Hey Guys!! I want everyone to check out the picture I posted.  This Sunday I spent my day volunteering at Hope Lake Lodge for breast cancer awareness.  Hope Lake Lodge is a newly built hotel that has a waterpark attached for their guests.  The water park is mostly indoors but they have a waterslide that starts inside the build, goes outside, then comes back in.  They also have a pool that connects from indoors and outdoors which is open all year round.  The water park is amazing and while I was there everyone looked like they were having a ball.  The rule usually is only guests from the hotel can take advantage of this great waterpark.  But for Sunday the waterpark was open to anyone who wanted to spend the day splashing around.  You could use they waterpark all day as long as you bought a pass where all proceeds went to the Breast Cancer Foundation.  Anthony D., my five housemates as well as myself all volunteering our services for the day.  We got to stack tubes in the waterpark itself and interact with children and families.  We also sold tickets at the door, put wristbands on everyone who entered the building, and we directed traffic so people parked in the correct parking lot.  All in all the day was fun, we all enjoyed ourselves while helping others.  We're already planning on volunteering next year!!! 

Sneak Attack First Day of Class in EDU 255

Hey Guys!!
On the very first day of class Professor Yang surprised all of us and told us we were to be teaching a lesson right of the bat.  My first thoughts were there is no way I can do this without any preparation and I automatically got nervous.  My seconds thoughts were there is no way I can do a good job if I doubt myself right from the start.  So I then put on my postive and creativity hat on and came up with a good activity to teach on a first day of class.  It's always important to get to know your students right of the bat and have students know each other's names.  I used a fun activity to not only helped the students and me as the teacher learn names but it also worked on hand-eye coordination.
After watching my video there are a few things that I noticed that need to be worked on.  As a teacher I need use my voice to control the class and the activity.  In this particular video my voice was soft and hesitant.  Next time I teach I need to focus on not being nervous and having full confidence in my teaching ability and using my voice to portray this confidence.  I also need to find a way to get the students interested right off the bat.  I need to use a HOOK so students are engaged and anxious to see what I am going to teach.  All in all I don't think my surprise teaching attack went that bad.  There are a few things I need to work on.  Let me know what you guys think!

Homework Assignment #1

What is meant by the idea that teaching is a goal-oriented activity?

Creating goals to be achieved prior to, during, and after lessons is important for helping educate students.  It helps them to focus on certain aspects of the lesson and gives them a foundation to build onto.  The standards are set by New York State to create structure so that every student can get the most out of their class and their teacher.  Each grade level has different skill levels that should be met and it is the Physical Educator’s job to help each student meet each skill level. 

Why is the process that teacher’s use to teach content important?

It is the teacher’s job to get their students engaged and interacting as much as possible during each lesson.  The way that the teacher goes about teaching content is critical in keeping kids interested in any topic.  The teacher should use techniques that captures the student’s attention and makes them strive to meet each goal to the best of their ability.  As teacher’s we don’t want our students to just go through the motions day by day and forget skills and goals after time.  We want to make a lasting impression of each student and make sure the skills we teach stick with them and become lifelong skills.

Why is the movement task-student response unit of analysis so important in physical education?

Movement task-student response is important in providing students with proper feedback as well as providing the teacher with a self check system that allows them to see if they are teaching skills effectively.  It allows the teacher to explain the task/goal and watch students follow instructions and assess where each student ranks as well as allows the teacher to see which areas need more focus for different students.

9/1/10 Class

Today was the second class of the semester and it was great.  Being hands on and actually perfroming skills/techniques personally was a good way to learn how to teach a skill.  The lesson also helped us get to know other students in our class.  Overall I think class was very beneficial.