Twitter Chat Reflection: #1stchat

            On Sunday I participated in my first twitter chat ever. I can definitely say it was a great experience and I look forward to participating in more.

The chat I took part in was #1stchat which is primarily 1^st grade teachers discussing different topics.  We first discussed curriculum that teachers were currently doing, then the chat evolved to discuss that teachers do for fun in the last couple of weeks of school. Although we jumped from topic to topic, I took away a lot of important information.

One of the teachers mentioned she has a 26 day countdown for the last days of school. For each day, the teacher focuses on a letter of the alphabet beginning with ‘A’ and has a theme each day. I thought this was brilliant! From my clinical experience I have learned that elementary students really enjoy themes in their learning, so having a theme for each day would be fun for the students. I also took away another idea. A lot of us mentioned that our schools engage in field day at the end of the school year, including myself. One of the teachers mentioned that they do a Dr. Seuss themed field day. I thought this was also very brilliant! Since my cooperating teacher and I will be doing a lot of the planning, I will make sure to bring this idea up.

Some of the teachers also mentioned different things that struck my mind. Since I am only teaching PE, we do a lot of psychomotor activities. We do not have the students engage in reading or writing since we only see them once per week for 30 minutes. From engaging in the chat, teachers mentioned that they had their students read different stories and reflect. I thought that 1st graders might be too young to do this, but from what teachers were posting it seems that it is a concept that they do a lot. So it was good to know that I can have the option of having students reflect on their actions in PE.

Another teacher mentioned that she was going to use ipads to have her students create picture books. I also thought that using technology such as ipads and give them the freedom to create something for 1^st graders was a little too advanced but again I was glad to know that they are very capable to engage in such activities.

Participating in the chat was very eye opening in that one can learn so much from others just by communicating. I was amazed that I was chatting with people from all over the US. I got so many ideas in one hour, I couldn’t believe it. Now some of the people I chatted with are following me on twitter and I am following them. I think I am getting a better understating of the power of developing my PLN.

Tinikling: Traditional Dance from the Philippines

Traditional tinikling dancing.

While Wednesday's storm might not have had a great impact on many teachers, it definitely had an impact on my cooperating teacher and I. The storm left the grass field flooded and the blacktop pretty wet, so our original plan of exercise stations and volleyball on the grass was out the window. Good thing we had a lot of time on Thursday morning because of STAR testing to plan a lesson for the day. While we looked at my cooperating teacher's shed full of equipment, she saw the tinikling movement bands. I had never heard of tinikling. She explained that it was a type of dance from the Philippines and showed me some diagrams and moves. I thought it looked like Chinese jump rope. She said it was similar and we got to planning. I definitely learned a lot throughout the process.

I learned that tinikling is a traditional dance from the Philippines. There are people called the workers who handle the bamboo sticks and hit them on the ground and together to create beats. The dancers jump in and out of the sticks as seen in this picture. The dancers usually perform the dances with a three or four count beat. The workers must also stay on beat so the dancers do not get hit with the sticks.  Here is a link to a youtube video on dancers performing a tinikling dance.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SqZRQWC6AQ

However, we wouldn't actually use bamboo in our PE class, instead we used elastic bands. When we were planning the lesson, my cooperating teacher warned me that it is definitely a difficult lesson because it was many components, the workers, the dancers, standing on beat and cooperation.

I realized it definitely took a lot of instruction and scaffolding of information. We first had the students perform the basic steps, of jumping inside with two feet twice, then jumping out with both feet, twice. This was not difficult. Then we had the students practice the worker part of hitting the bands together twice, then apart twice. This was not difficult. The difficult part was putting it all together. The dancers must perform the opposite of what the workers perform. If the workers are hitting the sticks/ bands to the outside, the dancers must jump on the inside and vice versa. Also, the workers then put the bands around their ankles and jump in and out.

Tinikling in PE. Courtesy of Great Lakes Sports.

The students definitely had some difficulty with the dance at first but once they received positive and corrective  feedback they were able to perform the steps better and they were actually enjoying. I thought it was a great activity because all the students enjoyed it. Some of the 5th graders were even able to perform a more difficult step of in with right foot, in with left foot, out right foot, hop on right foot. Another highlight moment was when two students with special needs were able to perform the sequence. These students usually have a lot of trouble with their psycho-motor skills, but they were very successful with this activity.

While it is a difficult activity for some, it is definitely engaging for everyone. Everyone was excited to learn a new activity. I believe this can also be done at the middle and high school levels. I can't wait to learn more steps!

My Technology Use in PE

      I am currently doing my student teaching in PE in an elementary school. In my 530class, our professor has really talked about incorporating technology into our classrooms.

     At my school site, my cooperating teacher uses a wireless headset with speaker compared to the traditional megaphone, so when I teach I use it as well. I think this is great because we are outdoors and the students are not in one area. They are out on the field and there is usually other noise outside. Also, since we are outside I have to talk louder than if we were indoors. The speaker allows students to hear the instruction even if they are far way from me. Also, it helps me not strain my voice as much. On the speaker system we also play music for the students while they are involved in an activity. My cooperating teacher sometimes pre-programs music so that it plays and pauses on its own. When it plays, students are usually involved in an activity. When it stops the students know that there is usually a transition that occurs. The students really enjoy the music. Sometimes they dance a long and ask for it to be played if it is not on.

     While I believe this is a great way to integrate technology in a PE class, I believe this is still scratching the surface. I saw a video http://thetechcurve.blogspot.com/2012/03/assessment-in-physical-education.html where students videotape themselves performing a skill. They would then take the video, analyze it, and assess themselves on what they performed correctly and incorrectly. They would then turn in the video and their written work online to the teacher. The teacher would review the video and provide them with feedback.

      One of my PE professors also mentioned that when he taught middle school he had students create their own video demonstrating their understanding of different philosophies and content. The students could be creative as long as they followed the main guidelines.

      I thought these examples were great; however they both occurred at the secondary level. I am still having a hard time thinking how to embed more technology into elementary school PE. The main content that we focus on during elementary PE is basic psychomotor and manipulative skills as well as social skills and fitness. For a lot of the skills that we demonstrate, we ask the students follow a lot of critical elements. When we observe their performance, these are the elements that we look for to make sure they are performing the skill correctly. Because we only have 30 minutes with the students, a lot of the time we are unable to provide feedback to every student.

      So I think when I have my own class I will videotape my students’ performance. This way I can show them what they are doing correctly and incorrectly. Also, it is proof of what students are learning. I might even go as far as creating an electronic portfolio for every student for them to have and for me to share with their parents. Students like to see themselves on video, so using it to my advantage and asses them at the same time, I think would be a great way to use technology.

     I will keep researching ways and talking to people in the field on how to keep incorporating PE in elementary PE.

Busy, busy, busy

We are 3 weeks into clinical practice II and I think I can finally take a breath. The last 3 weeks have zoomed by and I have barely had anytime to sleep, tweet, or blog (sorry Jeff Heil!). So I would like to take some time now to reflect on what has been going on during the last couple of weeks.

I am doing my clinical practice in PE at elementary school in Oceanside. So far, it has been a wonderful experience. I am also an assistant track coach and Oceanside High School. We have meets on Wednesdays and Saturdays so even on the weekends I am busy.

In elementary PE, we get to see each class for 30 minutes once a week. So throughout the week we get to see the whole school, K-5. This means that it has been difficult to learn all the of the students' names. Another aspect that has been somewhat difficult is trying to make a connection with every student. I feel that 30 minutes per week is not enough to get to know the students, so I try to maximize my time with them by talking and interacting with them as well as providing constant feedback throughout the class. I try to interact with the students outside of PE class. Usually my cooperating teacher and I have a lot of other tasks to do so we walk around campus a lot. When I see a student I try to say hi and ask how their day is going.

So far, I think my lessons have gone well. I am still trying to mange having a whole class and making sure I provide corrective and positive feedback to all the students. I found this to be the most difficult last week during our batting lesson for the third-fifth graders. I was running up and down the field making sure I gave feedback at least once to every student. Batting is difficult, especially for third graders so I need to make sure that they are performing the skill correctly so they do not learn it the wrong way.

For the primary grades (K-2) I have learned that one of the most important aspects is directions/ instruction. The directions have to be clear enough that they know what to do but concise enough that they are able to pay attention. When giving instruction I learned that they can not focus for more that about a minute, so there is a lot of guiding throughout the lesson.

Some of things I would like to improve on are to be more enthusiastic during my lessons. I feel that I am more caught up on trying to provide feedback and making sure I am doing everything well that I forget to have fun with it. I noticed the students really enjoy PE so I just need to show that I am having just as much fun as they are.

One last thing I would like to improve on is providing more assessments for the students. In elementary PE, students only receieve a citizenship grade from their teacher however, I still want to make sure that the students are learning the skills and content. So continuing on with my assessments will help me know what the students know already and if they are ready to move on.

Even though I have been busy day in and day out, I truly enjoy what I am doing. The students and athletes always put a smile on my face. Every time a student finally performs a skill or comes up to tell us something funny, my cooperating teacher says, "Why would you want to work anywhere else?" I say "I don't, I really love doing this!"