Tag Archives: CITE Cohort

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Week 6 Outdoor PE Reflection

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This week’s outdoor ed focus was a really great experience.  I was surprised by the completely different feel it gave to the lesson.  Being outside was also really energizing, and I felt engaged with the UBC community.  I also felt connected to the locale, seeing the ocean off in the distance, learning about the upside-down tree, and seeing other landmarks of UBC I hadn’t viewed yet.  I imagine that students would also have this positive experience, were they to engage in PE class outdoors in their communities.

I appreciate how Outdoor Ed nicely connects to the Aboriginal Ways of Knowing by focusing on a sense of place.  Being outside also supports the wellbeing of the self, the community and the land.  Western education doesn’t often make enough space for children to be outside, which is so important to health.  For example, getting vitamin D from being outside has important implications for serious health issues like depression and hormonal regulation.  Being outside  can connect us to the wider community, and knowing the outdoors fosters a sense of place.  I am really excited to incorporate the outdoor element of PE into my future practice.

 

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Week 5 Invasion Games – Reflection

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On Friday, Zoe, Jenny and I taught Invasion games to our CITE class. Although I was nervous at first, the group teach went smoothly and I think it was because we were prepared. Something important that I learned from this group teach is to always be very prepared for any class so that I can be flexible and change parts of the lesson if there are emergency situations.

I started off with a dance warm-up. I had a lot of fun and it was great seeing the other classmates smiling and having fun as they danced. Zoe did a great job teaching Pass the Ball and I think it was good that we modelled the game so that our classmates understood clearly what they were supposed to do.

Leading the group discussion was a good experience because I had the opportunity to teach about the different PE curriculum models and I was reminded to use professional language. For example, trying to stay away from “you guys”. The group discussion was also fun and informative because I learned about the different models that classmates experienced when they were in elementary school and high school. Also, it really allowed them to think seriously about which model(s) they would like to implement when they teach P.E in their practicums.

Jenny got her group to model the Space Invaders game. I thought it was a good idea to model because sometimes it’s hard for students to listen to a long list of instructions and remember everything.

I think in general things went smoothly. Things we could improve on are learning different ways to control the volume in the gym. In the beginning we would be talking but not everyone could hear because some classmates were talking at the same time. Another thing we could improve on is clarity and repetition. For Pass the Ball, the classmates started the game when we blew the whistle. I totally understand that it was confusing. Next time in PE, we should go over the meanings of the whistle twice or even three times (for younger children) so that they understand what to do.

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Week 5 Readings – P.E Curriculum Models and TGfU

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A common purpose or mission for PE curricula currently across Canada is the concept of lifelong physical activity: students learning the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be physically active for life

Curriculum Models:
1. The Multi-Activity Model
Purpose: to enable our students to become physically active movers throughout their lifetime
– Learning of motor skills while maintaining interest through the exposure to a wide variety of sport and movement
Limitations: This model is mainly sports dominated

2. Teaching Games for Understanding
Purpose: to teach the skills in a context where the students are encouraged to focus on the skill’s idea and how that skill is useful
– The idea is to break down the game, starting with a simplistic version, and bringing attention to the important skills of the game and why those skills are useful.

3. Hellison’s Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR)
Purposes:
– Teaching life skills and social values within a physically active environment unites a holistic approach to student’s development and personal growth
– To teach students how to be both personally and socially responsible

4. The Sport Education Model
Purposes:
– To develop “competent, literate, and enthusiastic sportspersons”
– Students will become knowledgeable players who understand and value sports
Limitations: Educators might misapply the principles resulting in the implementation of yet another form of elitist sports where the athletes play and the non-athletes are left out

5. The Fitness for Life Model
Purpose: Improving students’ fitness levels and developing healthy behaviours
– Health for everyone with an emphasis on lifetime activity designed to meet personal needs
Limitations: Educators must have full knowledge of all labs, exercise regimes, healthy eating tips and goal setting tools

6. Competencies–An Emerging Model for PE?
– Action competence in health involves young people developing their abilities, their commitment, and their capacity to influence and control their own health

7. Mixing and Matching of Curriculum Models
– Taking the best parts of different models and incorporating them together

Contexts for Curriculum Implementation:
1. Health Promoting Schools Approach
– Whole-school approach that both encompasses PE and provides a context for healthy behaviours in the school’s greater community

2. Long Term Athlete Development Model (LTAD)
– Encompasses aspects of physical education such as fundamental movement skills, training, competing, and being active for life.

3. Physical Literacy
“Individuals who are physically literate move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person” (PHE Canada)

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Movement Journal Week 4

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Great work to Sonya, Emily, and Pamela on their group teach! They did a good job considering the cognitive and psychomotor levels of their grade two students and how to best design a lesson for this age group. They considered how well grade twos would be able to follow instructions, run around with spatial awareness, and their ability to throw and catch.

I appreciated assessing the baseball activity. Looking at how well an activity incorporates participation, challenge, positive social behaviors, flow, safety and learning, are all important factors that I need to consider when creating my own lessons. As well, I need to keep in mind the objective of each lesson and criterion-reference what I am teaching to assess how well the students’ are learning in relation to what I want them to learn.

Some assessment and evaluation strategies that I prefer are exit slips, learning logs, and observation. I like the idea of reflectively assessing improvement instead of skill level as not everyone is athletic. I understand that in older grades there might be some sort of  fitness testing that monitors effort/improvement, but I prefer the idea of active participation over grading. I also never liked written tests for P.E., and I feel that for the most part, P.E. should not have tests that involve pen and paper as all the other subjects already do.

 

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Week 4- movement journal

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Friday was my first experience teaching the group in this program and it was my first time teaching PE; therefore, I was extremely nervous. Even though I thought we were pretty well prepared, I was still shaking the whole morning before class. I lead the instant activity without really paying attention to what was going on around me. I still cannot recall what happened during that time, but according to some reflections, it went well and most of you had fun dancing.

To be honest, I was focusing too much on what I thought I should and should not do as a teacher instead of paying attention to my students. I was constantly thinking of remembering to say things such as “when I say go” before giving instructions, and reminding myself to speak louder. Then I was concentrating on not saying “you guys” and focusing on the time, because I was the time keeper. Reflecting now, I wish I had paid more attention to everyone’s engagement level and given some feedback during the activities instead of focusing so much on myself.

I really appreciate how Steve showed us how to evaluate one of our games and modify it for safety issues. The brainstorming for modifications was very helpful, I am glad we got to do this here in Cite rather than during our practicum. Our focus age for this lesson was grade 2, so I was very worried the games might have been too childish for grownups to have fun. However, after class, many people told us we did a good job and that they enjoyed the activities which was very encouraging. Thank you everyone for being so supportive! 😀

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Movement Journal Week 4

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I think this week the group did well because for the most part of the lesson we were all being physically active. A lot of people felt their heart beats go up after the lesson. I also enjoyed the part where they told us to dance like a bird and dance like your favourite animal. I think a lot of kids would enjoy those activities. I think it was good that Steve always asks us how we can improve activities and how we can make the activity more safe. I think I learned a lot from observing different groups teach and I’m excited but nervous for my group teach this Friday.

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Movement Journal – assessment and movement

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This week’s team teach was excellent in many different ways. The warm up activity was hilarious. I got so many laughs out of other people’s animal dance moves and it was a lot of fun to be silly with a group of people! What a great fun way to get everyone moving!

The first activity was a lot of fun too. I was confused at first, I think the huge amount of cones set up made it a bit hard for me to visualize but once we got into our groups to play I was not confused anymore. The game was a good way to get students moving and practicing their throwing. There are so many modifications you could do to help enhance student learning.

The last game was an interesting game. I did not like the unsafe elements but other than that it was great. I was running around so much in this game that by the end I was exhausted! This really helped me to see the importance of an active curriculum. After class, I felt awake, alert and ready for the day. Being active in school really does help students in other areas of academics.

Our discussion of assessment was very important. Growing up we were often assessed on how fast we ran or how talented we were at a certain sport. Using strategies such as exit slips, or student evaluation on their performance in class not only gets them involved but also allows those who are not naturally fast runners to be successful.

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Week 4 Movement Journal

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I really enjoyed this week’s lesson. The games were fun and eventful – I was never standing around and waiting. I think these sorts of activities are really important in PE because they ensure that EVERYONE is participating, even people who are less athletically inclined and may try to avoid participation. I also enjoyed how we stopped as a class and worked to modify the game to make it even safer and more inclusive. This is something that we as teachers should be doing in all of our classes, so that we can continuously improve our lessons.

I also really enjoyed the group discussion. I was in Pamela’s group and she did a great job talking to us about assessment in PE. Lots of us remembered being tested based on our athletic abilities as kids; tests like the beep test, or seeing how many push ups we could do in a minute. Although I usually enjoyed these activities, it seemed that most people didn’t. I agree with the group consensus that assessment based on athletic ability is not fair. Grading based on athletic ability doesn’t take into account that some people are simply more naturally athletic than others, and that this natural athleticism is not a fair representation of a student’s efforts and improvement. I think students in PE should be graded based on their understanding and passion for an active lifestyle, as well as their participation and willingness to learn. I think this way of assessment will be much more successful in encouraging a love for physical activity in children.

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Week 4: Understanding Movement Journal – Jenny Cho

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Kudos to Emily, Pamela and Sonia!

We learn so much from each other so thank you. I would like to say it was well planned and executed but, as we would all experience it, there are unexpected events that might happen. We will just have to keep our heads up and learn from them. I really liked how Steve asked our cohort on our opinion and how we can improve on it. It gives the students a chance to work together and collaborate with one and another.

I really liked the summary discussion in regards to how should we assess our students. I agree with majority of our class that we should not assign letter grades as it does not promote positive physical activity outside of class. We need to assess students through development. For example, if a student is level 1 at throwing and at the end of the year increases to a level 3, then the student should receive a positive feedback. I see it similar to reading level. A grade 5 student might not be at a grade 5 level of reading, but maybe they have improved from grade 2 to grade 4. I think that’s a great improvement and should be recognized as “pass”. As long as the student shows improvement and effort, we should respond with positive feedback.

I can’t wait for next class, hope the class will enjoy my team’s lesson!

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Jackie Week 2

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After last week’s readings about The Physical Education Hall of Shame I thought about my own experiences in gym class. I always thought the more nerve-wracking or embarrassing aspects of PE (being put on the spot, competition, punishment, and allowing the best to run the class) were just accepted parts of PE we had to endure. I find it hard to think of any game/activity from my childhood that now does not fall into a ‘shameful’ category. Even trying to come up with an activity for our group teach is proving to be difficult as all of us can only come up with games/sports based on our past experiences in gym class. This reminds me that what we teach children in PE class really sticks with them and influences how they understand and view physical education. People that did/do not enjoy physical education probably have not had a positive experience and most likely endured some shameful teaching methods. I feel the Hall of Shame guidelines are something teachers need to consider when creating PE activities.

Secondly, my idea of a physically educated person is someone that is not just active, but also has an understanding of nutrition, is physically literate, and understands mental wellness and why it is important to be physically educated. To hear that Canada received a D- as an overall grade is disappointing. As a future teacher, I am hopeful that my fellow teachers and our schools can promote a better understanding of physical education and begin to value PE and daily activity as much as other subjects are valued.