Monthly Archives: September 2015

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Week Two Journal

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The second week of EDCP 320 provided some clarity regarding how the class will be laid out for the term. I enjoy the mix of pedagogy and physicality in the class. The first group presented a target game lesson to the class this week. It was very successful and planted the foundation for all future groups. I was initially surprised when they began the class with dodge ball but it acted as a great tie-in to the weekly articles.

The readings from last week made me really think about the atmosphere during P.E. class and how it needs to change. I have enjoyed athletics my entire life, which bred an affection for P.E., but now I have to view it form a totally different angle. As the teacher in the class, I need to establish a fun, safe learning environment for all of my students. Whereas, when I was solely a participant, all I was concerned with, was the amount of fun I was having. The class has just began and I feel as though I’ve already learned so much about teaching P.E.

On the other hand, I’m a little worried about teaching this class. After reading the hall of shame articles this week, I realized I really enjoyed most of those games.I’m concerned that it may be difficult for me to relate to some of my students about comfort levels in the gymnasium. I hope I can become more confident throughout the term. The first test for me will come next week when my group presents on net/wall games. I hope everyone reads their readings for next week so that we are put in a position to succeed with the class discussions.

Overall, it was a very informative, and enjoyable week in the class. It has quickly become my favorite class and I look forward to next Friday.

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Week 2 Movement Journal- Katy Machut

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As I started to think about becoming an educator, from my readings I realized how much of an effect experiential knowledge can influence the way I will teach. I didn’t think about the fact that my values and identities can affect the way I teach. For this reason I feel it is important for me to analyze and reflect on my value system and check myself to ensure that I provide the best possible experience for my class.

I came across the notion of being able to be ready to explain to learners why it is we do PE. This made me question how I could phrase an answer in a way a child would understand. My answer would need to be motivational and touch on fact that one needs to learn certain skills by the end of a particular grade.

I felt reassured when I reflected that being a teacher candidate I will not know everything about teaching because being part of a teacher involves the being a lifelong learner (my passion). At the same time, I must ask myself what content do I find meaningful and inspiring for my students?  I am very excited about being able to explore the possibilities of incorporating PE with other subjects and find the best possible match ups between the contents.

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Movement Journal: Week 2 Elizabeth Greenwood

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I am getting more and more excited to teach PE as I am realizing more and more that it isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a space for athletically advantaged students to play dodgeball and run laps. I’m so glad that the Hall of Shame articles focussed on emotional safety as well as physical safety in PE classes. As we have been getting deeper into our coursework, an obvious theme is inquiry and I am thinking more about how to encourage inquiry in PE. I would really like to diversify students’ sense of what physical activity means and work with them to start exploring their understanding of physical and mental wellbeing through inquiry thinking! I’m so happy that the story of PE is changing from the militaristic style physical training to a more wholesome education on health and wellbeing. I was also considering competition in PE, and while I do believe that it is important to instil a sense of friendly competition in kids, I also am glad that there is a shift away from competition being the primary focus of physical education. I was considering dodgeball and how I might modify it away from its “shameful” characteristics, and realized that you can still teach the same skills (accuracy, throwing, etc.) by having a group on one side of the gym throwing balls at objects that are set up on the other side. Each object has assigned points (big = more points, small = less points) and the class as a whole is trying to get as many points as possible. Record how many points you get in each round, and try to beat the group score every time you play! That way you’re challenging your personal best every time.

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WEEK 2 – MOVEMENT JOURNAL

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In PE this week we learned about the origins of Physical Education classes in Canada. I had never really thought about “the point” of PE, and how it has changed over time. I was especially interested to learn that PE classes originally consisted of military drills and were designed to create obedient children. Looking back on my own experience as a child in PE classes, I realize that there has been a large shift even in the last 10/15 years in the curriculum. Most of my PE classes as a child we based on sports like softball, floor hockey, etc. We also did lots of testing, like seeing how many laps we could run or push-ups we could do within a minute, and we played plenty of “shame games” like dodgeball. I actually enjoyed most of these activities as a child, although in hindsight I realize why they can be harmful to children, especially kids who are less athletically inclined. Learning about the new curriculum and it’s focus on encouraging a healthy lifestyle makes me much more excited to teach PE. I think it’s so important that there are also units in nutrition and mental health. Not everyone is destined to be a sports superstar—but everyone (even children!) can have an interest in their own mental and physical well-being. Teaching a more holistic and inclusive version of Physical Education to this generation of Canadians will hopefully eventually lead to a much healthier Canada.

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Movement Journal: Week 1

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In primary school, PE slowly became the class I disliked most. I loved it up until grade 3, since those years were mostly unstructured and non-competitive sport activities. The beginning of the first 320 class was a nostalgic throwback to the “stations” where we freely did whatever we pleased (within reason). As the activities increased in competitiveness and skill, I began realizing that I ranked low in athleticism compared to other students. We could pick our own teams, and I was an undesirable choice, so I quickly came to dread PE. To this day, I still prefer cooperative and non-competitive activities like hiking and yoga over organized sports. Looking at the DailyMail article from our readings, I would be very curious to understand the reasons behind why 39 per cent of children are leaving primary school disliking physical activity. I have fears of teaching PE related to my own abilities in sport, but it is assuring to know that through seeking out the proper resources and education, I can still become a good PE teacher.

I think the emphasis in the redeveloped provincial K-9 curriculum on teaching the relationship between physical, emotional and mental health is fantastic. I don’t remember learning this concept until high school, and by that time many children have already become entrenched in poor habits. I believe teaching this fundamental relationship in the early years constitutes proactive teaching, and so is an important change to the way we teach physical literacy in BC.

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Julie Russell’s Movement Journal #1: September 16th

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When I told my sister that I had a course in physical education at UBC, she couldn’t stop laughing. I think there are a lot of students who rejoice after high school when they realize they have had their last P.E. class. And, like we have talked about in class, this has a lot to do with experiences they have had in high school. Feelings of awkwardness, dread, embarrassment, and others can be associated with P.E. for some people.

I learned about the history of physical education in our small group discussions this week. I find it interesting to learn the roots of things. I was surprised to learn that many provinces in the early 1900s had a focus on physical training and military drills. And these were often run by military drill sergeants! During World War II, most provinces had a focus on defense training. I wonder how the students of those days enjoyed P.E. class? And though physical education has been evolving since the world wars, to make a dramatic shift away from anything is never easy. It is hard to completely restructure something you have done for so long. The focus of physical education in Canada has long been about being physically adept. In general, it has not looked at the whole student. Now, 100 years later, though there has been much evolution in the area of P.E., P.E. seems to be shifting once more: this time, seemingly, toward physical literacy where much more than physical performance is focused on. A good thing, I think, for all students, but maybe particularly for those young ones whose experience so far with physical education has imparted dread and real dislike for physical activity.

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Movement Journal- Week 2

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I thought the group who lead the “Target Game” on Friday did very well. Their activities were well planned and the timing and transitions were great.  They also did a fantastic job of explaining the readings, such as the history of PE, and they came up with interesting discussion questions. The part I liked the most was how they demonstrated that games which use humans as targets, such as dodgeball, are not appropriate to teach in PE class. When Steve mentioned this last week I was very surprised, because as a kid, I loved dodgeball and had always enjoyed playing it. My other thought was, it’s just a game so why do we have to take it so seriously? However, from last class’s games and discussion, I realized that no matter how well the instructions are explained, students can still unintentionally hit people in the head. If this can happen with us adults, it will be even harder to prevent it in a younger class. Also, I agreed with the point mentioned that maybe we can just laugh it off when we get hit, but kids might feel bad if he/she is the first one out. Therefore, I liked the revised version our teaching group came up with. In the modified version,  the targets were not people, no one will be out alone, and the underhanded throw prevented hitting people above their shoulders. If I have a chance to teach PE in my practicum, I will definitely consider using this activity in my classroom.

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Reflection – Week 1 – September 9th

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Growing up I loved PE! I loved being active and I always noticed the difference in my energy post-PE class. In high school we had conditioning 11 and 12 and for PE we would work out in the school gym with programs by Level 10 Fitness which to me has high standards for program design. We learned not only about proper technique (i.e. how to do a dead lift) but also about hypertrophy training. It definitely gave me a boost of confidence when I went into my KIN degree.

But focusing a bit more on PE teaching and the future… I think there is no question that students should be physically active at least 5 days out of the week. I think it’s important for students to learn about why they are doing physical activity or why they are doing a certain activity and how being active is important both physically and psychologically. I think it’s important that we teach children some biological aspects with physical activity and bring in a small bit of biology to our class. Proper understanding of good nutrition is also very important and should be addressed to your students.

Having taught fitness for over 3 years I have acquired some teaching techniques which has definitely gained me some confidence in overcoming any fears of teaching activities to a group. I think it’s great that we all share our individual stories, as it will confirm that other people have similar thoughts and feelings and it will bring great ideas on how we can effectively teach PE.

PE is meant to get kids moving!! Not enough kids are getting up and getting their heart rates up. Other than the exercise aspect, it brings students together, decreases their stress levels and educates them about living healthy lifestyles.

Let’s change the way some teachers feel about teaching PE. Let’s knock away the fear of it and have FUN! 🙂