Great job Pamela, Sonya, and Emily! Thank you for choosing activities that avoid eliminations. I enjoyed this class for several reasons, the instant activity, our group discussion, and how was assessed and modified the activity as a class.
The instant activity was FANTASTIC! The music was engaging, upbeat, and fun. Prompting students to dance in particular ways, such as dance like a dog, bird, and boogie, helped to warm up different muscles. The directions we clear and short.
The group summary and discussion, lead by Emily, was not only informative but also engaging. We discussed about the different options for evaluating students and how they relate to PE. Overall we agreed about the importance of moving away from traditional letter grades to more observational assessments. We compared assessing PE to assessing an English class and how there are fundamental skills and outcomes; however, if the student participates and are increasing their skill base they should pass the course. Offering a pass/fail assessment rubric may relieve stress from the individual student and may encourage them to foster their skills in the future.
Having the class work together, using the rubric, to assess the first activity was awesome! Learning how to modify activities will be extremely helpful during our practicum. Using the group opinions, after filling out the rubric, helped to modify the game to be safer for all participants.
All around great class!
Amy, I also thought the instant activity was great! I’m usually shy when it comes to dancing around, but I felt very comfortable that morning. The music choices were excellent, and I had fun dancing very silly with the rest of our classmates.
The group discussion with Emily turned out to be very interesting. There was a great debate on the pros and cons about assessing P.E. and none of us wanted to change the topic. Being mindful of time, we had to continue with other discussion questions Emily prepared for us, but when we realized we still had time near the end of the discussion, all of us turned back to the topic of how to assess P.E. We all found it difficult on the fairest way to judge a student on their P.E. performance. We need to keep in mind everyone’s standards are different, and their ability to do certain activities are based on their own skills and not base it on their peers. We agreed that the students should be assessed by their competency and their efforts!
It was also a learning experience to critique the activity and be able to modify it in class together. It definitely will be helpful during our practicum, and it will be a reminder for us to be mindful of the safety precautions of the activities we will teach.