The First lab is over, what do I do next?

Hey rockers, how was the first lab? Don't tell me about it; write it in your blog so we can see how you felt for your first official lab. I liked how everyone showed up and was dressed in a Cortland polo, along with appropriate khaki pants or shorts. It is good that you all know how to dress properly. This is important because you never know who might be watching, it could be a future athletic director who you may want to work with someday. Another observation I noticed was everyone was engaging with the children towards the end of the lab. No one was standing around, which is great. Every time that I got a chance to look, I did not see a child by himself. This is good.

A few things to remember for next time. I would like to say good job to the group that came with bandanas. This is good that you got into the theme, and dressed up. If anyone noticed, they were the one's getting the most attention at the end of it. It's important that you all dress up. The next theme is superheroes. This is a great theme that everyone can dress up to. Take a look at last semester's 201 class, and see the costumes some of them came in. It was a great lab, and all the St Mary's students were even more engaged. Another thing I noticed is the energy and enthusiasm. There wasn't a lot of it. When you are explaining the game, it is important that you have a great amount of energy with it. If you are explaining it without a lot of enthusiasm, the children will not want to play the game. It is your job as future Physical Educators to explain the game in a way that will make the children want to play. The students there will feed off your energy, and if you look boring, they will just walk away to play something else.

For those who are not satisfied with how the lab went, it's alright. This was the first lab, and it is still a learning process. This is why the lab reflections are important. Once you write down what you did or didn't do, you know to make changes for next time. Just remember when you are planning your games to try and pick age-appropriate games. If you have the cafeteria group, don't pick out games that are only suitable for the Pre-K. The same thing goes for the Pre-K group; you shouldn't pick games that are going to be to complicated for the Pre-K. Make sure for those in the Monday group, that you have your games in by Friday at 5 pm. Wednesday's group, it is Sunday at 5 pm. The next theme is superheroes so try to incoporate superheroes into your game. There are suggestions for games on the game planner, that are straight out of your textbook. Also, remember to bring the assessment sheet to lab next time. This way all the key skills that we are looking for are right in front of you. This can be found on the game planner as well. Keep working hard, and you will do just fine. Remember to take advantage of the lab assistant's, there are here to help, so do not be afraid to ask one of them. Keep on rocking!

Education Through the Physical: Teaching with Objectives (255)

In physical education, we educate students through the physical across the tree domains: Psychomotor, Affective, and Psychomotor. The psychomotor objective is the actual physical task the students are performing. The affective objective deals with the personal and social behavior of the student. The cognitive objective relates to information or knowledge. Creating objectives is much more than stating, "The class will play basketball," "Students will be nice." Here's the formula for writing great, physical education objectives:
SITUATION, TASK CRITERIA.

When writing objectives on a lesson plan, always write the situation followed by a comma, next the task and then underline the criteria.
“Situation,” is always first. When is this happening? Before class? During the introduction? Throughout the lesson? At the end of the lesson?
“Task” is what the students are doing. The “task” is something that can be observed. Are the students rolling a ball back and forth? Taking a written exam? Giving high fives to their classmates?
"Criteria" is always measurable. "Criteria" is broken down into two subcategories which are product and process. A "product criteria" measures the quantity. "Product criteria" means that the focus is on repetition rather than on skill execution or how well the task was performed. Examples of "product criteria" could include “performs 3/5 times,” or even “in succession for 30 seconds.”A" process criteria" measures the quality.Process criteria means that the focus is on the successfulness of the skill execution rather than the repetition of the task. An example of process criteria could be “performs task with all 3 cues."

When we write objectives in physical education, they must meet both the NYS and NASPE standards. Teaching to the standards is what makes physical education programs more reliable and therefore more difficult to cut. Listed below are the NYS and NASPE standards for teaching physical education.

New York State Physical Education Learning Standards
Standard One: Personal health and Fitness
Students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity, and maintain health.
Standard Two: A Safe and Healthy Environment
Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.
Standard Three: Resource Management
Students will understand and be able to manage their personal and community resources.

NASPE Learning Standards
Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity.
Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.
Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Homework Assignment: Go onto the Cortland Physical Education website and download the 2010 lesson plan template. It can be found by clicking on “Resource” in the section on the left side of the screen. Once downloaded, please type in a psychomotor, affective, and cognitive objective that could pertain to your teaching from Lab 1B. Remember, when writing an objective: SITUATION, TASK CRITERIA. Also, be sure to fill out which NYS and NASPE learning standards this objective is meeting. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask Dr. Yang or any of your TA’s… we are here to help!

Should young children play sports with long-handled sticks? (201)

We've seen a lot of good responses from the question I posed in class.
Should young children play sports with long-handled sticks? 
Many of you gave some convincing arguments about its use and many of you also cited your experience as kids playing with hockey, lacrosse, badminton, etc.. Take a look at the great responses posted by Jessica, Andrew E, Jon, and Nathan as they clearly make the case of providing a safe and positive environment (Remember environment - task - learner).  Remember to not only state your case, but list the reasons why you feel that way and provide evidence from the textbook or other RELIABLE source (provide LINKS like Aaron did).  Despite all the positive remarks, as a general comment most of you did not mention the importance of being developmentally appropriate and what the general progression is for striking.  Most of us assumed that striking follows stability and locomtion (which it does) but what must we be able to strike with before using an implement of any length? Let's pick up our discussion there.  Here are some other tips for your blogs:

• Use a catchy title. It will draw your readers in and get their attention (think HOOK)
• State your case and use evidence to back up your claim.
• Find images that support your claim and help communicate what you are trying to say in words.
• Finish the post off with an Action Item.  Something that will get your readers to do, think, or react in a different manner. 

ASSIGNMENT

Please read Chapter 3, 18 and 19 and comment in general how these games compare to the many HALL OF SHAME games (1994 and 1996) we often experienced in the OLD PE.  What is your general reaction to seeing some of your favorite games included.  If you were to play one of these SHAME games, how would you alter it so that it meets the requirement of being developmentally appropriate for your students?  In other words, how would you justify playing these games today so that it fits in with NYS Learning Standards and NASPE Standards for high-quality PE?

DUE: Posted to your blog on Wednesday, September 29th or Monday October, 4th (if you ask for the latter date, I will allow it). See last semester's examples from Patrick,  Ben, Jen, Megan, Chelsea, and Jack.

Remember that your Lab 1 reflections (general thoughts and reactions to the lab and working with students) and write-ups (posted and published to Google Docs - PE TECH TIPS ) are due next week prior to lab. See Google Doc PED 201 St. Mary's Games Planner (embedded form below) for more information.

Off and Running at St.Mary's (201)

Off and Running at St.Mary's.  It was a great way to start our experiences at St. Mary's this week.  Thanks to all the Lab Assistants for leading games and showing you how to organize/lead games as well as interact with the students. Here are some general comments we observed this week:
General Comments:

• Polo shirts made you look so professional. Thank you.
• Great to see so many of you getting down to their level in order to interact with them. Remember that you will be 2-4 times bigger than they are!  
• Engaging the students in conversations is a great way to let them know you care about them and want to know more about them.
• Playing with their real or imaginary toys is perfect.  As we discussed children and especially toddlers need to hear at least 16,000 words a day in order to develop proper language skills. You should be helping to add to those totals by talking to them and sometimes helping them with sentence structure, grammar, and of course vocabulary.

Things to Work On (TWO):

• Please do not wear the baggy cargo shorts, \shorts with strings hanging off. or wrinkly shorts.
• If you do not have a PE polo shirt, I have some that you can buy for $20 or you can wait for the PE apparel sale over the next couple of weeks.
• Don't be afraid to be expressive with your face and body language.  Remember that over 70% of what and how you communicate is non-verbal.  What is  Ben telling the student by being on the ground, playing, and reacting as he is in the photo to the right?

Prep Labs Next Week:

• 3-5pm
• Park Center in Gym 305 or 316
• Please bring your textbooks to lab next week
• Be prepared to move around

Assignment:

• Please post your reaction to last week's experiences in lab. What did you notice about the students?  What was their skill level like in the activities that were done?  What was their attitude towards you or the games you were playing?
• Talk about with whom you interacted but instead of using the student's real name, use a pseudonym, e.g. "Sammie" for "Stephanie" or "Mickey" for "Mike".
• You need to download Picasa (free for PC & Mac).  
• Grab and post at least one photo from our album (already 200+ photos) on your blog.  When you're viewing the online album, only use the DOWNLOAD button to grab individual pics or download the entire album.  (See screenshot) 
• DO NOT "right-click" and "Save image as..." - that will only grab a very small thumbnail.  Whenever you post anything, be sure to include an image or video that reflects what you are trying to communicate.  No naked gyms or blog posts.
• Include your Lab 1 Write Up (with link to your Google Doc uploaded and published as a webpage).
• DUE: For Monday Lab - before Lab 2 begins.
• DUE: For Wed. Lab - before Lab 2 begins.

Remember that Sister Harriett will be with us on Monday and Wednesday for our VIRTUS training so please be on time to get the paperwork filled out on time.
Have a great weekend and see some of you on Sunday at the Breast Cancer Fundraiser - Splash for Hope at Greek Peak  Here is the Facebook Event Page for more information.
Here is the presentation we covered in class and its an important document for future reference:

Great Expectations Met in Lab A2 (255)

It was quite a performance by everyone today in the Lab A2 performances.  You were all more confident in your presentations and lesson content and even though some of you didn't get through all of your material that's ok.  It's always better to be over-prepared than not prepared at all.
Other general group comments:

• We saw some innovative hooks (see Andy's below) and signals of attention (see Tony's below)
• Great demos and explanations.  Showed in real motion and broken down as well as common mistakes 
• Good to use "When I say go....."
• Walked around and gave feedback
• Much better enthusiasm
• Voices were louder in general
• Most times your back was to the wall
• Great checking for understanding at the end of your micro-teaching lesson

ASSIGNMENT

1. Be sure to grab the embed code of your video
2. Write a basic reflection on how things went.  What went well and what do you need to still work on.  If you feel ready you can also use your C9 form to list the things you achieved and what you still need to work on.  If you're uncertain about some terms, please see the PPT on our Rockstar PE Wiki. 
3. Grab and post at least one photo from our album (already 300+ photos) on you blog.  Be sure to also download Picasa (free for PC & Mac).  When you're viewing the online album, only use the download button to grab individual pics or download the entire album.  DO NOT "right-click" and "Save image as..." - that will only grab a very small thumbnail.  Whenever you post anything, be sure to include an image or video that reflects what you are trying to communicate.  

Things to work on next time:

• More specific feedback
• Don't forget about allowing students to choose their own level of difficulty (teaching by invitation)
• More individual feedback
• Change the task for skill levels (intratask variation)
• Make sure you increase the volume of your gym voices. If you can't be heard.......
• Circulate more to get to all students
• Bring posters and visual aids to help your students learn (TA's will bring some examples of exemplary visual aids)

Thanks again for a great demonstration of what you have learned in such a short-span and we all look forward to more great teaching and learning in PE.

Experts Rate “Exergames” for Consumers

(Cross-posted via The Exergame Network)

Exergaming (Active Gaming) combines video games and exercise to provide a physically challenging but enjoyable experience. Traditionally, laboratory tests have been used to determine exertion levels and mainstream journalists review and rate a game’s game-play.

The Exergame Network (TEN) has created a next generation rating system which is ready for world wide release. TEN’s ratings system evaluates the holistic experience of an exergame in it’s Exergaming Experience Rating System (EERS)

TEN is a non-affliated, non-profit games for health exergaming advocacy. Its website portal is http://www.exergamenetwork.org/. TEN represents an international collaboration of dedicated health and fitness practitioners, exergame developers, researchers and clinicians, wellness entrepreneurs, all devoted to promoting an active and healthy lifestyle through exergaming.

The peer-reviewed EERS results have been compiled by a panel of world renowned exergaming experts. The system used to rate the exergame experience has taken a collaboration of over 12 months, driven by the previous lack of real world consumer information into the genre.

Exergames are not only scored on exercise and game play, including the physical interface between the two, but also on the interaction of seven further attributes including sustainability and intervention capacity. Six popular video games with an exercise component have been scored in the first results, including Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), Eyetoy Kinetic, Wii Sports, EA Sports Active and Rockband.

"With so many different games available on the market, a rating system for exergames like the EERS by TEN, is a welcome tool for healthcare practitioners trying to help their patients make the most appropriate choices for their families." says TEN contributor Dr Ernie Medina of MedPlay Technologies LLC.

The highest rated exergame, so far, is Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), which scored 63% with the popular Wii Fit making a mid-table position with 57%. TEN has a resource of over 40 exergames listed that will be peer-reviewed and rated over the next 12 months.

"The EERS results compliment the research work being done in the Exergame Lab at SUNY Cortland. While there is no substitute for scientific research in PE, the thorough rating system is extremely useful to consumers when looking at which product to purchase." says TEN contributor and exergame expert Stephen Yang.

The full Ratings table can be viewed at the TEN Blogsite http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/p/exergame-experience-rating-system.html and the resource of exergames at http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/p/exergame-products.html The Exergame Network can be joined or contacted via LinkedIn, Facebook, Wiki, Twitter or by email at info@exergamenetwork.org

Rockstar PE Teachers in the Making

Have you ever been Punk'd in a class? Well that's how we start our Basics of Effective Instruction in PE (EDU 255) because in order to best help you, we have to first see what you can accomplish right now.  It is a pre-assessment of your current teaching skills and knowledge and we will refer to these videos as starting points and for analyses of effective teaching strategies.  If you haven't already seen your video, they can be found on our YouTube Channel.

Today we will show you how to grab the EMBED code so that you can display your videos on your blog or website so that others can easily see it.

I wanted to share with you a video of an interview I did for Good Morning America Health in NYC just over a month ago. Besides teaching, my main focus is on using technology to improve health-related behaviors and attitudes and the primary way I do that is by using exergames as a stimulus for physical activity.

ASSIGNMENT

Please leave a comment here on what your reaction and thoughts are to using games for exercise, therapy or as a gateway towards other physical activities. If you don't agree with me, then please tell me why.  

I am looking forward to working with all of you and getting to know you better so that we can really make an impact on children's attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge towards health and fitness.

"Guiding and inspiring youngsters in the process of becoming physically educated and healthy for a lifetime."