Learning Through Play

Lyrics Training - Now here is a great way to learn through play. Using Google hosted videos, you can play a song (Easy, Medium, Hard) at one of three levels of difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate, Expert) by typing the lyrics (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Dutch) to the song while it plays. Play and learn at the same time. This is the same thought as learning through the physical.  It's not good enough just to teach the "content" but through concepts, games, interaction, and play.  Play On!

Commitment to Learning Never Ends

How committed are you to your student's learning? How far are you willing to go to help them? As I've alluded to numerous times, teaching is a performing art and it's important that you practice lots and learn to teach in different styles.  Watch how this Stanford faculty member and student get down to teaching the ATP / Kreb's Cycle and not just merely memorizing some facts. You will need to to put together a video to teach others all about Learning to teach PE like a Rockstar (accountability, standards, objectives, lesson plans, pedagogy, exergames, etc...).  I really like how the lyrics are scrolling along with the video and that can be done through YouTube or any video editing program.  I also suggest we pre-record the song and then shoot and edit the video. This is going to be great and we will showcase the video and a live performance at the end of the semester PE Talent Show.  Let's plan to really show what a great program PE is and how incredibly passionate and dedicated our students and faculty are.

The science rappers from Stanford are back. If you liked their take on regulatin’ genes, check out their new number on how the body converts food into energy. The song is performed by Derrick Davis, a student at Stanford, and Tom McFadden, an instructor in the human biology program there. Mr. McFadden (he’s the one wearing sunglasses and a plaid shirt in the video above) explained the project to me:

I’ve found that subjects like glycolysis, the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain are some of the most feared and loathed concepts among people who’ve taken biology, mainly because some teachers emphasize memorization over concepts. Yet in reality, the way we turn “what we eat” into “what we do” is so relevant to everyone’s daily life that it ought to be inherently interesting. The video stylistically pays homage to two songs, “Hate it or Love it,” by 50 cent, and “On to the next one,” by Jay-Z. Once again, instead of bragging about stacks of cash we’re rapping about making “stacks” of ATP.”

 
http://www.educationalrap.com/music/science/
And here is the rest of it.

. And here is the rest of it.

Embedding MP3 into your blog

Hello 255 Rockers, here is my Screenr video for you all to learn how to embed your audio into your blog. It's very simple and only takes about two minutes of your time. Remember, you're not limited to just your own voice files for your embedding, you can also add music too. Here's my sample of my audio from one of my posts and some music for you to enjoy!

The Best of Us Olympic Challenge

Get in on the challenge to take on Olympians at some neat activities like picking up more tennis balls than Raf nadal or Hula Hooping longer than Lindsey Vonn.  Throw down one of their challenges or create your own.  This is a great challenge to keep up long after the Olympics and something a school or PE class might be able to do. There are even prizes to be won like a trip to Singapore for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. Have fun and be safe.

Welcome to the IOC' Best of Us Challenge, where Olympic athletes challenge you to compete in some truly unique events. Just enter a video and you?ll be eligible to win some great stuff: posters, t-shirts signed by Olympians, official Olympic video games?even a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver or the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. Check out the challenges at thebestofuschallenge.olympic.org or at youtube.com/thebestofuschallenge

This is your chance to take the athletes and your peers on and show us what you?re best at. The challenges include:
-Natalie Cook (Australia, Beach Volleyball) tests your skill juggling while balancing
-Kelly Holmes (UK, Track and Field) sees how long you can twirl an umbrella
-Steve Hooker (Australia, Pole Vault) dares you to tap your head while in a handstand
-Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia, Pole Vault) wants to know how many continuous cartwheels you can do
-Lindsay Jacobellis (USA, Snowboard) wants to know how long you can hula hoop
-Shawn Johnson (USA, Gymnastics) defies you to beat her in either an egg toss or in tapping your ears while in a handstand

Leaping Lizards invade St.mary's

The lab today went really well, We had a blast working and learning with the students. And here is the rest of it.

Interpretation as Inspiration

arning to teach is a lot like being a musician/singer and I've given you this analogy many times before. Think of the thousands of times a young artist sings a song or practices parts of songs, both by themselves then in front of a few close friends or family and then gradually if they're well received the audiences get bigger.  All the while you are interpreting the songs and notes in your own way, just the same way a young teacher interprets and executes lessons with their own style.  We are not asking you to invent anything revolutionary, but to interpret what is being made available to you. As we've told you before, to become a confident teacher you first have to realize that there are standards to be met and you have to be professionally accountable to these national and state standards of teaching and learning. Secondly, you MUST know your content.  If you don't know where you're going, how are you expected to guide your students and how much can they truly learn?

Lab A you got some practice starting a lesson, giving demos and getting people moving.  

Lab B1 is another chance for you to show you can master demonstrations (DEAD or Whole-Part-Whole), manage and organize your students, and provide meaningful feedback/intratask variation. (4 minutes). You are only teaching the one task that you are assigned at the bottom (simple) of the task progression.

Requirements:

- Demo

- Task - Cue - Challenge

- Feedback

- Intratask Variation

Optional

- Pinpoint

- Scaffolding

Lab B2 is a big step up because you are given 5 more complex tasks to know how to teach and we may ask you to teach any of the 5 tasks, which will force you to be ready and flexible. (6-7 minutes) 

 

Watch this clip from last season's American Idol and see what the great Smokey Robinson said about Adam Lambert's interpretation of one of his most famous songs.:

 "I love to hear other people's interpretations of my songs.  I've never heard The Tracks of My Tears sung like that, I've heard by a lot of people."  

The importance of Feedback in student learning

We all know implicitly that feedback is crucial to student learning and this screencast will help explain in further detail how to use our Feedback Analysis Form to determine how much feedback we're giving and to whom.



See these blog posts for examples of feedback forms:
Chris Infante's bowling lesson
Nick Mangan's DDR lesson

Homework Assignment

Here is the information I sent everyone in the email... See everyone Friday!!


For Friday please have the following done:
-Fill out the Time Coding form, that was shown in class on Wednesday. Make sure you color coordinate each section so we can see what you have done.
-Once the Time Coding form is all filled out upload the form to your blog and make a post about what you get out of looking at this form. Try and let us know how you could make things a little better or even different the next time you teach.
Time coding form (10 second intervals)
Transcript
Feedback Analysis
Content Development

Don't Forget:
Friday we will be in the GYM redoing your first teaching assignment!!
Geo and Alex be ready to teach your instant activity if you need help with an idea or what to do contact one of the TA's that is what they are here for!


Here are some helpful links for your blog-
Chris' help screencasts

Picasa 

http://screenr.com/SVd

Google docs and embed videos to your blog

http://screenr.com/02d

Sample blog postings:
http://winkpe.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-is-it-lets-dance.html 
http://nospinpezone.blogspot.com/2009/11/ariels-under-sea-adventure.html

255 Spring 2010 Starting Quickly out of the Gates!

Welcome to RockstarPE where we help you to define your teaching style and philosophy. Together with the help of our TA's, we will help make your lessons exciting and engaging to maximize student interest and learning opportunities.  It will take a lot of effort and self-discovery on your part to succeed in this class and I know you are up to the challenge - otherwise you wouldn't still be in class. 

I welcome you and encourage you to take a hold of your own education and define who you want to be and what you stand for as a future physical educator / teacher candidate (TC). If you don't know what you stand for, you'll fall for anything.

Here is the Blog Introduction Playlist

Here is the Lesson Introduction Playlist

Find your videos and watch them a couple of times.  Get the embed codes for your videos and place them into a blog post and reflect on what you watched.  Pay particular attention to your voice (volume, clarity, pronunciation, vocal pitch / inflection, etc.), your body language (hands, eyes, shoulders, head, feet, etc.) as well as what you said.  Was the intent of your message communicated clearly?  Was it easy to understand? Were your directions clear and intelligible?  What would you want to say next the next time you teach?

Check out this Vocal Awareness Tipsheet. Very useful and important for you to understand as an educator and effective communicator.

Vocal Awareness

By Arthur Joseph

Vocal Power Empowers You

Ten Tips For Enhancing Vocal Presence

1. Identify how you want to be perceived (create a “persona” statement – “persona” means through the sound.) This will help you choose the best way to reflect an idealized you. 
2. Don’t “present” who you are – “Be” who you are. In other words, be less concerned of what others think of you and more concerned with what you believe about your Self. 
3. Remember the adage, “breath is fuel”. You have to put gas in the tank of your car before driving anywhere; you have to breathe efficiently if you want to speak effectively. 
4. To find your optimal pitch level (“the hub of your voice,” your core sound,) – gently descend on the sound of hmm. Where hmm ends where you speak from. 
5. Sing a lot. Singing is freeing. It is also an emotionally and spiritually healthy thing to do. Singing is a creative way to enhance your vocal range, power, and color. 
6. Realize that any professional encounter – from the casual in-office meeting to a business call to a prepared talk should all be considered “performances.” They are opportunities to put your best foot forward, so whenever possible, rehearse them. 
7. Take conscious ownership of every verbal encounter. Don’t feel as though someone is not interested in what you have to say or that someone is too busy which would then make you hurry the conversation. Take your time. 
8. Only 8% of all verbal communication is retained be the listener’s unconscious mind through the words themselves; 37% is conveyed through the sound of the voice; 55% is body language. Be aware of eye contact, monitor nervous habits, use good posture (stand in stature.) 
9. Whenever possible, tape record yourself and listen “without judgment.” A great deal can be learned from objective listening. 
10. Create rituals. A daily structure to help you achieve your desired professional and communication goals. Begin your day by thoughtfully practicing them and strategizing how to integrate them into your personal and professional life.