A large number of people can attest to the fact that I was a ball of nerves this morning, but thanks to the collaborative effort of my group members and everyone in the cohort, I feel that our group teach went well!
During the initial planning stages, my group and I had considered a number of concerns that could potentially crop up during our lesson. For instance: how many people per team for the game of 21? This wasn’t just a matter of making sure we had enough equipment, but we also wanted to make sure that everyone was having a frequent opportunity to participate versus having to stand off to the side just to wait their turn—an unfortunate characteristic found in some Hall of Shame games.
We had some potential activities planned in the circumstance that we did have to do large groups, but it just so happened that we didn’t have to mobilize these plans. As with any lesson though, I think it’s incredibly important to have the ability to adapt and switch things around as needed. Had the weather taken an unexpected turn for the worse this morning, we could have just as easily done the activities inside instead of outside—we were open to do some readjusting if the situation ever called for it.
I’m definitely looking forward to all the group teach presentations to follow! I have no doubt that you’ll all be fantastic, and I’m ready and willing to participate and learn!
The first class of EDUC 320 was a great experience, and has me excited for teaching physical education to my future students. However, reading the PE Hall of Shame articles gave me some particular insight into what to keep in mind when thinking of lessons – games such as dodgeball and capture the flag that I had played as a child, and then proceeded to facilitate for children I worked with as an adult, do not encourage involved, active participation or teamwork, which can leave students feeling frustrated and disengaged from physical activity.
Thinking of my own experiences, I was always more comfortable doing solo activities (ie. hiking), where I could set the pace and goals for myself. However, I used to (and largely still do) avoid team sports (ie. soccer), mostly because of a fear of failing at the activity in front of my peers. I have below average depth perception so some activities such as catching or kicking tended to be challenging for me. However, I often found that I would not be given any accommodation for this and would instead feel judged. I think this mindset is reflective of many learners who may dislike their physical education classes – PE that doesn’t take into account the unique needs of each learner does not set them up for success to be confident and participatory. The purpose of PE should be to give kids opportunities to explore different physical literacies and learn how to keep themselves healthy, not to discourage physical activity.
At first, and from my experiences with Physical Education teachers, my understanding was that in order teach PE, you had to be experienced in some form of athletic action, be it a basketball player or triathlon participant, etc. This comes from my previous PE teachers being coaches as well of my school’s athletic teams; I have never had a PE teacher who did not coach a team after school. This fuelled my knowledge and assumption that all PE teachers were experts in some sport that allowed them to not only teach general PE, but also be the coach of their own team. This kind of pushed me into being a teacher in a weird way because it made me want to show my fellow students who are not as physically active or capable as the star basketball player that you don’t have to be an expert or perfect at a sport in order to be a PE teacher or athlete.
I am no expert in any sport in the capacity to coach one myself except for Quidditch, but that is not a popular enough sport to garner me as an expert in any way. I always knew I would have to teach PE as an elementary school teacher and that terrified me because I was no such expert. I was afraid of going into a classroom and being seen as a phony for not being able to be an expert.
This is the reading summary from the Target Games group! This briefly covers chapters 1, 2, and the Hall of Shame readings. We hope you all enjoyed yourself today!
Teaching Physical Education Today – Chapter 1
Physical education was initially intended for the purposes of war
Historically focused on instilling discipline and moral values in youth
Medical exams revealed many men and women were unfit for service
1943 National Fitness Act to promote physical fitness in schooling
PE philosophy changed after WWII to an approach that nurtured development of the whole child: physical, social, and cognitive
More student facilitated and greater variety of movement forms
Teaching Physical Education Today – Chapter 2
Need knowledge of content (what to teach) and pedagogy (how to teach) + need knowledge of child and youth development
Need to understand students’ social and emotional needs
May have certain degree of physical literacy; need to recognize that just because it comes easily for you does not mean it may be the same with your students
Have a vision for teaching: be aware of the goals, connect various elements of teaching, explain to students purpose of learning activities, and explain teaching approach to students, parents, etc.
If students understand reasoning behind tasks, they are more likely to find personal meaning in education
Can be very difficult for pre-teachers to overcome/change beliefs from their own schooling
The Physical Education Hall of Shame
Characteristics of PEHOS games:
Absence of purported objectives of the activity
Potential of embarrassment
Focus on eliminating students from participation
Overemphasis on having ‘fun’
Lack of emphasis on teaching motor & lifetime physical fitness skills
Extremely low participation time factors
Large groups where getting a turn is based on luck or competitiveness
Extremely high likelihood for danger, harm, or injury
The purpose of physical education is to promote and support the physical, emotional, cognitive, and affective development of the students.
Discussion Questions:
In the past P.E. was initially created to ensure people were fit for the military. How have expectations shifted since then? What does the future of P.E. hold for students?
Do you agree with the PEHOS? Which games you would take off?
Do you have any suggestions for alternative games or modifications?
My fear walking into this course came from two letters, P.E. The context around which I know this subject falls into what I would categorize as negative. I have never really enjoyed P.E. and it has strayed quite far from those subjects in which I would consider favorites. To write that I was walking into this course with even a semi-positive frame of mind would be like a smile, the same smile one carries on their first day at a new school, the one that hides the nerves… I was not looking forward to what was to come.
As you begin to meet people however, and discover friendly faces among the crowd, the nerves slowly dissipate and the fears you had fade to a minimal existence. This is how I felt as we began our free play. I began to remember what P.E. was like as a child, and as a joined in on a game of passing a volleyball around, my new friends became reassurances that we were in this together.
By the end of the day I found a new respect for P.E. that I had lost somewhere along my journey through school. Perhaps it is that I am now considering it from the perspective of a teacher, or that I feel comfortable enough with the people I am around to know that P.E. is not a competition and therefore I do not have to be the best. This experience is about growth and so my new found appreciation for P.E is just the beginning.
Week 1 This morning I arrived to campus early and treated myself to a hearty breakfast; all Canadian breakfast at A & W. It was a plate full of carbs and grease, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, tomato slices and whole wheat toast that would soon take long to digest. Well, I met a friend and we walked to the Osborne gym together for the PE class. My GPS said we passed it when we didn’t. We panicked about being late & it felt like we wanted to run, but where? We were a couple minutes late. Not what we wanted to do be late. We walked into PE and it was so much fun. Free time. I didn’t know what to play with. So I grabbed a basketball because it was familiar to me. Then the strips of colors flying around in the air were so colourful and beautiful, what is the name of this? I had lots of fun. My legs were sore from the squats we did in the Mission Possible game.
I thoroughly enjoyed week 2 of PE. Group 1 lead us in an interesting and engaging lesson in target sports, and I was so impressed by their enthusiasm and content, especially for being the first group out. Way to go guys! The side by side comparison of regular dodgeball and their modified version was instructive as to how certain games need not be exclusive as long as they are thought through and adjusted with care. By having the opportunity to participate in both games, it was easy to see the differences between the two and connect it to the points in the readings.
This lesson lead me to reflect on my own experiences, and the prevalence of human targeted sports, duck duck goose, and having to perform alone in front of my classmates (and failing miserably). I always enjoyed gym, but I was never an athletic kid, and didn’t feel like I was able fully master any of our activities. Reading specifically about the ways in which many PE activities are by nature exclusive and targeting, I was surprised to realize that it wasn’t just my lack of ability that was problematic, but the nature of the lessons themselves. Our class discussion about PE and physical literacy as a holistic approach, including overall health and nutrition as a lifestyle, really resonated with me for the same reason. I was initially nervous to take a PE course after so many years, not to mention teaching one, and it was so refreshing to see how the curriculum and objectives have changed to look at the whole child regardless of their initial athletic inclination. I’m excited to see what the rest of the course brings!
Out of all of my classes that I have this semester, it was PE that I was most excited about. I know that I am not the best at anything, nor will I probably ever be, but I do love to have fun and my memories from PE are all positive ones (with the exception of one or two). I decided that no matter who was in my cohort that this class was going to be awesome even before the first class. Turns out I was right, and I think a lot of that had to do with the wonderful people in my cohort and their willingness to be vulnerable and taking a risk in front of everyone else (people who we are still getting to know no less!) and jump into the activities without a second thought.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this course. Who wouldn’t be with activities such as “Mission Impossible”? I am looking forward to trying new things and even making mistakes because, I am not good at everything and there are probably things that I am horrible at, and that is okay because nobody is perfect.
I was very surprised at some of the activities that are in the PE Hall of Shame. Many of the activities are obvious (ex. Red Rover, Student on Display, etc). However, there are a few that are on the list that I witnessed happen in the PE classes during my last practicum! I wonder if the PE teacher knows about the Hall of Shame?
