256 Observation Days 2-4 & a Bulletin Board!

So for the last couple of days I've continued my EDU256 Experience and I just want to say, I can not wait to become a teacher!! The children are wonderful to be around all day even if it does get a bit hectic. 

I've done a lot these last three days, interviewed students and an exemplary teacher. I am meeting new people every day and learning so much every minute!

I even completed my bulletin board on the EURO 2012 Tournament that will occur this coming June. I took the assignment pretty seriously considering the gym will be hosting a Health Wellness Fair all day tomorrow for the entire school. Knowing this I made sure the bulletin board was neat, interesting and pleasant to look at! My host teacher loved it and said it was the best board that has been up in years! 

Take a look! :)

Practical Volunteer Experience!

During my time at Cortland while taking EDU255 I was required to complete 10 hours of practical experience in which I used my new teaching skills. I met this requirement by serving as a Teacher's Assistant for Professor's Yangs PED201 (Motor Development) class throughout the semester. 

These hours were completed at St. Mary's Elementary School for two hours, one day per week. 

Below are some pictures of me TA-ing this past semester! 

256 Observations Begin - Day 1 at Margaretville Central!

Today marked Day 1 of my observations for EDU 256 at Margaretville Central School District! I was so excited to get started in the school district because I know they have a relatively strong Physical Education program. Unfortunately, today was a half-day due to Staff and Faculty Collaboration Day. 

I got in 5.5 hours today (7:30am - 1:00pm) and I had a lot of fun the entire time. 

I worked with Mr. O and Mrs. R the entire day and since it is a K-12 school district I get the chance to observe many grades throughout the entire day, which is great! Every one was very welcoming and I felt like I've been there before. I got to work with grades 5th-8th, 1st, and 10th-12th today with the younger kids being just full of energy! 

This week will be full of observing and assisting throughout the K-12 grades along with after school activities and building my bulletin board!

I can't wait to see what these two weeks have to offer but so far I'm off to a great start!  

Want to see more on Margaretville Central School District? Click HERE

Saying Goodbye To 255....Onto Bigger Things!

So as EDU255 comes to an end I reflect on how much I've grown as a teacher candidate. I've met new people and made new friends that I'll hopefully be in contact with for years to come! I'd like to thank Professor Yang for all his hard work, advice, and guidance as well! Us as a class would not be where we are today if it wasn't for him! 

I finished up the iDance bulletin board this afternoon and it came out great! It was a great experience since I will have to make another one during my 256 experience in a few weeks!

Also, be sure to look at my updated Professional Portfolio by clicking the 'Professional Portfolio' Link in the upper left tab of the screen or by clicking HERE! And again, thank you again for viewing my blog!

Lab D Reflection Continued...

Two posts down is my written reflection with pictures. This post includes further information of my reflection such as the video of my teaching lesson, Part I & Part II:

Also, to view my Time Coding Form click - HERE

Below is my C12 Evaluation Form!

Finishing Up 255 With iDance Instructions & A Bulletin Board!!

As part of my final project for 255 I have to make Step-By-Step picture instructions of how to set up and use the iDance system as well as make an iDance themed Bulletin Board! 

This afternoon I met with my partner, Max Stern, in the Exer-gaming lab and we got started right away!! 

I took all of the pictures needed and made my step-by-step process of how to set-up the iDance system, the dance Pads, and also how to charge the dance Pads!

Click HERE to view my step-by-step instructions of how to set-up & charge the iDance unit!
Below is the video of the instructions made by my partner, Max Stern!

Next we started our Bulletin board! 

Below is a picture of what we have completed so far, but tomorrow there will be much more added!! 

 As you can see we only got part of it done. Max and I felt it was important to add our cues and fitness components of our lesson. Mine was the FITT Concept & his is Lifetime Fitness. What we plan to add to the bulletin board are as follows:

- Pictures, Resources, Information, Tips, and more! 

Lab D - Let's iDance!!!!

My Lab D finally arrived & I enjoyed the lesson as much as my students did!! The setting of my class was that they were at a 12th grade level and I had to implement practice into my lesson. With this in mind I wanted the first few songs to be strictly practice based and have the students go for high percentage completed! 

Since my lesson took place at 9am I wanted to get everyone moving & energized so we started right away! The students did a warm-up song and then moved into the next few songs of practicing for high percentages! 

One thing I believe I did really well this lesson was making sure everyone was on task, gave great congruent feedback, and also made sure the students understood what they were supposed to be doing through out the lesson! I made it a priority to give my students great feedback so they could perform to their potential and know that they were performing the songs successfully!

Keeping the class organized and on task was something I believe I did very well during my lesson. 

I made sure to check if there were any questions before starting a new task and made sure everyone was prepared prior to the start of each song. Below are some pictures showing how I had the students situated. With a high noise level it was key to keep the classroom and students organized & on task! 

Another thing I did well was give my students a challenge and also let them work together in pairs. The challenge and group songs allowed all students to be on an even playing field and no matter what skill level each student possessed they were all equal for these two songs.

Some things I think I could have done differently or work on for future are that in the beginning of the lesson I had the student who got the highest % write their initials and score on the board. Originally I planned it to be for the 12th graders to have friendly competition and hopefully motivate them to perform better. But this can exclude some students which is a very negative outcome. To correct this I should have each student write their % on the board, that way each student can try to beat their own score. This way they are not competing against their classmates and students are way less likely to be excluded. 

To end the lesson I called everyone in and gave them a FITT information handout which had information, examples, definitions, and a short homework assignment. Due to time constraints, the handout made it possible to quickly cover a topic and give the students information to learn the topic on their own. This handout would be used as part assessment for this unit as well.

Overall this lesson as made me grown as a future teacher immensely. I learned a lot through my successes, trials, and failures. I received feedback from my peers, experienced new things through technology, and expanded my physical education knowledge as a whole. My students experienced growth & success which is key to any physical education class and is what I strive to do everyday!!! 

Lab D was a success & I am moving right along to become the great teacher I want to be!! Below is a slideshow of more pictures from my lesson, be sure to take a look!!

Next post: Time Coding, C9 forms, Video, & more!