Practical Experience

I didn't go to any formal place to practice some of the techniques I learned during this class, but I did still use them during an out of class experience. I regularly watch over/baby sit my 2 neighbors. They are brothers in 6th grade and 2nd grade. Over Thanksgiving break, I was actually just playing basketball with them outside. The older child,Kyle, is more athletic and tends to learn things quicker, but the younger one, Ryan, usually catches on at his own pace. I was teaching them how to shoot a jump shot, do a lay up, and do a bounce pass by playing a game. I tried to let them discover what would work when we played, and Kyle usually figured it out. The Ryan only wanted to score by himself every time. I had to explain the benefits of passing to your teammates when having a 2-on-1 advantage. He eventually caught on to the idea, and I tried to give them feedback constantly, especially the Ryan. Ryan has a little bit of a temper, and he also gets easily discouraged when he fails to complete/accomplish something that Kyle can already do. Because of these characteristics, I try to give him feedback more consistently and keep it positive. Sometimes if I notice him having a lot of trouble with a task, I will change it to make it easier for him. Sometimes I have to lower the rim down from regulation or let them play with a lighter/smaller ball. I plan on continuing to teach/play with my neighbors, but after this class I will understand how to be more effective in teaching them new skills that they aren't familiar with.

Technology Quiz on 12/1

Class Quiz

The Lab D Experience

After teaching a 15 minute lesson for Lab D, I think I have really learned about myself as a teacher. I have made great strides in development from the first day of class, when we taught our mini-lessons, and I feel like I have even made large strides since teaching my Kin ball lesson. I can see/hear a huge difference in myself, and my confidence has grown a lot since the I began in 255. I have a greater appreciation for all of the little things that go into teaching a lesson, and I am trying to use all of this information to be an effective teacher.
Looking over my transcript from Lab D revealed some major changes I have made since my last teaching experience. I cut down on my use of the word "guys", however, I did continue to use "alright" quite a bit during my lesson. This will be my major goal as I continue to teach. I need to eliminate this filler from my lessons. I provided a lot of feedback for a number of students, and it tended to be specific and congruent, rather than just general, although I did do some of that as well. I was pretty happy overall after going through my transcript and really looking at it.
After going over my time code form, I realized that I did a pretty good job managing my time. I had over 50% activity time and an instruction time under 30%, but my management time was over 15%. I think my management time would have been less, but transitioning between stations took much longer than I had expected because of the large number of inexperienced skaters. Had this been another activity other than skating, I think management time would have been much smaller, and I thus, I am not too upset with my time management during Lab D.
Finally, I looked over my feedback form, and I was surprised by how much I had actually given. I was very pleased with the results, I gave very little general feedback, and I gave a lot of positive, congruent, specific feedback. The only negative thing I can find with this area is getting to everyone in the class. There are a few students who I seem to have failed to give feedback to during the lesson. Next time I teach, I will try to make sure I give every student at least 1 piece of specific congruent feedback. Other than that, I am extremely pleased with the feedback form.
Overall, I had a good experience my first time on the ice, even though I had my doubts, and I think the lesson went as smoothly as it possibly could have. No one got hurt (myself included), I covered my material, and I managed to work on most of the problems that I had in my earlier teaching experiences.

Explorer Scavenger Hunt Assignment

I found DJ and Freddy's lesson eye opening with regards to use of technology and inter-disciplinary teaching. My favorite part of the activity was making the flags because I thought it did a good job combining creativity and art with physical education. You don't see these other subjects integrated into the field very often. The ways that they integrated other subjects into their teaching is something I can definitely take from the lesson and apply to my future teaching lessons. I think this is an underrated aspect of teaching in any subject, and that it is important to learn how to do. This type of teaching is so effective because it often presents information in a different way to students (learning about explorers through activity, and actual "exploring"). This type of teaching also reinforces ideas and information outside of the regular environment they would learn it in (i.e. the classroom). Overall, I enjoyed the lesson , and I found the inter disciplinary teaching aspect very interesting. I also liked the way they used technology in their lesson, although I do not know if I would ever use this type of technology in a school setting, just because I do not know how effective/easy it would be to set up. Also, I am not the best 'texter' in the world.
Activity wise, I don't know if the lesson really kept me active. Once I left the gym, there wasn't much motivating me to keep moving. I did the tasks, but I didn't push myself at a fast rate. My HR got up, but not as high as it could have if I had pushed myself more during certain parts of the scavenger hunt. The data supports my ideas about my activity levels. My HR was under the target zone for nearly all of the activity, and I think the only time it was above the zone is when I had to get go to the stadium complex, and I jogged there. I forgot to wear my pedometer so I can't base it on my step count. Although, I think that I did take a decent amount of steps, and that I also probably took more than most of the other people in the class, even though my HR never went up.

Lab C Analysis

Lab C was a great experience considering, it was my first solo teaching experience so far in the class. Time goes by pretty quickly, and it wasn't difficult to find things to do, but instead quite the opposite; there wasn't enough time to do everything I wanted to get done. Unfortunately, I feel that, after looking at my transcript, I may have digressed with regards to my presentation skills. It could just be the fact that I taught for longer than the first time, but I used a lot more fillers during the lesson. I said alright close to 20 times, I don't remember saying it but after listening to the transcript it was eye-opening. Also, I noticed that I used the word 'guys' a number of times when speaking to the class which is also a big problem while presenting. I will have to make sure that I do not do these things when I teach again in Lab D.
I did an alright job managing time during my lesson. There was zero time spent sitting around waiting for an activity to take place. I was somewhat pleased with my time management when I actually sat down and look at my time coding form. There was a bit too much instruction time, but I think that comes when learning a new and unusual skill or game. Overall, I didn't have much of an issue with my time management, maybe next time I will get them into an activity quicker to cut down on instruction time.
After completing my feedback analysis form, I feel like I did a much better job providing feedback in this lesson than my previous ones. I still think I should provide more feedback, and I think I need to really focus on having the feedback be congruent. I referenced a number of cues from my first Kin ball lesson, rather than focusing on the objectives of my current lesson. Overall, I think that I am making progress in becoming a more effective teacher, and I am looking forward to continue the progression with my next teaching assignment.

Transcript/Feedback Form

After listening to my lesson recording, writing the transcript for it, and filling out a feedback form, I have a better idea as to what I need to do to improve myself as a physical educator. I feel that I drastically improved from the first time I taught in the class(namely because I was a little more prepared to teach the material at hand). I did a better job getting everybody moving quickly, and being enthusiastic about the lesson. I also did a better job checking for understanding, pinpointing, and demonstrating. There are still a few more things I need to work on such as creating challenges for the students, modify tasks for those who are advanced or behind, and giving more feedback. Feedback is probably my biggest issue. I didn't give very much feedback during my lesson, and I definitely had plenty of time and opportunities to do so. When I did give it, it wasn't really as congruent as I would have liked it to, and it was often very general. From now on, I really need to pay attention to giving feedback during the lesson; this needs to be my main focus from here on out in my teaching endeavors. The other areas are also important, but feedback seems to be the area I was lacking in the most.

Mini-Conference Reflection

Attending the Mini-Conference here at SUNY Cortland was a great decision, and I really enjoyed the time I spent at the different sessions. The keynote speaker was extremely inspirational, and I really enjoyed and took in everything he had to say. If every Physical Education teacher was just half as enthusiastic and dedicated as he was, there would be no questions/problems with people questioning the profession. One other session which I attended also sticks out in my mind; the Polar session. I do not know if I would use this type of technology when I go out to teach, but technology is definitely something that I want to integrate. Being technology savvy is something that needs to come along with teaching because that is the path the entire world is going in. I would love to use some of the technology and programs that were presented during the session, I just feel like it may be a little expensive for the majority of districts to afford. I could be wrong, and if I was, I would probably purchase this technology in a second. Overall, I really enjoyed myself at the Mini-Conference. The conference really allowed me to see a few of the things which it takes to be a successful physical educator.

EDU 255 Teaching Video

After watching the DVD of my 'lesson' from the first day of class, I noticed a few things that I thought were good, but also a number of things that I need to work on.
I felt as if I did a good job using a loud, 'outside' voice when explaining the task. I also feel that I did a good job demonstrating/explaining the task that needed to be completed. The closure of the 'lesson' also went well; I thought that I did a fairly good job checking for comprehension of the task. These were some of the things that stood out to me in the DVD with regards to positive characteristics.
Unfortunately, I also found a number of problems with the 'lesson' I taught. One thing that stood out to me was my dialogue. I was loud enough, but I said "umm..." way too much whenever I was speaking. I didn't say it a ridiculous amount, but I said it enough to have it bother me when watching the DVD. Another problem with the 'lesson' was the actual task that we set up. The set-up we used was good for learning the task, but it was ineffective for providing feedback of almost any kind, and it may have also put pressure on some of the students who were less successful at shooting a jump shot. I also gave out way too many cues for the task. I gave at least 5 cues on shooting a jump shot, which was far more than the recommended one or two. It may have overwhelmed some of the students, especially if they were younger and just learning the skill. Once again, these were just a few of the major things that caught my eye when watching my 'lesson' on DVD.
Overall, I would have to say that this 'lesson' on the first day of class was a success for a number of reasons. First off, I was able to see the things I was good at, and also the things that I need to work on throughout the semester. It also gives me something to look at with regards to growth throughout the semester. With this DVD, I can see how much I grow as a teacher by semester's end. This experience was an eye-opener for me, and I hope/can't wait to improve myself as a communicator and Physical Educator.