Sunday, September 25, 2011

Lab A2: Layups






My lesson was the same as my first lesson (layups). For this lesson we were given a 4 minute time slot just like in the first except we had no equipment to work with. In my opinion the absence of equipment was the biggest challenge to get used to during the lesson. I had to modify both my demonstration and lesson activities because of this. This is what teaching is all about though, because you aren't always going to have the best facilities or proper equipment but you have to just make adjustments without hesitation.

I really liked a few things about my lesson. I think I did a much better job speaking loudly enough for the class to hear me and the visual aid was an appropriate addition from my first lesson. That being said, there is still a lot of improvements I need to make. My biggest criticism is my body language during the lesson. I noticed I tend to sway a lot when I talk and I occassionally tap my feet or swing my arms which I feel can really be a distraction to the students. I should be more confident in my movements and controlled so I'm not all over the place. Also during the layup line drill there was a period of time for maybe 20 seconds where I didn't say anything and I just stood there. I need to frequently be giving positive feedback and maybe even stop the drill for a moment to pinpoint one of the students. That way they get involved and it can really help improve their self esteem if they get the spotlight for a second and some praise from the teacher. Last thing, I just need to have fun with what I'm doing. I can't be so worried about messing up I just need to go out and have a good time and do what I love and the students will feed off of that positive energy.

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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Task Presentation (Ch. 4)

Q: What are some things teachers can do to improve communication with learners in task presentation?

A:
- Orient the Learner
- Sequence the presentation in logical order
- Give Examples and Nonexamples
- Personalize the presentation
- Repeat things that are difficult to understand
- Draw on tje Personal Experience of Students
- Check for Understanding
- Present Materials Dynamically

Q: What are some guidelines to demonstrate effectively?

A:
- Demonstrations should be accurate
- Use students to demonstrate when appropriate
- Demonstrate the organizational format
- Use demonstrations and examples in creative and cognitive problem-solving tasks
- Emphasize important information about a task
- Provide information on why a skill is performed a certain way
- Check student understanding after a demonstration

Q: What are characteristics of good learning cues?

A: Good cues are brief and critical to the skill being performed. They are also appropriate to the learner's skill level and age.

Understanding the Teaching-Learning Process (Ch. 2)

Q: What are the requirements for learning a motor skill? What do each of these requirements mean for the teacher of motor skills?

A: The requirements for learning a motor skill include prerequisites, clear idea of the task, implication for the teacher, motivational/attentional disposition to the skill, practice, and feedback.
         -Prerequisites: Do a task analysis to determine the prerequisites of the skill.
         -Clear Idea of the Task: Make sure directions are stated clearly
         -Implication for the Teacher: Make sure students have an accurate motor program from your communication.
         -Motivational/Attentional Disposition to the Skill: Eliminate repetitive drills, design tasks that capture the students attention, and require the students to process what they are doing.
         -Practice: Practice is necessary for students to use information on how to do the skill and to develop consistency of performance.
         -Feedback: Teachers can help students utilize feedback on knowledge of results and performance inherent in a skill and can use teacher feedback to maintain students focus and motivation to continue practice.

Q: What is the difference between the way closed skills, open skills, discrete skills, and serial skills should be taught?

A: Skills that are self-paced and closed require the development of consistency in stable movement conditions. Skills that are externally paced and open require that the individual be able to perform in complex external environments. The teacher will not want to practice closed skills in variable elements and vice versa. Teaching serial skills will want to be taught in groups of skills as opposed to one at a time as if it were a discrete skill.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Teaching Criterion

In teaching physical education there are four different criterion to keep in mind. These criterion include
1.) The learning experience must have the potential to improve the motor performance/activity skills of students.
2.) The learning experience must provide maximal activity or practice time for all students at an appropriate level of ability.
3.) The learning experience must be appropriate for the experiential level of all students.
4.) The learning experience should have the potential to integrate psychomotor, affective, and cognitive educational goals whenever possible.

Criteron #1
     This first criterion means that activities during class must be both challenging but at the same time at a level where a reasonable goal can be met. It is a healthy balance of these two characteristics that provide for an effective learning experience that is beneficial to the student.

Criterion #2
    This statement is saying that activities should be higher in movement and include all participants. A great way to acheive this is by organizing non-elimination activities. This way nobody is left out on the side if they were to get "out" during a game. I think activities like these are essential in a physical education classroom because as an educator you want to get the most out of your students in the little time you have. So now instead of having students standing on the sidelines, they are constantly moving and participating.

Criterion #3
    This criterion is similar to the phrase "no child left behind". If there is a skill being taught you want to make sure it is simple enough that every student can participate it while still being somewhat of a challenge. You never want to do an activity/skill in which students are being left behind because they are not capable of doing the skill. This kind of neglect can really have a harmful effect on a child's self esteem which is very important as an educator to make sure your students have a high self esteem and feel good about themselves.

Criterion #4
    Being able to organize activities that work on all three of these aspects is crucial. It is extremely important to focus on more than just the physical skills involved with your activities. Getting the brain active is a very important part of these activities. Therefore coming up with games that involve listening to directions, spacial awareness, and communication is essential. These are skills that are developing just as much as the physical development going on in a child's body.

Questions:
1. Teaching is a goal oriented activity. This means that there is a purpose to our lesson plans and it is to develop lifetime movement in students and achieve a certain level of competency in movement skills.

5. The movement tasks are motor activities assigned to the student that are related to the content of the lesson. A teacher may tell the students that they are going to practice doing volleyball sets to themselves until they can do 5 without the ball hitting the ground. While this activity is taking place it is the teachers responsibility to observe the students and give feedback. The way the student responds to the feedback is called the student response. It is important for these both to be included in running an activity because it helps a teacher provide feedback to a student to improve the individualized skills.

7. Two teaching functions include planning and monitoring the learning environment. This means that one should have planned a series of activities that are appropriate learning experiences that lead towards meeting an identified goal and giving feedback on student performance through accurrate assessment.