Wow, you guys. Awesome job this week! I feel like the bar is raised for each group teach we have. It was so inspiring to be outside, and be able to use our bodies and brains out in the fresh air. You guided us through such an interactive and fun lesson where we were able to appreciate and make use of our local, natural environment in new and engaging ways. The balloon activities espoused teamwork and strategy, while the blindfold activity promoted trust and communication. Gathering leaves and natural materials to create art showcased the cross-curricular potential of outdoor education. We are extremely fortunate to have UBC as our playground, there are tons of exciting spaces to explore and utilize. The questions that arose for me, had to do with how to make the most of local environments that are perhaps less immediately inspiring. I was glad to have the opportunity to discuss this in class, and appreciated the input everybody had on the topic. Ideas like painting hop-scotch on the concrete outside urban schools, or using sidewalk chalk to create creative learning spaces outside inspired that this is an approach we can implement across the board. I think the key to this approach is to maintain the holistic and inclusive focus that Jackie, Brianna, Katie and Lexi employed on Friday. To me, that is the advantage of alternative environments – to engage different perspectives and experiences that encompass the whole student. As we saw, if structured appropriately with clearly presented expectations and instructions, these lessons can run just as smoothly as traditional indoor PE classes.
Tag Archives: EDCP
MOVEMENT JOURNAL WEEK 4
First of all, let me start off by saying great job, Emily, Sonya and Pamela! You came up with a creative lesson that approached striking games in a fun, and engaging way. What stuck out to me most about this lesson, was our own assessment practice after the 50 minute session. One of the guiding questions for this week asks which assessment and evaluation strategies may be used to effectively gather information of student learning in physical education. My experience of CITE as a cohort and the education program as a whole, including the EDCP course, has been a focus on inclusion, confidence building for our students. We have talked about belonging, autonomy and competence as key factors to student success. With this in mind, I wonder if rating and reading aloud our comments on the session was perhaps not quite in line with this way of thinking? I left the class feeling as though we had singled out the students in charge of the lesson, as well as those who responded. In terms of applying this to our own teaching practices, I’m curious as to what other assessment forms we might use in evaluating lessons as they occur. I realize that the exercise was meant to foster discussion and insight for future reference (which it did!), but I can’t help but feel that we might have approached in a more inclusive and safe format. That being said, I realize that our group is already an extremely supportive environment, and I know that each of us is open to constructive criticism.