Discussion Board 4B - Add, subtract, and multiply without dividing

The discussion prompt is: "What can you add to your knowledge of you and of your knowledge of teaching?" but, being a former math teacher I realized I had a chance for a math metaphor and couldn't resist.  I feel my goal is to add, subtract, and multiply but want to avoid dividing.  

What I mean by this is that I can add so much to what I already know and have.  I have had the least traditional path in teaching as I was a teaching assistant for 5 years (took longer to get my certification because I had problems getting my student teaching done at the time).  In fact, I never did student teaching and was provided a waiver by the state.  I then taught math at a school for students with serious behavior problems.  Unfortunately, the goal of each day was to keep the students busy, prevent fights, and if you have time, try to teach them some basic math skill.  Then I moved to CA and got a job as a special ed resource teacher at a very nontraditional, independent study school. So basically, I have rarely, if ever, had to plan lessons, plan modes and methods of instruction. I need to add to my knowledge and efficiency of planning and assessing students.  I need to add to my classroom management skills, as I have yet to teach ina  traditional setting with large class sizes.  I need to add technology into my instruction, as I've had a lot of teaching experience, but not a lot of experience with integrating technology.  My goal is that I can begin teaching physical education and "multiply" my love and awareness of physical health by imparting this upon students and having them become more active and recruit their friends to do so as well.  I need to subtract my fear and doubt about whether I'm right for teaching (yes I've had that doubt many times - and since I've been in such odd school settings, it has been something that has been extremely difficult to disprove.)  Lastly, I would like the be able to integrate all of this without "dividing" everything too much and diminishing the effectiveness or depth of what I'm teaching.  Sometimes I feel that schools are so concerned with implementing so many different things that it becomes all about "making sure you do" certain things instead of teaching the heart of what needs to be taught.  There needs to be a more freedom in schools and teachers should be allowed some flexibility in my opinion.

Assignment 3B: Putting it into practice...

For anyone who read my last post regarding my pre-assessment assessment, the following actual lesson occurred the next day - back at the beach to do some homework.  It's a rough life...

Since my pre-assessment involved both a cognitive/affective component and a motor skill component, and this took place the day after my prior pre-assessment field test, I obviously didn't bother giving my make-shift phys ed class the same written assessment, as I would have gotten the exact same answers.  I did, however, take them through the full "Day 1" of my volleyball unit plan.  After having been exposed to the basics yesterday, they had a bit of a head start on the lesson, whereas, in reality, students would have not had the instruction prior to Day 1.  That being said, though, here's how it went....

After returning home from the previous day's activity (assessing my pre-assessment), I remembered later that night that in order for the full lesson to be implemented as best as possible, I needed to have a student "expert" on the basics of the principles of the bump pass.  Luckily Teresa (always the responsible one of the group) volunteered to be the expert and preview the basics of the bump with the class the next day.  (In the real version, every student gets a chance to be the expert on a particular skill by the end of the unit.)  

So to start off today's class, I began with my "Instant Activity" to get everyone warmed up and in the mood to move around.  Today's instant activity was "Gator Tag".  Normally 1/3 of the class is “it” and has a tennis ball.  The rest of the class must avoid being tagged.  If you are tagged, you are “it” and must chase others, trying to tag them.  Anyone who is “it” when the whistle blows loses the game.  With such a small group, of course (1/3 of 5 is less than 2) they played with only one person being "it".  So in essence this turned into your typical everyday game of "tag" that we've all played as kids.  Amazingly, they actually got into it (with a little extra tomfoolery) and were quite warmed up after 5 minutes of this (on the sand, of course).  We followed this with a light active stretch routine.  So far, so good.

Next I had Teresa brief the others on the basics of the bump motor skill (knees bent, two choices for hand positioning, etc...). She did a great job of this and when I quizzed the group randomly on some of the principles, they responded perfectly.  In a real class, I would have also had students read up and try to remember the basics of the rules of volleyball before class, as well, but in this case I just briefed them on the rules (which, luckily, they already had a good idea of).  In fact, I just found this nice guide to the basics, which I would shorten to include only the pages students would need:

 http://www.tristatevolunteers.org/sports/guidetovbbasics.pdf

  

Following my demonstration of the technique (as I had done yesterday) it was time for the students to practice the skill in a cooperative group.  The goal, of course, was to keep the ball in the air using ONLY the bump technique - which can get quite hard when you haven't had a lot of experience with how much force to put into it.  Needless to say we upset a few sunbathers along the way.  This was a good chance for me to provide some extra support and practice my own instruction of the skill.  Robyn, for example, had a tendency for the ball to gently roll off her arms and over the side, or somehow repeatedly "caught" the ball between her elbows.  Her main issue was that her elbows were too loose and not close enough together.  She naturally still struggled, but I was able to at least help her remember the proper positioning for the rest of the day.  For those who kept knocking it almost into the Pacific Ocean, my consistent (but seemingly unheeded) message was to "let the ball hit you and use your legs to reflect it, rather than thinking of swinging at it".  It felt good to actually get to instruct someone on the techniques.  You really start to get a sense of what common errors will be.

In regard to assessment in a real class situation, I would be watching students during the bumping drills.  I realized during this activity that - in a class of 40 (or more?) students, this may be difficult.  I decided that in the future, I should set it up so that I have a chance to see every student perform the skill at least once.  To do this, I could have the "initial tosser" rotate systematically and toss it directly to the person across from him/her.  This way, it would cycle around th group so that I would have a chance to at least see everyone perform the skill once.  I would be rating them based on the rubric below:

We regrouped for a quick "2 minute drill" to answer any questions (serious ones anyway!...you'd think adults would be easier to manage!....all good practice though).  Following the 2 minute drill, the lesson plan calls for a competitive team game, in which small groups see how long they can keep the ball up in the air without letting it drop.  With only one small group, I had them compete against themselves for best time.  This worked pretty well and they enjoyed the activity.  I do think it would have been more motivating if there was another team to compete against.  

We ended with another quick static stretch, while I asked each student to name one thing they learned today.  (Again....some pretty silly answers...I'll spare you).  The verbal surveying was in place of journal writing, since we did not have journals to write in.

All in all, I believe the lesson went well and is quite well designed.  I'm wondering if, in a real class, the timed bump skill game will be motivating and engaging enough for students.  I'm also wondering if, with such little practice, this times game might not work so well.  (I'm imagining a lot of the rounds of this game ending after 3 seconds). Professor Anderson suggested teaching all of the skills in one day and assessing them as I go along in various skill games.  This would allow me to get students into full volleyball games sooner.  That is something that I guess I'll have to judge over time,

Assessing my pre-assessment....

For the purposes of this class, I designed a unit plan for a Volleyball unit that I would be teaching a 9th grade class.  Since physical education is unique in that it involves assessment of skills in both physical and intellectual areas, I included assessments that are designed to assess the following domains: cognitive, affective, social, and motor skills.  For this particular assignment, I was attempting to assess the validity and effectivenessof my cognitive/affective preassessment inventory of Volleyball as a whole, as well as my motor skill rubric for the "bump" technique.

My group of "students" included 5 friends and family members.  I first gave them the "Physical Education Unit - Pre-Assessment" that I adapted from one that I found created by a teacher named Paul Skopp (2004). http://shakopeandhealth.wikispaces.com/file/view/30_W04_SSSPAULS%5B1%5D.pdf

This assesses students in the cognitive and affective domains.  It asks questions about their prior knowledge and feelings toward volleyball.

My adult "students" had some questions about the word "unit" and what they should put down for that. They figured it was Volleyball, but it made me realize that I may want to have a visual display when doing this in the future.  By the end of any unit I'm sure students will know the name of the sport/activity, but why not make a bigger presentation out of it to make it more exciting.  I could even create a poster or other large display so that students walk into the gym and have some anticipation about what they're going to be learning.  Also, in my unit plan, I had intended to administer this pre-assessment during the "previous class period" (at the end of the final session of the previous unit of instruction) in a real school situation, but maybe it would create more excitement and fit better if I did just do it at the beginning of the first lesson in the new unit instead of at the end of the previous class. 

It was actually helpful to have adults doing it because they can intelligently give me feedback as to what they think kids might struggle with - though there is no real replacement for actual experience with the real thing.  For example, one student (Robyn) offered that the questions about "what skills do you expect to learn" and "what information do you expect to learn" might cause students to be confused about how to answer the questions if they don't already know anything about the sport.  I told her that she/they should write that they don't know anything about it and, thus, cannot think of anything they might learn.  Her response was "well then students might just put 'I don't know' for every question and lose interest."  This actually further encouraged me to make a display with the activity name, some pictures and terms etc... so that students could examine it and make some predictions.  For example, if my display showed an action shot of a girl performing a bump pass, with the word "bump" underneath it, students could naturally predict that they will learn what a "bump" is and how to perform it pcorrectly.  I could even have a picture of a scoreboard with a score on it and students would predict that they might learn about the standard scoring procedure of Volleyball.  I like this idea of having a visual display with my pre-assessment.  I can't remember any of my phys ed teachers ever previewing activities like that and I think it could be really effective for engagement.

I also realized during this administration of the written portion of the pre-assessment that this is probably going to be a bit more time consuming than I originally thought.  I may want to allow for more time to complete this and also to allow students to really look at my future display and preview what they're going to be learning.

As for the physical part of the pre-assessment, I struggled a little bit with how much demonstration to give before pre-assessing.  In my unit plan, I included a rubric for each of the three basic motor skills I would be teaching (bump, set, underhand serve).  Each of the three skills will have a one day of direct instruction and demonstration followed by exclusive practice of the skill.  After that first day of instruction, the skill will be practiced intermittently with the subsequent skills.  For example, on day 1,  would teach the "bump".  Day 1 involves discussion of the basic principles of the movement, followed by demonstration by teacher and shadowing/mirroring of the skill by students, which is then followed by drill practice by students.  The next day I would be teaching a new skill (underhand serve), but would start the day with bumping drills before getting into the new skill.  So, do I pre-assess (rate) students at the end of day 1 or during day 2?

I eventually decided to pre-assess the motor skill by giving a rating during the first day of instruction based on the rubric I created (scale of 1-3).  I figured this would give me the best baseline and also would show the most improvement - which is always best for students.  In fact, I'm thinking that I won't even share the pre-assessment "ratings' with my students.  Since students at elementary, middle and high school levels are often especially sensitive to judgments about their physical abilities I would not want any to feel discouraged. Then, at the end of the unit, most or all students would have improved in some of the skills.  Thus, there is never actually a period of time where there is negative feedback without tangible positive feedback.

As for the motor skill demonstration and pre-assessment.  I had 5 "students" for this activity.  The group consisted of one female (Teresa) in her 20's, one female (Robyn) in her early 30's, two males (Chris and Steve) in their 30's and one male (John) in his late 50's.  Three of the five identified themselves as currently athletic or formerly having played sports but not "in a while".  This wasn't necessary to my pre-assessment, but I just wanted to give those of you reading this blog an idea of what type of a group I had.  After having administered the written pre-assessment, I informed them that we would be learning the basics of the "bump" skill in volleyball.  4 of the 5 knew what a bump was and felt they had a good idea of what it looked like but didn't feel confident in proper technique.  I went through a quick description and visual demonstration of the proper stance, position of feet and legs, having them mimic my motions and correcting any thing I saw that didn't look correct.  I then had them close their eyes and try to focus on how their legs and feet felt without looking. I then had them come out of their stance and verbally quizzed them on the basics of the proper stance.  I then instructed them to try to get back into the proper stance as best as they could while I made mental notes.  I then instructed them in much the same way on the proper shoulder, arm, elbow and hand positions - following the same procedure and then checking their understanding.  I then demonstrated the full motion while having them mimic my actions (without a ball).  Finally, I had one student toss me the ball as I demonstrated the full motion and how to bump straight forward, as well as how to turn it toward either side for a pass.  I also made a point to mention the importance of getting into proper position as quickly as possible before the ball was too low. 

At this point I had them practice with each other freely and play around with little or no real objective other than to try to get used to how the ball moves and how their bodies feel while bumping. In this case, since I was "assessing my pre-assessment" I didn't want to go through the full lesson and drills, as I just wanted to get a true baseline.  My rubric rates students as "1 - Poor", "2 - Fair", or "3 - Good".  The results were:

John: 1 - Poor

Teresa: 3 - Good

Chris: 2 - Fair

Steve: 2 - Fair

Robyn: 2 - Fair

One last bit of feedback I received on this rubric (both from Professor Anderson and from Teresa) was that I should change the headings of rubric so that there is no "Poor" rating.  I could leave the numbers, as they are more objective and less discouraging, but words such as "poor" are associated with failure and lack of motivation.  I could still have descriptors, but I plan to change the names of the categories to "1 - Beginner", "2 - Intermediate", "3 - Advanced".  When I do share these results with students, I will be sure to mention that "beginner" does not mean you are "bad" at anything. It means you are just beginning to learn.  Likewise, "advanced" does not mean "perfect" and everyone can get better with practice.  This way, everyone feels encouraged and stays motivated.

Here is a picture of my new and improved positively worded rubric:

Survey says.......

So I took the survey at http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi/questionnaire/ and it displays results in a several categories.  Of course the "Whole Type" attempts to fit we unique humans into one of 16 personality types. Fitting into pre-made things is not my style.  I have to say, however, that the category it placed me into does sound a good deal like me.  I was labeled as somewhere between INFP (76%) and INSP (73%).  These two labels indicate that I hold extremely strong personal values, but "there are probably very few people, if any, who know what those values actually are."  It's funny because that initially sounds like someone who is not outgoing, but I am in fact very outgoing.  If you ask other people about me, however, they're likely to describe me as laid back, and on the "quieter" side.  The survey was quite accurate about that.  As a New Yorker I love a great argument and I take pride in starting them whenever possible.  People don't always get to see that side of me, though - you west coasters are tough to get riled up.  So most of the time I am in fact very laid back and probably do come off that way to most people.  I do have some strong convictions and I do love to share them, but I'm not DYING to like a true extrovert would.

How did your personality affect your choice of content area?

Well for someone with such strong convictions and personal values, one of the nicest feelings is the ability to share those convictions and personal values with young people who are just starting to develop their own.  Since my strongest convictions and values center around being healthy and encouraging/educating others to do the same, teaching physical education is a natural fit.  This is one of the reasons for me switching from math to physical education.  I like math and see the use and importance of it. I enjoy sharing that with young people. But I LOVE fitness.  I loved sharing it with others as a personal trainer and I look forward to doing it as a phys ed teacher!

How does or will your personality affect your relationships with your students? 

"You probably take a caring and sensitive approach to others, more so than may be apparent to others because you showing your feelings in acts of kindness rather than in direct statements."  As a teaching assistant, math teacher or resource specialist, a strength of mine has always been my relationships with students.  These relationships are comfortable, comforting, enlightening (for both of us) and trusting.  This is not bragging in any way, but as a teaching assistant, my students would personally request that I teach the class instead of the teacher at the time.  I honestly think this had more to do with my relationship with them than teaching ability.  I believe I showed that I cared through my actions and was told this by several students.  This ultimately had something to do with my continuing toward the route of teaching as a career despite having some doubts at times.

How will your teaching and learning style affect your teaching and your students' abilities to be successful?

"Active learners tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with it--discussing or applying it or explaining it to others."

The strongest preference for my learning style seems to be toward being an Active Learner.  Since that tends to be how the majority of students learn best, I believe this works well for me as a teacher.  Many times, all I have to do is think about what would help me learn something, and it naturally leads me down a path of effective teaching.  There are many different types of learners, of course, but all learners can enhance their learning by active learning strategies.  Luckily, the textbook for out TED 633 course is all about active learning.  

Physical education is, of course, almost 100% active learning.  There is certainly some listening and a god amount of observation involved, but the goal is to have students actively utilizing what they learn for most of the class period.  Perhaps my inclination toward active learning is one reason why phys ed attracts me as a content area.  My teaching style survey showed high scores for "personal model" and "facilitator".  Quite possibly the most important aspect of my teaching is my modeling of the behavior, discipline and work ethic that I am trying to instill in my students.  In physical education, it is extremely important to model the healthy lifestyle you preach. Luckily, a balanced, healthy lifestyle and physical training are what make up most of my life outside of work.  I have the discipline to adhere to those principles in the absence of "fun", but I know that in order to get students on the bandwagon, I need to make it fun, exciting and rewarding for them.  This is the challenge of any phys ed teacher.

This is me.....

Hi everyone - I'm Joe Guglielmo.  I'm credentialed in California to Math and also hold an Education Specialist credential and not I'm looking to add Physical Education.  My life in the education field has been pretty diverse and I feel like I have yet to really fully develop in any one area, as I have functioned in several roles for short periods of time.

My first job (teaching or otherwise) revolved around my first love  fitness.  As a very athletic child and teenager, I naturally got into the gym life pretty quickly in college and fell in love with challenging myself physically.  I first got a job cleaning up weights and helping to maintain gym at my college.  In between my sophomore and junior year of college I got a slightly more "real" job at a huge health club in NY.  I soon became a certified personal trainer and functioned in several roles at Club Fit - truly loving every minute of it and creating a home there for me.  I realized eventually that trying to make a living as a personal trainer is somewhere between extremely difficult and almost impossible.  With a BA in Psychology and a knack for working with kids, I decided teaching might be the way to go.  All I heard at that time, however, was that "gym teacher" (as most people still refer to the position) jobs are declining in number and it is extremely difficult to get into.  I also wasn't quite as outgoing as I am now, so running a big gym class didn't seem like the best fit for me.  I was a math whiz in school and had taken a ton of math in college already, so that was the natural second choice.  I quickly got a job as a teaching assistant to a math teacher in a special ed system. Eventually I completed my certification requirements and got a full time teaching job as a special ed math teacher at a residential school for troubled youth.  I moved to CA a year and a half later and soon got a job as a special ed resource teacher at another alternative school.  This is where I'm at now....

I am ready, however, to come full circle and get back to fitness - only now with a much better idea of what I want to do, how to make it work, and with a pretty fuller background in educational experiences.  I want to continue teaching, but I feel most passionate about fitness and sports.  I'm excited to preach physical education for LIFE.