Application 2: Designing my Game Plan

After looking at the ISTE website. I found a couple of indicators that I felt very comfortable with and a couple indicators that I feel I could drastically improve upon. The indicators I feel that I have a good grasp on are Facilitating and Inspiring Student Learning and Creativity. I believe I have a great environment in my gymnasium and the students are able to express themselves both athletically and individually. I also am very confident that I Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. The three main rules not only in my Physical Education class but as well as our school is being Safe, Respectful and Responsible. Maintaining a safe and responsible environment in my P.E. class is one of the biggest things I take pride in.

My goals are to improve my game plan is to learn how to become better and learn to design and age level experiences and assessments. I have a good start provided by our district assessments on assessments however for the rest of my units I need to become better to provide more validity when doing my district assessments for more accurate data. To become better at this I am just going to continue to create data each and everyday in my class room to see what areas my students are distinguished at and what areas they need to improve upon and how my assessments can help clear up that grey area I sometimes struggle with.  My second goal is to become better at incorporating technology into my curriculum. I know in Physical Education we need to have our students move and be active because our society is becoming heavily dependent on technology and sitting around. However, in my field I need to create more technology opportunities that align and go with my physical education curriculum and the movement of students. This will benefit the students the most. Incorporating technology with physical activity will get our students extremely excited and more motivated to be physical active and live healthy lifestyles. I will then evaluate using checklists and rubrics on how much my students are improving in the skills we are learning as well as their overall understanding of health and being physically active. Focusing on these indicators will not only help me become a better educator but make my students more successful and get them excited and more motivated individuals.

Final Reflection

After going through this course, I learned a tremendous amount of skills that will help me to continue to grow as a Physical Educator. When reflecting on my personal learning theory, I noticed that I do have some modifications after going through this course. Before the class started I stated that in my physical education classes I used a lot of demonstrating techniques so the students got a good grasp on the things we were doing. Learning is basically a matter of reinforcement. If you get the behavior you want then you reinforce it (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). Some of the things I modified were incorporating instructional strategies. I felt like it was very important to contribute these to my classes because it allows my students to learn and understand things you are trying to accomplish and makes your class run that much smoother. By doing this I really focused on identifying similarities and differences amongst my students. In physical education it is very important for the students to know what they can do but also be aware of what the other students can do so they are accepting and respectful of others. This eliminates any off task or behavior issues right away.

 So far in this program I have learned a ton of new ways to incorporate technology into my physical education classes. I really liked the voice threads. There are a  number of different ways voice threads can be incorporated in my class whether it is in regards to new activities we are doing or health units. I think it would be good to introduce each unit by what health component it goes with. Then do a voice thread for that specific health component. The only trouble I have to do this is adequate amount of time. I am already strapped for time so I need to pick and choose how much technology I incorporate and when I do so.  

A couple goals, I have to integrate more technology in my classes will be to use at least one type of technology tool I have learned at least once every quarter. For example, using voice threads and using heart rate monitors when we are doing different types of activities and not just fitness testing. I believe that being able to see the students work hard in a game they are enjoying would be a good way to test their heart rate and relate it to activities they are enjoying. I will use these with different types of activities as well.

With all the new information I have gained I know my students will be more involved and engaged in my activities.  Rather than just simply having me demonstrate and then allow them practice time with the new skills. Incorporating new technology ideas keeps your units and your curriculum exciting and up to date with our 21^st century student. With all the new things going on in the world today I need to keep up with my students so I can keep them involved and excited in Physical Education. My long term goals for my Physical Education classes will be to just continue to grow as an educator. Continue to  gain more information from my graduate program and integrate it as needed within my curriculum. With the world around us always changing it is very important for us as teachers to change with it so we can be influential in the lives of our students and help them grow into great students and great people.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program one. Understanding the brain [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD.

Social Learning Theory

Based on this week’s learning resources we discussed the social learning theory. Social constructivists believe along with the integration of technology that our students learn best when working in group settings and guiding their own learning. When students are able to work together, using technology or not, they are able to construct meaning for new knowledge by interacting with each other (Pitler, et al, 2010). They also talk about how students are successful learners when they are able to make connections to what they are learning. I believe a huge part of learning is just being able to get the students to make connections to what they are learning. If they can relate the topic to something they already previously know then you are going to have that much more success as a teacher because students have already made that connection to prior experiences so they are already aware of the what you are talking about.

That being said along with working in groups allowing students to share knowledge or help guide each other is another tremendous way to help students succeed. In my physical education classes we do mostly all partner or team activities. Not only in physical education is it necessary to work in teams and working cooperatively with others but it is a big part of success in the gymnasium. Students guide and learn from each other with things they are successful with and things they struggle with. Being able to work together not only helps the students out but it helps the teacher who can’t always get to each student in a timely manner for help. Not only working together but while incorporating technology , for example; having a power point on the smart board watching students play a game that others are not familiar with helps the overall understanding better than just a demonstration from the teacher. You can see the students actually in the game setting and it being played. Often during a demonstration you just break down the skills and it is tough for the students to get a good grasp. Have social group work is a great way for all students to be successful. Students love being able to talk with their peers and work together. Not only does it raise interest in what they are learning but they get to do it together where they can help each other and students are not left behind if they don’t understand things on their own.

References:

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread Blog

Here is my VoiceThread Blog with my concern I face in my school with my Physical Education class:

Hey Guys sorry I was out of town all weekend and didn't realize you couldn't listen to my VoiceThread. Hopefully this will work now. Sorry again.

http://voicethread.com/share/1902613/

Constructivism and Constructionism Learning Theories

When reviewing this week’s resources I thought it was interesting to hear about Michael Orey’s explanation on how people interpret the things they see. They just don’t hear the word and automatically understand what they are hearing but they picture an image of what the word is and store that mental image. Both of these different theories are student driven and involve them being active learners. In constructionism, students will complete an artifact to share with others (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This is from the word construction. Students are helping in creating and guiding their own learning.

A good example I believe for constructionist learning would be any type of problem solving activity. Whether it is a math equation or any type of experiment, during an experiment you are making a hypothesis to what will happen you are testing the experiment then concluding your question with your data. This is all constructed by the students and they are guiding all learning.

It is even better when you can include technology into these experiments. You can do this by making a PowerPoint presentation. A PowerPoint presentation that goes a long with a type of experiment you are doing is a great way to not only get yourself involved and more engaged in the activity but also peers if it is group work. With these two theories our students are allowing themselves to grow as students. They are in charge of the things they are doing for a long term outcome that will be beneficial for them to tackle each of these different learning theories so they have experience to each different type.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program seven. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Cognitive Learning Theories

I believe instructional strategies today have enhanced our cognitive learning theory for students today of the 21^st century. With the technology we have today students are not able to prepare themselves for assessments much easier that we were growing up. By teaching students how to effectively take notes, summarize, and use graphic organizers to the best of their ability, we are providing our students with a rich learning environment, which includes more than one means of transport supporting Paivios idea of duel coding (laureate 2010). With our students being able to use these key contributors to learning they are now able to get a better grasp of the lessons we are trying to teach them.

Students have a tough time with note taking. I know when I was a student I wondered what information I was supposed to write down and which would be the most meaningful to help me pass the test. When I was in school, I didn’t really think about actually learning the material especially if I was not interested in the specific topic. I was just concerned with pretty much memorizing what I had to in order to get a good grade on my test and pass the class. I think that is a problem with some of our students today. With understanding our cognitive learning theory with the help of technology, our students today can now get the most beneficial resources that will not only help them know the material for the tests but learn and understand the concepts being taught. The most important thing is our students take the best strategy and connect to their own individual learning and be able to comprehend the material so it makes them the most successful.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program five. Cognitive learning theory (Webcast). Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Behaviorist Learning Theory

After reviewing the instructional strategies it appears to me that these are two crucial parts that relate to behaviorist learning theory. Behavior learning theory is something that all teachers try to strive for. They want to establish rules, regulations and expectations so that it makes their classroom that much more smoothly and eliminates any possible distractions.

Reinforcing effort is a probably one of the most important factors when it comes to having a behaviorist learning theory. Effort is the most important factor in student achievement (Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Constantly praising students for the effort they are giving and acknowledging it is no better feeling for a student whether they are grasping the concept of struggling with it. In my elementary physical education class reinforcing effort is one of the biggest thing that helps students want to get better and try there hardest at the skills we are trying to accomplish. I am very fortunate with the students I have that they love to come to physical education class and try their best. Many teachers have troubles with students at trying to do their best and getting students to put in the effort is one of the hardest things a teacher.

As for homework and practice in most classes these can correlate to behaviorist learning theories. In my content area practice is huge to keeping a behavior in tack. When I give students the skills and amount of time to practice it allows them to practice and develop those skills to a proficient levels. This also eliminates off task behaviors with students. Constantly keeping them engaged with a task with practice opportunities will make your class flow that much better. I also believe by practice students become motivated to succeed in the task at hand. They either see that they can succeed in the skills they are doing or they see that they need some work. That’s again where reinforcing effort becomes important. For the students that struggle praising their effort will keep the students going and keep your lessons strong.

References:

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.