Wednesday, December 15, 2010

All for one and one for all...Nutrition

I believe the Games the Lunch Crunch and Juice Jumble are a very good way to teach younger students about proper nutrition. These games are meant to inform the students about healthy and unhealthy foods. Many children enjoy playing games and these two allow the children to play games that they love while learning as well. I believe this game is more suitable for younger children because it was a little boring for a person of my age. However, the message the games are trying to send is very important. It is necessary for students to understand the importance of eating healthy. This knowledge will give the students the skills necessary to live a healthy lifestyle. These two particular games could be used in a physical education setting or in a classroom setting. Either way it is important for students to learn these nutritional facts at a young age.




The game play of these games is very quick and I often found myself struggling to take pictures during the games because everything was moving very quickly. This is good because it will keep the students very involved and trying to think quickly. These games are excellent for nutritional facts as well as hand eye coordination. Overall, I believe these games are an excellent way to inform the students on important lifelong facts.

Below are some activities and lessons other teachers can to further there lesson/unit.

Lesson Plan

Task Progression

Quiz

Answer Key

Daily Burn

1. I thought the daily burn program was very helpful. I enjoyed using this program because it allowed myself to know about how many calories I was intaking everyday as well as the amount I was burning through physical activity. In addition, I thought it was useful that the site gave different motivators and suggestions to help the person reach whatever goal they're trying to reach. I am going to try to continue using daily burn because I enjoy knowing my calorie intake for the day. Although I usually eat very well there are times where I really need to eat better. If there is ever a time where I am not able to be physically active, eating healthy will become even more important in my life than it is right now.

 
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2. I believe this program would work perfectly in a physical education class or a health class. This can directly relate to standard 1b, knowing how to create a personal fitness program. This program can allow students to track their diet and physical activity. In addition, the students can track their progress towards their target goal whether it be to to gain weight, lose weight, or increase muscular endurance. This site can be used by all because there are so many different plans that a student may follow whether it be weight training or cardio training. In regards to a group goal, I believe something to do with cardiovascular training would be best and most suitable. Students could determine a certain distance they wish to achieve during the particular unit or even marking period. I would use pedometers to calculate the distance each student has traveled during each class and mark their distances as they progress.

 
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3.A positive electronic tool that can be used to capture the data is simply taking a screen shot of their results. This would make it possible for students to see their actual results more visibly. Daily burn provides graphs of the results in every category in which one wishes to take place. In addition, this allows the teacher to keep an eye on his/her students diets and physical activity. However, there might be some room for error because students might adjustments because their foods are not on the list or they do not wish to share some things. It is important to tell the students to be truthful and that they will not grading on what they write. Rather students could be graded on their development or progression from the starting point of the lesson. It is a goal for all physical educators to make their students more aware of their fitness level, and skill proficiency/competency. This is possible through the use of daily burn, it will also help the teacher find areas that the student may need improvement.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Nick Iannuzzi's EDU 255 Final: Part 1b and 1c

1. The website is from Toronto, ON Canada. The school is located in South Saskatoon, Canada.In addition, there is another school in the film that is located in Naperville Chicago, USA.

2. I found this new piece to be very interesting. The video shows that students sometimes believe we know everything about physical fitness. This is just like younger kids who believe they know everything at such a young age. The film brought forward information about how physical activity affects the growing of brain cells and the ability to learn new information. I was surprised to see the impact of physical activity and the effects it had on the students making them more attentive and more focused. I was also surprised to see the results in which physical activity yielded for the students. The students were no longer acting inappropriately in many cases and wished to attend class. The video showed a child with ADHD could benefit from simple daily exercise. For instance Naperville High School uses a lot of fitness and movement in the class room. This is important because it helps keep the attention of the students so they are not bored and acting out because of this. In addition, I found it especially interesting that raising the heart rate, turned on different parts of the brain that have to do with controlling impulses, which is why exercise is stressed for managing the behavior of a class. This makes me wonder what could have been in some of my high school classes if exercise was stressed as done in the Naperville school. Although I had great opportunities to learn there were some individuals who acted out like many of the children in this particular video.

3. I believe we did not hear about about PE teachers throughout the video because they were probably the standard and plain physical educators most of us had throughout our schooling years. The teacher probably just rolled out a ball and watched the children play like is so common in many school districts. To ensure that my PE program will benefit the students and faculty I will try to incorporate other areas in which the students are learning such as math skills, or history. This will make the students learn on different levels besides just pyschomotor. My ultimate goal would to have my students develop mentally and physically in my physical education program.

4.The outcomes of this program were to help students become physically active, help them be able learn and focus, as well as help them with behavioral issues. Students were able to read and comprehend at higher levels then when they started. The news piece stated that students were able to move up an entire grade. This is extremely important because it shows the success of the program. Students became much happier with their reading and writing skills and one could notice a change in the attitude of the students. I was not surprised with their findings because they put in a lot of research. In addition, I expected the children to be happier because they were learning and relating to the other children, which gave them a form of acceptance and belonging. The outcomes of this particular program are directly related to the NYS standards. For example, the program met both aspects of standard 1. The program had students becoming competent and able to perform different basic motor skills. This was done by having the students perform different motor skills using equipment such as the treadmill. Standard 2 was also met by this program because students were able to control their behavior and manage their own behavior. The students were able to improve their behavior in the classroom and socially. This is because students were feeling more comfortable as they were learning more and more. Standard 3 was also met, even though the equipment was donated, however the students were able to use resources in order to demonstrate the ability to exercise outside of the school setting. Some students talked to their parents and made plans to exercise outside of school whether it be walking around together or performing life long physical fitness.

5.BDNF stands for brain-derived neurotrophic factor. BDNF is a neuro growth factor which is like miracle growth for the brain. BDNF helps support the survival of existing neurons and encouraging the growth of new neurons and synapses. It ultimately makes the brain cells stronger. Aerobic activity such as running, walking, swimming, or jumping rope help develop an overall effective brain. There are two books mentioned throughout the video. The first is called Spark by John Ratey. In addition the second book is The Kinesthetic Classroom by Traci Lengel and Mike Kuczala.

Part 1C

There several categories students can be competent and proficient in. Such categories include Team Passing Activities, Net/Wall Activities, Target Activities, Striking Fielding Activities, Aquatics, Dance & Aesthetic, Outdoor, Fitness and Personal Performance Activities. Within these categories are numerous activities that students can take part in, and may develop such skills they wish to take part in through school activities such as sports. Students may participate in skills or activities they have never thought about. Our class is a perfect example of this. In class we have not only participated in various activities such as International games, and technology based activities, but we have also had the chance to teach these various activities. This has created a chance for us teacher candidates to experience different teaching techniques and ways to keep our students involved and wanting to take part in PE. In some schools, students who participate in sports do not have to take part in PE, or receive special treatment because of this. I believe the recommended regent's level for LS #1A should be around 90 %. I believe this is an adequate percentile because some students may have a category in which they struggle or need work at. This provides the students to work on these various skills to become competent. 90 % of the senior class should be competent in 6 activities and proficient in 3 in 3 different activity categories because the students have worked on these various activities throughout their educational careers.

I believe 90% of students should be able to meet "competency" in their Personal Fitness Plan for the regents level for LS #1B. Students should be competent and be able to perform different tests to show this. Such tests include cardiovascular, flexibility, and strength tests in order to design a fitness plan to show their understanding and to meet goals in which they have previously set. After taking Health Related Fitness, I was able to create my own physical fitness test and reach my own personal goals in all of these categories. Students should be able to create their own fitness plans in order to achieve a healthy lifestyle based on their own personal needs.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Lab D Step Aerobics

For my final lab I got to teach in the dance room, teaching step aerobics. I wanted to do something the students would find fun and something other than the traditional sports such as basketball or football. When I looked online for idea's on what to do for my final lab I saw a lot of information on Richard Simmons and his intense step aerobic routines. I thought this looked really interesting so then I decided to learn some of his elementary steps as well as incorporate some of my own. I used some different steps that I have learned in gymnastics such as the star jump, and the knee slapper.





Lab D came up on me a lot quicker than anticipated. I wish I could have put all the effort I know I can into this final lab and prove my teaching techniques to myself, peers and professors. I only had a couple days to come up with a good lesson to give to my classmates. I was really nervous going into my lesson because I knew little to nothing about step aerobics. However, playing sports in high school the footwork seemed similar to some re-occurring steps and movements. I believed it would be a good choice to incorporated them into my lesson because everyone in our class are gifted movers and I knew they were capable. I was impressed with how much feedback I gave to the students, however majority was unrelated to the tasks at hand. I also thought during lab d that I did a good job on making my tasks the same for very activity. I noticed in other labs I tend to get off subject on what I want the students to learn.
Overall I learned a lot in 255 through all my teaching labs. I noticed that I improved in many areas and I know there is still areas that I need to work on. I am growing everyday as a teacher and eventually I will become the p.e. teacher I strive to be.

Below are my documents for Lab D:

Lesson Plan

Activity Progression

Block Plan


Scope and Sequence

Content Development

Feedback Analysis

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Sepak Takraw Lab C



Overall, I believe Lab C was a success. For out international lab my partner and I decided to teach Sepak Takraw from Malaysia. Sepak Takraw is like a combination of volleyball and soccer. There are three players on each team and the game is played with only using your feet. I taught the cues of both serving and receiving the takraw ball. I felt very comfortable teaching however, I am still having trouble with coming up with progressing skills and challenges to help maintain the attention of the class. After talking to Professor Yang he helped me realize some adjustments that could be made to further help my professional teaching experiences. After listening to Professor Yang I feel very confident with the upcoming Lab D.

After viewing my video I discovered several things I could do better while teaching. For example, I made the mistake of telling the class they could go where ever they wanted in the gym. This made it difficult for me to give everyone feedback because I was either on one side or the other. In addition, I should have been more prepared when coming up with tasks and challenges I imagined having several nets set up so the students could be spaced out. However, when I arrived there was only one large volleyball net, this in no way is an excuse I should have figured this out prior to teaching. Furthermore, while the class performing the first task I noticed that Anthony and Laura were not performing the task I was trying to teach. I noticed in the video that I was clearly looking right at them and nothing registered in my mind.

After filling out the Time Coding sheet I noticed that my final score was relatively lower than normal. Although the activity percent was just about where I wanted it to be at 50 percent several others were lacking. There was far to much instructional time. The recommended amount is around 30 percent I was at 47 percent. For my lab D I hope to have a better proportion of the two.

Time Coding Sheet




I was a little disappointed with the amount of feedback I gave during this International Lab. Usually my strong point is giving feedback to the class and individual students. However, I believe having the net in the middle of the gym made it difficult for me to successfully give feedback to every student. In addition, I should have changed the task to keep the classes attention. If the students were getting bored or were excelling I should have made a variation whether it be to add another student or change the type of ball.


Feedback Analysis

Monday, October 25, 2010

255 Lab B2



I believe this lab was another step in the right direction to finding my own teaching techniques. I taught the class about the different ways to catch the pull in the Ultimate Frisbee. The pull is one of the most important aspects in Ultimate Frisbee. The pull determines how far your opponent must travel to the end zone. I believe I was successfully able to teach the class about these two techniques. However, my drill was a bit elementary. As we progress throughout the class the drills and challenges are supposed to progressively get harder. However, I noticed many students losing interest in my drill because of the lack of difficulty. After talking to Professor Yang we discussed different ways in which I could enhance the difficulty of the challenges to keep them interested.

After looking at my time coding sheet. I was able to figure out that I gave a little bit too much instruction as I would have liked to. In addition, I ran several minutes over the time limit because I forgot to keep an eye on my watch. I had an idea of this however I was waiting for one of the TA's to let me know that I was close to the limit. Next time it is essential that I keep and eye on my watch to help further enhance my lesson.

Time Coding Sheet

In addition, after viewing my Verbal Transcript I came to many realizations. For example, I found out that I say "you guys" a lot. This could eventually become a problem if someone were to get angry even though I mean nothing at all by it. Professor Yang discussed this one day in class and I had no idea until listening to my MP3 that I had to break this bad habit of mine. Furthermore, I realized that when I get nervous I tend to say "um". After, Greg ask me a question that I did not know the answer of, I noticed that I said "um" several times. It is a goal of mine to get rid of these poor habits to become a much better teaching and speaker.

Verbal Transcript


Also, I was very satisfied with the amount of Feedback I gave the class. I believe that giving feedback is important because you can let the student know better ways to improve on a particular skill or to boost their confidence. I gave several students relevant feedback but my ultimate goal is to be able to give every student feedback individually during my lesson. This may not have been possible during the time I had last lesson but I believe I can improve for Lab C and D.

Feedback Analysis

Sunday, October 3, 2010

255 Lab B1



First of all, I believe this Lab was very helpful.  This was my first experience in which I had to teach something that I did not play as a kid or in high school.  I believe that I am progressing in finding my own teaching technique and personality.  While preparing for this lab I practiced several times in front of my roommates which I believe made me feel a lot more comfortable.  However, there were a couple of down falls in my lesson.  For example, I forgot to introduce myself.  Also, I forgot to demonstrate the actual activity.  I gave the class some easy to comprehend cues but never actually demonstrated the activity.  If I could do this particular lab again I would demonstrate the correct way as well as the incorrect way to show the class the differences.  However, the class was able to comprehend the cues and was successfully able to demonstrate the activity.  Also, I still must work on using my voice, while watching the video I noticed that at some times my voice is very low and hard to understand.  Furthermore, I should have hung my visual aid up so everyone could see it, instead of just walking around and holding it.  This will allow me to be able to move around the class with ease. However, I was very satisfied with the amount of feedback I was able to give.  Overall, I believe the experience was a good one and I look forward to my next teaching experience.

Monday, September 20, 2010

255 A2





I believe this experience went better than the last.  I tried my hardest to work as much of the C9 sheet into my lesson plan as possible.  After watching I noticed that I did use a hook however, I could have had more confidence when delivering it.  I am slightly disapointed that I did not use a signal of attention.  This was one of my main points I wanted to use and rehearsed and I completely forgot. I believe I did a good job for the short amount of time given.   However, I feel like I was unable to give as much feedback as needed, which could have been due to the lack of time. Which is due to my lack of time management.  Also my drill was the same because the drills I had planned to use were used by another teacher prior to my turn.  Which should not be used as an excuse I good teacher should have several different drills at any given time.  I believe I did improve in using my voice more and preparation.  I look forward to our next teaching experience and continuing to proceed in my career choice.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

255 Hw

1) Teaching is a goal-oriented activity for several reasons.  It is important for teachers to choose instructional processes appropriate to their goals.  They must have a clear and present idea of what they want students to be able to do and be able to implement instructional processes.  The purpose of physical education is to develop a physically active lifestyle for one's students.  This lifestyle should not only be expressed in a school setting but throughout one's life time.  Physical Education is a gateway to a heathier lifestyle and environment for all.  Educators must develop a certain style of teaching that can be accepted by their peers, students, and state.  Their teaching must correlate with the six national standards.  Each of the standards is broken down by grade level so teachers can identify what students at each age should know and be able to do. 

4) The process teachers use to teach important content is very vital.  A good teacher is someone who can present their students with their abilities, personality traits, likes and dislikes while teaching content.  They can bring their own style of teaching into their curriculum. however the state demands that their curriculum be followed.  I believe it is very vital to have your own teaching style.  In my school setting the teacher would either just give us instructions or just roll out a ball.  At that time I did not mind it because I was always looking forward to being active and playing with my friends.  However, now I realize that their are far better ways to involve the students in activity while still provided the fun and fitness that is needed.  For example, starting with an instant activity gets the blood flowing and grasps the attention of the students.  Having one's own personality in teaching can put a whole new spin on Physical Education and the curriculum.

5) The movement task-response unit of analysis is so important in physical education.  Movement task-response are learning tasks defined by the teacher either in direct or indirect ways.  An observer should be able to watch a lesson and be able to define the task at hand.  An example could be having the students practice the task in groups instead of as an individual.  This provides the students with social interaction and helps get the point of team work across.  Teachers design movement tasks as a progression of experiences to meet their objectives.  These movement tasks can be presented directly or indirectly.  Teachers must organize people, groups and space to practice the task.  It is important for the teacher to observe and provide feedback to students on their performance both individually and as a group.  If the students skills or abilities are not up to par the teacher should restate the instructions or demonstate the skill again.  Some students have different learning skills and might need to see the skill presented more than a couple of times.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

First Day of 255

At first I was very nervous about the assignment.  Walking into class I had no idea that we would have to be teaching on the first day of the semester.  However, after watching a few of my peers I got more and more comfortable with the task at hand.  I decided to teach the three step drop and how to throw a spiral because I played quarterback in high school.  Overall, I think it was a success.  I am looking forward to the feedback from my peers and Professor.  I am strongly looking forward to the rest of the semester and learning more about my teaching techniques and ways of improvement.