Today was fantastic! It’s amazing how taking a lesson outside can make all the difference in how you feel, especially if you’re as sluggish and drowsy as I am in the morning .

Before today, I felt like I  had a semi-decent idea of how to teach a PE class outside due to having worked in summer camps in the past. However, I’ve found that today’s lesson has really helped me consider some things I wouldn’t have thought of while also making me feel a little more confident in my ability to teach outdoors! Maybe it sounds a little odd to hear, but I personally really liked the reminder of making sure to scan the area beforehand for any acceptable or unacceptable risks. Not only do we as the teacher have to be aware of these, but we also have to ensure that the students are as well.

The predator game that we played today was also fantastic in that, as we later discussed, it could tie in so well with other subjects. For instance, playing this game first could serve as a method of priming before formally introducing the subject matter to the students in a science or math class–not only would that be more memorable, but it’d be an active way of introducing a topic that would hopefully be more accessible to students who have different learning styles than the typical lecture or “sit down and read” variations.

Just want to start off by saying that the group today did a fantastic job! It was the perfect way for me to wake up from an otherwise drowsy day, and I had a ton of fun. Thank you guys!

When the conversation of fitness testing came up today, I tensed out of reflex , which probably gives you a pretty good idea of how I feel about fitness tests. I found myself sympathizing with what Daniella said today about her own experience in high school, because I feel like that was how my own classes were as well. I feel like in my school, fitness tests had nothing to do with personal improvement and growth, but it was always just for the grade. I remember constantly reminding myself how many push-ups I needed to achieve an A, reaching that number, and then immediately giving up. I confess that neither I nor my friends ever bothered to push ourselves beyond that point, because as we saw it, what was the point? We may have gotten an A in the tests, but I’m pretty sure we would have failed had self-motivation and effort been among the grading requirements.

Which, of course, leads me to think that there could have been better ways of incorporating fitness testing to actually make it more meaningful beyond the “I need to get a good grade” mentality that I and so many of my classmates possessed. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this class, it’s the need to encourage students to think of physical activity and fitness as a short-term goal, but one that should be carried with us throughout our whole lives. In light of that, I personally feel like the way this particular test was done (in my high school at least!) felt more like a…throwaway “these students have to be graded somehow” activity than anything else. Maybe it’s just me? I’d love to hear how fitness tests were done in other schools!

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!

Hi all!

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:

1.   Absence of purported objectives of the activity
2.   Potential of embarrassment
3.   Focus on eliminating students from participation
4.   Overemphasis on having ‘fun’
5.   Lack of emphasis on teaching motor & lifetime physical fitness skills
6.   Extremely low participation time factors
7.   Large groups where getting a turn is based on luck or competitiveness
8.   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:

1. 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?
2. Do you agree with the PEHOS? Which games you would take off?
3. Do you have any suggestions for alternative games or modifications?