256 Observation Bulletin Board

Week One of Observations

Well I've completed my first week of observations and so far I have definitely learned a lot from my host teacher. Developing lessons, dealing with problem students, and creating a grading scheme are just to name a few of the different things I've gained more knowledge about in my first week. This has been a valuable experience so far as I have seen and heard many different things from the students and the PE staff who have been great to me since I have been here. I'm looking forward to next week as I will be in the middle school to complete the observation hours necessary.

After 2 Days of Observation.

At the end of the day today, I completed my second day of observation at Granville Senior High School. So far I have been pleased with what I have seen. In all the classes they are in their flag football unit and if the weather would cooperate with us, we can hopefully get outside for some gameplay. My last period of the day is with the adapted PE class and we are playing tennis. The students in that class are fun to work with because they have incredible energy and are always smiling as soon as they come into the gymnasium.
After doing my C-9 and SOFIT forms it is easy for me to see that my host teacher does a good job of explaining the tasks to the students and is very clear with answering any questions the students have to offer. I have also decoded to work on my binder every single night to keep on top of it and try to get a target grade on It. I'm looking forward to continuing with my observation for 256.

Wrapping Up the Semester

As I sit and think about everything that I have done throughout the semester, I firmly believe that I have grown so much in my teaching abilities this semester than any other semester combined. Being in 255 gave me much more confidence within myself when it came to standing up and teaching in front of people. I also learned a great deal about how much work actually goes into planning a lesson and making it fun for my students and myself as a growing teacher. In stats, I learned how important assessment is in PE and why we need to do it our classes. But most importantly, I've gained new friendships and connections and have felt much more comfortable talking with my teachers and asking them for guidance with my classes. I cannot wait to get out and start my observations of the middle school and the high school for the next two weeks to see what its actually like out there! 

Stats Presentation

Myself, Jon, Chelsea, and Andrew

On Friday, my group and I had to make a professional presentation to our class. Throughout the semester in my PED 434 Statistics and Assessments in PE class, we have been working on a teacher work sample. Our goal was to give the students a pre-test, then repeat the assessment for a post-test for the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains along with fitness. We then took our information from our assessments to see if any learning was done by the students and to create a power point to present to our classmates. I was assigned to do the affective portion in which i used a scale where students self-assessed themselves on how they felt they cooperated with their peers in the class. Overall the presentation went good as we received a 29/30 fir our grade! The presentation showed me how important assessment is because it gives you data that can be shown to prove that students are learning something in our classes.   

Saying Goodbye

Today was our last 255 class. We discussed how important it is to interact with the kids during our 256 experiences. It is important that we try and make an impact on their lives in the short time that we are there with them. Having a lasting impact on your students can change their lives for the better. Professor Yang showed us pictures from when he was teaching in Vancouver and the smiles that are on those kids faces is priceless. It is clear that the students loved him and the activities he has had them participate in. 
But maybe the most surprising and sad news of the day came at the end of class. Professor Yang announced that he was leaving. He wants to do some soul searching and decide if working at the college is something he wants to do. It was sad to see him talk about it because you could tell he was a little hurt inside. He is by far the best teacher I've had here at Cortland and will always be an inspiration to any student that comes in to contact either in the past or the future.  

Hantis and Speed Stacking

Dave giving feedback to the class.

I really enjoyed today's lab D lessons. Dave led off with cup stacking. His instant activity was great because he incorporated, yoga, teamwork, and cup stacking. Then even though his computer froze up and stopped working, he was able to continue on with his demonstrations. We got to time ourselves doing a 6 cup stack. My best time was 2.78. It's a very tricky technique to make sure you grab the right amount of cups. He also had to deal with Devon who was a deaf student. He had Devon practice t the front table so it was easier for him to witness and process Dave's demonstrations.
Next was Kyle and he taught Hantis. Hantis is essentially table tennis, except you use the palm of your hands to strike the ball across the table. The main controversy during Kyle's lesson was Mike "broke" his arm. Kyle did an excellent job handling it. He sent Eric to go call 911. He sent me out into the hallway to guide the paramedics to the right location and he told the students to stop what they were doing. Like I said before, he did very good at handling a potentially scary situation.

Kyle observing his Hantis lesson.