Anthony DiRienzo's EDU 255 Final - Part 1B and 1C

Part 1B 

I. The website is from Toronto, ON Canada. The school is located in South Saskatoon, Canada. There is also another school talked about in the news piece that is located in Naperville Chicago, USA.

II. I found this new piece to be extremely interesting. This news piece is proof that you learn something new everyday. We as students sometimes believe we know everything about physical fitness especially those in the physical education major and this new piece presented a lot of information that I didn't know before. I found myself very captivated at the information presented about Nero genesis and how physical activity affects the growing of new brain cells and the ability to learn new information. I always knew exercise was important and I knew some benefits but I never really knew how it affected students behavior especially those with behavior disorders such as ADHD. I surprised to see the impact it had on the students making them more attentive and more focused. I was also surprised to see that the students were behaving, not acting out and actually attending class. Another piece of information I learned from this news piece was how elevating the heart rate turns on the front part of brain which may be a little "sleepy" and how turning on this front part of the brain has a lot to do with impulses and the ability to control those impulses. If students can control the impulses they're more attentive and teachers can teach while students can learn. I also learned about neuro growth factors like BDNF and how it is basically a growth fertilizer for the brain.


III. I feel the reason we didn't hear anything about PE teachers in this experiment was because they're probably just standard PE teachers meaning they had a standard PE program like most of us experienced from K-12. They did mention briefly a typical class in which most students stand around waiting for a turn at bat or something along those lines which gives me reason to believe this is why we didn't hear about the PE teachers in the experiment. I will ensure that my PE program will be a benefit to the students and faculty of my school by working with other faculty members to look at the topics that will be talked about in class and have those topics reinforced during a PE class. So for example if a teacher is working on multiplication then during a PE class I would have students for an Instant Activity do station work where they would read a card that says something along the lines of "What is 3x3? Do __ Burpees" So not only am I incorporating math and helping them work out the mind but also working out the body. As physical educators we don't want to build athletes, we want to work on the student as a whole but with a focus in being physically educated.

IV. The outcomes of this program were to help students become physically active, help them be able learn and focus, as well as help them with behavioral issues. The benefits of this program were that students were able to read and comprehend better in school. The news piece stated that most students were able to go up a whole letter grade. This was significant because most of them started off at a grade four. Another benefit of the program was that students felt happier both with there ability to read and write but also with the person they were becoming. I was not surprised by their findings because the research seemed very thorough  had strong evidence of the benefits of exercise. These outcomes are very similar to the NYS standards. The program defiantly met learning standards 1a and 1b. The program had students becoming competent and able to perform basic motor skills because they were doing different movements on the treadmill and challenging themselves every week. The program I'm sure also had the students creating their own fitness plan based on that students needs. NYS standard 2 was met because by being involved with this program students were able to control their behavior and manage their own behavior. The exercise they received from class allowed them to feel good about themselves and allowed to take control of their own behavior to get rid of any issues that they may have had in the past. The only thing I would say with this program wasn't met by NYS standards was NYS standard 3. The equipment was donated by an unknown source. If the teacher would have taken them to a gym or something then NYS standard 3 would have been met but the students were just placed on the equipment and I believed didn't have any knowledge on resources. What happens after the class is over? Do the students know where the local gyms are? Do they know how many parks are in their neighborhood? Maybe? Maybe not? So I would say the program had everything to do with the NYS standards except for NYS standard 3.

V. BDNF stands for brain-derived neurotrophic factor. BDNF is a protein found in humans and is neuro growth factor which is like miracle growth for the brain. BDNF helps support the survival of existing neurons and encouraging the growth of new neurons and synapses. It's active in all areas of the brain vital to learning, memory, and higher thinking. BDNF is present in aerobic activity where the heart is working at 65%-75% such as walking, running, jumping rope, swimming. One book mentioned in the news piece that supports these finding was the book Spark by Dr. John Ratey. The second book that outlines the benefits of exercise and learning/academics is The Kinesthetic Classroom by Traci Lengel and Mike Kuczala.

Part 1C

There are lots of categories that students can be competent and proficient in. Such categories include (FROM B-9 in EDU 255 PACKET) Team Passing Activities, Net/Wall Activities, Target Activities, Striking Fielding Activities, Aquatics, Dance & Aesthetic, Outdoor, Fitness and Personal Performance Activities. Within these categories are numerous activities that students can take part in however most of us have only experienced maybe 5 or 6. These 5 or 6 are known sometimes as the "Tired 6" because PE classes have been teaching the same activities probably since they were invented. Students should be excited about coming to PE class and experience lots of things that they never might experience outside of the class. This is part of the reason why students love EDU 255 because we get to experience activities we've never done before. I believe the recommended regent's level for LS #1A should be 95%. The only reason I state 95% is because nobody is perfect and when you strive to perfect your fail, but when you strive for excellence you achieve! 95% of the senior class should be competent in 6 activities and proficient in 3 in 3 different activity categories because if you think about it if we implement this idea  even from 9th grade forward, there should be no reason that 95% of the senior class shouldn't be competent in 6 activities and proficient in 3 in 3 different activity categories.

It's our job as future physical educators to get rid of the "Old PE" and bring in the "New PE" If 95% of students are competent in 6 activities and proficient in 3 in 3 different activity categories then 95% of students should be able to meet "competency" in their Personal Fitness Plan for the regents level for LS #1B. Being a physically educated individual is more than just being able to meet the 6-3-3 standards. As a physically educated individual students need to be able to take tests such as cardiovascular & flexibility tests or strength tests and be able to take that information and design a fitness plan in which they have goals to meet and design a plan they will be able to use throughout the year to help them meet those goals. I would say as a Final much like we have exit competencies for our activity classes students would have to  test their fitness again and see if their plan worked. By being able to take information and design a fitness individualized fitness plan and be competent in their fitness plan then outside of the classroom they can make fitness plans based on individualized needs. By having standards and recommended regents levels for physical education, students can grow up and live long, happy and healthy lifestyles.