Chapter 8:  Observing & Analyzing

Purpose = to offer practical techniques to observe and analyze student movement to guide instruction

Child-centered program:  lesson designed for particular classes of children

                Selections of tasks and activities and time spent is based on teacher observations

Subject-centered program:  one lesson fits all

 

Don’t only observe entire class, but individuals as wwell

 

Observation Techniques:

1.  Back to the wall
2. Scanning
3. Visitor observation – what would a guest see?
4. One component at a time

 

4 key questions:

1. Are the children working safely
2. Are the children on task?
3. Is the task appropriate?
4. How are individuals using the crucial component

 

Reflection:  It’s often difficult to observe students ability to perform a specific skill because many times it takes several seconds to do so.  In the meanwhile, it is often necessary to look away to monitor the rest of the class.  So the critical observation is missed.  It can be very difficult to analyze student growth because of so much activity going on at the same time that also needs to be watched.

Chapter 6:  Instructing  & Demonstrating

Students must have learned to pay attention first

Instructing = providing information by talking

Organizational instruction = what to do, with whom, where, and with what equipment

Informational instruction = how to do

          4 guidelines: 

                1.  one idea at a time

                2.  keep it brief

                3.  develop a reminder word or phrase

                4.  adapt/correct based on observation

 

Demonstrating

1.  Location is important
2.  Whole or part – start with whole, then break it down
3.  Normal speed, then slow

Have students do the demonstration if you can’t

1.  Check for understanding
   1.  Recognition check – did I do it right?
   2.  Verbal check – students identify the concept you are teaching
   3.  Comprehension check – ask students to explain the concept
   4.  Performance check
   5.  Closure – review

Analyze how much time is spent managing, activity, instruction, waiting

Pinpoint – select 1 or 2 students to demonstrate their correct skill

Play – Teach – Play:  play, then teach to enhance play, then play again

Use video and CD for instruction

Chapter 4 Review:  Minimizing Off-Task Behavior & Discipline Problems

The purpose of this chapter is to describe and analyze some of the ways teachers prevent off-task behavior. 

Here are some effective strategies:

1. Back-to-the-Wall:  stand out the boundary of the activity for better and quicker monitoring
2. Proximity Control:  move around, get close to students to prevent misbehaviors
3. With-it-Ness:  Convince students that you’re on top of the activities.
4. Selectively Ignoring:  Not a problem behavior if it isn’t adversely affecting others.
5. Overlapping:  Focus on several things simultaneously.
6. Learning Names:  Easier to discipline a child from a distance.
7. Positive Pinpointing:  Acknowledge and announce desired behaviors.

It is important to have a discipline system in place in order to have a structure for making disciplinary decisions.  It may be more effective if it is implemented school-wide.

 

Canter’s Assertive Discipline Model has the following points:

1. All students can behave responsibly.
2. Firm control is fair.
3. Reasonable expectations should be clearly communicated.
4. Teachers should expect appropriate behavior.
5. Appropriate behavior should be reinforced.  Inappropriate should have logical consequences.
6. Consequences should be clearly communicated.
7. Consequences should be consistently reinforced without bias.
8. Communication with students should be firm with teacher-student eye contact.
9. Teachers should mentally practice expectations and consequences.

Reasonable consequences may include (in order): Warning. 5-minute time-out, 10-minute time-out, teacher calls parents, child sent to principal.

Some teachers use extrinsic rewards.  They must have value to be effective.  Some use intrinsic rewards.  Students are encouraged to practice self-responsibility.

Three important components of any disciplinary system:

1. Carefully explained at the beginning of the year to develop understanding.
2. Consistent implementation by the teacher.
3. Support from principal, classroom teachers, and parents.

When misbehavior occurs, remember it is not personal.  Calmly and quietly explain the rule violation.  Describe the predetermined consequence.

Assertive communication: 

1. Describe behavior without judgment.
2. Express feelings as a teacher.
3. Acknowledge the child’s feeling.
4. Explain the effect of the misbehavior.
5. State expectations for future behavior.

Reflection questions:

1. How effective are you?
2. Which strategies appeal to you?
3. Do you prefer intrinsic or extrinsic rewards?
   Response:  I prefer intrinsic rewards.  The idea of providing prizes for expected behaviors doesn’t appeal to me.  That being said, singling out and praising well-behaving students can encourage intrinsic rewards.  But I try to encourage kids to first think about their behavior and its effect on themselves and others, then act accordingly.
4. Have you ever gotten angry?  How would you handle it differently next time?

Chapter 1 Review & Reflection

Chapter 1 review:

Book purpose:  to describe and analyze the techniques, behaviors, and approaches of successful PE teachers who develop and teach lessons that are developmentally appropriate while enjoyable and beneficial for children.

PE is different than other subjects:  Kids are moving.  5-year-olds may be followed by 11-year-old.  Wide range of content.  Often poor or sparse equiopment.  Frenetic pace.  May interact with more than 350 kids/week

There is no precise formula to become a successful PE teacher.  Teaching is too unpredictable.  Classes and students have many variables.  Teaching should be challenging and dynamic.  A successful teacher has a bag of tricks plus flexibility and understanding.

Teaching PE is more than keeping kids busy, happy, and good.  Success = kids learning and developing positive attitudes.

 

Reflection:  What are the challenges I face as a PE teacher?

I also teach music and library.

It is difficult to find time to plan.

It is difficult to find time to coordinate with Bill.

MPR is not well suited for teaching PE>

Difficult to move equipment back and forth.

Kindergarteners are often less structured.

Chapter 3 Reflection:Creating a Positive Learning Environment

QUESTION: When you think of yourself teaching, which of the protocols is the easiest for you to develop?  The hardest?  Why?

This chapter is about the importance of creating a positive learning environment in a PE class.  Having protocols is an important component of a positive learning environment.  When students are familiar with protocols, less time is wasted with the teacher having to explain, demonstrate and reinforce everything s/he wants the students to do.  The teacher designs protocols to maximize use of time, to insure tasks are done correctly and to minimize conflict and off-task behavior.   A result is a positive environment - students are happier when there is less friction, more on-task time and less teacher nagging.  The correct way to enter the gym, start and stop signals, warmup routines, “Home Base” behavior, grouping methods, equipment management – these are examples of things that can be routinized and practiced.  When the typical PE class is only a half hour long, protocols are not just advisable, they are a necessity!

I have a relatively easy time designing protocols for the things mentioned above.  These areas involve moving and organizing people and things in the most efficient ways.  For example, what is the easiest and quickest way to create groups of students: have them built-in, ready-made.  With students sitting on a number grid, you can easily pick by row, by odds and evens, by multiples.  Labeling vertical and horizontal rows with letters or colors gives more possibilities.  Each spot also has a shape (triangle, square, diamond, etc.) which yields yet another way to call out groups.  Protocols should originate in the planning stage as the teacher thinks about an activity.  The key is to visualize every step in the process that will be required of students and to think of ways to streamline and avoid confusion.  These are logistical challenges – not rocket science.  However not all things that we’d like to routinize are as easy.  For example, how do you make a routine of students showing appreciation and spirit in a competition without having to constantly repeat a reminder to “High Five!”  What about protocols for strategizing?  And most difficult of all, protocols for student self- and formative assessment during drills and games?  These are behaviors that don’t simply require students to line up in pairs, or drop the red balls in the red buckets.  They require students to think and perform multi-step tasks.  Possibly the best approach is to break them down into small pieces. 

Hi Bill

Okay, Bill, let's see if this works.  Hank

Chapter Two Summary

Chapter 2 Summary: Planning to Maximize Learning

There are many reasons why lesson planning is important.  Without plans, the PE teacher is simply “rolling out the ball” and expects nothing more than for kids to have fun and get exercise.  But, as argued in chapter 1, if we are to be able to justify keeping our jobs as PE teachers, we need to shoot much higher than that.  We need to demonstrate that our students have learning objectives and are meeting them, as they do in gen. ed. classes.  If we want our students to perform more complex tasks, we have to plan how to accomplish that.  Perhaps the most persuasive argument for planning is the fact that PE time is so limited.  With 30 minutes, twice a week, there is a total estimated PE time of only 32.4 hours per year when one considers interruptions like assemblies, snow days, testing, etc. Graham estimates that “actual learning time” represents only 50% of the total PE minutes.  Therefore, I would only have 16.2 hours in a year to teach all of my skills.  Using the state of Virginia’s instructional objectives as an example, Kindergarteners have 23 skills to learn.  Divide 16.2 by 23 and you get 43 minutes per skill.  Lists of PE essential learnings or standards are long – whether we go by the state’s or NASPE's. If we are to accomplish all that we want to, planning is essential.  Another reason planning is essential is that all classes and all children are not alike.  If we consider that a PE teacher may see 500 students in the course of a week, the only way to insure that our lessons will be tailored to students’ needs is to think about individual students and plan how best to support them with explanation, demonstration and practice. 

- Bill