Monday, April 4, 2011

Pleased with Polo

After the anticipation of how much lab C really counts for, I think I did well once I got into teaching. I was very nervous and stressed out before this lab because it is longer and used a different skill that most people are not familiar with. I looked up rules of Polo, a brief history, and passing techniques. I decided that I wanted some fake horses for the students to ride on while passing the foam ball to each other.


Some positive things I did was the organization with the cards for partners. I made index cards with numbers on them. I had 1-4 with blue maker, and 1-4 with red marker. 1's paired up with 1's, 2's with 2's and so on. When the students paired up I had them work on a slow smooth pass to a partner while standing without their "horse". Once students got that down, which happens so fast in our class compared to how it will happen when we're teaching high school or grade school students. Once this pass was done well we moved on to back hand passing. The progressions start at forehand passes on the right side, and moved up to back hand passing and a neck pass or tail pass.






One thing I wish I did more was manage my time so the students could play a full field game longer. I could cut off some time from our passing progressions and get more into game play.I think my feedback in this lesson was better than my previous lessons. I used the cue's "slow and smooth" while talking to the students in class. I can still work on my volume and also make my visual aids larger. They seem so big when I'm in my apartment but then I get to a gym and they're not so huge any more! I am pleased with this lesson and the way I taught it and am exited (and a bit nervous) to move on to Lab D!

Partner Jumping Reaction



Every day teaching gets easier and easier. With practice I think I am becoming more clear and effective with my teaching. I taught 2 partners in 1 rope and 2 partners in one rope alternating partners. This skill was pretty easy, yet hard to explain. I was pleased with my visual aids I used for this lesson. They were pretty cute and would be great to be used at an elementary school level. I think a common theme within our class is the size of posters. We all have great visuals but some of us need to make them a bit bigger, myself included.

Teaching the class partner skills was fun! I was amazed with how many things you can do with a jump rope. Having each of us teach multiple lessons using jump ropes and almost every skill is different than the one before keeps people interested in the lesson. Part one of my lesson was pretty simple and I think I demonstrated it clearly and effectively.  I demonstrated it without the rope just jumping with a partner then had the students break up with their assigned partner (that I used with the numbered cards). Once students seemed comfortable with that skill I called them back in to work on 2 in 1 alternating partners. This skill seems hard at first but after I demonstrated it in slow motion I think the students got it. This skill is good to have the students go out and work on things themselves.




My voice is at a good level and my confidence is high. I think I could work on demonstrating more. Once without the rope slow motion, once with a rope slow motion, ten the full motion of jump rope at live speed so students know what they should be doing. Also my positioning in the classroom gets off a few times. I rarely but sometimes had students behind me while I was watching other students.

Overall I think the lesson went well. I could work on using more congruent feedback with the students. Also I notice give feedback to those who are closest to me usually. I have to work on giving everyone positive feedback that correlates with the cues given in the beginning of class.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Tentative Plan for lab C- POLO

This lab I was assigned Polo. I plan to give a brief history of polo (hook), and show the students the various passes that can be used in polo. I will also review defensive rules and regulation. Once students are comfortable with all passing skills while on the move at different speeds, we will play a mini polo game!


Feel free to view my lesson plan and task progression sheets for this lesson.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Lab B2

Here you can see my tentative lesson plan for Lab B2 which I will teach on Friday, March 11th. 

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.