Daily Burn!

1.) I think the daily burn program is great. Before using the program this week I had no idea something like this was out for the public to use. The daily burn is a great way to reach your goals. The program tracks your workouts, sleep and nutrition. It also gives you suggestions, motivation and different challenges. The daily burn lets you see your progress along the way and i think this is a great way to motivate people. When you can see the changes that are happening to your body it makes you feel good about yourself. I also think the daily burn is a great program because it sends out reminders of the exercises for that day. To me this pushes me to get the workouts done. As I said before I have never heard of a website like the Daily Burn. I do think this is a great way to workout and be healthy but I will not continue to use the daily burn. I play softball and we have our own work out plan that I need to do everyday. Overall, I would continue to use the daily burn if I did not already have a work out program.


2.) The Daily Burn program would be perfect for a physical education program. The daily burn could be used to accomplish the recommended Regent's Level for learning standard #1B. Learning standard #1B says that students should know how to create a personal fitness program. Through the Daily Burn the students can learn their individual and group weakness's and strength's. Through these weakness's and strength's the students can put together a personal fitness program that is suitable to them. To establish individuals goals for the students I would have them go onto the Daily Burn website and pick out a challenge that they would want to complete. This would have to be a reachable challenge that the students can reach easily in a certain time frame. To establish group goals I would have students in groups of three and that group would have to find a challenge to complete together. This challenge would have to be something advance such as a certain distance the students need to run in a month or however long the Daily Burn unit went on for. The group would be each others motivators and on the web site the students would have to leave comments encouraging one another to reach the challenge.

3.) An electronic tool that can be used for capturing data is Picasa. Picasa is a picture program that lets you organize your pictures and documents. If picasa is open on your computer it allows you to take screen shots of what your doing on the internet. This means that whatever website is open it will take a picture of it and it will get saved in picasa. This can be a good way for reporting the recommended regents level for learning standard #1A. If the students in the class take screen shots every week they can visually see what they are good at or what they need help with. The teacher can also have the students print out these screen shots so he/she can see if the students are performing basic motor and manipulative skills and if they are attaining competency and proficiency in them. I used the Picasa program to get my results onto this blog below. It was very simple so I think if the students can learn how to take screen shots this can be a great way to see their progress.

 

 

 

EDU 255 Final- Part 1B and 1C

Part 1B

1.) The website is from Toronto ON, Canada. There are two schools mentioned in the documentary. One is located in Southern Saskatoon, Canada while the other school is in Naperville, Chicago, USA.

2.) I thought this news piece was extremely interesting. I remember doing a writing assignment for my previous college about how a healthy body equals a healthy mind, but this information blew me away. More than half the children that attended these high schools were diagnosed with an illness that prevented them from learning to the best of their abilities. Allison Cameron, a math teacher at Naperville high school stated in the documentary that more than half of her students were diagnosed with ADHD, and many of them had prescriptions to be on riddling. It is mind blowing to see how something as simple as exercise could change these kids from acting out in class to becoming real students who want to learn. This makes me wonder why other schools around the nation have not changed their programs. I think from this web-site it is obvious to see that exercise helps brain development and behavior control. I think too many students are stuck playing inside and have no room to run around and release energy. This program is great because it helps the students release all that energy so they can then focus on school work.

3.) I believe we don’t hear anything about the PE teachers in this program because they probably have the type of PE program the video describes. This type of program is where the students are either sitting out or standing around on the court not participating. If the students hated the idea of the treadmills in math they probably don’t find PE class to be enjoyable either and act out in that class as well. When I become a physical educator, I will make sure that my students are constantly moving getting their heart rates up and brains thinking. I will then try to challenge my students as much as possible by adding reading, writing, and math components into my lesson.


4.) The main outcome of this program was to find a way to get through to these children to help them learn and control themselves in a way that is beneficial to them. The benefits of this program were amazing. These 9th grade students started at a grade 4 level. Once the program was finished they improved a full letter grade in English language arts. Previous this school would not see any improvement at all in a full school year. The documentary went deeper into two male students who attended Naperville. One of the boys grew up in a bad position and at a young age had many issues. He started using drugs at eight and started to drink alcohol at the age of ten. Once the school started to use this cardio workout program the boy did not see himself as an issued child anymore. He wanted to think about his future now the things he could be doing with his life. There was also a boy in the video that did not like people and cursed out loud in the classroom. The program helped this boy by helping him control his anger which helped him communicate with others. This student by the end of the film developed a really good relationship with his teacher which he never had before. Overall I think this video proves its points that a healthy body equals a healthy mind. These outcomes are very similar to our New York State PE Standards. Overall the improvement we saw in this video is what we want in our PE programs. For example, the program met both aspects of NYS standard 1. The program in the video had students becoming competent and able to perform different basic motor skills. NYS Standard 2 was also met by this program because using this program helped the students to manage their behavioral issues. Lastly NYS Standard 3 was met because the students learned about these machines and could apply them to their everyday lives and others.

5.) BDNF is a growth factor for the brain. In the video Dr.John Ratey describes that BDNF acts as a fertilizer on parts of the brain. He says our brains are geared for us to move. BDNF helps to increase the survival of neurons and enforces the growth of new ones. To get your BDNF to increase it you must participate in aerobic cardio exercise for 20 minutes or more. This involves activity such as running and swimming or one that really gets your heart rate to increase. One book that is mentioned in the documentary that outlines this is “Spark” by Dr. John Ratey and another is “The Kinesthetic Classroom” by Traci Lengel and Mike Kuczala.

PART 1C

1.) There are many different activity categories a students can be proficient or competent in. These categories are team passing activities, net/wall activities, target activities, striking fielding activities, aquatics, dance and aesthetic, outdoor, personal performance, and fitness activities. To be competent in 6 activities and proficient in 3 in 3 different activity categories should not be too hard for a senior class because many of the activities in these categories the students work on every year. Out of the 50 or more activities the students are involved in I believe the recommended regents level for NYS Learning Standard 1A should be 90%. I believe at grade 12 the students should have already mastered the skills they have been learning since day one.


2.)When it comes to NYS Learning Standard 1B 90% of 12th graders should be “competency” in creating a Personal Fitness Plan. The students need to be able to take tests and create tests to fully understand the concept of being a physically educated person. The 12th graders should also be able to include nutrition into their personal fitness plan to prove that they understand what it fully means.

Splash ball!

For my final lab I got to teach in the water. I wanted to do something the students would find fun and something other than the traditional freestyle or backstroke drills. When I looked online for idea's on what to do for my final lab I saw a lot of information on water polo. I thought this looked really interesting so then I decided to look up how to properly play water polo. The rules were hard to teach in a 20 minute lesson so I wanted something simpler. Then i found a modified version of water polo that would work perfectly for my lesson, splash ball!



Lab D ran up on me quicker than I expected. I only had a couple days to come up with a good lesson to give to my classmates. I was really nervous going into my lesson because swimming has never been my strongest category. I do play softball though so I knew a lot of good throwing activity's I could have the students perform so I incorporated them into my lesson. I was really impressed with how much feedback I gave to the students. In prior labs before this one it was my weakness. I also thought during lab d that I did a good job on making my tasks the same for very activity. I noticed in other labs I tend to get off subject on what I want the students to learn. I made sure in this lab that when the students threw the splash ball I wanted the elbow higher than the shoulder and a wrist flick and when the students caught the splash ball I wanted soft hands.
Overall I learned a lot in 255 through all my teaching labs. I noticed that I improved in many areas and I know there is still areas that I need to work on. I am growing everyday as a teacher and eventually I will become a rock star p.e teacher!

Below are some documents for my lab d
Lesson plan
Progression sheet
Progression sheet 2
Time Code Form

What is Hurling?

I currently just got done teaching my lab c! It was fun because this lab was international games and activities. My partner and I decided to create our lesson on hurling. I have personally never heard of this sport prior to this lab but my partner said it was interesting, and it was! I found out hurling is a combination of lacrosse, field hockey, and baseball played mostly in Ireland. Hurling is played at a very fast pace with passing and dribbling mixed with swinging, it is such a unique activity.

The Video below is my first attempt at teaching Irish Hurling.


Here is a transcript of my video.

When I first started to watch lab c I got happy because I can see myself improving. I thought I did a good job narrowing down the tasks I wanted my students to learn. For example in lab B2 I noticed I had the class focusing on to many aspects of ultimate Frisbee. I wanted the students to concentrate on catching and throwing the Frisbee which I know now is too much for the class to think about in one lesson. In lab C I wanted to focus just on one aspect of the game at a time and I did. This was ball handling skills in Hurling. Also during this lab I thought I did a really good job in the way I carried myself. When I watch this video back I can tell I feel confident in what I'm saying and the way I move around the gym. I am learning a lot of new teaching techniques through all these labs but I know I still have A LOT to learn.

When I look at my time code form I noticed I spent a massive amount of time giving directions. It is very obvious if you listen and watch my video I spend too much time talking and not enough time having the class move. This is starting to become a trend in my lab videos that I need to work on. When I look at the video above I notice my tasks were very beginner and I spend half of my time giving directions. Overall I need to practice making my directions short and on point to the topic. I also noticed in the video above and from my feedback analysis form that I do not give enough specific feedback. The feedback I gave to the students this time around was very board and given to the class as a whole.

Overall I have one more lab this semester. This means I have one more shot to put everything together correctly then its on to the next step of my teaching adventure!

Ultimate Frisbee!

At some points in the video it is hard to hear what I am saying so here is a mp3 audio clip of my lab.

Above I am teaching a lesson on ultimate Frisbee. Lab B2 was very interesting to me. I was teaching Ultimate Frisbee which is a game I do not know very much about. I had to do a lot of research online this time around for example lesson plans. Previously I have either made my own skills or got told what skills to teach. I thought overall I got my point across to the class. I started off talking about exceptions and went right into the drill i wanted the students to do. This drill was called the line drill. I thought the drill went well and efficiently but I know I did not space the students out well enough. When the students made a bad throw the frisbee tended to intrude on others space.
I thought this time around I improved in some areas. For example for lab B2 I demonstrated which I did not for lab B1. I also thought I looked confident in the way I talked to the students. Overall lab B2 was a success and I see myself approving as the labs continue.

Below are forms that break down my lesson individually, so take a look.

Time Coding Form

Feedback Analysis Form

Transcript

Time Coding Form

Time code form

This is my first time code form that I have ever completed, and it is done for lab 1B. Overall for the first time being able to see where my time goes when I teach, I think my form came out good. As a teacher I need to time away time from instruction and add more time to activity. Check it out for yourself.

Lab B1

This is my video for lab B1. I learned a lot of information about my abilities to teach from this lab. Overall, I was really nervous while teaching. First off when I was holding up my sign with the cues my hand was shaking which made the sign shake too. I don't think the students noticed, but just noticing myself made me even more nervous. I practiced over 15 times at my apartment everything I was going to say while in front of the class, but when it came to the real thing I left a couple major pieces out of my lesson plan. Firstly, I did not say my safety statement which is very important so the kids do not fool around and get hurt. I also did not demonstrate what I wanted the students to perform. I was lucky this time because my task for the class was so easy to grab just from explaining it. I know there are going to be times when just talking is not good enough for the students. I need to make sure everything I do is clear for the class and that means I always need to perform a demonstration.

One thing I thought I did really well with this second lab is I projected my voice and had confidence in everything I said. I noticed that in order to be a good teacher you need to have your kids believe in what you are saying. This overall means I need to have confidence in myself before I can have the students I am teaching believe in the things I am saying. I also thought I did a good job getting the students into the lesson. I had the students call out "GOT IT" every time they hit the target. I thought for me as the teacher this was good because I knew what students were getting it and which ones were not. This way I could go around and give each student the proper feedback that they needed.


Overall I am excited about the next lab because I know what I need to do. I need to demonstrate and remember all the pieces of my lesson plan like I did in the first lab, and I need to have confidence like I did in the second lab. If I can bring all the pieces of the puzzle together I think I can really impress my classmates with my performance.

Lab 2A

This is my video from lab 2A. I thought the lab went well and overall, i got my points across to the students. At the end of the lesson everyone in the class knew the cues i gave, and how to perform each one. I also think I hit most sections of the C9 form, but I do think I need to work on some specific parts. For example, I could have used a better hook to get the students more involved in my lesson. I also think I could have been louder and clearer in the way I presented the lesson. I was very nervous, and I know after watching this video that i need to be more confident in myself, and the things I am saying. For my first real lesson in 255, I was overall satisfied in the way the video came out.



 


This is a picture of myself during my lesson. In this picture I was giving the kids a demo on how your hands should be positioned while performing a bump in volleyball.

255 homework questions 1, 4, and 5

1.) What is meant by the idea that teaching is a good-oriented activity?
Teaching is a goal oriented activity because in teaching you need to have a clear goal on what you want your students to learn. If teachers did not always have a goal to teach something to their students, they would not be doing there job correct. All teachers should always have a goal for there classes which is why it is a goal oriented activity. Physical education specially is a huge goal oriented activity because PE never stops, it is a lifelong activity with never ending goals.

4.) Why is the process that teachers choose to use to teach content important?
The process that teachers choose to teach with is important because processes reach goals. If you as a teacher just threw balls out and told the students to play they would not get the concept of what you are trying to teach. Processes break down the teaching into parts, and through these parts teachers can achieve pychomotor, affective, and cognitive goals for there students. Also through processes students can learn goals that the teacher did not intend them too such as fair play and sportsmanship. 

5.) Why is the movement task-student response unit of analysis so important in P.E?
The movement task-student response unit of analysis is important in PE because as a teacher you can see where your class is as a whole. The movement task is activities assigned to the students that relate to the lesson. As a teacher  we have a job to watch and provide feedback to the children. This is where the analysis comes into part. By watching the students motor activities we can determine what is the next appropriate teaching move. This could be to continue the lesson plan and move forward, or go back and clarify the task you just assigned. This is all based on the teacher and how the students perform certain tasks.

NEW BLOG!

Its about time i got a blog! The new semester here at Cortland is going great. One of my favorite classes i am taking this fall semester is PED 255. This class is going to teach me all i need to know about becoming a rockstar PE teacher. On the first day of class professor Yang had all the students, and myself included teach a specific skill for about four minutes in front of a camera. I was nervous! I wanted to look good in front of my peers and my new professor. I ended up teaching my class how to catch a football properly, and it ended up going better than i thought. Even though i was nervous, I was excited because we jumped right into things! This class is going to teach me so much and im ready for everything professor Yang has in store for me.



This is the first video of me teaching!