Mini Conference

Here at SUNY Cortland we are so lucky to have our own PE Mini Conference where surrounding area schools come out for a teacher in service day conference to see what is new in our changing field. I gave some of my time to help out with the conference put on by our majors club, and my duty was to help direct people to designated classrooms and answer any general questions one may of had. To make myself standout I was wearing a big giant sign that read "QUESTIONS??" It was not the most fashionable attire, but got the job done.
After my shift I attended a few sessions, the Polar Technology, and Dr. Rinks Keys To Be an Effective PE Teacher. In the first Polar Tech. session the main point that was stressed was grading and assessing PE. It is more than just showing up an being active, but how you can get into heart rate measure as an aspect of ones grade. The units were pretty costly to use for a whole class setting , but if your district had the money or was given a grant they would be great to have. In Dr. Rinks session she went a little more in depth and elaborated on her key note address and followed up with the points of accountability. Identify what you want your students to get out of the lesson, be clear. Manage the class by being engaging and set expectations, this combination will lead to effective teaching. One last point I took from this was that it is our job to motivate students to learn and want to partake in physical activity. This can be related along the lines of classroom management and engaging students.

Lab B- Mic'd Up

Look at this nice action shot mid lesson! This took place in my third teaching experience while teaching in our Lab B- Ultimate Micro Unit. My lesson task was the backhand throw through a hoop. I was the third or fourth lesson so we were still pretty basic with the cues and demonstrations. I particularly liked the flow of my lesson as I was able to get into an inter task variation, and also all of my classmates stayed on point and looked like they had a good time. I'm not saying it was excellent but was a good improvement from my previous time out.

The main aspect that really changed in this lesson from my previous few was how I managed the class. You can check it out by viewing my Time Coding Form. From this document you can see how the activity time was much higher and an even better plus was that there was no wait time in the class. This is key to have maximum participation from students when given the time, it is our job as PE Teachers to minimize wait time when possible. Another factor that also helped increase the activity time among students was the activity itself. Not once was a student caught on the side not being active, and again this relates back to the activity that was taught and also how it has to be taught.

With this Ultimate Lesson I was also able to improve on not just my feedback, but how I gave it as well. By looking at my Feedback Analysis Form you can see how I gave more than just general feedback. For a teacher by giving out specific skill or task oriented feedback it shows that you really are watching and involved in the lesson. From a students perspective than they get the urge to go out and do activity's in the right manor because they want to be noticed.

At the closure of my teaching lesson, I too received some feedback. Dr. Yang and his TA's do a great job of letting you know what they liked, and also what you need to work. For me and quite a few of the other students, voice projection is a key point and we took care of that right after all had completed their lessons, with the exercise "There ain't no flies on me." But anyway take a listen in to my lesson with the Box sound clip below and also check out the Transcriptions Form for any clarifications. Stay tuned to the next post as we will take a look in at the SUNY Cortland Mini Conference! That's all for now, but in the mean time take a Listen In.

Lab A Take 2!

Here we are now just about a month into the semester and our class just did there Lab A re-take. My initial reaction to the experience was that I was a little bit more relaxed and sort of comfortable in the gym, but knew I still needed to improve on a lot of aspects. I had a chat with my T.A. Toby and he gave me some feedback and pointers and that gave me some more understanding. After a few days passed and the videos were up for referencing I had a second look at my lesson. It seemed as if I was in much of a hurry to just get it over with, that it really just came out not so hot. I really rushed the whole process as I was forgetting steps in the teaching model.

Looking at my time coding sheet it basically told me that the 3-man weave is not a very effective PE drill, too many students are on the side not being active. Another aspect that needs to be worked on is voice projection and overall sound/tone. I noticed this when going over my transcribe sheet, and feedback analysis form. Its sort of funny hearing yourself speak and you’re like "I said that". When it comes to feedback I had only generalized feedback, and not one instance of specific feedback. This has to change as I look to get myself moving around the gym more effectively.

Well this is just another helpful learning experience in my journey to becoming a better PE Teacher and I look to clean up my next lesson!!

My Thoughts

After watching that performance by Danyl on X-Factor I now have a new standard bar to base passion on. The way he preformed on stage he just glowed in confidence. I would have never thought that he worked in any other profession other than the music industry. I can only imagine what his class room setting is like, but I'm sure he works in a positive work environment. Now moving onto my mini-lesson it sure does not compare to Danyl's, yet that is! In the near future I would like to work on a few things and that is: posture, stance, and overall body language. Looking back a my clip I didn't show much excitement or enjoyment while teaching, and that needs to change. I will fix this issue through voice projection and just by staying positive with my students. Students like to be in a fun relaxed environment, but mainly FUN, and to do that I will shake things up from the norm to keep students on their toes with many interesting games.

EDU 255 First Class

Here is the teaching clip from the first day of classes!