Portfolio Presentations

Today I attended a portfolio showcase for the Phys. Ed department at SUNY Cortland. It was a presentation of the seniors whose portfolios were good enough to make it. It was a very helpful experience because i was able to talk to some people who have been through alot of the academic trials that i am expecting to go through in the upcoming year or two.  I saw alot of good ideas in the portfolios and received some tips that are surely going to be useful.

Final Lab and a Little Reflection

Last week was our last lab at St.Mary's for the semester. Theses labs have been a great experience because there was alot to be learned and they have given me a sence of what teaching is actually like. I have coached before but teaching is definatley different. One of the main differences that i have realized that you have to motivate your students more when teaching than in coaching because the students don't always want to do what you have planned for them and since they aren't player's commited to your team, like your athletes are, they are more likely to give you a harder time. The best way to handle this is in your approach, something this experience has also taguht me. If you go into your instructing sessions with a positive attitude and approach, not only will the students be more willing and have a fun, but you are more likely to find yourself having fun as well and when they see your having fun then they will be having an even better time. It's contagious.

Happy Thanks St. Marys

The them of our lab this time was thanks giving. The focus of the lab was on the object control skills of dribbling and kicking. The results of the lab assessment showed that the subjects are at the elementary level in both skills, which is to be expected at their age group.




Lab 5 Assessment

Thank you ST. Mary's

Happy Halloween St.Mary's

This lab was probably the most fun so far. Alot of us dressed up in out costumes and you could tell how much it meant to the kids. It really does help to engage them in the activities when you dress up. This was the first one that i dressed up for as well and it made lab alot more fun for me to. The game i chose was a good idea as far as working the children's coordination but was probably a little to complicated to be fast paced and exiting for the pre-k group. between being that and being and having them play it at the tail end of the lab they tended to lose interest. i don't think they completely understood me when i explained it either. We all learned how to dance to Thriller to lol that was awsome.

Lab Write up

Super ST.Marys

Lab 3 at St.Marys was our Supere Hero Day.  My group was the gym group this time so i was feeling the pressure a little bit. All in all i think we did a pretty good job with the kids. My game didn't go the way that i saw it going in my head though. We were playing super heroes and villians where the heroes need to catch the villians beforer they get to there base. It is definatly better to play in the pool than in the gym, the game speed is to fast when they can run. Making the playing area smaller helped, but next time i'll have a couple more modifications planned just in case.

Lab Write Up

Pirates Invade St.Marys

The Pirate theme  was a fun idea and it seemed like the kids were really into it. Some of our colleagues got dressed up and the kids loved that. I didn't really do alot with the kids because i was organizing gym equipment for the first half of the lab, but when we were evaluating a few of the second graders motor skills it seems like they're  all pretty close to where they should be. And when i did get out of they closets i was jump roping with some of the girls and they we had them show us how to double dutch lol. I couldn't quite get it but Abigail was showing everybody up.

See Lab Write Up

No Game for the Hall of Shame

My initial reaction to seeing the games in the Hall of Shame is dissapointment. I remember playing all of these games in elementary school and to know that the phys. ed. program that I had in school is a bummer. It makes me wonder how much more i would have been able to develop as an athlete if i had a better physical education in grade school. They were alot of fun from what i remember though. I actually use simon says in some of the swimming lesson classes that i teach over the summer, but in the games we play nobody gets eliminated. It is a good way to get kids to review skills that you need them to learn in a fun kind of way. In an actual PE class taking away the elimination may take away the incentive to listen but you could have the winners get candy or you by them ice cream at lunch or something. anything you could think of that would be reinforcing the good the students are doing rather then the bad. the old typical version of simon says involved things such as touch your nose, touch your ear, raise your hand, all things that have them standing in one spot. If that was replaced with actions that you actually want them to learn as a PE Insructor such as running, hopping, skipping, dancing, or jumping, then this game could turn out to be a valuable tool.

Getting to know the Kids

This was the first day we got to interact with the kids at St. Mary's. I'm on the top of the play ground with Mike and Jennifer tring not to get tagged.

Singing at St.Mary's

Is there anthing Wrong with Giving Children Long Handled Implements?

A long handled implement would include items such as a baseball bat or lacrosse stick. Children should not be turned away from playing these sports outside of school if that is what they want to play but for the younger children, let's say third grade and under, they should still be learning to master their bodies without any other implement. One of my old lacrosse coaches used to tell my teammates and i that our lacrosse sticks were extensions of ourselves. I think kids should have control of themselves before they learn to control a lacrosse stick or a bat. Also, kids at that age do not always have the best self control. Although not intending to give them a weapon, baseball bats and lacrosse sticks can definately be used as such. All it takes is one temper tantrum. I'd save it for the older children but, a wiffle ball bat could be substituted for the baseball bat.

First Day at St. Mary's

Last week at St. Mary's was actually alot of fun. I was a little worried that it might have been another lame lab and anxious to see if i would enjoy working with the kids in this age group and i was pleasantly surprised. Some of the kids were a little shy, others just went off on there own and did what they wanted to do, but for the most part they all were exited that the college kids were there. There were a few of them who challenged us to the soccer game and this one boy has already developed alot of ball handling skills and footwork. On the playground the kids got us to engage in some games where you really have to use your imagination to play. It made me think of some of the games i would play with my brothers when i was that age. I  hope the next lab turns out to be as enjoyable as this one.

See Lab Write Up

Building a Foundation

The foundations that physical eduation teachers wish to instill in their students are: to have them beable to perform in a number of physical activites, become a physically fit person who participates regularly in physical activity. Also to have them become knowledgable of the reasons and benefits of being involved in a physical activity and how it can help them maintain a healthy lifestyle. Two key concepts discussed in the reading which will help us do this are to have students learn to move and, learn through the movement. Learning to move involves the motor domain of physical education, which is where the students are actually learning the motions. The learing through the movement occurs in the cognitive and affective domain. The cognitive domain is where they learn to percieve themselves in time and space and where concepts can be learned and used through physical movement. The affective domain is where they develop the way that they think about themselves and where they learn to be social and communicate

First day of Motor Dev class

Well i've never blogged before so it should be cool to try this out and learn something new. I'm not totally sure that i want to do the whole PE thing but I'm looking forward to this class helping me figure that out. When professor Yang was taking us around the school it definatly brought me back to my elementary school days.