Lab 3

Select one of the locomotor skills and create your own set of teaching cues.

I chose the slide, and the cues I would use would relate to scissors. By that I mean that I would use the motion of opening and closing of the scissors, and my cues would be slide open, and cut shut. This paints a visual for the students to slide open and slide closed.

Identify the specific pathways used in each of the low organized games presented in the lesson focus.

We used straight, zig zag as well as curved pathways during the activities. They are straight forward as far as what the pathway is. That being said, the straight pathways are going to move in a straight line, forward and back. This is a simple movement with easy to follow boundaries. Zig zag is simply a straight pathway with an abrupt turn in either direction. A curved pathway is obviously going to move in some sort of circular manner, this being a much more free flowing pathway.

Select a topic for a class talk and outline the questions and key points that would help you guide a class talk.

Topic: Respect

How do we show one another respect? What sort things can we do to show respect? What happens when we don’t show each other respect? What is the importance of respect? What have you done to show respect to someone?

Make a checklist of performance points to look for in one of the locomotor movements.

For the hop, you are looking to see if they are taking off from one foot and landing on that same foot. You are making sure that there is air time as well as keeping the knee pointing towards the ground. You don’t want the students to have their knees coming up. Also you want to look and ensure that they are using their arms to help propel them forward.

Timing is everything

Time in a classroom should always be spent wisely. This means little time wasted with trivial things, and yet still be engaging so that you aren’t losing the focus and interest of your students. While some subjects are more interesting than others, we as physical educators have a secret weapon. Movement. We are movement based, and while some classes will attempt to use movement as a means to bring students back or to mix up the monotony of sitting, we get to utilize it every day. We see from John Goodlad’s study that time is critical to a students learning, and yet we are focusing in on areas and leaving others out.

As Physical Educators, we know that our main goals are movement and activity as well as learning about why being physically active is important. We want our students to come away from our class with more than just the knowledge of how to kick a soccer ball or how to shoot a basketball. We are more than that, and we need to focus our time on showing the kids more than that as well. When you reflect on a lesson, you will often times look at time management and where time was wasted and how you can improve it. Since we want to maximize participation and activity, it would make sense that we don’t want to sped large amounts of time talking about what we are going to do, and instead just doing it.

I know that I am guilty of being longwinded and giving my students far more information than they actually need. Especially since they are going to instantly forget almost everything you said as soon as they start moving and doing something else anyway. While I feel that this study focused a lot more on the general education classes, we as Physical Educators can still learn from this. The time that we are wasting by talking and explaining extensive details that really won’t play a vital role any way, need to be cut out, or at least brought up during the activity or movement. We need to plan out how we can incorporate the information into the activities rather than stopping action to talk about it.

While we are still the gatekeepers, but instead of directing who is talking and for how long they will talk, we need to be the gatekeepers of movement. We need to make sure that we are keeping a tight grip on keeping the group active and learning the skills and concepts we are trying to teach them. This doesn’t have to be done in an overbearing manner, but instead with proper planning and strategizing, we can work these gatekeeper duties right into an activity where the students feel like they are the ones in control.

Diverse Classroom Experiences

Far too often we generalize people, thinking that we already have all the answers and know what to expect. When in all actuality, people are so different and so diverse that it is impossible to create a blanket statement r plan that is going to cover or work for everyone. The same goes for our students, and how we teach them. Not all students are going to learn in the same manner, and surely not at the same rate. Therefore we must learn to adapt our teaching styles to our students different learning styles. Some are going to do better with hands on, some just need to hear it. As physical education teaches we often fall into assumptions about our students and how they learn the skills and concepts in our classroom.

With all of this diversity in our general education population, it must be even more diverse in our special needs population, right? Of course it is, but as educated and motivated educational leaders, we are up to the challenge. The old way of explain briefly and demonstrate doesn’t necessarily work for all students, especially those with these special needs. We need to do more to stimulate their learning and find new inventive ways of getting the information to them. We need to be choosing equipment carefully, and taking even more care in our planning. If we know that students are going to need extra care in a certain area, then we need to be planning ahead with how we are going to tackle the challenge.  Just coming in and rolling out the balls is not going to teach our students anything, so we must steer far away from that concept.

Our classes are already a completely different environment than a typical classroom, so we need to make sure that we are taking full advantage of our time and space. We need to mold the environment to our goals. If we know that our students have difficulties with crowds or distractions, we need to plan for that and look for alternative places to teach rather than in the hectic loud gymnasium to ensure that we are setting them up for success.  Then after they have grasped the concepts or moved closer to mastery of the skills, transition in distractions and people in order to ease them into the more difficult situations. While I fully understand that relocation isn’t often going to be a realistic option, having students practice the skill facing a wall or the bleachers rather than the crowds may be a way to eliminate some of the distraction.

image from

If attention span is a battle that you face constantly, look for new ways to bring the students in. Since our culture is so consumed by technology already, why fight the current? Bring in new pieces of technology that are going to get the kids interested, and make your life even easier. It is becoming a more common sight to see classroom teachers using technology every day, so why not a Physical Education teacher? While we don’t have a large projection screen or smartboards, we can use tablets with videos to show specific clips for demonstrations. This is something that is so simple yet is going to net huge gains in attention by many students. Further on in my studies this semester I plan to go far more in depth with how we can utilize technology in our gyms to benefit our students.

CHOOSE HEALTHY!!!!!

Anyone in the physical education/health related field should know about what the president’s wife, Michelle Obama, is trying to do for American’s youth. She wants to see healthier, fitter, more active children who are given the right options to make healthier choices. In February of 2010 at the launch of the Let’s Move Campaign, Michelle Obama made the statement “"The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake."   This should ring true to anyone who has seen the current state of our nation’s health and obesity rates. We are fatter and lazier than ever, and there are many factors that are included, but one of the biggest is our diets. We eat much worse food, and with that we are eating it in even greater quantities.

image via: umami.typepad.com

One place that Mrs. Obama felt we could improve our children’s health was at school.  And most everyone will agree with her, including myself, because I know firsthand that my school lunches were far from healthy. For example, we were told to choose a vegetable with our lunch, and we were offered carrots, peas, etc., however also included in these vegetable options were French fries. Since French fries are made from potatoes, they were considered an acceptable option for our daily vegetables. Now being that I as a normal kid, I ALWAYS choose the fries over whatever the other vegetables were every day. Does this sound like an acceptable option for a kid? Well, it shouldn’t. Now I am in no way stating that kids can’t have French fries, but eating them every day in conjunction with greasy pizza and corn dogs, breaded chicken patties, and burgers is not a healthy lunch. These options I just listed were what I ate every single day of school from the 6^th grade and on. We always had choices, but the thing was I never once chose the healthier options. The problem is that kids are given menus filled with unhealthy choices that they have become victims of opportunity.

image via flickr

She has been pushing forward to force schools to provide healthier options and weed out those other calorie killer meals filled with breading and fried parts. Thankfully this message of healthier meals is not just a fad, but is starting to spread outwards to restaurants in our communities. More and more we are seeing establishments offer more options and healthier versions of their dishes.  Big names like Chili’s, IHOP, and Friendly’s are just a few big names whom have changed up their menus offering healthier options and noting it in the menus. One big hitter that you might not tie in as having healthy options is the Olive Garden. Well after a reported 5 quarter slump their parent company Darden is looking to jump on the healthy option bandwagon. Good news for consumers, because like children we are often victims of opportunity, so if a major chain like Olive Garden is going to revamp their entire menu, we can only speculate and hope that the healthier choices are more abundant than not.

Here are some useful links that will give you even moreinsight into these topics.

lab 2 reflection

Explain why exercises such as sit-ups and push-ups have to be modified for kindergarten and first grade students in the DVL 1 group?

These exercises must be modified for the students, because they come with the risk of injury if not done in the proper manner. If we fail to modify them for our students, and their form isn’t right they could potentially feel the ill effects much later on in their lives.

Why is rhythmic activity important for young children?

Music and rhythm helps to engage the students more and gets them into the activity. As we learned in 255 last semester that there needs to be some sort of hook that draws interest into a lesson. Music and songs are a good way to do this, and if there is a message in the song, the music will help the students to memorize the information.

Define laterality and explain why tracing giant letters helps reinforce cognitive learning?Laterality is taking a concept that humans prefer to use one side of their body for a task over the other. Drawing the large letters stimulates the students cognitively, because it is taking their handwriting and reading skills and having them do them on a larger scale and out of their normal comfort zone, i.e. paper and pencil. This also will allow for those kinesthetic learners to build their skills and take more away from the lesson.

Why are educators concerned about young children not being able to keep an internal beat?

When children sing and dance around it is natural for them to be slightly off beat, however they will still be maintaining their own personal beat going on in their head. This beat is one that we cannot hear; this is because it is in the child’s brain. If the child has no inner beat, this could potentially be a sign that something is going on in the child’s brain physically preventing this natural beat.

Define homo-lateral and cross lateral movements?

Homo-lateral movements are movements that involve using only one side of the body to do the action. An example of this would be raising your right arm and leg simultaneously; similar to the motion of a lay-up. Even though in a lay-up you are jumping off the other leg, the action of raising the arm and the leg at the same time is the homo lateral movement. Cross lateral movement will involve action on the opposite side of the body. This could be alternating planks where you stick one arm out and the opposite leg out.

Regardless of your political stance, I feel that everyone should be watching the state of the union address. There are always those who are instantaneous to shoot down or deface anything that the other party says, but those of us either in or going into the education field should always be active listeners to what is going on. We need to be informed when important topics are up for discussion that could have dramatic effects on our lives.President Obama addressed the issue of students dropping out of school. He raised the issue that all states should take a firm stand and adopt a universal policy that students wouldn’t be able to remove themselves from school, A.K.A. drop out until they were 18. While I’m sure this topic will be followed with scrutiny and rebuttal from politicians as teachers we should be fighting for this.

Having family members who decided to drop out of high school early on in their educational career, I see the ill effects it has on future career choices and salary earnings. Also as anyone who has worked with adolescents, we know that they are not mentally capable of comprehending what sort of repercussions dropping out will have on their future.  Teenagers think that they know it all and have all the answers, which is normal, but they shouldn’t have the option to make such an important decision until they are at least old enough to vote. Regardless of your political stance, as a person who values education we should all be standing together on this issue.

Reflecting on Lab 1

1.       Why do classroom management and effective teaching go hand in hand throughout every day of teaching? The two go together, because the only way to be an effective teacher is if you are able to manage your students. If your students are running around out of control and not paying attention to your directions and rules, you are not going to be able to get the information to them. Also it can’t be a one day thing, because you must have control every time you interact with your students to make sure that they are staying safe and learning the material.

2.       Why should your class rules be short and positive? They must be short, because if they are too long and wordy than you run the risk of losing students attention as well as their grasp of what you are trying to convey to them. You want to keep them positive, because your rules and expectations are going to set the tone for the class. If you do this in a negative tone/manner your students will feed off of that and may not be positive in return.

3.       List three reasons why students enjoy the squad square structure as well as three reasons why teachers benefit from employing the squad square structure for management. Students like the squad square might include the ability to sit with their friends, being part of a team gives a sense of unity that students enjoy. Another reason that they like it, might be because they know where they are supposed to be and there is a sense of security in knowing where to be when in doubt. Teachers will like it because, they have a visual confirmation of all students, taking role is very quick, and behavior issues are limited, because no one is able to hide in the back behind everyone.

4.       What common elements do all of the activities in this management lab share? They all share a sense of space, whether that be personal or general space. The students learn the boundaries that are both physical and personal.

5.       How is the affective domain addressed in this lesson? How is the psychomotor domain addressed in this lesson? How is the cognitive domain addressed in this lesson?

The affective domain was addressed in this lesson, because we talked a lot about respecting other people’s space. This sense of respect is good to teach at a young age, so that students know what the acceptable behavior is for keeping a comfortable distance from others. Also in this lesson we worked in squads and getting back into our squads. While this is a stretch, the same concept of everyone working towards the same goal and encouraging your squad is a positive aspect of team building.

The psychomotor domain was worked on through the variety of different motor movements we worked on throughout the lesson. We did many different types of moving to include: running jogging, hopping, skipping, galloping, and walking. Also the freeze technique of hands on the knees was a good building block towards later teaching the athletic stance.

We also worked on the cognitive domain in a number of different ways. One of these ways was through the use of colors. We did this by having each student grab a certain grab a colored bean bag based on what color shirt they were wearing. The students then had to remember their color and run back to it during one of the activities. Using memory and other thinking activities stimulated more than just heart rate in this lesson. Figuring out how many ways to touch the bean bag was good, because it allowed the students to learn more about the body parts as well as working on counting skills.

6.       One of the activities that we did that was a demonstration of management was the squad squares activity. I chose this activity because it had the students work on all three domains and yet still maintained a sense of order when they all came back to their spots. The teacher also used a timer to time the students on how quickly they got back to their spot. The hidden message in this would be the quick and efficient way to get students back under control by teaching them to quickly get back into their spot in a game like activity.

Who's the Professional here?

Being a professional is more than just having diplomas hanging in your office and sitting behind a desk feeling important. It is more about being important and making an impact in your field, whether that is business, healthcare or teaching. The question arises of whether all teachers are considered professionals, and one would be quick to say that a math or history teacher would be considered a professional But what about  a physical education teacher, or better yet a “gym coach”? If you are looking at our predecessors, than you might not be able to agree that they should be considered equal. However if you look into the new era of physical education, than you will see that it is more than the warm up pants and dodge ball.

To first be considered a professional, we must first act as such. We must take the appropriate steps to show that we are more than just the guy/girl who wears a whistle and rolls out the basketballs. We are educated individuals who have a solid understanding of the science behind how the body works, and what is going on during movements both cognitively as well as in the psychomotor aspect. We need to take this understanding of the mechanics of the body and use that to create units and activities that are going to show growth and development in all of our students. We must stand up and fight back against the stereotype and show that we not only deserve to be considered professionals, but that we demand that same showing of respect for our field. 

Why would you ever become a teacher?

In today’s media there is a lot of conversation going on about teachers, and their roles, positions, and worth. This hot topic of conversation has spurred from the economic recession that we experienced, and the toll it took on public schools budgets. Every parent is going to argue that they want the best possible education for their children, the problem being that they aren’t necessarily willing to pay for that top dollar education. It’s the classic champagne tastes on a beer budget. This leads me into my first point about the pros and cons of becoming a teacher, and that is the salary. A lot of the public feels that teachers are way overpaid and rarely work, because of all the holidays and breaks. This is more than evident when reading any of the Syracuse.com stories about education. While some of the comments will drive you crazy, they are always good for a laugh, because they are so out of touch and off base.

These comments are generally made by individuals who have no idea what a teachers job involves, what schooling is required to become a teacher, and the amount of out of school hours teachers put in. When all of these factors are taken into account and then compared with jobs in the private sector, one could easily argue that teachers are drastically underpaid and surely underappreciated. One thing we can say is thank goodness that there are still intelligent and passionate people who continue to enter teaching, knowing well in full that they could easily double their annual salary by choosing another career path with similar educational demands. This is why we know that most teachers are in the classroom because they want to be there. Why else would you take such a massive pay cut, put in all of the extra planning hours, and put up with the angry unappreciative parents? Because you care about the kids, plain and simple.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are other perks that come along with the job. You do have paid holiday breaks, and in most cases, summers off (unless you choose to teach summer school). For those with children, like myself, this is a major draw because I know that for the most part I will be off work and at home when my kids are. This is different from a lot of jobs, because rarely will you get a break in the middle of winter and just get to spend time at home with your kids while they are growing up. You also are given a chance to be creative and try new things, as long as you continue to work towards the national and state standards.

These being only a few of the numerous reasons to be or not to be a teacher, I have already weighed these factors in my own life. After much internal debate, I gave up jobs that would pay me a significantly higher salary, requiring much less schooling, and little to no off hours work. While to some this may sound like a silly decision, but I chose to pursue a profession that I know I am going to be happy with everyday. While I may not drive a BMW to work every day, and jet set around the world, I do know that I will make a difference in many lives, and will be remembered not by my salary, but instead by my impact.

A little history and Philosophy of William Jones....

"Leading is not something to take lightly, and there are only a small percentage of people willing to take on this role and the responsibilities that come with it." I heard this upon my arrival into NCO (non-commissioned officer) training course for the Marine Corps. As intimidating as this was to hear, knowing that soon we would be leading our own troops, I took it on with an open mind and a positive attitude. It was here that I built my base of confidence and how the skills of how to lead.

One of these skills was teaching my fellow Marines how to do certain tasks. It encompassed everything from leading/teaching new P.T. (Physical Training) exercises, to repairing tilt-rotor air crafts. I began timid and uncertain, but as time went on I became a strong leader who was willing to take risks in order to benefit my group. Not all of these risks worked out the way I had hoped, but each failure taught me a new lesson. These different experiences were filled with multiple victories and failures, but each made me work harder to improve my skills to better myself and my group.

My moment to shine was during a squadron wide workshop with over 1,000 Marines in attendance to discuss training requirements and policies. While many followed in each other’s footsteps, basically repeating what their predecessors before them stated, and in all actuality this was no different than what was already in place. They were all taking the easy way out and in essence just “rolling the balls out”, but I was ready for change and was tired of the current outdated style of how things were done. Prior to speaking I had created a new training model that would revamp the policies and procedure, to something more relevant and substantial.

While I was quite nervous, and wasn’t sure whether or not I should brave this new trail, I decided that it was worth the risk. When I finished presenting this model, I stood there terrified of the responses I was about to receive, instead I was greeted with a standing ovation. This story took place very shortly before I exited the Marine Corps and entered school to become a Physical Education Teacher. I knew that I could teach people how to move, and how to think differently about the way they do things, so I set out on my new path. Having gone through the triumphs and failures of teaching and leading in the past, I took a different view on leading a classroom than many others.

One way I did things differently, was that I was constantly looking towards change. I wanted people to change their lives, but not for my benefit, instead for their own personal growth and prosperity. I firmly believe that as a future physical education teacher, I can and will have an impact on my students that will create forever change. I know that I won’t affect everyone the same, but I will strive to reach out to all of my students and push them to their highest potential and hope that they will reflect back on it later in life knowing that I helped to promote this positive change.

I will do all that I can for my students so that they will know that I am not here just to teach them how to play basketball or soccer, but instead that I am trying to help them to create a foundation of overall lifetime wellness. I will do this by teaching them about different activities that are readily available to them that will not only improve their fitness levels, but also give them a time to mentally relax and let go of their everyday stressors. I want us to break free from the stereotype that we are the swishy pants crew who only teaches in order to coach. While I love to coach, my first love and preference is to teach those non-athletes and get them excited about being physically active. I already know that the athletes like being active, so I want to reach out to all the others.

With that being said, I hope that I am willing to reach out and affect as many students as I can. If I am only able to affect a few of them, and possibly have a large enough impact to drastically change their path of wellness, than I have been successful. I am not going to rate my success on quantity, but the quality of attention and effort that I will give to each and every one of my future students.

Welcome EDU 355 Lab

I am originally from Seattle, WA and after meeting my wife in NC, we decided to relocate back to central New York. I am an avid golfer and spend whatever free time I have trying to make it to a near by course. I also snowboard during the winter, and last year I took the opportunity to actually teach snowboarding lessons at Labrador Mtn. This experience along with teaching swimming lessons at Champions Fitness in Cicero, NY has given me a the chance to work with many young children in a learning setting. From this class I expect to gain even more experience in working with the younger level students.

Lab "D"one

We have come along way from where we started, and I feel that as a teacher, my skills home grown exponentially. I feel that the areas that I was weak in at the beginning of the semester, I have strengthened these areas, and focused on them enough to make them strong points of my teaching. I felt that in the beginning I tended to ramble on too long about the same information. Now I feel that I have shortened my points to only relevant information and push directly into the activities with little wasted time. This final lab has shown this, because I was able to earn all five points of the time encoding, keeping my instruction and management time to a minimum and spending over 60% of the time involved in the activities. I feel that this is something that all Physical Education teachers need to strive for, because there is far too much time wasted, especially since we have such a short time together anyways.

My students during this lesson were so busy with the activity that there was no time for horsing around and everyone was on task at all times. I had maximum participation, which is one of my major areas that I focus on in all of my lessons. I felt that in the short amount of talking that there was, some very important and relevant information was passed along. I think that even as physical education majors, many people took home some important new knowledge that will help them in their own fitness programs. I still need to focus on time during my lessons, because I tend to

lose track of it, but it didn't have a negative effect on this particular lesson. All in all thinks went well and I wouldn't change a thing. It has been a great semester, and I want to takes this opportunity to thank my peers and the TAs for all their help and hard work.

Terrifi"C"

What a fantastic learning experience for not only me, but for my peers. This was an excellent assignment that forced us to start thinking outside our comfort zone of traditional sports. Fencing has always had my interest, but always having other things taking priority, I never pursued the interest. This assignment gave me that opportunity to step out, learn a new skill and then give that new found knowledge to my peers. It also allowed me to tap into my creative side as I created my own equipment for this lesson. This new equipment I feel had a drastic affect on the students learning and how well they took to the lesson. Things weren't based upon the equipment, but it was a tool that I utilized to gain focus and direct their learning and attention. The realistic equipment helped the students to grasp the concepts more fully and was a huge hit.

Overall this lesson went just as I had hoped, now that doesn’t mean it was perfect, but it surely wasn’t a failure. I maintained control of the class and had my expectations clearly set, and followed. My instructions were briefer than normal and therefore I was more efficient. I drastically cut down on my management time as well as my instruction time, allowing for more activity. I still need to be briefer and include more activity, but I feel that I got out a vast amount of information as well as a fair amount of hands on time. I still would like to work on different teaching styles, to further my skills and potentially make me a better leader. I had no behavior issues, and the equipment was liked by all, so all in all the lesson was a great success!

Lab B DONE!

Another lesson in the books, and another experience to learn from and improve on. Lab B was a true test of adapting and overcoming obstacles that may arise unexpectedly. For starters we weren’t in the gym, which threw a giant wrench in all of my plans, but I felt that this was a good opportunity to show how well I can adapt to the change in environment and still provide an effective lesson that was not only informative, but enjoyable. I feel that my instruction showed that I was strong, confidant and enthusiastic

about what we were doing. My goal for teaching is always to achieve maximum participation, and the only way to do that is if the students are having fun, and by the amount of laughs I received during the lesson, it is safe to say that people were enjoying themselves.

Now it wasn’t all roses and hugs, because no lesson is without flaws, and for this lesson it was the amount of time it took me to get through all of the instructions. I think that I tried to incorporate too many things at once, and while they were all compatible and doable by the group, I could have shortened things significantly. Since I took so long I wasted precious activity time, but given that this was a short amount of time to begin with I feel that with practice I will do much better with my time management.

I feel that even though I took more time then I wanted to with my instruction and management, I feel that students still learned the lesson I was trying to teach them, and how important the cues were. I think that more practice time is always important, but I will ensure that my next lesson is going to maximize this time and cut down on me talking.

CH 2 & 4 Q's

Ch 2


3. In order for someone to learn a motor skill, they must first have some set of prerequisite skills to step off from. These could be simple skills that one might pass over as common sense or not think is vital to learning the new motor skill. This prerequisite could be simple movements like jumping, running, or throwing using proper form. Since we are all unique, we must be mindful of individual characteristics that everyone has. They also need to have a clear understanding of what they are trying to learn. If someone is unsure of what it is they are supposed to do, then how can you expect them to perform it. Along with practice, these are points that we as teachers need to be mindful of when teaching, because they are simple mistakes that can have dire effects on the learner.

4. Teaching open and closed skills should be done separately and in their own respect. This is because the variables attached to each skill is quite different from one another. For instance, closed skills are skills that are done with no environmental influence, therefore we can focus more on the skill itself and not the environment it is taking place in. The bench press would be a closed skill, because the skill is done is a stable environment with nothing else taking place other than the lift. An open skill like kicking a field goal outdoors, is going to have environmental factors such as wind speed/direction, field conditions, and possibly defenders. All of which are unstable changing factors that must be taken into consideration prior to the skill being completed. Discrete skill are going to be a skill with a distinct beginning and ending point such as an archery shot. Now a serial skill is going to be multiple discrete skills done in a continuous manner such as swimming. There is one skill of the stroke that is repeated over and over again. We would first want to teach the discrete skill of the stroke to ensure that proper form is being used and then practice linking the skill back to back with one another. The same goes for teaching open and closed skills, in that you want to learn a skill in a controlled environment than start to add environmental changes.

Ch 4

2. Communication in a loud gym is a difficult task, but it is manageable as long as the teacher has a means of gaining their attention. This could be a short loud blast of the whistle which would be a signal for attention. If the teacher is able to quickly and effectively gain the students attention, then they can get out their information in the same manner. In order for the whistle blast to work, the teacher must explain what the whistle means prior to the activity starting. Having a simple attention getter along with simple and easily understandable directions makes communication easier for all those involved. The short and simple directions leaves little room for misunderstandings and maximizes activity time.

3. Using demonstrations appropriately is critical to the success of a physical education teacher. Demonstrations should be accurate, and done so correctly, because if you are performing the movement incorrectly students are naturally going to try to mimic exactly what they see rather than listening to cues. Having other students demonstrate should also be utilized whenever possible, because this allows the teacher and the other students to focus on observing and point out the most important aspects of the skill. Demonstrations and cues should be given in an organized manner, because it will allow for a smoother transition as well as give students specific steps to follow when trying it for themselves.

5. A good cue is going to have a simple description of what is taking place and can easily be replicated. It is also going to be skill and age appropriate that isn’t above or below the level of the learner. When teaching a closed skill it is important to have effective verbal cues that the learner can use to visualize when they are going through the motions. Once they have effectively learned to perform the skill as a closed skill, adding in environment effect such as wind will further challenge the learner, for instance hitting a ball from a tee as a closed skill, and then hitting a ball pitched by a machine. Learning to hit the ball from the stationary tee will build the fundamentals of swinging the bat, and hitting from a pitching machine is going to add the variable to ball speed as well as timing of the swing. The machine makes the skill more difficult, but allows for a controlled and steady pitch.

Where Are My Turkeys?!?!

It’s always interesting watching one’s self on video, regardless of what you are doing, as well as hearing what you actually said while teaching. It is even more uncomfortable to watch yourself teaching as silly a lesson as I chose to do. While we all got a good laugh out of the lesson, my energy was fantastic, and I felt the others in the group fed off of me and let themselves go out a little further than they would have on their own. I was loud, confident and tried to push the limits of the group while still keeping everyone under control. I still need to work on flowing from one topic to the next, but this will come with time and practice. As far as the value of this lesson is
concerned, I think that while this was a very unconventional approach to the topic, it was still quite effective in getting the students to understand the importance of creating distance. For my next lesson I would like to keep the energy high and hopefully keep pushing the group release their inhibitions and drive fully into the lesson. If they are able to continue committing to the lessons the students will benefit far more than just teaching the skills of cutting and starting/stopping.

Questions...

1. Goal oriented teaching is something that physical education teachers have lost over the years, and I say this, because the mundane actions of rolling the balls out has become the status quo. As physical educators we need to take charge and challenge our students to push themselves towards completing goals that may seem out of reach. It is through solid task oriented learning and teaching towards the attainment of goals is how our students can reach further and achieve more. Students need to understand that our goals in physical education are not just to play a sport and move on, but instead to set a goal and use progressions to attain new skills and reach that goal.

5. The movement-task student response unit of analysis is important because the students will learn how to do a certain task/skill and allows them to analyze their movements and reflect back on them. When we analyze a student’s movements we can praise their achievements and give positive feedback and then use this as an avenue to insert constructive criticisms. These critiques are not meant to break down the student’s esteem, but instead allow them to get specific feedback to further their progression of the skill/task. When the teacher has a starting point they are able to guide students and have them work through the progressions. They are not only learning the skills, but they are becoming more proficient through activity and practice. When we give a proper demonstration the visual learners get an understanding of what is expected and then we are able to analyze their movements making corrections as needed.

7. The relationship between teaching functions and teaching skills is that teaching functions are the guidelines a teacher uses to teach skills to their students. One way to plan and present is through intra-task variation, where the teacher takes prior assessments of the students and uses this data to determine what skill level the students should start with. Another way to plan and present is through teaching by invitation. By giving the students the opportunity to chose their own equipment and level, they feel a release of pressure and are able to work the skills with more freedom to try something they may not be comfortable with under other circumstances.

Jumping in the Deep End

What a refreshing way to kick things off after a summer full of sun and relaxation. I felt like things were a little rusty as to be expected, however I do feel as though it went smoothly. I was loud and chose a simple activity that didn't involve long directions. On the other hand there were mistakes throughout, and a lack of organization made the lesson choppy at times. I wasn't sure of what I was going to say and basically went from the cuff. I would like my directions to be clear and as straight forward as possible next time as well as have a clearer idea of what I am expecting from my students.

Good Bye St. Mary's!

Our final week here at St. Mary’s went out with a bang! The students loved the parachute activities and really seemed to get involved in the activities. I feel like this was a great ending point of our time here, because there were very few behavior problems, and everyone was involved. This experience has further strengthened my desire and drive to get out there and into a classroom leading students. I look towards the future with a smile and welcome the challenges that are to follow.

Another Solid Week

With less than the normal amount of kids at St. Mary's this week, we had to modify activities to keep them entertained. Once all of our games were done, all the kids wanted to do was play knockout. As we have all talked about many times, basketball is not what we should be playing every time. This time I took advantage of the situation and modified the game to get more people involved and adding in additional spots to shoot from. This made things different, but the kids still felt like they were getting to do what they wanted. It's times like these that I embrace the chance to try new things on the fly and see how it's going to be when I'm running my own class.

Motor Development Documentary

A Collage of Awsomeness!

Dinorific!

Another great week with the students at St. Mary’s! This week was Dinosaur Train, and to bring dinosaurs into the class room I decided that we would design and color our own dinosaur eggs. I brought in egg shaped foam with special markers and everyone got to create multiple different eggs and take them home. Then as a special surprise, since everyone did such a great job everyone got their own special dinosaur egg to take home. This was a nice treat for them, and served as a great way to hold their attention and something that they could take home and love forever (or the next 30 seconds)!

Get Outside!

Spring is finally here (not to jinx things) but it's time for everyone to get out and enjoy the lack of snow. I noticed that my neighborhood has finally come out of hibernation, and people are finally out moving about. I met a few new families, and did so through walking around the neighborhood. As future physical educators we need to be encouraging people to get out and MOVE! Movement is the key to healthier lives, and we need to be taking every opportunity to encourage people to get out and do something. So take sieze the day and get outside.

Chapter 1 was great!

Getting in the Groove

Three weeks worth of teaching are in the books and we are all getting louder, smoother, and more comfortable. We all are interacting more with the kids in a more natural way and it’s not as forced as it was in week one. We are now beginning to find our steps in the gym and before long we will have our own swagger. I wasn’t able to get to my game this week, but I was able to really help out my fellow group members with theirs and I was more than willing to since I played both my games for a while the first two teachings. I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for us and I’m sure that it will only get better from here!

Finding Your Voice

As our second lab week at St. Mary’s has come and gone, many of us that may have struggled with the first week have started to find our voice. Many of us started to really control the group instead of having them run amuck. As teachers we will constantly be looking to break through to our students and really peak their interest about physical activity, and St. Mary’s is no different. This week I had a young boy tell me “playing the college kid games sucks” and through talking to him I was able to redirect that negative energy and had him help me to design an activity that he would love to play. Getting over the initial shock of the school was easy, now it’s time for us to start fine tuning our skills and get these kids to count down the days until we come back. They will do this, because we are so much fun and have original exciting activities that they will want to play again and again.

Spring Fever...

Don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest snow sport enthusiasts you will ever meet. But there comes a time every winter where we all are ready for those outdoors activities that don’t involve twenty layers. Well the spring bug officially bit me, and the only thing to do was call up one of my good friends who happens to be member of the Navy Golf Team and we hit the road. We drove out to Turning Stone resort to the golf dome and sporting complex for a few hours of golfing. At this range there is a two tier driving range with multiple targets, putting greens, chipping greens, and a full virtual simulator to play hundreds of courses around the world. This oasis in the frozen tundra known as central New York is just a taste of what we have to look forward to in a few months. The dome gives you a chance to let your swing loosen back up while there is still snow falling on the greens outside. While there I was able to take video to analyze my swing later in a biomechanics software program and I have embedded a few of the samples to give you an idea of what this range really has to offer. So if there are any avid golf fans out there I highly suggest you check this place out to get you through those long cold months. 

Teachers Still Learn

Working as a snowboard instructor at Labrador Mtn. I come in contact with a wide variety of people on a day to day basis. Everyone from entire families, young children, and people from all different career paths. This past week I had the opportunity to teach a group of college students that were all education majors and came to the mountain to learn something new that they could use to relate to their students. This made me think, that more of our own physical education majors need to be getting out in the community and trying new activities that they could in turn pass on to their own future students. We have many students here at Cortland that have never experienced any of the outdoor activities this area has to offer, and that is a shame. There is a multitude of activities that are not only enjoyable, but also have excellent psychomotor and cognative skills associated with them. We all need to be expanding our "bag of tricks" and get involved in some of these activities and share our experiences with students. Needless to say the group had a great time and learned a lot, and hopefully one of them might pick up the sport as a lifetime activity that they will carry with them forever.

First St. Mary's Experience

After our first crazy and exhilarating experience at St. Mary’s I’m pleased to say that I have made the right decision to become a Physical Education teacher. I had such a great time interacting with the students, that it reinforced my reasons for being here. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but that was to be expected. I had some great input from my fellow peers, and I am going to use that to make each time with the kids better and better. I can’t wait to see where we all go from here. Great job everyone! As you can see from my face that a great time was had by all!