending on what you're teaching this process will change and also depending on your environment, students, and available equipment.

5.) Why is the movement task-student response unit of analysis so important in physical education? 
The movement task-student response unit is the vital to student motivation and effective teaching. The attitude and of the teacher is so important, as we talk about in class almost daily. If you as a teacher seem interested in what you're teaching, your students will be eager to learn. After the lesson is explained clearly its important for the teacher to observe the students activity and give constructive feedback. Always starting with something positive gives students confidence and leads to student improvement. 


Chapter 2:


3.) What are the requirements for learning a motor skill?  What do each of these requirements mean for the teacher of motor skills?

Firstly the student must be physically ready for whichever motor skill they're preparing to learn. Its important to build upon previously learned motor skills and work in progressions for success. When teaching you must be clear in your directions and demonstrations, let students preform skill, and then assess their abilities and give feedback. For prerequisites the educator must do a task analysis. Then the teacher must check for understanding and make sure students understand what their task is.  Once again the educator needs to be enthusiastic and give positive feedback.


4.)What is the difference between the way closed skills, open skills, discrete skills, and serial skills taught?

Open skills are skills that are variable. They are in ever changing situations, so they should be taught with ever changing environments. Closed skills are constant. Such as a free throw in basketball. It is always the same, you have the ball at the same spot and basket at the same spot every time you take that shot. Discrete skills are fast with a start and finish. Serial skills are a series of skills in a row, so those would be broken up at taught in parts, then when mastered they'll be added together.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Lab A2- Forearm Pass

Jumping into teaching was exhilarating and nerve-racking at the same time. I came into class pretty prepared for what I was going to teach, and trying to remember specific skills we discussed while talking about pedagogy. I knew all the right things to do, yet didn't execute them as well as I would have wanted to. After watching my video a few times, I can pick out some obvious missteps.





Firstly I noticed the volume of my voice, which we've discussed every class, so I am a bit disappointed I didn't project the way I should have. There are some times that the camera does not pick up what I'm saying clearly, and the camera was not a very far distance from me. To see a full transcript of my lesson click here.


Besides the volume of my voice, I think I need a bit more confidence and enthusiasm. Although I'm working with my fellow classmates, it is important to practice enthusiasm and passion for what I'm doing to prepare for teaching younger kids. I also used plenty of "um's" when I began. Also starting time and giving direction took too long for a 5 minute lesson. I didn't get all of the students moving until 1:20 into the lesson. To see a time coding form click here.  It is important to be clear with directions and demonstration, but ultimately you want to have your students have as much contact with the ball as many times as possible in a short amount of time.



I think my progression from one knee to standing was successful. Only one exception is that we had an odd number so I partnered up with a student. This lead to some lack of attention to other students by me, and having Jake stand still while I watched other students. I should have put him in a group of three or had him practice bump passes off the wall or bleachers to get the most repetition and least standing. Also with positive feedback I should have used specific names and pointed out that they were doing well instead of just saying "good. good job, guys."

There is defiantly room for improvement on my teaching skills. I think having a video camera and feedback immediately after teaching is so helpful. I can see the things I do well, and fix the those I do poorly.

SuperBowl!

Yesterday was the 45th SuperBowl!! I got to thinking while watching it how crazy it is that sports have progressed into multi million dollar industries. Its almost a little sad to think that many athletes are doing corrupt things just to make money, instead of for the love of the game and for physical fitness. I do agree that the men in the NFL are amazing athletes, but not necessarily amazing people. I fear for their bodies once they pass the age of 30. I think we should inspire America's youth to be avid about lifetime fitness and activities that will keep them fit forever, instead of dreams of being in the NFL and working your body until falls apart.

But besides my random thoughts, the superbowl was entertaining and exciting. There were some great catches for both teams and some pretty hard hits. The commercials were pretty entertaining as well.

Friday, February 4, 2011

THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON ME!

Today our class had a great lesson in our voice projection. I found throughout 201 that speaking loudly and maintaining control of the class was a difficult thing for a number of people. Today we explored some tricks to help us get comfortable with speaking loudly and speaking from our chest using our diaphragm.

We participated in an activity called "There aint no flies on me". We stood in two lines opposite each other and competed in seeing who could recite "There aint no flies on me, there aint no flies on me, there may be flies on some of you guys, but there aint no flies on me", the loudest. I thought we were loud at first until Dr. Yang began singing with us, and over all 9 of us. The way he can project his voice is amazing. I think that I just need to get used to not feeling silly or like I'm yelling, and just think of it as me speaking and instructing.

We also practiced deep breathing to help our projection. I had a really good time in class and I'm glad there are only 9 of us in class. Having less people gives us more teaching opportunities and better bonds with a classroom. Even last year with 201 I felt like that class was our little P.E. family, and we had much more students. I'm excited to get into teaching Monday, yet still a little nervous.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Misconceptions of a PE Major


   I always get into the argument with non-phys. ed. majors that all we do is play games. I wish I could take a student from another major and have them shadow me throughout a semester to see what P.E. is all about. The common thought amongst non majors is that all we do is sit around and play sports with each other. In reality we not only learn progressions of teaching a verity of sports, but we learn about the specific movements and functions of the human body, factors that effect it, and things to do to maximize physical fitness. Beyond this we are taught how to educate. P.E. majors are not only responsible for knowing concepts of progressions in sport and lifetime activities, but also how to teach them, and interact with children and understand the childhood psyche. Since Phys Ed has been implemented into schools, it has yet to get enough credit. It is our mission as PE majors to change our image and prove to everyone that we are here to make a positive difference in the health of youth.