355 Field Experience 2/28/12

Today the students played soccer for the entire class. The teacher split the class into two separate teams and allowed me, and herself, to play because there were several students absent that day. There was one goalie on each team and the rest of the students took a position, but there were not defined positions like offense or defense. As usual with younger kids, (grades 4-5) any time the ball would go in any direction, every student would flock over to the ball. 10 students around one soccer ball does not lead to a large amount of goals or game flow. The skill themes that can be found in soccer are dribbling, running, kicking and shooting. I found that soccer was not as activity that the students in the class were particularly high in skill in. None of the students dribbled the soccer ball at all. They chose to kick the ball high into the air and tried to get it as far down the court as they possibly could. When shooting on goal the students had low success and rarely made it near the goal, let alone in the goal. As i said earlier, the students would all run to wherever the ball was on court regardless of if they should have been there or not. The teacher tried to get them to spread out and use the space of the gym, but it is difficult to teach tactical concepts in the middle of game play. The lack of tactical concepts and skills was a big problem during this lesson. The students did not know the different positions on the field and were not separated into offensive or defensive positions. Overall, the students had a low level of psychomotor abilities as well as cognitive and affective.

355 Field Experience 2/23/12

Today was my second day at Cortland Christian Academy (CCA). Today there was a kindergarten and first grade class that I had the chance to observe. I was surprised to see a fellow Cortland student there teaching the class so that was a pleasant surprise. The Cortland student taught a lesson on basic jumping, almost if not the same lesson we did on one of the first days of 355 lab. The tasks and activities in the lesson were very good and seemed to be very effective. Some of the students already had the ability to jump rope, but some of the students in the class made good progress in their ability to jump rope. The management of the classroom was pretty good, but the students were still off task at times. I believe many of the behavior management issues stemmed from the lack of structure in the classes up until this point in the year. The students do not always listen closely to the teachers instructions so it can be difficulty to keep the students attention and they tend to be off task. Overall the lesson went very smoothly and one thing that I thought was great was the Cortland student had set up an activity for the end of class. The students already knew what they activity was and as soon as the Cortland student said the name of the game, the students went right to where they were supposed to be. I think an end of the lesson activity can be good incentive for the students to cooperate and be good during class or else they will not get their reward of the activity.

355 Field Experience 2/21/12

I was placed at a new school today because of some circumstances that came up. I was placed at Cortland Christian Academy (CCA). Compared to Cincinnatus, CCA was a much smaller school and different than any school I had ever been in. On my first day I received a tour of the school and found out that CCA was K-12 in a very small building. They had small class sizes compared to what I had been used to. The physical education program was not particularly developed and was just getting their legs under them. CCA does not currently have trained physical educators teaching their classes. But, the teachers that have taken responsibility for the classes are great people and try their best. The physical education classes are more of an extended recess than the typical phys ed class is. The students have a high activity time and are playing more or less for the entire class. High activity time is something every physical educator aims for in their lessons. But, like I said the classes are more of an extended recess. Today the students played kickball for class. The boundaries of the gym and the fact that they students also eat lunch in the gymnasium made the game difficult. The kickball flew under or over the lunch table multiple times and the students ran after the ball with little regard for safety. The rules of the game were not explained ahead of time and the students seemed to have difficulty picking the game up and following the rules they were supposed to follow. The teacher did a good job in controlling the class and the game flowed as smoothly as possible. I am looking forward to more time here at Cortland Christian Academy.

355 Field Experience 2/14/12

Today in class was a continuation of the kidnastics/gymnastics unit. In physical education there are standards that help guide a teacher on how they should do  things in their lessons. NYS Standard 1 is personal health and fitness. In this lesson students were working on different balances and jumps. The students had to perform the skills presented over and over until they were told to move to the next station. NYS standard 1 states that students will attain a competency in a variety of physical activities. I do not believe that this was accomplished during this lesson for a couple reason. First, there was no criteria on whether or not the students were doing the different balances or jumps correctly. Second, there was not a teacher at every station to keep track of how the students were doing. Additionally, physical education is not just amount completing a movement or practicing skills the entire class period. The standards for physical education also say that the students need to understand what they are doing. I did not see any learning in the lessons and I do not believe the students gained any knowledge of the different activities they were performing.

355 Field Experience 2/9/12

In most every school there will be students with special needs. Having been at Cincinattus Elementary for close to two weeks now, I have not seen any special needs students. If there are any special needs students, they are either separated completely from the physical education classes or are incorporated in the regular classes without any special accommodations. I was surprised to see that there were no accommodations for any of the students in the classes I have seen thus far. In my schooling experience there have always been at least one student that had some type of accommodations.

Athletic and Physical Education Philosophy

As a future physical educator and coach, my philosophy rests on three pillars. These pillars are built upon what I believe, what I value and why I do what I do. The three pillars are instructional approaches, education first and assessment.

I believe that a physical educator should use a variety of different teaching techniques in their classroom. One teaching technique will not fit every grade level or class that you have. Command is the most common technique used for physical education. It is easy to use and is effective in teaching new skills and controlling the class. Many teachers like the feeling of being in control of their class so command is what teachers use most of the time. In my opinion, the students need to have a chance to have control in the class. Allowing the students to create their own solutions to a question or problem I make up can be very effective. Closing off student's curiosity, problem solving and creativity is not a good idea. Students should be encouraged to use their minds and think of ways to solve problems without the teacher giving the answer. I believe that a teacher needs to vary their instructional approaches depending on the grade level they are teaching. If I am teaching the elementary level I may tend to use guided discovery at the beginning of the units to allow the students to figure out their own way to do a skill. For example, if you are teaching dribbling you could allow the students to move around the gym practicing their idea of dribbling without the teacher directly controlling their movements and ideas. An important factor of choosing an instructional approach is to evaluate your class first. If your class has class management issues a direct approach may be more effective because the teacher has the control. If your class has the ability to work in groups peer teaching or guided discovery could be effective to work on the affective domain a bit. I believe a teacher needs to find what works best for them, but mostly what works best for their students.

Athletics has become a huge part of the society we live in today. There are multiple channels on television dedicated just to sports. I believe that athletics are useful in many ways, but are a privilege for the students to engage in. Sports can teach students many great things that they may not learn otherwise. Teamwork, cooperation, hard work, practice and skills are things that can be learned from athletics. I believe athletics are what people participate in to display their abilities and skills they have learned. But, athletics need to come first in school. I knew several students in school, and you can see it in college all the time, that had athletics as their number one priority. Although there is a chance a student may play a sport for their careers, a very large majority will not end up being a professional athlete. If you aim to be a professional athlete and neglect your work and your dream does not work out, what do you have left? This is why I believe that education comes first. If a student does not have the grades to participate in athletics, they do not deserve to play. Also, I believe that the standards for athletes should be higher in order to qualify for athletics. In my high school, an average of seventy was required to play sports. A grade of C- was all that was required to participate in sports. Athletes should be required to concentrate on their school work and put school first. C- is not a high enough grade requirement to have the students take school seriously. Athletics can be great for students, but academics should always come first.

Physical education has a huge role in the lives of students. But, many people question the need for physical education as a part of the school day. Most people believe that physical educators are referees that have a big book of games to play with their students. I believe a physical educator is more than that. A quality physical educator should be teaching their students physical skills, but also teaching knowledge of games, countries and health. The affective domain is also a huge part of what a physical educator should be doing. Teamwork, cooperation, listening, honesty and sharing are examples of skills that fall into the affective domain. Every class that is taught needs to include the psychomotor, affective and cognitive domains. In order to prove that physical education is worthwhile, physical educators need to use assessment. Assessment is used to show progress of the students in your class. Assessment can be time consuming because it is an additional thing you will have to do. But, I believe that if a teacher is not doing assessment, they are not doing their job. Besides tracking progress, assessment allows a teacher to reflect on their own teaching abilities. A teacher is not perfect and they also need to reflect on themselves and their teaching. A quality teacher should ask themselves, was that lesson effective and what can I do to be better. I believe that a physical educators goal is to help their student become physically educated people. Physically educated people are people that are knowledgeable about their body and ways to take care of their body. A physically educated person is able to find activities that enhance their health and wellness. I value reflection as a way to improve myself and improve the learning of my students. I believe that assessment is vital to showing progress of the students and for becoming the best teacher you can be.

Assessment, education first and instructional approaches are the three pillars to my athletics and physical education philosophy. I believe that a teacher has the ability to positively affect the lives of the students they teach. I hope that I will be able to influence my students and help them become physically educated people.

Educational Philosophy

As a future educator, my philosophy on education rests on four principles. These four principles are based in my beliefs, values and why I chose to become an educator. The four principles that make my philosophy are the faculty and staff, curriculum, passion and teamwork, and instructional approaches.

I believe that every quality school starts with a great faculty and staff. Without a foundation of quality administrators, teachers and the rest of the staff that helps keep a school run smoothly, what would be left? First, I believe that teachers make or break the quality level of a school. I believe that a teacher has the power to influence the lives of every student that walks into their classroom each and every year. Quality teachers have the ability to create passion for subjects that students may never have had otherwise. I remember a teacher I had in tenth grade during high school. For me, history has always been fairly boring and not something I had a particular interest in. How Columbus discovered America has never inspired any enthusiasm or made me want to learn more. But, in this class my teacher made every single day exciting. Every day I went to school I would look forward to history class and the teacher that taught my class. I may not remember exactly what I learned in that class, but I will never forget the teacher I had. A defining characteristic of a quality teacher is what the students remember of that teacher afterward. The low quality teachers that I have had over the years have faded from my memory, and the grades I received with those teachers was lower than with the quality teachers. I believe that quality teachers inspire the students in their classes to do their best and achieve things they might not achieve otherwise. I hope that when I begin my first teaching job, I will have the chance to inspire my students to be the best they can be.

What is being taught in the schools is vital to the success in schools. I believe that in order to provide a quality education the curriculum needs to be carefully created. Every grade level will not be learning the same information at the same time so it is very important to evaluate what should be taught at each grade level. Also, teaching the same information year after year will not be effective for the students or the teachers. A quality curriculum should clearly show exactly what each grade level will be learning over the course of the year. Not only is the subject matter important, but the types and amount of assessments that will be used to track the progress of the students. I believe that assessment is vital to the educational process. Without assessment how can we show improvement in our students and prove to the parents that our profession is necessary. Physical education is highly criticized for being just another place for the students to play games. With assessment and a proper curriculum, physical educators should be able to prove their worth and provide a quality education for the students.

I believe that passion and teamwork are an underrated characteristic of a quality school. The teacher at a school need to be passionate about what they do and love coming to work everyday. If you come to work in the morning and give only fifty percent of your full ability, you will not teach the students that they need to learn. I value a person that works hard and does everything in their power to teacher their students as much as possible. I believe that teachers need to work together to provide an adequate education. Too often teachers stick to what they believe is right and will not accept help from others. But, sometimes the other teachers in the school may have a brilliant idea that could take your teaching to the next level. Additionally, I believe that incorporating different subjects into your classroom can be very effective. Especially in physical education, incorporating math, science, or history in your lesson can be as simple as having a map on your gym wall. During your international games unit, teach the students some history of the games home country and have them find that country on the map. Asking the other teachers what they are currently doing in their own classrooms and incorporating that information will help the students learn even more. Teachers should love what they do and be willing to communicate and work with one another to provide the best education impossible.

The final principle of my philosophy in education is instructional approaches. I believe that a teacher needs to be willing to use a variety of teaching techniques in their classroom throughout the year. In physical education, there are many different techniques such as command, practice, guided discovery, peer teaching, etc. Different units and different grade level may require different teaching techniques. For example, for elementary education it can be important to allow the students to figure out their own solutions to problems and use their imaginations. When teaching a new skill to your students, you may want to use a more direct approach like the command method. If classroom management is a problem for one particular class, perhaps an indirect style may not be effective. Also, varying the strategies you use over the year can be very effective. In my experience, when a teacher does the same thing day after day, I get bored. Being versatile and creative in your teaching and teaching methods can be great for you and your students.

Instructional approaches, passion and teamwork, faculty and staff and curriculum are the basis for a quality school and educational program. I believe that with all four of these principles working in harmony, a teacher can provide their students with the tools they need to succeed and enjoy education.