Tag Archives: Curriculum

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Reflection – Michelle Parker

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This week was my group’s turn to teach. We taught track and field, specifically sprinting. I think our lesson went well, my instant activity was short, fun and engaging. The class enjoyed the warm up as well. We did dynamic stretching to music and it turned into a dance party. I think these ideas really transfer to the classroom as students really enjoy doing things this way. I also felt that my discussion group for the reading summary went really well. We had a great discussion and I almost did not get through everything I needed to for the summary. I felt that the reading was really engaging for us to discuss and we were all in the same mindset for it.

Our planning was difficult. We ended up changing our lesson plan quite significantly as we had planned way to much. However it came together in the end which was great. We ended up changing our track relay the morning of. We realized that the track was bigger then we were thinking in our heads and needed to modify the game so there was not as much running involved. We wanted to make the game enjoyable for people who are not runners and we felt this modification was important for that.

I felt the group was really engaged and I was not expecting this! I felt people were not excited when they heard what we were doing but the attitude really changed as we got into the activities. I think we managed to make running fun!

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Week 5 – Movement Journal

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It has been said once, but it deserves to be said again: this week the group did a great job at showing us how to teach invasion games. TGfU was a great edition to this class as well, because it will help us in the future with breaking down lessons in a way that helps our students understand the ultimate goal.

We also gained a lot of great knowledge when discussing curriculum and different theories we can apply to our teaching styles.  I believe that is necessary to combine different curricular approaches that will assist teachers is modelling a healthy and active lifestyle for our students. Students need the encouragement to find what works best for them in regards to fitness. As I said in our group discussion this week, I don’t particularly like volleyball, but the fact that I was able to get a chance to try running, basketball, badminton, as well as a variety of other games and sports in elementary and high school encouraged me to pursue the fitness lifestyle that works best for me in adulthood.
As well, I cannot emphasize enough how important I believe it is that we encourage our students to eat healthy when in school. From someone who came from a home where eating healthy was not even a consideration, I think it is essential that children are given opportunities to see what a healthy diet looks like and how they can achieve a moderately healthy lifestyle at home or at school. At the very least this given students more opportunities and ideas about how they might eat healthy in their adult lives.

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Tiffany’s Movement Journal_ Week 5 (Oct 7)

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The concept of TGfU was surprising to me – not because it was counter-intuitive, but because I felt that it was common sense!  Play is something that comes naturally to children – it allows them to explore, to test their abilities, and to use their imagination.  Children learn naturally through the process of play.

When Steve gave us the example of TGfU at the end of class, our group noticed something when we were playing the very first simple game (passing the ball to get it to the other side).  We got bored fairly quickly, and started to wonder if we would be progressing to the next game anytime soon.  By the time we got to the third game (trying to knock down the pin), it was complex enough to keep us excited and engaged.  This made me think of what the situation would be like if it were applied to elementary aged children.  From what I have observed in children, when they get bored they will invent new activities to entertain themselves.  They practice problem solving skills without any prompts from their teachers!

TGfU ties in neatly with some of the IB principles.  By starting with simple games and slowly progressing to increasingly complex games, students learn through scaffolding and critical thinking.  Through each step of progression, students build on pre-existing knowledge and think critically about how to make the current game more fun and exciting. By adopting the concept of TGfU in teaching PE, we can encourage and motivate students to take initiative and ask critical questions to build on their own learning.

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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 #3 Movement

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That was one of my favorite classes by far. I loved how each one of the group members brought something to the class. Great job Amanda, Clarissa, Rylan and Terrance. I think that the best quality that this group brought was their enthusiasm. If I were an elementary student, I would have loved to see my PE teachers get involved. Witnessing my teachers so involved made me want to get involved as well. That’s a lesson I think that I will take into my classroom. Students will be excited to learn if we as teachers are excited to teach it.

The way this group broke down volleyball was very impressive and also was easy to understand. I think that I will also adopt this method into my PE class because It was simple yet fun. Children would be able to easily grasp the basic concepts of volleyball. This opens up a new door for them, so if they are interest in this sport and would like to pursue it, they now have the physical literacy.

I always assumed that PE was a simple class to teach, but that isn’t the case. This class requires the teacher to actually put thought in the mental and physical well being of the student. So I am very appreciative of the reading because it teaches me how to be a good PE teacher.

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WEEK 2 – MOVEMENT JOURNAL

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In PE this week we learned about the origins of Physical Education classes in Canada. I had never really thought about “the point” of PE, and how it has changed over time. I was especially interested to learn that PE classes originally consisted of military drills and were designed to create obedient children. Looking back on my own experience as a child in PE classes, I realize that there has been a large shift even in the last 10/15 years in the curriculum. Most of my PE classes as a child we based on sports like softball, floor hockey, etc. We also did lots of testing, like seeing how many laps we could run or push-ups we could do within a minute, and we played plenty of “shame games” like dodgeball. I actually enjoyed most of these activities as a child, although in hindsight I realize why they can be harmful to children, especially kids who are less athletically inclined. Learning about the new curriculum and it’s focus on encouraging a healthy lifestyle makes me much more excited to teach PE. I think it’s so important that there are also units in nutrition and mental health. Not everyone is destined to be a sports superstar—but everyone (even children!) can have an interest in their own mental and physical well-being. Teaching a more holistic and inclusive version of Physical Education to this generation of Canadians will hopefully eventually lead to a much healthier Canada.

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CITE Movement Journal

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Growing up I never really enjoyed PE, I had more negative experiences then I did positive. The only positive part of my experiences from PE was when it was time to leave. I wasn’t a very athletic child, this made it very difficult for me to be a valuable part of the class. Many of my PE teachers would make captains, and since I wasn’t very good at any sport, I was usually picked near the end. This brought my self-esteem down and those experiences still affect me to this day. Instead of having fun while i play sports, I am more self-conscious, I still have a fear that if I don’t play my hardest I will be last pick again.

I think that the most important thing we need to teach in PE is to stay active. Regardless of the child’s skill level we have a responsibility teach that individual to take care of their body. My concern is that I might be too soft on them and let them do whatever they please. I don’t want to force a child to do something and if they fail I don’t want them to feel like they are not good enough.

Sharing stories, and reflecting on our own experiences is valuable because it will help us develop a personal identity. This identity is important if we want to become an effective teacher. They can also aid us when we are trying to relate to our students. For example, because I know the feeling of being picked last, I will never allow my students to pick their own teams. This way I can focus on always uplifting my students. Finally, I am very excited to be in this class, and I hope that I receive plenty of constructive feedback so that I can be a great PE teacher.

On a side note, this was my first course in my post secondary career where I was expected to be active. It was quite a shock for me to experience that. It made me think that courses similar to these should be offered more and required for college student to take every year. According to “HealthLine.com,” 44 percent of college students in the United States suffer with depression, and 19 percent of young people either contemplate or commit suicide. Fortunately, researchers have proved that exercising and being active can decrease depression. One reason for why this happen is because, when an individual is regularly active, their brain releases neurotransmitters, endorphins and endocannabinoids. These are called the “feel-good” chemicals. One of their less scientific purposes is to make the person happy. In conclusion, I believe that requiring students to enroll in courses similar to this will help reduce the percentage of depression in universities all across the world significantly.

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Sheena’s Movement Journal – September 9th

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What is the purpose of physical education?

According to the new curriculum for BC, “Physical and Health Education (PHE) is designed to develop educated citizens who have the knowledge, skills, and understandings they need to be safe, active, and healthy citizens throughout their lives” (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2015a).  I believe that the last three words, “throughout their lives,” is a critical component of this statement. I think that PE lays a good foundation for living a healthy lifestyle later on. I had great experiences in PE. Throughout my school life, I was exposed to so many different kinds of sports, games, and physical activities. In Junior High and High School I went on to play for various school teams. We also had a YMCA inside our High School, so I learned the fundamentals of weight training there. These amazing experiences shaped the person I am today. I could not imagine my life without exercise. I enjoy a variety of activities including weight training, running, yoga, dancing, and hiking. I never really thought about the significance of my positive experiences in PE until my adult life. I have many friends that do not want to go to the gym because they feel scared or insecure, or they are unsure of what to do. I feel that if they had had the same great experiences in PE, they would be more inclined to work out.  It is up to us as future educators to make PE a pleasurable experience for our students so that they will continue to live healthy lifestyles.

In the new curriculum, there are four categories under curricular competencies: physical literacy, healthy and active living, social and community health, and mental and well-being (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2015b). I think that it is important that social and community health is a category. While other classes may involve some collaborative work, there is no other class that focuses on it like PE. You would not usually require teamwork to solve a math problem or to write an essay, for example. In order to play many of the games in PE, communication and collaboration is necessary. These are skills that are required throughout our lives, and PE provides the arena in which to develop them.

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education (2015). Rationale. In Building Student Success: BC’s New Curriculum. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/goals-rationale/physical-health-education

British Columbia Ministry of Education (2015). Learning Standards (Grade 3). In Building Student Success: BC’s New Curriculum. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/physical-health-education/3