Hi everyone,
I have a couple thoughts that I’d like to share in regards to today’s class. The first topic that drew my attention relates back to our discussion on Canada’s grade in the participation report card. According to the document we received a D-, we haven’t failed, but we do have a lot of room for improvement. This doesn’t come as much a surprise to me as my ability to memorize such an article itself. I’m not very good at retaining any facts, especially little fun facts; it was the way Steve developed his lesson to have us actively share with each other our thoughts that will allow me to always remember the letter, D-. The point I’d like to make is that it’s so obvious that we need to engage students in any subject we’re teaching if we want them to retain information. I’m sure all of us know this; it’s just funny because the theory was put into practice by Steve today, with myself as the participating learner.
Another thought I’d like to bring up is not as academic-related as it is ergonomic-related. I feel like the benches we sit on are not conducive to a healthy learning environment, or a healthy back. I saw that Meghan had the right idea as she stood up to relieve the ache, so I followed in her lead. I believe that if we had mats available to stretch on during the lesson, my attention would be geared more towards learning.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
We can definitely use some mats! Great idea.
Hi Chris,
I actually had a similar thought today during EPSE308. When Maryam told us about what she expects from us in her classroom and what she doesn’t believe in, her comments were met with enthusiasm. I must note here that I have never really enjoyed a psychology class – they were not engaging, and the material tended to get dull very quickly. Today’s (as well as last week’s class) – I found it hard NOT to pay attention. I realized that when a teacher has his or her students’ best interests as a top priority, it makes all the difference in the world in the students’ learning process.
Chris – it’s funny that you mention the benches. It may seem nit-picky, but I think this shows how your physical classroom layout can really influence a students’ learning experience. Although this is not specific for PE, I think it’s a topic worth noting. It was nice that Steve was able to gauge our mood and prompted to take a break a bit earlier than expected. This is something that may be easy to overlook when you’re focused on delivering a lesson. As an educator, you constantly need to check-in with your students and try to read their faces to see how their doing – whether it’s PE or any other subject.
I’ve also noticed how a classroom is set up can heavily influence the engagement level. For example, I appreciate that Miryam makes a point to rearrange the tables into a circle. At my previous university, the classrooms had large round tables as opposed to individual desks. This made it virtually impossible to be disengaged. You were constantly face to face with your classmates and your professor which definitely helped with class discussions.
Any thoughts on how we can improve the gym environment for better learning? (I agree… mats would be great 🙂 )
Great post Chris!
I have to agree that it doesn’t take long for your back to start aching on those benches. I think mats are a great idea or maybe we could break up the lectures a bit more. Have 5 minute breaks?
In regards to the D- score.. that was my guess when we were asked what we thought our letter grade was, and as sad as it is, I knew it would be low. There is absolutely no question in my mind that students need to be physically active daily. That being said, not all of US are able to get exercise every single day, but I think as young children we should be implementing it into their minds that not only is physical activity good for you, but why its good for you. We need to teach children the positive effects that exercise has on our minds and bodies. Depending on the age of the child, I think teachers should be explaining simply biological effects that exercise has on the body, and also tie it in with nutrition. That will wrap up my rant and I will see you all in PE next Wednesday!
Great idea Chris!
I’ve already completed my reply for group B, but I just thought I’d take a moment to second the motion for mats to sit on 🙂