Maria’s Movement Journal # 3: October 7th

In the reading summary and discussion this week, we reviewed the different pedagogies for teaching physical education. The pedagogy I found to be most effective and the one in which I hope to implement when teaching my Physical Education class was the TGfU or in other words, Teaching Games for Understanding. This pedagogy focuses on learning and performing sports skills in a variety of settings. The end result is athletes who acquire a strong knowledge and recognition of the game and their own abilities. I found the six-step process that TGfU activities follow to be most helpful in understanding this pedagogy in greater detail. Step 1, the game, was the step I found to be most interesting and unfamiliar to me. Step 1 involves having the teacher introduce a modified version of the game that has clear objectives and follows the basic rules and concepts of the formal game. I was unfamiliar with this step because in my previous experiences in physical education, my teachers would often have us students jump straight into the game without learning the fundamental movements and rules. My teachers assumed that we would learn these basic rules, movements and tactics through continuous playing and practice. However, this in turn caused me to lack the game appreciation and tactical awareness (steps 2 & 3), I needed to gain, in order to apply in playing the game. I will continue to review and familiarize myself with this six-step process and apply it when teaching physical education.

On another note, I wish to highlight an experience I witnessed during my first day of practicum in my Grade 1 and Grade 2 classroom. The teacher of this class starts every morning with a thirty-minute walk in the forest next to the school. I think this is a great way to start the day as it keeps the students active and is a great source of energy for the day ahead. Moreover, I noticed that the students were able to focus better and were more energetic once they returned from the walk. The teacher tries her best to implement physical education throughout the day such as taking breaks from sitting and listening in order to stretch and move around. I look forward to learning more about her physical education techniques and to see if she is incorporating the strategies and knowledge we have learned in class thus far. I now know that I must always have my running shoes nearby, ready to be slipped on as required!

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Picture: Natural artefacts Grade 1 and Grade 2 students collected from their nature walk

One thought on “Maria’s Movement Journal # 3: October 7th”

  1. Sorry for the late response Maria – I got a little confused about whether or not I was posting a reflection or a response, and then as these weeks seem to, time got away from me.

    I found it really interesting that your SA starts every class with a 30 minute walkabout. I really like this idea, as it helps the classroom get focused and on the same page before they face the day ahead of them. It’s amazing how calming walking through the forest is – as we learned in our Outdoor Ed. PE class. I felt I was so much better prepared for our class with Maryam after going for that walk, I can see how this would help the students. Not that you’ve been there on a rainy day (I don’t think?) but does she still do this if the weather is bad? It’s hard in Raincouver, but I suppose if you could have rain boots and rain jackets at your disposal then it’s manageable. I haven’t seen my SA do ANYTHING physical on our Thursday visits. Absolutely nothing. The students walk from the carpet where they sit in a circle, back to their desks, and that’s about it. Even I find myself yawning throughout the day, so I’m not quite sure how these little 6 year olds do it.

    Moving forward, I hope you don’t mind if I pick your brain more about other ways your SA helps keep her classroom active during the school day, as I would like to incorporate some of these things in my practicum classroom to see if it helps the focus on my little grade ones!

    Thank you Maria!

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