D-Day!!!! Time.....? Where does it go?

Today I had to teach for lab D. The last of our peer teaching segments for the class of EDU 255. All you had to do is take what you have learned and teach a 15 min lesson. I was well prepared so I thought. I had taken everything Dr. Yang has taught me, I prepared for everything, so I thought.

I had a great lesson plan for Floor Hockey, lots of visualization, technology, instant activity, well planned out progressions to the skill level of the students, teaching by invitation, intertask variables, music, equipment all set up.............what was I missing out of this 15 min lesson? What didn't I realized I needed..........?

MORE TIME!

Time Management Coding Form

I had planned my lesson for at least a 50 min lesson. Not a 15 min one!

I believe truely that everything I had prepared and set up was great for what I had to teach. Except for that one thing that could bring it all to a hault.....Time Management.

I was extremely pleased with how far I have come from the beginning of the semester till now. All of the information Dr. Yang has shared with us, in and outside of the box. This experience has definitly made me a better teacher, and opened my eyes to the possiblities, we as teachers,can accomplish.

I am excited for the semesters to come to heighten my abilities to the extreme. I am very pleased and happy for choosing "Suny Cortland as the place to BE for PE". Quote by Joe Brown

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

Ahperd Conference @ Turning Stone

This week I went to the 71st Annual NYS AHPERD Conference on November 19-22, 2008 at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. It was great, I was giving the opportunity to socialize with other professor, teachers, and coaches from all over New York State. I attended many workshops that were held all week, for example the Broadway Dance presentation, Speed Stakers presentation, Adapted Physical Education seminar and many more. I was able to see and help out Dr. Davis, my professor from Cortland, with his new website SimplexityGames.com.

My favorite thing of the conference all together was meeting a Para-Olympian by the name of "Jamin" Jimmy Joseph. He is a Para-Olympian for the USA in Wheelchair Basketball, and Curling. He took the Bronze medal in the last Olympics in Curling. They have asked him to try out for the Tennis Team also.

Joseph has an amazing story, it started out as him just being an average garbage man in New Hartford, NY. When one evening a truck ended up taking his legs from him by hitting him from behind and pinching him into the garbage truck he was throwing trash in. After 12 hours and 12 surgeons later he woke up in the hospital bed and looked at the doctor and said "hey doc what did you do with my legs......you didn't put them in the closet did ya", this just goes to show you what type of person Joseph was for his incredible story he has to tell.

If you ever get the pleasure of meeting this incredible man, I suggest you do so. He has the best attitude and drive to achieve his goals and let nothing stand in his way attitude I have ever seen. One thing that proves this is, wheeling in the 15k Boilermaker race in Utica, NY and finishing the race in an hour and 10 mins, in a conventional wheelchair not a race chair.

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

Adjusting to adversity-"Double Trouble"

I started my lab C teaching assignment today. The class had to teach two seven minute lessons on a non-traditional sport. We were teamed up with another student to come up with a non-traditional sport not normally taught in the school system. We came up with "Double Ball." It is a Native American sport played by women of the Cree Nation. You have all heard about lacrosse, but only men played, now it was are turn to teach what the women played to stay in shape and for some fun. "Double Ball" resembles lacrosse in some ways, Field hockey in others and ultimate Frisbee in another. Lacrosse because you had to throw two balls through the air both attached together with a string, where the term "Double Ball" came from, with a stick; Field hockey because the sticks they used to throw these balls was as big as a Field hockey stick and a little curved at the end; Ultimate Frisbee because once you caught the ball you could not move around any more and had to be thrown again from that spot until it reached a goal where you had to place the Double Ball on a wicket to score.

Enough of what we were teaching on to how the lesson started as "Double Ball" and almost ended as "Double Trouble". First the partner I had ended up letting me know the day of our first seven minute lesson that he would not be making it. The next thing was I realized non of the equipment was ordered ahead of time so it wasn't prepared for our lesson that day. Third I realized I had two not just teach one seven minute lesson which was all planned out, but two, that I didn't have planned out and had to totally wing it from the lesson plan that we had prepared ahead of time in case of that just thing.

It ended up being rewarding teaching with the adversity though, it taught me a valuable lesson, not always can you plan for adversity but you can be prepared for them if they do occur.

So if your wondering how I made it through all this...............here goes..........I convinced the equipment manager, Penny, to hook me up with all the equipment I needed right before my lesson with a little persuasion, ok...ok.., chocolate I told her I would get her a box of her favorite chocolate. If anyone would like to know her favorite: its anything to do with raspberry chocolate. As for what I did for the second lesson, I found out how well the students did on the first lesson and went to the lesson plan, found out what level the students were at, and taught the next progression. Pheeeeeeewwwwwww.......

Double Ball Lesson Plan

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

Teaching through the physical, MyStroh style.

Today was a very instructional, and eye opening day. Our two TA's DJ and Freddy showed us how to teach through the physical by using technology in a very interesting way. When we entered the class they treated us as we were high school students learning about explores in history. They put us into groups named after some really famous explorers, one being Christopher Columbus, which was our groups name. Our groups got together created a flag and they gave us riddles to unscramble and off we went. After you solved the riddle you had to take a group picture,with your cell phone, next to what ever item or thing that the riddle led you too and send it back to them. The first team to do this one the scavenger hunt race. I really enjoyed this lesson because besides using the cell phones as a way of incorporating technology, they also used the polar heart rate monitors too. They recorded our heart rates at the end of class and sent out the test results in an email for us to view and to see how hard we were running and working during the lesson. This was great because it was a big reflection on who really tried to work the hardest in get the scavenger hunt done first and who really just wanted to slide through the lesson with no effort. With the heart rate monitors it really reflected on who was those groups on how we finished. Only real problem we had with the whole lesson was that some of the pictures were not going through because so many texts coming to their cell phones at once and some of the riddles were not detailed enough for the locations. All in all it was a great example on how to teach through the physical in PE about history.

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

PE Mini Conference

On October 10th 2008, their was the Cortland Physical Education Mini Conference, with key note speaker John R. Passarini. We opened the concert with all are EDU 255er's leading a cheer out on to the floor with "We will, We will...Teach you!", stomping as we cheered. This was so much fun, I got to lead one of the two groups out on to the floor in front of all the people that was attending the conference that morning. Mr. Yang then opened the conference with a fun version of a meet and greet called "mix mix mingle mingle", it was a very good way to get the people in the crowd up on their feet motivated, moving, and interacting with each other....we are PE Teachers are we not?

After that we listened to our key note speaker, John Passarini, who has received the 2003 Disney Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. John is an adapted physical education teacher, who has successfully included students with disabling conditions into physical education. He believes that "Nobody is disabled;we are all differently-abled." After listening to him that day and participating in his workshop, "including students with disabling conditions into movement learning environments," I believe this also.

In the mini conference besides joining in with John Passarini workshop, I also got to attend the "Polar Technology" workshop. This workshop was amazing seeing how far technology has come to help keep track and record all sorts of data. We learned how we can use our computers and pda's to assist us in keeping track of records for all students from kindergarten all the way till they are seniors in high school.


This conference was a huge success in my eyes. Not only did I participate in as many workshops that their were offered but was also able to meet John Passarini, and interact and make connections with all the PE teachers and Administrators from around New York State.

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

Teaching under the "Mic"

This week in EDU 255 Dr. Yang has presented the students with an assignment to transcript ourselves after teaching a lesson to our peers in class. When my day came I was extremely nervous hoping that the word "um" would not come out of my mouth a hundred times. Once I started I was trying to be careful of what I was saying, almost to the point of doing it so much that I was messing myself up. Of course after my first mistake of saying to the students "pair up", with in 20 seconds later I told them "get in groups of three." After realizing doing this I finally took a deep breath ignored the microphone on my shirt and went on teaching the lesson. Dr. Yang sent us the MP3 of our lessons via email. Once I received the email it was like going by an accident on side of the road where you didn't wanna look but you just had to. Believe it or not it wasn't as bad as I thought. After I transcript the MP3 I did realize how important this lesson for us was. It is very important the way you speak to your students to get them to understand you and how you get the lesson across.

Transcript of "Teaching under the Mic"

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

Teaching in front of Your Peers

In the last couple of weeks Pro. Yang has put us out in front of our peers to see if we can utilize the 11 basic steps in teaching P.E.. He had me teach the class for the first day, the theme being the Olympics, the problem was I had pulled a muscle the weekend before. In turn Pro. Yang as he teaches us to do had to adjust to the student, so he had me get in a wheelchair and teach. Thinking this was not a big deal, boy was I wrong. I had to teach the students and give cues on how to jump from spot to spot using there arms and getting low and exploding to the next spot, while in a wheelchair. Did I mention he put two other students in wheelchairs also! This opened my eyes to students with disabilities and how we as teachers have to find different ways on how to adjust as teachers to there needs. As the lesson went on Pro. Yang instructed me on things that the students in the wheelchairs could do, things I could teach while in the wheelchair. This was definitely a great opportunity that opened my eyes and will stay with me.

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"

First Two Weeks of EDU 255

After completeing the first two weeks of class of EDU 255 - Basics of Effective Instruction in Physical Education-; I am enjoying the class very much. Every time I attend another session I take something away from it which will provide me better tools and understanding on how to become a better teacher in my feild. Prof. Yang in the first two weeks has shown us the basic model to live by for teaching and teaching effectively. I like the idea's that are being brought up in class on how to motivate kids and keeping them interested in physical education. I am looking forward to the on coming weeks and learning how to build very effective lesson plans.

"Suny Cortland is the place to BE for PE!"