Savenger Hunt: Facts about Smoking

In class on Friday my fellow TC taught a lesson using a scavenger hunt. I want to commend her first and foremost on trying something different and thinking outside of the box. I thought that the way that she used technology (Iphone app) was interesting and it captivated my attention just as it would grab students' attention in high school. I think also that they way she used the entire lesson to teach students about the dangers or smoking and the wide variety of chemicals that were in the cigarettes was well thought out. I liked how she used the name tags with different chemical names instead of just listing them of. It made students think about it and truly showed how even a small portion of the chemicals could be a large amount. I thought that the lesson could be a little bit refined by instructing the students more effectively and proving them with more cues. I also think that with more time alloted more could have been accomplished.
Safety is very important when teaching. Although Kim used the safety statement "avoid all parking lots", students often deviate form instruction. When teaching you must be explicit and also be able to monitor the kids to make sure that they are following the given instructions. I think with these refinements the lesson could have been very well done and effective. I will post some pictures of our scavenger adventure outside.

Festivus

Festivus is an event put on every year by SUNY Cortland SGA. It is a great event in that it brings a ton of local school kids into the college to participate in various events that the clubs put on. This semester I was granted with the privilege of working with three different clubs. I was there as the Vice President of APEM (our physical education majors club), President of RHA west campus, and member of inclusive special education club. I thought that it was great to work with the kids. At one station the inclusive special educations club put on a necklace creating booth. It was interesting to both work with and observe the kids and their fine motor skills as they strung the beads onto the string. There were many children of different ages and developmental levels. I also got to see students preforming some basic motor skills in or around the "bouncy-bounce". Children were running, jumping and hopping around the bounce house and demonstrating a variety of motor skills. It was interesting to note, as I have learned that age is not always directly linked the developmental level. By this I mean that many students who were younger may have been more developed that those students who were slightly older than them. I wish that I could have spent more time observing and talked to the students as well as the parents, but there is only so much time in the day. I think that as physical education majors and teachers alike it is important to be involved in events such as this outside of the classroom. Students are not getting all of the activity that they need and by encouraging events like this we can be sure that they are moving towards a more active life. I will attach some of the pictures form the event so you can see some of the booths that were set up. Enjoy!

Standard 2

Element 2.2: Teacher candidates will achieve and maintain a health enhancing level of fitness throughout the performance. 
Standard two is a very important standard that physical education majors overlook. As a P.E major it is important that we are leading the life that we are preaching to our students. Often times students will judge us on our athletic ability and our fitness before they look at our teaching ability. This is why is it so important that we are maintaining this level of health enhancing fitness throughout the program. My 255 professor, Mr. Yang shared with me a great way to keep track of my cardiovascular activity. The site is called Runkeeper.com. This site allows you to upload not only your length of run but also; the time of day, the amount of calories burnt, the type of exercise (if different from running), and also the date on which you completed the run. The site then generates a report that tells you the average pace you ran and presents it to you. I think that often times students are motivated by sites such as these and we should not only use them to track ourselves but also use the sites to help promote physical activity within our students. Another neat aspect of the site is that you can link up with classmates that you may have exercised with and make a note of that. Often times students are encouraged by other students activity as well as their own personal goals. Along with my consistent running and cardiovascular activities such as; swimming, biking and skiing, I also participate in a resistance training program. I try to keep my body in the best shape possible and achieve this health enhancing level of fitness. Below I will provide you with both the link to my RunKeeper as well as my personal workout program. This will help give you and idea of how you can create a fitness plan that works for you. Thanks for checking out my blog!


RunKeeper Website:
www.runkeeper.com

Exergaming: A Revolutionary Way to be Active

On Wednesday two of my fellow teacher candidates taught using the new exergame technology. I thought that this was by far one of the most interesting lessons due to the nature of the products. I think that using this new technology is revolutionary in that it encourages activity through games that kids already enjoy playing. Also I thought that both teachers did a great job of incorporating aspects that taught through the physical. Emily began her lesson with an instant activity that was very informative in relation to diabetes. I learned about about ketones in the blood and how they can be prevented and monitored. I also thought that it was a good way to start as it stimulated my brain before we began gaming. Emily did a great job of providing everyone with activity to do during the lesson. I liked how she was able to include the principle of insulin shock into her lesson and have group members aid their teammate. This not only encouraged cognitive learning but also helped students to work on the affective aspects, working as a team. 

Lesley did a great job also incorporating facts about heart disease and cardiovascular health. I thought that  the straws were a good representation of how the arteries could become clogged and how hard the heart would have to work to produce the same result. I think that Lesley did a great job setting up stations of which students could rotate though. This always ensures that all students are moving and that they are active. It is important as a teacher to make sure that the lesson that we teach allow for all students to take part. 

I also got a chance to meet the creator of some of the exergaming equipment. I thought that this was a neat experience as I could work with him in the future to provide my class with the equipment or even come in and demonstrate how to use it properly. I think it is important to make connections and reach outwards in order to gain new ideas and become a more well rounded teacher.

I will attach pictures of the exergaming and the two teacher who taught it.

Some Fun in the Pool!

On Monday tow of my colleagues taught their lab D in the pool. One of the Teacher Candidates taught water aerobics. This was a great topic in my opinion because even those students who may not be proficient at swimming, still were able to be successful. Water aerobics is also a great way to get exercise with minimal joint strain. It is important for rehabilitating injuries as well as training. I think that as Mr. Howard mentioned, many people feel that water aerobics is just for the elderly, but if used effectively it can be a great training technique. It is important that we spread the word about great methods. During Mr. Howard's lesson there were a few students who were off task. He did a great job of getting the students attention and bringing them back into the lesson. I think as teachers it may be hard to constantly be aware of where all of our students are, but in situations especially those similar to the pool, it is utmost importance that we do know. I want to commend Mr. Howard on a lesson well done.

Mr. Morelli also had a lesson in the pool. I think the one part of his lesson that really stood out was the use of technology. He used a timer with wristbands in a relay for the instant activity. I had never seen one of these and thought that it was truly a neat idea. It's small things like this that really make a lesson come together nicely and sets good teachers apart form those teachers who are just average. I also think that he did a good job providing students with feedback. It is important that feedback given is both positive and congruent, and Mr. Morelli did just that. I think that Lab D overall has been a great success so far. It is truly amazing to see how far the Teacher Candidates have come since the beginning of the year.Everyone keep up the good work and show everyone how physical education can be revolutionized!

Relay For Life

I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who participated in the event, not only APEM but all other teams as well. I was amazed by how many people really came together for a great cause. For those of you who could not attend I will try to sum up all of the event thats took place. There was acts ranging form dance performances, and bands and DJ's. The atmosphere was truly upbeat and everyone was happy to be there. There was food and many activities to do in order to keep busy for the full 12 hrs. APEM hosted a bunch of Minute-to-Win-it games. This was a great hit. Many people asked what the games where and were intrigued and decided to play. I think that it is at events like this that more physical education majors should be present. This was truly an athletic event considering the fact that a minimum of one person from your team had to be walking for the entire 12 hour duration. I know of a few select people who walked almost the entire time. What great stamina! As the vice president of APEM I want to extend an invitation to all students and teachers who want to get more involved on campus. We have quite a few events still remaining including Festivals, Swim for a cause, and the PEP awards. I think as physical education majors we need to be involved with all that we can and truly help the community in which we live. If you would like to find out more about doing these events talk with me or come to the next APEM meeting Tuesday at 6pm Poolside. Below I will post a picture of my team (minus me) and some other pictures from the night.

Table Tennis Teaching Lab D

On Wednesday two of my colleagues taught table tennis as their final teaching lab. This was a great teaching experience not only for Eric and Justin but also for all the students involved. In this lab they were presented with behavioral problems that they needed to address. Often times it is difficult for new teachers as well as seasoned teachers to address and resolve behavior problem correctly. In Eric's teaching segment a student was angered by the fact that her boyfriend cheated on her and took it out on the girl who supposedly her boyfriend cheated with. Eric addressed the issue by placing her in a corner. Although this may be a good way to get her to cool down, I feel that less aversive methods could have been used first. For example Eric could have simply gotten closer to the two girls who were fighting and they would have stopped. Also they may have stopped if just separated from each other. Often times as teachers it is important to act quickly and rapidly. If the issue is revolved through a prompt change in environmental factors, it may limit the future problems.
In the second teaching session two female students, openly flirted with the teacher (Justin). Justin did a great job responding to the issue. He promptly asked the two girls to please stand on the other side of the table so that they could see the demonstrations. This is a good way to not draw attention to the issue but to resolve it nonetheless. I also think that he could of had the students demonstrate a skill themselves that way they would be occupied and not flirting with the teacher.
I have been reflecting on the behavioral issues that arose, and have developed a behavior intervention plan of my own. I created a hierarchy of  intervention methods. This is in order form least aversive to very undesirable. This will better help me to understand how I will deal with issues at hand. I have been preparing for my own teaching session. I have thought about many different issues that could arise and how I would deal with them. As a teacher this will help to be prepared and will better enable me to be able to control the situation. Below I will attach a copy of my hierarchy.