YMCA Tween Night

This previous saturday I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer for a Tween night at the cortland YMCA. It was truly a great experience. Although I wasn't able to stay for the entire time I got a lot of interaction time with the kids as well as some valued observation time. As teachers it is important to be able not only to stand in front of the class and instruct the students, but also to be able to observe them. I got to see the variability in developmental level of students who were ages 11-13 mostly. It is truly amazing to see how fast many of the students have progressed from just a few years prior. I was also very interested in seeing how the personnel managed the facilities and kept everything running smoothly. Although at times some of the kids got a little rambunctious, the facilities were constantly monitored and everything ran according to plan. The gym space was used to get the kids active and moving around, which I found really great. Also many small sided activities were set up for the children. I really just enjoyed how active the kids were , and how a program as simple as this can really make such a large impact. I hope to aid in organizing events such as this throughout my future career. I was unable to obtain any photos of the actual kids as it was not allowed, but I will attach some pictures of the YMCA itself and the rock-climbing facilties that they have, which are amazing.

Lab D: HANTIS all the way!

As you all know I taught hantis for my Lab C and everyone, including myself, had a great time doing it, so I chose to teach some new skills for my lab D. I started by thinking about what I should teach considering many of the students were already sound in the fundamentals. I talked with the Hantis "Crators" and they told me about the importance of movement and dribbling, so i decided that this is what I would cover. When I first started planning for my lab D I was unsure about how I was going to incorporate the concept of Asthma into the lesson. I finally thought about the idea of showing the struggle of having asthma, through physical activity. I thought that I would first bring about the issue of hypo-kinetic asthma, which is asthma that is caused by inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle. I also planned on having students simulate the struggle of asthma throughout the lesson, but it didn't work out quite as planned. The lab also took a lot of careful planning as I needed to put in a facilities request form, and put in an equipment form for the materials that I needed. This really opened my eyes to how important planning and organization is when you are a teacher. Also I implemented technology into my lesson so I had to reserve a projector. Along with this planning I spent a great deal of time designing and creating visual aids that would be used during the lesson.
When I arrived at the classroom I was very excited to teach my lesson. All of the students were excited to play the game again and learn all of the skills. The set up was a little different from the first time that I taught because I was working on having the students move around, and the tables needed more space between them. I started the lesson out with an introduction and we were off to hantis from there. During my lesson, an issue arose that I had to deal with. One of the students "broke" their arm and it was a compound fracture. I immediately stopped the class and had someone call 911. I then had someone go out into the hallway and wait for the paramedics. The class was restless so I had two of the more advanced students showcase their skills while I dealt with the issue at hand. The only thing that I wish that I had done differently was to actually treat the injury myself. There was a first aid kit that I could have used to keep the arm form moving and preventing further injury.

I thought that the students had really come a long way from the first time I taught the lesson so I allowed for a lot of gameplay. I really felt much more comfortable directing the class and making the transitions. The last time that I taught I was nervous but now I am confident and can direct a classroom on my own.
I have truly seen a huge improvement from the beginning of the year and even from lab C. I really have worked toward creating more effective lessons the captivate the students. I also feel that I am able to take game that I do not know fully, learn them, and then be able to teach them effectively to the class. My time in 255 has truly benefited me, and I am happy with the changes I have made. I think that in teaching, professional development and change is never ending. It is important to practice, get feedback, reflect, and truly make yourself a better teacher. This can be done by doing just some of the things that we do in 255; video recording or conferences. I have developed so much as a physical educator and am looking forward to progressing in my profession. I will post some pictures and a video of my teaching so stay tuned!
Check out my Hantis Tab for even more Info!

Heres the Video of me Teaching:



Time Coding Form
Verbal Transcript
SOFIT Lab D

Splash For-A-Cause

On Saturday APEM put on an event called Splash for-a-cause. The event raised money for the Golisano Children’s Hospital in NYC. The principle behind the fundraiser was that people would obtain sponsors who would donate a certain amount per lap swam. This is a great way to encourage physical activity while also raising money for a good cause. I want to thank all of those members of APEM as well as the members of the swim team who took time out of their busy schedules to swim for a great cause. As a future educator this is directly relevant. I am honored to say that I was part of the organization and implementation of this event. I will keep everyone updated on how much money we actually raised as soon as I know. Remember it is important to always contribute and teach through the physical. Keep up the great work Cortland!

YMCA 5k Spring Run

Today I was able to go to the Cortland YMCA and help out with a 5k. This was a great opportunity because, like the St. Mary's 5k I got to see the levels of structure and organization that go into an event like this. It is important that we note, as future and present educators we need to be providing our students with opportunities to be physically active outside of class. I think that creating events such as a 5k or even a fun run type of event is very helpful in this regard. I also see the value for 5k's for adults as well. As physical educators we need to be pushing for lifelong fitness goals. 5k's are very motivational for some adults and truly shows how active they are staying. I think that while teaching ever educator should take the time to create his or her own event, as well as helping out at many events that are already in place. I will attach a picture of the advertisement as well as some pictures from the actual race later on. Thanks for looking!

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