For this last week of adaptive physical education I was able to help out in many different areas. The first thing that I did was a presentation in a lecture hall about IEPS, and what it is like to be a student with disabilities. The class that I was presenting to was two hours long. During this presentation, I was able to cover my life as a child to present day. I showed the audience how services change, how relationships are made, what my accommodations were and much more. This is a great opportunity, because so many times we learn about a topic, but its eye opening to hear it from someone who has personally experiences have multiple IEPS, and working towards goals.  The interaction was really great, I got to answer questions with people in the audience. It was nice to hear them laugh, or see them nodding their heads. With presentations like this, I always want to be student based. Yes I am talking about my life but it’s really about “how can my story, help you become the best teacher that you can be” after the presentation, I really felt like that was accomplished. One improvement I would make, would be to show a video, there was a great one with Abby Wombach and how she talks about failure. She talks about how “failure isn’t the problem, it’s how one responds” I think that is a great motto. It’s about how people keep persevering and working hard through the challenges.

 

After the lecture, I was able to swing over to help out with a diving lesson for adaptive aquatics. Many of these athletes I have helped coached swimming, but never diving. It was cool to see them trying a new element. With diving it involves more technical work. These boys were not just going off the pool deck, but an actual three meter board. The interaction was great, each students got their own feedback from the coach, while I was able to assist by talking about their positions in the air. After each dive we would talk about how they felt and to pick one thing they wanted to fix. All the boys so badly wanted to get it perfect, for being so young they sure knew how to show frustration on their face. Their behavior was typical for that age the “I want to do it right the first time” the boys were persistent.  An improvement I would use, if for e ach boy to videotape on an iPad. It’s really hard to explain the movement, and not be able to demonstrate it or have a visual. The IPad could break down each positon of the body and give a visual to show what they students are doing and then what they need to correct. With these improvements, I think these divers to have a deeper understanding of what they are trying to accomplish.

 

For my last hour, I was in my program on Tuesday night. For the last night, it was a huge dance party. It was really fun! Before we did the dance with the music on, the teachers would break down each step and give the count for that song. We made sure that everyone knew what they were doing. My role in this lesson was to be up in the front and showing the mirror image of the dance so the students knew which direction they were supposed to move in. Each student had a teacher that was standing around them and working with them. I saw one teacher change the hand motions for another student, because the pace was too fast for them. As a physical educator I am learning more that making modifications on the spot is key. On the other hand there were some students who could do the full dance, and they were even able to add in an extra step or a twist.  The student’s behavior was really good. One incident was one of the younger boys wanted to just sit down at the end. I really think because the time is getting close to 8pm some of the students are really drifting. To fix this, yoga might be a great way to end the night or some slow deep breaths. With such high energy some of the children were hitting walls. Even the older students were fading at times. By timing the activities, this could help with participation during the lesson. Overall this program, had been of great service. I learned a lot and had a lot for teaching opportunities. I wish the best of luck to these students!

Double for the week

With tonight’s program, I got to teach the class with my friend Paul. Prior to the class, we knew we wanted to change things up a bit. We noticed that the gym was often quite, or the sounds were just echoes due to the structure of the gymnasium. During our lesson we wanted to incorporate music. The music was to motivate the students, and also to use it as a signal of attention. When the music was on the students were to move, when the music was off, that meant to have eyes and ears on the teachers. This system worked really well. Since we did stations the students were able to understand, how the music tied in. Many of the students just loved having the music, and we could see them dancing or bobbing their head. I thought that was really fun to see, some of the students began to break even more out of their shell. Some even were singing!

My one on one student, we did something different this week. With the new movie Pitch Perfect 2 coming out, we joined with another group and did the cups song. It was really cool to see the two girls work together, and teach each other the words to the song and the beat with the cups. I think this is a good example that in a physical education class one can learn rhythm and do an activity that is not very intense physically, but still requires teamwork. In the song, everyone has to be on the same beat, and be able to pass the cup at the same time. When I student taught, I would do some activities like this at the end of class to help the students wind down, before turning to their classroom.

The next part of the lesson was for all the students to come together for large group. During this time the teachers, decided to use stations as their style. At each station was a different sport. The other teacher and I decided to include everything that the students have been learning up until now. One station was scooters, shooting on goal with a modified foam stick and foam ball, one was fitness, and the other was passing/ shooting at a hoop. As a teacher, I was trying to move around from each station and check in with each student. One little boy was having trouble with jumping and switching legs. I saw this, and began to break down the skill with him. First we started by going very slowly and not even jumping. Once he got that down, we added a jump, then stop. Then two jumps and stop. Still going very slowly we added a few more jumps, at the end of the night he was able to \do ten consecutive jumps. Seeing this, made me very proud of this student. He saw that by working hard he could accomplish skills in the lesson.

The behavior of the students tonight was very good. The older students do a nice job of staying on focus and setting a good example for the younger students. Some of the younger students begin to fade during the second half of the program. Realistically they have been probably been going for twelve hours of the day. A couple of the five year olds will lay on the floor, one of the four year olds says “ I want to nap” At 7:30pm they are just ready to go to sleep. Seeing this, it gives me a mental reminder that at the end of the night, the activities should be less intense and winding down. With a lot of the movement activities, the younger students just want to sit. In our lesson, we ended with the Cha Cha slide. Many of the students loved it. For the younger students they really did not want to do it. As a teacher I cannot force a person to do something, but I can ty to encourage a student to participate. That would be the major improvement that I would want to add. Another would be to add more cognitive activities in the class. It could be “at the end of class students will draw and activity that they found most challenging “then they can turn to a partner and share their picture. This will help the students expand their communication skills, and also end on activity that is more relaxing.

It’s the second to last week of this program. I have enjoyed every bit of it. The students have all grown in their ability and skill level. From the first night to now, the students have broken out of their shell, and have made friendships with one another. For the last two years I have worked with many of these students, or they went to the school where I student taught. My relationship with them have grown as well. Since I am graduating and won’t see them again, I wish them the best of luck in all they do. It’s been a pleasure teaching them, and I am blessed to have such an amazing group of students to teach.

This past Friday I was able to hop into one of the other labs. It was really nice to help out once again. There are a lot less students in this class. The students know each other very well.  Since these teachers have been with these students since day one, they too have developed a very good relationship with their students. Each week the lessons are different, and focus on different skills. This week each teacher was being evaluated, and I got to help out in that process. There were lots of good teaching that I saw. One improvement would be to use less equipment and focus more on the larger gross movements. That way the students are getting an equal balance. Another suggestion would be to repeat an activity from the previous week, that way there is constant re learning and going to back. The teachers and students can build off of that. The behavior is really great, and the interaction with the teacher to student is very good. Since the class is smaller there is more time for one on one. I wish the best of luck to the teachers and students on their last week.

2 X this week

With the last few weeks of our program, things are going really well. The students are really getting our routine down and enjoying each lesson. For my students, during our one on one time, we changed to a new sport of basketball. We worked on getting proper form down, and understanding why each component is important when shooting. We need to have balance, elbows high, extension and following through. First I had her, start closer and gradually progress her way back to the foul line. Her behavior, was very good. Since this was new for her, she mainly wanted to have fun, and get the ball in the hoop. When feedback was given to her, she took the feedback and applied it. That is a very mature skill to have at such a young age, and I hope she always has the ability to be teachable.

The next part of the lesson was for all the students to come together for large group. During this time the teachers, decided to use stations as their style. At each station was a different sport. The students were shooting basketballs, throwing foam balls at a target, passing a ball with a hockey stick and kicking a soccer ball. There was ton of variety, and lots of activity. Every student was active and moving.  With more stations, there was less students at each one, which gave them more practice time. For the older students they really did not need too much assistance. Some of the younger ones really need some guidance. Feedback that was given to these students was “have control” Each station had an implement, with control it helped the students to be more successful.  Some other feedback was safety “ watch the height of the stick” having a hockey stick, students were reminded to keep their stick low, so no one would get hurt.  The interaction from these teachers was really good. Each one moved around a lot and was getting involved with the students. For the behavior of the students, they stayed focused. Each week, the students become more plugged in with the lesson, which is awesome! Stations seems to be the best style of learning with this group. The more they do it, the more natural it looks and there is less confusion.

Some improvements for this less would be, to have music with the stations, at times the gymnasium was really quiet. With music, it could raise the energy levels of the students. Music has a beat of its one, and it might allow for the students to also connect to the activity in a new way. Another improvement would be to incorporate the younger students with the older ones. Use the older students as peer teachers. Lastly, check for understanding more. Really make sure that each student knows what is going to occur in the lesson. In the inclusion again, repeat and go over what was being taught. Then take it to the next level, and challenge the students to apply what they learned in class at home.

Overall this group is really coming along and learning new activities each week. Some of the older students are carrying the information over to each week. For the younger students they never run out of energy and are always looking for new activities and want to be active. Combining these two personalities it’s making for a very safe, welcoming and fun environment for all. It’s nice to see each lesson designed for these students and their needs. With that in mind, it helps the group grow as a whole. Each person is improving at their own level, which then helps the whole class excel to its full potential.

After this lab was completed, I was able to visit another lab and get a sense of what goes on there. For this lab, students come from a public school, and get to work with college students iun a physical education setting. There are two options, swimming or gymnasium. In the gymnasium a college student is paired up with two to three students. Each lesson is made up to help a student reach specific goals throughout the semester. I saw a lot of really god things going on during this lab. For each group there was variety. Students were never doing the same thing twice. The instructors gave feedback and made modifications when needed. This lab is very different due to the structure of the lab. There is \no large group or closing activity. Everything is done by that one teacher. The students seemed to have a really good time. In this part of the lesson, they are really comfortable and they trust their teacher. I enjoyed getting to help out and being involved with this lab.

3rd to last week !

Tonight there was a lot of energy and a lot of activities, with our one on one time with a student. For my student we worked on some more soccer skills. That is her favorite sport, and she enjoys letting the ball bounce and passing it. This time around we also did some throw ins. Each person would throw the ball to another person. We worked on hand positioning, keeping one foot on the ground and throwing it to the target. By the end of our ten minutes, we made lots of improvement, which was awesome to see. My student’s behavior, I could not speak more highly of. She works to her full potential, and has the best attitude. My student’s level of interest is very high as well, she generally wants to know how to do things, and how to do them correctly. That is a rare characteristic of a student so young. It makes teaching that easier, and the more enjoyable. The next part of the lesson, transitioned into the large group.

In the large group, two teachers taught once again. This was a new activity for all the students. They got to work with balloons. Some of the students loved it and some of them just wanted to put the balloons in their mouth, which of course is not okay. With the balloons students were to keep them up in the air, by themselves, then work with a partner to see together how long they could keep it up. I thought this was great interact for the students. For one student in particular she uses a one on one throughout the whole lesson. For the whole duration of this class, she was able to stay in the large gymnasium. That was awesome, the modifications to each task that could make it easier for her worked. This whole lesson worked on coordination, balance and working with implements. With the implements, students were demonstrating their ability to keep the balloon high up off of the ground and how to have control when the balloon is low and to the ground. Some of the feedback that I heard from the teachers teaching, was to “have control” , “ look where you are going”  and “ light small touches” This feedback really helped the students to be able to complete the task. The feedback was also individual. These teachers talked with different students and helped them with a cue phrase.

The interaction with the students was over all really good. These teachers worked hard and getting around to each student to check in with them. Another good insight that these teachers did was to also address safety for the students, and for the students to be responsible for body control. By using the whole gymnasium this was able to be accomplished. Some improvement goals for these teachers and students would be to stress the safety statement, especially with balloons. Many of the students were seen trying to put the balloon in their mouth. If they were to bite down on it, and inhale, they could choke. The safety about balloons could have been more in depth. Another improvement could have been transitions, using the students to help clean up, is a good way for them to be involved, and it saves time. By doing this the students also stay more on task and don’t turn the transition time into a social hour, or lose focus of what they were doing.

Overall the students, did a very nice job in all three domains of learning. They were able to demonstrate the ability to keep a balloon in the air, work with a partner, and do different skills with the balloon. Cognitively, they were able to remember cues and apply them. Affectively, students were respecting one another by giving each other enough space to work in. the teachers and staff showed a dedicated effort to have everyone learning and enjoying the class. At the end the students went back to their teachers and continued with what they were doing before. Since the students work primarily by themselves, some of the students are desiring to work with one another, the teachers are doing activities together. It’s always cool to see that. Within the program friendships are growing among the students.

 

 

Small group then big Class

 For this week, I got to help out, and supervise more in the gymnasium. I was working with one other teacher. She has a class of five students. They were all around the same age, and know each other from previous classes. I thought this teacher has a good lesson plan theme. She designed it around the Olympics. Each activity either was an event in the Olympics or had something to do with the ceremony. It was very creative. Each one of her students has a different personality, and a different disability. One is technically considered “normal”. That student really is the leader and helps the other students stay on task. Another student has a lot of focusing issues and always feels the need to be touching equipment and to be doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing. This teacher tries very hard to keep him on task, and allows for him to pass out equipment, and clean it up. I really appreciate that she takes his ability and uses it. The other students do a really great job of staying on task and having a good attitude. From week one to now there is a lot of improvement in all three domains of learning.

This students does a really nice job of giving positive reinforcement. Sometimes she uses stickers, high fives, and compliments the students. For her it is very natural and done at the right time. On the other hand, her feedback to inappropriate behavior varies from student to student. For one student, she could simply say “please have eyes on me, hands in your lap” or “put down the ball” This student could listen and transition quickly to the next part of the lesson. For another student, they might start running and getting into all the equipment. When that happens the conversation has to be firm. “Put the ball down, or sit out”. This student will not respond well to options, nor can they be told do this. The transition is very slow or nonexistent. Reinforcement in a way has to be individualized due to the response the student might give or how they might comprehend the information being given.

After the lesson with their private teacher, many of the students stay for the second part of the program. During this time, two other teachers taught. It was extremely difficult to hear what they were saying. The other teachers and students could not hear them. When doing the activity, the students had a hard time focusing and recognizing what was supposed to be done when. There was a lot of interaction with the students, the teachers took it upon themselves to try to work with the students and get them involved. Some improvement goals would be to, give the student the equipment after the instructions are given. I saw some students focusing more on the equipment then the teachers. Another improvement goal, would be to have demonstrations, even as a teacher listening it was hard to picture what was being said. Seeing some teachers modeling the activity would have been very helpful. Lastly using more space of the gymnasium, the students could work more to their ability if they are not all in the same area. It gives some freedom and responsibility for the students to own.

 This lesson was well done, I saw lots of movement and academic language being used. These teachers also really enforced having safety being a priority. With this program that has to be done because there is a wide range of students and lots of equipment most of the time. With anything there are always areas to improve upon. Both teachers worked very hard with the students and had the students participating in every activity. At the end of each lesson, everyone brings it in and says something encouraging. Tonight it was all about team work. I thought that was a nice change that one of the teachers made. This program is advancing and taking steps in the right direction.

 

 

 

My time teaching !

During this week, I got to teach ! It brought back all the feelings and emotions from student teaching. It was exciting to have a classroom full of students who were ready to learn. For the beginning of class I knew I was going to use my two students that I teach as demonstrators. This allows me to speak and for the  students to watch their peers do the activity. As soon as I started teaching, I realized I lost my ability to project from student teaching. My voice got horsed by the end of class. Anyways the activities that the students got to participate in were all about fitness. We covered the areas of muscular strength, muscular endurance , healthy choices, cardio vascular, and flexibility. These were all stations that the students would rotate through. Each station was about 1:30 long. For this lesson at each station there was a visual aid, modifications to make the station easier or harder. This was to accommodate the younger students and the older ones. In the groups I had them mixed so the older students could help out. 

The students responded really well. Their behavior was very good. They each followed instructions and obeyed, which was great ! Some students needed more reinforcement while others needed none. That is expected , because we have such a large range of students in this program. For feedback with the students I continued to say cues to them. For example at the flexibility station, I used " high and to the sky" for an arm stretch. For the muscular endurance, during the leg exercise I used " tip toes" little cues like that go along way. I found that the more I moved around I was able to talk to more students and give more feedback. One group of girls just needed some encouragement. So I asked them to show me the best frog jump they could do. When they saw that my attention was on them, they fed off of that and participated more .

Improvement goals for the next time I teach would be to use more of the gymnasium. I used the red markers on the wall to divide up each station.  By using the whole gymnasium I could have more movement. Another goal would be to have the students work more together. Two stations they did. By having the  students work together  there can be more interaction and communication between them. In this lesson there was a lot of interaction between teacher and students but in my opinion not enough from student to student. My last goal would be to try to gain the attention of the students more, and using a check for understanding more frequently. I know I won't have their attention for too long .

Overall I think the lesson went well. The lesson doesn't always look like what it does on paper in that situation one just has to adjust. In my lesson I had the students doing abdominals at one station, since we could not get in the gymnastic room to get the matts. I changed that station. It all went well and the students were able to learn and have fun. At the end of the lesson we talked about healthy eating . I held up pictures of food and they talked with each other to determine if it was healthy or not. They then had to explain to me why it was a good or bad choice. It was awesome to hear what they had to say. I really enjoyed working with this group of students.

Week 4 !

Since it is week four, I can finally see a routine building. That is very helpful for the students and teachers. For my student, I got to make a little activity that was specific for her. She loves to play soccer and laugh. Knowing her prior skills, I was able to build on that. Our first activity was just a warm up of passing the ball back and fourth. Our goal was to have control. To do this we trapped the ball, then passed it with the inside of our foot. this then led to longer passes, once we did that for a while, I incorporated this into a game. In our area of the gymnasium we had three cones, we were trying to keep possession of the ball, and once we got close enough pass the ball through a set of cones to gain a point. My student did really well, and wanted to keep playing. Her attitude and behavior continues to be very good. When instructions are given , she listens and does beyond what is expected of her. I am really proud of the work she is accomplishing.

In the larger group two other teachers were teaching. The theme of the night was Frisbee. the activities included throwing to a partner, throwing to a bowling pin, and throwing on the move. I thought these activities were great, but definitely needed to be modified. For example throwing to a partner, means that the other person is going to catch it and return it. That did not happen. Throwing it with the backhand throw was too challenging. If the equipment was modified, there could have been more success. When the students were throwing the Frisbee at the bowling ball pin, 1 out of 10 actually hit it the first time, then no one else hit it the rest of the duration. In another class I was taught, you want about 80 % success and 20 % challenge. The success rates on these activities were very low. Also none of the students were really moving. This activity including waiting in line , and then getting a turn. With more stations, more students could have been involved. For the last activity of throwing on the move, the Frisbee never made it to the target, students were constantly chasing them. Once again the task, and the equipment could have been changed to get a higher success rate.

The students behaved really well. When the teachers were speaking their eyes and ears were listening. One student in particular would verbally answer every question, which I thought was good. It is showing us that he is listening, he could just lower his voice a little. Some of the feedback that I saw given back to the students was about throwing. For Frisbee , it is different then throwing a baseball. You actually step with the same arm that is throwing. Many of the students were still trying to throw with opposition. Which would make sense, because now they were being taught something completely different. the feedback given was " step with throwing arm". After that was said, you could physically see the students checking themselves before they threw. The interaction that I saw from the other teachers was really great. These two teachers were very hands on. I also thought it was really god that they moved around the gymnasium a lot. No one stood in the same spot for more then a minute or two. These teachers also took the time to individually go up to students and give them feedback or re demonstrate something. Having that one on one time with a student can lead to improvement.

Earlier I talked about some improvement goals for the teachers. One main goal that I would like to see these teachers work on, is realizing the ability of their students and what is appropriate for them. During the Frisbee throw at the bowling pin, the other teachers and observed that the students were moving up closer and closer. They were making the modifications for themselves. When I watched them do the activity I was thinking " I am not sure that I can even hit the pin from here" If I were in the class, I might have given up, and realized " this isn't happening". Another goal would be to try to make it more age appropriate . We have a large range of students, some are years old while others are 14. the age and size difference is very noticeable. I think it is okay to have variations of the activity , or progressions. Until you are comfortable with a progression then you move to the next one. It is okay if the person next you is doing something different them yourself.

The presentation of the teachers teaching was pretty good I would say. To help it even more, for this type of activity, I would have a resource or a visual for the students to be able to look at any time during the lesson. this could be a reference for cues of how to do the activity or a visual of a person doing it, so they know what they are suppose to look like. I thought the introduction of this lesson was great, and simple. For these students though, since it was most likely their first time doing this, there could have more explanations. Other than that, I saw the students happy, they were safe and having a good time. These teachers worked very hard, and were able to adapt on the spot. That is a very good skill to have.