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!

Today, I really enjoyed the team teach group’s activities. It was well structured and I had a lot of fun today. The warm up activity was a lot of fun because it got us moving and outside, but the teachers encouraged us to make it unique to us by dancing however we wanted. This allowed kids (or us) to express our/them selves in whichever way it’s deemed fit. Also, the way it led to the main activity was great as it was a smooth transition and easy instructions. The only thing that was not clear was the dimensions of the playing area I noticed groups were told different areas/boundaries which made it a bit confusing when we were told to switch partners. Besides that, it was enjoyable when they increased the difficulty to encourage us to challenge ourselves, but didn’t force us to do it. It was a very free and open-ended activity where they teachers did not make the students participate in any given way; there was freedom for the students to choose their difficulty level and own version of warm up while still being included. Overall, it was an excellent game today, with lots of encouragement that was not “basic” (you guys know what I mean) and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves by the laughter and giggles that I heard.

YAY GROUP! 😀

I had so much fun playing vollycrosse. Using a lacrosse stick isn’t something I have done for over ten years. It felt good to build up the skills in my physical literacy tool belt before I begin to teach others. This summer I had some training on physical literacy, but one very important point was left out. They forgot to mention that physically literacy is something you are constantly developing. To me this is one of the most important things about physical literacy. I don’t feel as if my physical literacy is something that is strong. It is great to know that this year (and until I die) I will continue to develop my physical literacy. I am looking forward to creating an environment where I will attempt to meet all the students needs. There are a few things I think are important to be able to do this. First is that the environment has to be safe and feel safe. It needs to be somewhere that each student knows that taking risks and making mistakes is okay. It is also important that we are assessing students on their literacy journey every moment we can and making adaptations to activities when needed. It may be an arduous task to make sure all students’ needs are met, but it will be worth it. I am looking forward to learning more ways that I can create an environment where all students feel they are heard and are challenged in an appropriate way.

First off, I really enjoyed the group teach this week, so thank you to the group for such a great job on your lesson. I think the most valuable idea that I took out of the week was around physical literacy and what this means for me and in regards to the setting of a school. Personally I have never considered myself as physically literate, because I often connected it to being good at P.E. and I would not necessarily consider this subject to be my forte.

However, I came to the realization that my physical literacy is specific to me and therefore integrated within my strengths in certain activities and the weaknesses I have in others. It is a personal journey we all take and through it we grow towards our own potential rather than the potential of those around us. From this realization I came to notice that, as we went through this lesson and our team grew in our “volley-cross” skills, I found myself cheering on my teammates and opponents because I no longer felt the need to compete against them. My physical literacy became about what I was doing and how I could grow.

I think that, in becoming future teacher, this is such an important mind frame to promote for our students. No two students are the same, and therefore they are all on their own journeys in their physical literacy. I think that if we put forth this mindset in our classrooms, the environment becomes more about working together to help everyone grow on their own journeys and, in doing so, it removes the stigma of what it means to get a certain letter grade, one that’s rewarded based on the present mentality associated with the need to beat others.

Teaching PE is very different from any other kind of teaching that I have done, hands down! The day before and the morning of, there were a bit of nerves (as per usual), but this time I drew on my past experience of teaching during a practicum and I went into what I like to call: Teacher Mode. My voice was loud, I was prepared to give instructions (or at least I thought I was anyway), and my group and I had worked a lot about how we were going to teach.

Thinking back onto how the lesson went, I think that we could have done a better job with the flow of the lesson. Going outside just for the warm-up was for timing reasons, and I think we could have saved ourselves a lot of problems if we had picked another activity for the warmup. However, I did like the warmup that we chose because it was meant to introduce the idea of being mindful of the space around us and the people around us, which lead into being careful during volley-crosse.

I really liked the idea of changing up the difficulty of a game, but using the same rules. I never experienced that during my years taking PE and it is definitely something that I will keep in mind for my practicum!

One final thought that I had on teaching was the behaviour of the class. Since we are all adults in the class, we are all inclined to just listen and do what is asked of us, however I am sure in a real class situation, the lesson could have been infinitely more difficult.

Thinking of domains as a group creates a holistic approach to assessment

 

Physical educators have to make judgments based on collected assessment data utilizing checklists, analytic rating scales, and rubrics.

Should be continuous throughout the year and collaborative – Both students and parents could benefit from being involved in the assessment process and students become aware of their abilities strengths and weaknesses they can set and meet their own learning goals

 

Comprehensive:

– There should be a balance of curricular outcomes based on the inclusion of cognitive, psychomotor, and effective criteria and also be a variety of assessment strategies used, such as learning logs, performance task, and portfolios rather than simply skills-based testing

 

Criteria-based:

– Assessment needs to have a clear understanding of which criteria students are to be measured and evaluated

 

Norm-referenced and criterion referenced evaluation

– When the student’s abilities are referenced in relation to another; when the student’s abilities are referenced in relation to a standard deviation of average

 

– Three types of validity:

1. Content validity-how well an assessment accurately measures student learning of what was taught 2. Criterion validity-how well an assessment aligns with articulated criteria
2. Construct validity-how well an assessment measures what it supposed to be measured

 

Reliability based on how consistent a measure is implemented over a number of occasions

Internally consistent reliability: how well an assessment measures components that are equally challenging; Inter-rater reliability: how well assessment measures results when applied to different students

 

Pre-assessment 

– What pre-existing knowledge the students have in relation to outcomes and expectations?

– Where are student’s cognitive psychomotor and affective knowledge in relation to other students?

 

Formative assessment

– provides ongoing feedback to the students and to the educator about the effectiveness of the lesson

– Students are able to appreciate their own improvements as well as others

 

Summative assessment

-coming at the end of the unit or term, this allows teachers to gauge skill levels at a certain point of time

 

Evaluation and grading

– There are many different ways to report student’s learning

– numerical scores and letter grades are the most common grading systems that are being replaced by the use of qualitative descriptors such as excellent, satisfactory, or needs improvement

 

Exit slips

– provide educators with knowledge of students understanding at the end of the term

 

Observation

– allow students to have immediate feedback on their progress, fair play, and cooperation

 

Portfolios

– should be made in collaboration with the students

– Should address all domains such as written assignments, fitness testing, and goals

 

Skill test– used to assess various movement tasks – Physical educators can isolate and assess particular movements and skills

 

Written tests– used to assess knowledge independent of psychomotor skills

 

Rubrics– rating scale with more detailed descriptors

1. Allows students’ knowledge of expectations
2. Help students understand what quality looks like
3. Allow students to know what they should do differently the next time
4. Allow students to self-assess
5. Helps instructors plan lessons
6. Allows teachers to justify grades
7. Helps teachers communicate with caregivers

 

Movement domains: help provide a variety of activities for students

Five movement domains:

1. Dance 2. Alternative environment physical activities 3. Individual physical activities 4. Games
2. Gymnastics

 

Dance: There is much freedom within dance – Dance is cross-cultural – You can follow choreography or freestyle

 

Levels of Dance: 1. Movement for movement’s sake 2. Creating an aesthetic experience 3. To create a structured dance

 

Gymnastics:

– jumping rolling and climbing are fundamental skills of gymnastics that can be transferred for use in many sports – It’s an aesthetic sport that is concerned with movement – It has many forms but rhythmic gymnastics and educational gymnastics are usually taught in physical education

– Rhythmic gymnastics: incorporates dance, Music, and various apparatuses – Educational gymnastics: students work at their own level on tasks structured to develop understanding of movement, body awareness, and applied skill

 

Fundamental gymnastic skills:

1. Locomotion– moving from place to place with emphasis on the way transference such as rolling and jumping, as well as, stepping actions such as running in skipping
2. Statics– ask a balancing such as headstands, frog stands, and back arches

There are four different types of balances:

– Over-balance which involves shifting weight out of the base of support such as a forward roll

– Counter resistance which involves two or more people pushing against each other to achieve stability

– Counter attention involves partners pulling away from each other to create balance

– Suspension which usually happens in an apparatus

3. Rotations– movements such as rolling, cartwheeling, and spinning
4. Springs– involve any part of the body producing flight such as jumping or hopping
5. Landings– The creation of stability after flight. It is the ability to absorb force.
6. Swings– free-flowing movement on suspended from apparatus usually buy hands or knees on bars, ropes, and rings

 

Movement concepts:

1. What is the body doing? 2. Where is the movement going? 3. What is the dynamic content or quality of movement? 4. With whom or two what is the movement relating?

 

Fundamental movement skills:

– Basic movement skills providing understanding and ability for more complex skills. They include running, stopping, turning, rolling, balancing, jumping, skipping, Etc.

 

Games theory

– All games are either individually, partner focused, or team focused – The students to know both the basic movements of a game as well as the rules pertaining to the game- Skills are both physical and tactical – Socio-affective factors such as relationships, motivation, and feelings of confidence and support are critical for games literacy

 

Games pedagogy

– Top down instruction about skills, tactics, and rules designed to meet learning objectives – Bottom up approach is more common in elementary physical education we’re mastering themes of the game is more important than mastering the technical aspects of it – Game is instructors need to know how to problem solve about the equipment; modify rules; and have students function in certain team roles

 

-Four stages of teaching games: 1. Developing control of an object 2. Control and combinations of skills 3. Knowledge of offense and defense 4. Complex gameplay

 

Individual physical activities

– Walking, swimming, and cycling are common individual physical activities

– Two types of physical fitness are health related fitness and skill related fitness

– Health related fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, body composition

– Skill related fitness: agility and coordination, balance, speed, power

 

Alternative environment activities

– Activities not normally performed in a gymnasium or a playing field such as curling, swimming, canoeing, or skiing

– Safety is of the utmost importance because these activities are not normally done and highly controlled settings

– Land oriented physical activities such as hiking in orienteering are usually noncompetitive

 

 

Question: What are some reasons, unstated in the book, that dance should be incorporated into the physical education curriculum?

The one thing that resonated most with me from last week’s lesson was the concept of respecting yourself. Kenthen was my group leader, and he explained that a key notion in being physically literate is respecting yourself. I came to realize that to be physically literate does not mean to be particularly “good” at physical activity, but to be proficient in the knowledge of how your individual body functions, moves, etc.  I think this is SO important for children; I remember as a child thinking that I was simply not physical, because I viewed physicality as being “good at sports,” which I was not in my primary years, and so I neglected my physical health, by not taking part in any physical movement or activity unless required at school, and in doing so I bypassed the key components of physical literacy, and in my adulthood have problems keeping active. I feel that now that there is awareness of physical literacy, in schools and beyond, I feel confident that students will develop life long physicality, and the desire to keep fit and active.

On another note, I want to mention the net-ball activities from last week. Leandrea was guiding my group. I found her strategy very interesting in leading our activity; By starting off with the difficult lacrosse passing, we had low success rates. Then she took the lacrosse sticks away altogether, which seemed curious considering we were playing “Volley-Crosse,” and we volleyed with a large sponge ball. Once comfortable, she took that away, and we instead used a tennis ball, then two tennis balls. I feel that she was implementing scaffolding techniques here, basically demonstrating that you cannot simply jump directly into the deep end without practicing in the shallow end first.

In all, it was a great class! 🙂

The series of fun net games we played for session 3 contained a fantastic cross-curricular element. The inclusion of Indigenous history and value teachings into the lacrosse component was an excellent idea since it met multiple educational goals. Simultaneously, Indigenous history was taught in an appropriate manner and attention was called to safety through promotion of respectful intent towards classmates.

This part of the lesson jumped out at me as an embodiment of the depth of physical literacy. As Chapter 13 of our textbook relates, in PHE we must avoid focusing solely on simple motor drills, instead ensuring that we address “‘mindful’ qualities of movement on which the philosophy of physical literacy is based.” (Robinson and Randall 232) Students need to develop understanding of the flow and strategy of physical activities, which must engage the brain and heart as much as flexing the muscles. Respectful play does more than reduce injuries on the field for the day, it sets the tone for personal accountability to others in the long term. The textbook draws attention to the problematic aspect of using the building block metaphor in fundamental movement skills, as this model does not necessarily develop the use of walking, running, throwing, and other movements as they need to be applied in real life situations. On a more personal note, I never looked forward to the drills. If drills don’t improve fundamental movement skills in a fun or meaningful way, their use should be questioned and adapted to more relevant ends.

I really enjoyed our group teach on Net games. First of all, “CrossWall” which is a game that combines the sports of volleyball and Lacrosse was such a creative game idea to teach. Though many of us were new to Lacrosse, we were very familiar with the sport Volleyball; therefore, I think we were all demonstrating physical literacy when we were applying our foundational knowledge and skills of volleyball to a new game in a new context.  Most importantly, we were provided with a safe environment that allowed us to explore our risks and limits. Whether planned or unplanned, I really loved the fact that the group adapted their lesson plan according to our abilities. Our team was clearly struggling with the lacrosse sticks, therefore being offered the option to play with a variety of balls instead, provided the opportunity for us to succeed which gave us confidence and forced us to become motivated to keep going and stay engaged. I think a well-structured lesson that gears around individual differences and abilities is really important to implement in the physical literacy environment that I will be providing for my students in order to prevent the feeling of failure among my students, and to provide them with competence and confidence instead.  I want to focus on fun, respect, and maximum participation, while engaging my students in physical literacy.