Hey everyone! It was great to be back in PE after two weeks of practicum and also interesting to partake in this week’s group teach. I really enjoyed the individual activities planned for this week, as it was quite new for me to experience these in a PE setting. During my time in elementary and high school, we never had the opportunity to do guided dance or yoga, and I really enjoyed it. Dance units were always routines practiced and presented in groups, or partner dances such as swing dancing, which generally made me feel somewhat conscious and uncomfortable. However, these sorts of individual activities would be great for students who do not like being watched or being the centre of attention in PE class, as everyone is participating together, but the students are not really observing one another. Also, it was great to see how the group integrated heart rate monitoring into their activities, but I would have liked to see more discussion of what different resting heart rates indicate, or what heart rate we should expect to have after completing each activity (just to have a point of comparison).
On another note, I think this week’s group teach could tie in well to our readings, especially with regards to “culturally relevant physical education.” For instance, Sheena’s dance section incorporated reggaeton music. Dance could be used in PE as a way to validate other cultural traditions, as students could partake in various different types of dances, or dances to music from other traditions. As well, the individual activities could various forms of exercise or stretches from other parts of the world, which would work well within the textbook’s context for diversity that discussed adapting PE for race and for new immigrant students.
Hi Shirin!
I really enjoyed reading your post, I feel the same way about ‘traditional’ dance classes in PE. I always felt a bit uncomfortable performing a dance routine in front of an entire class while I was in school. I feel like this puts a lot of pressure on students, especially if they do not feel skilled or talented in dance. Having everyone dance together as a class or in small groups would help relieve a bit of pressure. I also really enjoyed doing yoga. This would be a great activity to add at the end of PE classes. I enjoyed concentrating on my breathing and forgetting about all the other worries in life. Doing yoga in class reminded me of the program MindUP. When implemented in a classroom, the program helps create a mindfully engaged environment. It helps students remain focused, concentrate on their breathing, think clearly, and improve communication. The MindUP program and other social, emotional learning activities also provide students with knowledge about how the brain works. I think this is incredibly helpful so students understand the reasoning behind their actions and feelings. A program like this might be beneficial to add into a PE class. I look forward to our last 2 classes!
Hi Shirin,
I agree with you that schools should do more to recognize diversity as part of the curriculum. It’s not enough to just talk about diversity, or to spend one day learning about another cultural. Intercultural learning should be embedded throughout the learning process. It would be very easy for schools to incorporate cultural dances or other cultural activities. I really think that students would love participating in these activities and I think they would learn a lot more about the world through intercultural learning and culturally diverse activities.
The old way of teaching physical education through a focus on sports education is very limited in its cultural focus among other problems of encouraging elitism and having limited variety in activities and alternatives to meet the diverse needs of students.
I also really enjoyed the group teach. I especially loved Sheena’s dance to reggaeton music and how she used moves from Megan’s lesson. I really like how all three levels of activity were incorporated to teach about heart rate monitoring. I agree that more discussion about the heart rate monitoring would have been helpful. I could really see students enjoying this lesson, although I’m not certain that I could teach dancing that well and I know that I would not be able to teach yoga as professionally and smoothly as Kate.
The feeling of being watched or having male dancing partners during secondary school was always very unnerving and I also felt uncomfortable and self-conscious. I really liked the dance class format we had during the team teach, as it enabled us to learn all the movements and dance together, without making us feel like we were being put on the spot and being observed with the exception of a few photographs.
I completely agree with you Shirin! I loved the cultural aspect of Elixa, Sheena and Kate’s lesson. As IB teachers, we especially want to incorporate other cultures since we’re such advocates of international mindedness. I agree, having diverse lessons will validate the cultures and traditions of people from different backgrounds, I believe this is especially important since we are lucky enough to live in a multicultural city where our students will likely come from many different backgrounds. I was also impressed with how the group was able to incorporate measuring heart rates in the lesson and make it relevant with what was being taught (ex. yoga, dance, stretching).
Something I would have like to see in the lesson is perhaps have a discussion about heart rates and why it is important to consider your heart rate when participating in physical activity. If we want to promote life-long health amongst our students, I think it’s important to have these conversations. How is the heart rate relevant to our health, and what activities can we participate in that moderate our heart rates?