In what ways is a discovery approach useful in game play?
It many ways it is useful in game play because the student learns the basics of an invasion or territory game. A great example was this morning during PE we played an invasion game, protecting the alien, it was so much fun and everyone was laughing and everyone was playful. It soon was a discovery for each student to learn when to move from your alien to try invade someones elses alien. Quickly we learned new strategies. It was so engaging. Then the game was extended by borders and grouping up once your alien was hit/knocked over. What sorts of questions enhanced student learning? New strategy, how to improve. Possibly leading to playing soccer or basketball in your later years. (If we were elementary school students) I did not have many questions, at the time as i was having fun and playing hard. It was a great work out. The modified ‘train capture the flag’ was fun too. Thanks to the group for a fun engaging class from warms ups to cool down.

PE was exciting today. I even have the minimally skinned knees to prove it. I am looking forward to using the same game in my own PE class one day.

I hope to make all games inclusive for the learners in my classes. In order to facilitate this there are a few things we as teachers must do. We must create a safe environment where students can safely take risks. Game instructions must be clear to all. Explaining verbally, modeling the game and giving game time to explore can help to achieve clarity. Today our teachers allowed us to try the game in small groups before playing competitively and it really helped ensure we were comfortable with the concept of the game. Games must be able to be modified to meet the needs of all students. Games must not eliminate students who are less skilled. Nobody can gain all the skills they need while sitting on the sidelines. I am not sure if students will ever think that the teams we create are “fair.” Nevertheless we must attempt to make teams or groups as equal as possible. I am sure there are plenty of things that are needed for an inclusive atmosphere that I am not aware of yet. I look forward to exploring more and hearing from the rest of the class.

One of the things I enjoyed about PE today was the way we went outside. We walked in a long line, holding each other’s shoulders. It was a great idea, because it transformed the simple action of traveling out of the gym into an activity in its own right, with a fun sense of movement and rhythm. It is definitely a great strategy we can use in our schools!

Another aspect I found interesting was that we were told before the game the way we would be assessed. I found it useful to know this ahead of time, as it clarified the expectations for the activity and provided me with a tool to assess my learning during the game. I found the assessment in groups also an interesting experience. It gave us an opportunity to reflect on how we played the apple game, and I felt that it fostered encouragement and appreciation between group members. It was, however, quite hard to decide on a category to assign to ourselves and others, because the “good” category did not include a positive attitude, which we felt we demonstrated. I wondered if an assessment with more criteria and more possible answers would be easier or harder to use for a group of children. I also wondered what are some other ways that kids can assess each other in a group setting.

Lastly, I thought the apple game was a good activity because it gave each player a lot of practice catching and hitting the “apple”; there was very little time waiting and being inactive. The only suggestion I have is to remind students to take turns being the catchers and the trees. Thank you for a great PE session!

This was a really fun class!  I noticed that the music instantly made the energy level go up in the group.  The games were fun and I loved that everyone was active most of the time.  It was great to talk about what was good about the game and what could be improved.

The discussion on assessments was thought-provoking and Emily did a good job of keeping us on track.  Vivian was wonderful leading the dance.  She made it so much fun!