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

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!

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!

Lab D - Final Preparations!!

Tomorrow I teach my Lab D lesson of iDance & I could not be anymore excited!!

I have a lot of great things planned for my classmates including challenges, slight competitions, teamwork, variations, and more! 

Shown below are pictures of my cues poster & reference card: 

Also, I've recorded myself doing my introduction for the lesson multiple times. 

Shown below is my final shot! 

By clicking HERE you can view the handout that my students will be receiving to cover the FITT concept  that I needed to incorporate into my lesson!

There is a summary, example, and short homework assignment! 

Easter/Spring Day at St. Mary's!!

The group in which I TA for showed up ready to play this afternoon! They made homemade 'baskets' in which the children had to kick the 'eggs' into, they absolutely loved it!! 

     

Mid-afternoon we went outside to enjoy the beautiful spring day! We play tag and got some great exercise! Next week is our last week at St. Mary's & I'm not looking forward to my last day there..I've met some great kids and I'm going to miss going there every other week! 

Lab D Continues with Swimming, Exergaming, Ping Pong, & A Scavenger Hunt!

We had great lessons this past week of Swimming, Exergaming, Ping Pong, and a Scavenger Hunt! It was really a great week in which all of my peers used great techniques & ideas. We did Ping Pong then swimming aerobics and ultimate water frisbee. Then Exergaming with kickboxing and other fitness video game! Then to end the week we did a .5 mile scavenger hunt that informed us about the dangers of tobacco and cigarettes.

Below are some pictures to summarize what went on this week!

Monday it's finally my turn to teach my iDance Lesson and I am super excited!! Shortly after there will be a post with picture, video, time-coding and much more!!!!! :)

Trish Teaches Yoga!

The first of the Lab D experiences was taught today and to say the least, 

Trisha has set the bar high for the rest of us! 

She taught us all yoga while using different, interesting, and fun techniques. She incorporated technology, gave great feedback, had a great control on the class, and did a lot more! 

We all really enjoyed the lesson!

The iDance Equipment Has Arrived!!

The iDance equipment is finally here and in working order!! 

Everything is wireless and turns on and off with one simple switch, the game is also just software uploaded to a pc which is connected to a wireless detector which can detect up to 32 player pads at one time. 

What's awesome about the game is that each person can be at a different difficulty level and at the end of each song you get your own personal stats about how you did! 

The equipment really is cool and I can't wait to get in the lab and get to try it out more. 


Next week I'll be in the lab constructing picture & video instructions on how to set-up the system and work the iDance game so keep coming back for more info! Happy Weekend!!

iDance - Lab D!!

So for my final teaching lab of the semester I will be introducing my class to iDance! 

A full system can accommodate up to 32-players at once and they can play up to 3 different difficulty levels, all with real-time performance feedback!

I get 20 minutes to teach my iDance lesson and I will be incorporating the FITT principle of training.

Frequency

Intensity

Type

Time

I will be teaching April 20th and I am very excited about it!! In the mean time I will be posting Lesson Plans, Task Progressions and details for the next few weeks!!  

Also, check out my recently updated Professional Portfolio! 

Thanks for viewing! :)

To view more about iDance check out: iDance Games 

NEW VIDEO FOR 2012!!!

Lab C - Shinty Time!!

So the week before Spring Break brought about my Lab C teaching session and I was super excited for it! I had 10-12 minutes to teach my tasks and the scenario was that I was instructing a group of 4th graders! One thing I did great was my instant activity! It got the group going, got them working together, and also incorporated some cultural information about Scotland. Shinty came from Scotland a long, long time ago and this was a great way to get the students into it! I had four blue triangle pieces spread out in the middle of the court. Each piece had magnets on the back that would lock on to a corresponding spot on the white board. Also, on each blue piece there was a math problem, the answer was on the white board where the piece should be put. When the students solved each problem and put them on the board, it made a complete Scotland flag! Everyone really enjoyed it! 

My main task for today was to continue working on passing skills for my students and then get them into small game play. After a few short warm-up activities we got into our game positions. One thing I did not do so well was after I informed my students the rules of their small game and got them situated to play, I did not make clear boundaries of play. This was a small mistake that could cause injury and confusion and at first I couldn't believe I forgot to. It was a simple forgetful mistake that I fixed quickly. The students didn't even notice and they kept playing and having fun! 

Even though I did make a simple mistake I did not let it affect me in how my students were cooperating in their activities. I moved past it and still taught an effective lesson. I saw that my students improved on their passing skills and even incorporated game-like skills. Reflecting on how I taught this lesson makes it possible for me to know what I do good and what I need to improve to become a great teacher. I am learning in every situation I am in and it is benefiting me greatly. With reflections and experiences during these labs I will become a great instructor for my future students. 

View my activity progressions by clicking here!
Want to see my C9 Form for this lesson? Click here!


My Statistics for Time Coding were as follows: 
56% Activity
16% Instruction
13% Management
2.5% Waiting