A2 What do you do!

So, If you took a look at the video, you can see that I am still a teacher candidate! But I am only going to use this video to help me for the next lesson, whether it be in 255 or another class. This will especially help get me into the groove of 201 labs at Saint Mary's that I'll  be attending to get my 10 hours of outside experience for this class. Whereas college students are easy to handle, and to some extent attentive, kids at Saint Mary's need to be running the WHOLE time! This class has already branded into my brain the fact that I need a hook. This is ESPECIALLY true with the children at Saint Mary's! If you don't get their attention right away, you're toast! I think this video has also showed me that it is okay to slow it down a bit when it comes to giving a lesson. I feel almost as if I am rushing myself while giving the lesson. When I do this, I fail to remember the important variables that GREAT teaching requires. I will find myself forgetting cues I wanted to use. I also find myself stuttering, because my mind is racing and I cant think of the word I want! However I did get to build on my last lesson which is what I was aiming for. I also got to add a competitive and difficult task for people to do. It wasn't as much moving as I would like, however it was a great way to teach the students; how to EXPLODE to the basket, how to break up defenses and how to make space between you and the defender. This is turning out to be a good progression of learning this skill, especially since I can keep building on it and eventually get to an actual game and get them in the real life setting! BUT my question to you is.. What do you do, to be a better teacher!?

Prep for a better 4!

Today we spent a good amount of time talking about what, as a teacher, could we have done to improve our 4 minute lesson. (Refer to video in previous blog) This was a really good opportunity to talk with the TA's who have been through this and get pointers. For example I'm going to need a hook, I was thinking about using a quote that we could all relate to the activity. However I was also thinking about changing the activity to be more of a game type situation. for example, samewhere along the lines of, 1v1 and you only get one dribble to the basket! Not only will this give the students a lot of touches on the ball, but it brings in difficulty and competition in a fun atmosphere. This also teaches great moves to the basket to set up for a layup which we talked about last time I taught. I cant wait to try this out.

Professor Yang - How to Teach

Today in class for 255 Professor Yang kept the pace with last week. Right off the bat he had us in an instant activity and throwing the Frisbee around. This helped get us back into the mood we left in last week. He introduced what we were doing in the course and today he hooked us with the topic of Chinese new year. This was an interesting and different approach for a PE class so it was intriguing indeed. I cannot remember if there was a safety statement, however you could see the gym was sett up appropriately to keep students in a safe environment. Professor Yang also used visual aids; posters on how to throw a frisbee and decorations for the Chinese Year of the Dragon. He was very good at explaining the tasks and if there was confusion he would be certain to clarify it. The professionalism and ability that  Professor Yang has to keep the attentino of a group and to make them participate is extraordinary, we are very lucky to have a professor like this to model off of.

4 Minutes to Teach It

This was last week in our 255 class in which we had 4 minutes to teach. This was on the first day of class. I was very excited to start so quickly. I think this cideo gives a great description at some of my qualities. I like to keep the students active and keep their heart rates up. I also like to give out simple cues for kids to remember the next time they may be performing this task. With such little time and preparation I think the overall lesson was a success!

Welcome to 255

WOW! What a difference from 201 already! As soon as I walked into Professor Yang's classs today I knew I was going to have fun; there were footballs, basketballs, volleyballs and even soccer balls right at half court. I immediately knew we would be doing something interesting and of course we were. We got to teach right off the bat, and thats exactly what I love to do. I felt very comfortable in front of my classmates, seeing a few that i knew from last semester. This class to me looks very promising, hopefully I will learn quite a few things to better myself as a teacher. Cannot wait until Friday