PE

The fundamental goal of the physical education program is to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century by providing opportunities to attain the skills and knowledge to be physically active as part of a healthy lifestyle. Students should become competent in movement forms, motor skills, and social skills and learn to enjoy physical activity while not compromising safety.

Fitness testing

The President's Physical Fitness Test is a test to see how physically fit you are for your age: You do five activities and write down your scores for each one. Then your results are compared to national averages to see how you did. Through fitness testing, these factors can be measured and ultimately improved upon. Push ups are one of the best workouts that tones and strengthens the upper body. It tests for muscular strength and endurance. It's the easiest way to get a fit upper body. As an added bonus, a pushup workout program doesn't need any equipment

Pod Casting

Jenna and I finished our podcast yesterday. It wasnt as bad as I thought. Its pretty easy to do. I think learning how to podcast will be very beneficial to teachers because if a student is absent they can still hear the lecture that you gave the class. Also, it might be a good way to review and study for tests. You can drive in the car, or work-out and listen to the information all at once. Good luck with yours!

Cognitive Assessment

Cognitive testing mostly involves the use of pencil and paper tasks to assess a wide range of abilities, including attention, memory, problem-solving, language skills and intellectual functioning. This process determines the students’ cognitive strengths and weaknesses through qualitative and quantitative approaches. Another approach to identify if a student understands the material is by using an authentic cognitive assessment. By this method, students are able to express themselves in a creative manner.

Pirate Game

Last night I went to the Pirate game. It was student night. Only $9 for tickets. It was an exciting game though. It went all the way till the 15th inning. I think every Wednsday is student night so everyone should go, its a good time!

First teaching

This was my first experience teaching to a class. We taught the bounce pass basketball skill. It was interesting to do this because it gave me a “behind the scenes look” of what it takes to be a teacher. I felt as a group we did well. We made visual aids for the students to see the correct ‘position’ when performing the bounce pass. I think it is important to use pictures for the visual learner. We also demonstrated the proper technique. For the auditory learner, we explained the six critical elements as they sat close to us in a group. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing and touching, so we allowed them to practice their skill for five minutes before we assessed them.

Organic Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs and Meat are More Healthy.

Organic fruits and vegetables are more likely to contain bacterial contamination than conventionally grown foods and are therefore less healthy. The sale of organic fruits and vegetables is a scam because many of these products could only be grown using pesticides. Those big, beautiful, perfectly formed "organic" apples in the store are a fraud because worm-free apples are absolutely impossible to grow without pesticides. Organic producers are driven by outrageous profit margins to support their propaganda.

Teaching in Assessments

On thursday I have to teach the class for the first time. We are doing a basketball lesson on the bounce pass. We made a peer and self assessment rubric. I think this will really help me gain confidence in teaching classes. I like being able to design a lesson plan on my own and do anything I want. Hopefully I can use these same skills and rubrics for my future in teaching.

A trend that seems to be growing in the American public schools system is the banning of the long time childhood game, tag. This game not only is fun for kids to play but is a great way for the children to run and reach their targeted heart rate, a key component when exercising. With children being active at a young age they will be more prone to pursuing a more active and healthier lifestyle. With the schools trying to please the needs of one parent who thinks this game is harmful to their kids emotions rather than looking at the big picture of keeping kids active and in shape, schools are banning the game of tag because it makes a child be “it.” At this rate, the kids will be allowed to do nothing but stare at each other during recess, when they should be free to run around and play.

Assessment Strategies

Today was my first day of Assessment Strategies. I have heard really good things about Dr. Nichols so it should be a fun class. I think this class will also be very beneficial. I am excited to be able to teach the class. I have not taught a class yet so I hope I can benefit with each class activity we do.

Kick Ball

Yesterday in Movement Ed class we played kickball. It wasnt just an ordinary game of kickball. We were split up into 2 different groups. Half was the kicking team and the other half was the fielding team. The "pitcher" constantly rolled the ball, therefore everyone had to keep kicking and running around the bases. The fielding team had to catch the balls and throw them to a person standing next to a hula-hoop where all the balls were placed at once. When there were no balls in the hula-hoop to be "pitched" then the team won. Its hard to explain but I think this is a better way go about the kickball game. Everyone had to be constantly moving and everyone had fun at the same time.

Skiing

I went skiing over spring break up at Seven Springs. I didnt realize what a good work out you could get from skiing. I think it would be beneficial for physical education classes to have a piece of equiptment that imitated the skiing motion. Most kids would enjoy that and hopefully be more willing to do physical activity. Also, it would be cool if they had a monitor that looked like you were actually skiing in the mountains.

PE Uniforms

Today in my one class we talked about different school who required their students to wear uniforms for PE. Having uniforms is both good and bad. On the good side, students will always have their PE attire and kids wont have to worry about 'being up to style' on their clothes. On the bad side, students will not be allowed to express themselves and be able to choose what to wear, also some schools might not be able to afford unifroms for every student. I could go either way on the uniform topic... What does everyone else think?

Portfolio's

I had to put together a portfolio for my Introduction to Teaching class. It wasnt as hard as I thought, course we didnt have to put much information in it since we havent had many PE classes. I am hoping that some of the papers I used in it I can also put in my Electronic Portfolio. That one seems alot harder. I was never good at computer stuff so it will probably take me a while to do! Oh well...

Newsletters

Learning how to do a Newsletter will be very beneficial for when I am teaching. It actually wasn't has hard as I thought. I think it will look more professional than just a letter. It is more creative and colorful. I will probably use this information for my future.

City Schools

After visiting a few rural schools, it was interesting to observe how a school in the city. I visited Perry Traditional Academy, near the city of Pittsburgh. Their physical education class had students ranging from ninth grade to twelfth grade. Mr. Shipanski, a Physical Education teacher, stated that they normally have around 45 students per class, I thought that was alot for one teacher to handle, but I guess not. It was interesting to see how different the teaching and lifestyle was from a rural school to a city school.

Observing PE classes

Physical activity has many benefits for children in developing physical and mental health, but recent studies say that it even helps your child learn better in school. Mr. Libarulo, an elementary physical education teacher at Center Avenue stressed the importance of being active to his class. Therefore, he made sure that his students were active for most of the period. He allotted 58% of his classroom time to for the students to practice certain skills. The teaher had all the equipment set up before hand so that allowed for more time to be active.

Finally done!

Finally done! I just finished my website. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought. Once I got going it was just repeating the same steps for every page. I think if I was to make another website it would not take nearly as long as this one. I will definatly be making a couple of websites when I begin teaching because some students learn in a more visual way.

Websites

Right now I really don't think I enjoy making websites. When it is all said and done I will most likely be thankful I know how to make one. Using different in websites in PE classes will make it more interesting for the children. It makes it easier to demonstrate different skills and show all types of pictures. I hope the more practice I get with this website making the easier it will be!

Technology in PE

Yesterday in class Professor Leight showed us pictures of Mohawk Elementary School. They had recently recieved a grant for the Physical Education program. The teachers had purchased many different pieces of technology what involved physical activity such as: Dance Dance Revolution, a type of Wii, a game bike, and many many more. I think that is a great way to keep children active, I mean who doesn't like to play video games with your friends? I would really like to do my field experience there!

Observing a PE class

I observed a 3rd and 4th grade Physical Education class at Musser Elementary that were learning the basic skills of soccer. Mrs. Braymer, the teacher of the classes, and Mr. Notareschi, a student teacher from Slippery Rock, demonstrated many skills that will help benefit my teaching career. I was surprised to hear Mrs. Braymer say that she only meets with her students once every other week. To me, I feel Physical Education should meet AT LEAST three times a week. Physical education is an essential and integral part of the total education and should be taken more seriously.

I hate being sick!

Doesn't it feel like everyone around you sick? I have been sick for almost a week now and I cannot kick it. And when you go to the Health Center all they give you is Ibuprofen. But does not help the fact that you are coughing all the time and have a cold! Oh well, I guess its better than nothing. Hopefully who ever is reading this doesnt't get sick!

Coolest Technology

I think the coolest technology is the digital camera. You can take it anywhere you go and capture all your fun times. Digital camera's can also take video's which is nice to have when you do not have an actual video camera. Also, being able to download your pictures on a computer is neat so you can edit and choose which pictures you want. Now a days, digital camera's are so small and easy to carry anywhere!

Heart Rate Monitors

There are many different kinds of technology used in the everyday life of Physical Education. We use treadmills, heart rate monitors, pacers, and stop watches on a daily basis. My favorite 'piece' of technology is the heart rate monitor. It allows you to assess your cardiovascular condition and know the levels of intensity. At the end of the workout you can preview your results and know how long you were in your target heart rate time. I think heart rate monitors should be used throughout all physical education classes.

Bio

Hi! My name is Laura. I am a junior at Slippery Rock University and am a Physical Education major. I went to Pine Richland High School. I enjoy playing sports, riding horses, skiing, and hanging out with friends. I have a house on the beach so I normally spend the summers in North Carolina. I hope to obtain a teaching job around the pittsburgh area and coach cross country and/or track.