St. Mary's: Sports Theme

      Last Monday, the Cortland students of PED 201 made their return to St. Mary's for another action packed day with the children. The shared theme for this week's session was Sports and the Cortland students represented the theme extremely well. Just about everyone from Cortland walked into St. Mary's with a jersey on his/her back. It demonstrates the amount of character the Cortland students have, as we all share one thing in common when observing at St. Mary's and that is to make the children smile. With many Cortland students wearing sports jerseys it had an immediate impact on the time spent at St. Mary's. The children reacted very well to us and everyone was excited for the activities to begin.
   

      The group I am with (Athletic Alliance) was in charge of leading the opening activities for the kindergartners and 1st graders. During the games, the Cortland students not a part of the Athletic Alliance observe from the side checking off movements associated with locomotor skills. The locomotor skills we were asked to incorporate into our games this week was the leap, horizontal jump, and slide. I was the first one to demonstrate my game and I believe it went pretty well. When I was describing the game (Hungry Frogs) to the students I did a lot of checking for understanding to ensure the children understood what he/she was suppose to do. During my game, I was able to incorporate the horizontal jump and slide for the Cortland students to begin completing the performance criteria related to the locomotor skills. I think I could of observed the students from more angles and provided more feedback, but overall it was a great experience. After, the group went down to the cafeteria for snack time where we got the opportunity to talk with the St. Mary's students. When snack time was finished we played tag games outside and finished up with the entire class dance at the end to conclude the day. I am gaining so much insight about the development of children as it will prove to be beneficial towards my path of becoming a physical educator.

***Click here to view my lab 3 assessment sheet!

Athletic Alliance Performs "Bye, Bye, Bye"

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     During prep lab for PED 201, the groups were asked to create a one minute dance to any song we chose. The purpose of the activity was to choreograph our own dance moves and be able to lip sync the words. Within my group (Athletic Alliance) we decided to go with a common song everyone knows the words to. The song "Bye, Bye, Bye" by the boy band N'Sync was what the group agreed upon because the words are simple and the beat would be easy to choreograph dance moves. Within an hour span, the group was able to throw together dance moves and we were ready to perform for the video camera. Overall, I am not a very fluent dancer, but the experience was fun as I was able to bond closer with the individuals in my group. Check out the video!

The Cortland Mini Conference!

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        Last Friday, October 7th, Cortland displayed their Mini Conference for Health and Physical Education. The morning started off with a bang, as the Cortland PE students choreographed a dance to the song "Party Rock Anthem", by LMFAO. It was a nice introduction for the crowd to the mini conference and provides the attending teachers insight of what exactly the Cortland PE program represents. The keynote speaker, Dr. Sarah Armstrong of Virginia, discussed how brain activity from exercise can improve teaching. Throughout the presentation, Dr. Armstrong explained how the chemicals in the brain (neurons) from exercising can increase attention span, motivation, and reduce stress. Dr. Armstrong mentioned a staggering statistic including the low percentage of individuals who do not remain physically active after high school. As a future physical educator I want to make a difference in the lives of my students helping them realize the importance of exercise beyond high school.
 
        When the keynote presentation concluded, I decided to attend the "K-4 Active Health" session led by Dr. Helena Baert of SUNY Cortland. In the session, individuals who attended were able to participate in games demonstrated by Dr. Baert. These games highlighted activities for teachers to engage health and fitness into a lesson for students in grades kindergarten to fourth grade. The workshop provided teachers with fresh ideas, while incorporating important life aspects like safety and personal hygiene. For example, the Fire Safety Relay had students in groups starting behind a cone. On the cone was a bean bag representing a fire alarm which the student had to push to begin. Next, he/she ran to a lacrosse stick, put it up to his/her ear, and pretended to tell 911 there is a fire. Finally, the individual dove under a hockey stick held up by tall pointed cones and quickly stop, dropped, and rolled on a mat. There was a tag game where the taggers represented plaque and when a person was tagged he/she could not move until two individuals acting as a "toothbrush" and "toothpaste"came over and brushed him/her. The student then had to count to 100 by 5's while being brushed before he/she could resume playing the game.
 

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        The next session I attended was an exergaming lab presented by Dr. Yang of SUNY Cortland. This was certainly the most interesting workshop I visited because it showed how exercise can be implemented into video games. To perform any of these games exercising is the only way to be involved and successful. Exergaming promotes a very active and healthy lifestyle leading to higher fitness in children and adults who take part in these video games. Research has proven exergaming has a positive impact on health, academics, and social behavior. One of the stations included the "Cars" racing game from the Disney movie and the gamer had to peddle a bike for the car to move. The faster he/she peddled the faster the car went, so one can tell the physical endurance the game consumes on the human body. Exergaming seems to be the future of video games and the physical activity involved will hopefully cut down obesity rates within the American society.
     
        In the last session I attended, "International Activity: Games from Australia", two SUNY Cortland graduates presented the material. Dustin Verga and Jill Walsh did their student teaching in the country of Australia and provided the individuals in the session information on the sport of rugby. We learned the history of the sport and the correct technique to hold the ball when getting ready to punt. After a few activities of tossing the ball properly and punting, we broke into groups incorporating subjects into the sport. My group had science and we discussed how physics plays a role in rugby. For example, players must understand the correct trajectory and angles to release the ball to another teammate successfully.
 
        Overall, the mini conference was a very exciting and fun atmosphere. I am really looking forward to next year's presentation as I am sure there will be more great information provided to assist current and future educators. At the beginning, I was unsure of how the mini conference would be, but it proved to be a great time providing me with a lot of information I can later utilize as a physical educator.

Reflection on Lab B

      In Lab B, the students had to teach the class a jump rope skill he/she was assigned by the professor. The difficulty of the jump rope lab varies and progresses as each student gets his/her opportunity to teach the class. The unit began with individual skill/s and will conclude with partner jump roping skill/s.

      Throughout the lesson, there were positive points I performed in the lab and there was also many negative aspects of my lesson. I was able to put together an effective introduction informing the students who I was and what the day's lesson contained. Next, I said my hook to the class and hopefully it got the students more engaged in the task they were about to perform. To me, my hook felt weak because it was difficult for me to think of something related to the task I was asked to demonstrate to the class. Another positive aspect of my lab was I mentioned a safety statement before the students were situated to begin the lesson. I should have said the safety statement while the entire class was still standing directly in front of me because the statement was less effective and unclear if everyone heard it. During the task, I provided cues for the students to follow, so performing the task would be easier. The cues of my task was right, left, right, left. Lastly, I incorporated teaching by invitation as I demonstrated a basic task of my lesson and a more advanced skill. The students had the choice of picking which task he/she felt comfortable practicing.
   
      First, I believe I could have developed a better hook for my students to incorporate the task. My safety statement should have been mentioned in the beginning before the students dispersed to his/her spot in the gym. I said the statement as the class was moving and it is unclear if everyone heard my instructions. The class did freeze when I asked them to spot and look up, but I never discussed with the students my voice would be the signal of attention. In my demonstrations, I should have provided the students with more angles of how the jump roping skill is performed and some common faults individuals may make. Before coming into the lesson, I thought I was well prepared and ready to teach, but I could of been much more effective. There were times I was caught up in my instructions not providing the class with clear thoughts. Once I know I have made a mistake I realize what happened affecting my lesson and my confidence. When the students were involved with the activity I did walk around, but I should have circled around the students to obtain a better view. Teaching a jump rope unit made me uncomfortable because it was a new task I have never taught before and do not contain much experience. I need to come into each lesson with more confidence about the skill/skills I am teaching to the students.

***Click here to view my verbal transcript and time coding form.

St. Mary's Lab 2

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        The second lab at St. Mary's was a blast and it provided me the opportunity to gain insight on how younger children perform locomotor skills. Cortland students were asked to observe two specific children and see how well both could run, gallop, and hop. Observing these three locomotor skills gave me a better understanding if there are differences between age and gender. Many of the St. Mary's students did really well with completing the criteria on the rubric for the run, gallop, and hop. The Cortland students who taught the opening activities did extremely well in presenting the material and checking for understanding. It is essential to check for understanding with the younger students because sometimes the students can become confused or find the directions unclear. The young children really reacted well when asked specific questions on playing the game. From my perspective it seemed the students were very quick to respond and got the questions correct. At a young age the students will want to play any game as long as the teacher makes the game sound fun and interesting.
      

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        Within my group, while outside on the playground, the children really separated based on gender. The girls would gravitate toward the female assistants and the boys wanted to play tag with the male assistants. When our group went into the gymnasium we performed our games with the children. For the most part, the games went well, but there were a few games some children showed little interest and did not want to participate. One child was uninterested in any of the games we played.  He only wanted to play football, but always decided to join in from the beginning. At the end of the lab, we were  asked for our reaction to the day by video camera, which was a huge surprise. Overall, the day went great and I am really looking forward to coming back to St. Mary's for the next lab.

**Click here to view my Lab 2 assessment sheet.

Lab A2

        In Lab A2 the students were given the opportunity to re-teach his/her lesson from Lab A1. For not having any of the supplies to assist with the demonstrations or activities the class did well making the best of what he/she had. I think everyone did a great job and has already made progress in becoming an effective teacher. 

      

        My reaction on my performance in Lab A2 is definitely more positive than A1. I felt a lot more confident going into the lab and I believe it showed in my teaching. There were many things I improved upon from the first lab and hopefully I continue to make progress throughout the semester. I was able to come into Lab A2 more prepared than the first lab because I had the chance to plan out the lesson. Having the ability to plan it out helped me in all of the areas related to teaching as I knew what was expected of us. My energy was much higher and I seemed to be more enthusiastic in the material I was teaching to my "students". Energy and enthusiasm are important because it certainly helps me project my voice and the tones I used in my voice varied during the lab. Remaining relaxed helped me express clear thoughts to my "students" because they all seemed very understanding of how to engage in the task. Another way being calm helped was it reduced the amount of times I said words like "uh" and "um". The last part I believe I did well on was my hook because I thought it was creative and different for the younger students to remain interested on the class lesson.

        As teachers are aware no lesson will ever be perfectly instructed. While I did many positive things throughout the duration of my lesson there are still negatives, which need improvement. At the beginning of the lesson I should have rearranged the "students" so their backs were to the other class. Now, the "students" were probably less focused on what I had to say and more concentrated on what the other group was doing. Having the students face the wall is a good way to keep all eyes on the teacher. Next, I forgot to mention a safety statement which is vital because students must know to be aware of certain situations. I did remember to follow the acronym DEAD (demonstrate, explain, again demonstrate). The only thing wrong was I forgot to show the demonstration from more than one angle and for most students he/she needs multiple angles to understand correct technique. During my activity I was giving positive feedback, but I should have pinpointed one person who may of had trouble. At the end, instead of asking the whole class to answer how to properly pass a soccer ball I could have purposely asked one individual specifically to give me a cue on the skill.

Chapter 4 Questions: Effective Teaching Skills

2) What are some things teachers can do to improve communication with learners in task presentation?
         There are eight different approaches a teacher can take to improve communication in task presentation. The first is setting an introduction, and a successful introduction has the ability to grab the learners attention to the criteria of the presentation. In a typical introduction the speaker wants to talk about something interesting, like a story that ties into the lesson. The teacher should cover what he/she will be doing, how it will be done, and why it is being taught over the course of the introduction. Second, the material being presented must be organized, so the teacher does not confuse any students. It is logical to go in chronological order because the material will be easier to follow and the concept makes the most sense. Presenting in chronological order has proved to be successful, so don't fix what isn't broken. Third, individuals learn well when the examples are given throughout the presentation. For some reason, people understand concepts when examples and non-examples are provided. Examples help people gain an understanding what right from wrong is. Fourth, the teacher can personalize the presentation because it gives the feeling everyone is involved. Providing the audience with personal experiences about yourself and/or between the teacher and students helps maintain interest in the material.

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        Fifth, repetition is a key facet of task presentation as it allows the learners to understand ideas which may be difficult to grasp. When the teacher wants to make a key point during the presentation it is important for him/her to repeat over and over for clarity. There is no moving forward until everyone understands the main focus of the presentation and the key ideas expressed by the speaker.  Sixth, it is important to relate the content to the personal experiences of students because it keeps the students engaged in the presentation. The teacher needs to be capable to bridge together old experiences with present experiences occurring in class. Seventh, the teacher must check for understanding because when students are asked if they know the material no one will raise his/her hand due to possible embarrassment. It is important for the teacher to gather feedback from the students because it will ensure the teacher his/her students grasp the material being presented. The teacher can either call out a specific student or create a list of questions the students must answer throughout the presentation and review the questions at the end of the presentation. Lastly, the ability to present the material in a dynamic fashion is important. Instead of speaking in a monotone voice the entire presentation it is vital to switch up the volume, pitch, and tone between teacher and students. Teachers must understand to utilize his/her voice dynamics to be effective and have a presentation the students stay attentive in.

3) What are guidelines for using demonstration effectively?
        To produce an effective demonstration the teacher must follow seven guidelines. The first guideline is double checking if the information from teacher to student is accurate. Students rely on the teacher to provide him/her with the correct technique. So, it is important for the teacher to fully demonstrate the motions more than once and from an array of angles. One child might learn better when seeing the body movements from a specific angle. Second, if a student is capable of demonstrating as well or better than the teacher have the student perform the demonstration. Now, the teacher can turn his/her focus on the students watching to stress the important aspects of the task. Third, the teacher needs to be able to demonstrate the task exactly how the students will be performing it. For example, if the class is covering volleyball and the ball has to be tossed over the net during the activity the teacher should present the task in this manner. Children need correct visual examples because it helps the students understand organizational format of the activity. Fourth, a quality demonstration has to emphasize the important information about the activity. The essential parts of a skill needs to be highlighted several times, so the students can comprehend the critical points. When a teacher highlights the vital information it is important for him/her to express it verbally and visually. To express it visually the teacher should try and freeze during the demonstration of the key points of the task.

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        Fifth, information should be provided for why the skill being performed in a certain manner. For some instances it is performed to follow the rules of the game or to properly follow the principles of movement. When demonstrating the skill it is important to perform the skill at a slow speed, so the observers can understand the motion. Sixth, teachers check for the students understanding on the newly learned skill. A teacher can ask a question immediately after the demonstration was given, but it is incorrect to let the students practice without checking for understanding. There are several ways a teacher can check for a student's understanding. Lastly, the demonstration must occur more than once for the students to properly understand. Every time the demonstration is repeated the performance should be shown at an alternate angle. It is difficult for students to grasp the motions of a skill after one demonstration.

5) What are the characteristics of good learning cues? Design a set of learning cues you would use with young beginning learners and then for older advanced learners for a closed skill, open skill, and movement concept.
        The characteristics of good learning cues consist of accuracy, critical to the task, few in number, and must be appropriate for the age and skill. A learning cue is a phrase which communicates as much information about a specific skill efficiently. The teacher must teach accurate skills because students should not be misinformed. When a student is mislead he/she may develop bad habits that become difficult to correct. If a teacher is unsure how to properly demonstrate a cue he/she should receive the correct information from a reliable source. The teacher being capable to selecting cues has high importance as it provides the learners with good visuals on how to perform correct technique. Demonstrating cues should highlight the critical points of the skill. While providing information to students the teacher does not want to overwhelm the students with too many cues. Performing cue after cue will cause the students to forget or lose the attention of the class. A teacher should work with a few at a time until the cues are mastered. Cues should be appropriate for the age and skill level the teacher is instructing. The educator does not want to introduce a complicated cue to beginning learners because the cue is to difficult to understand or complete. It is important for the teacher to remember the age group he/she teaches and the ways he/she can modify cues for the different skill levels within the class.

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        For young beginning learners I would have them dribble a basketball stationary for a few minutes as a closed skill. I would have them concentrate on having the legs shoulder width apart, head up, and bouncing the ball off the finger tips. Next, the open skill would consist of a defender playing at 80%, so he/she is not stealing the ball away from the dribbler. The dribbler needs to become accustomed to having another player attempting to steal the ball. Keeping the head up would be greatly stressed, but the student still needs to remember the basics of dribbling a basketball. A movement concept would be incorporated by having the dribbler to try to dribble from baseline to baseline with a defender trying to steal the ball. The player has to keep the ball close to the body at all time while being guarded. For older advanced learners I would have them begin with shooting free-throws as a closed skill. The student needs to focus on feet shoulder width apart, eyes on the basket, and perfect follow through. Then, the open skill would progress to the three point line where he/she will receive passes from all around the arc with a defender running at him/her and they would be asked to shoot. I would tell the student to stay square to the basket with arms up and ready to catch. When the student catches the ball remember to follow through and pump fake if needed. The movement concept would have the student on the run around the three point area where he/she will quickly catch and shoot. The player must keep his/her head up when dribbling, ready to catch the ball, square up before shooting, and complete the shot with following through.