One dimensional PE

Physical Education teachers are given the most unique environment to teach their students in. The "gym" could be outside on grass, on stone, in the woods or in the traditional gymnasium many would consider as the environment, but besides the natural environment, the way that the teacher presents the lessons and allows students to practice skills is what really creates the environment.

I find it fairly easy to combine all of the multiple intelligences into lessons. Unfortunately with limited time constraints is may not always be feasible but one technique that is useful is using the jigsaw teaching style.

Allowing students to be in groups focuses on their interpersonal skills and once each go to a different "piece" of the puzzle to learn there may be an opportunity to provide some intrapersonal time to learn the task in front of them. Other ideas would be having a visual picture or a demonstration for them to see. There also could be dance steps that students have to learn which helps their understanding of rhythm but also improves their bodily kinesthetic intelligence. Being able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together could use logic in order to create a routine which flows and during this time students are also working on their linguistic skills developing communication skills amongst their group members.

The jigsaw teaching style is just one idea to the variety of ways to incorporate multiple intelligence into a PE class. It may take some creativity and planning on the teacher's part but as a teacher it is our duty to allow each students opportunities to respond and give them the ability to succeed by providing an environment that caters to their learning abilities. Don't become another one dimensional PE class, really stride to find a balance between teaching and learning based on what is best for each student.

Writing Objectives

Lesson plans for teachers are the heart of the instructional school day. They give a detailed outline of the activities and information in a formatted and specific yet flexible guide. Included in these lesson plans are objectives that are specific measurable behaviors that you want the student to be able to do by the end of class. Writing them can be tricky but practice makes perfect and here are some few tips to help you out:

1. Who- Who is this objective for, this usually starts our the sentence (Ex. Students will be able to...)
2. What- What would you like your students to be able to do by the end of the lesson. This should always be a verb and will differ depending on what domain you are using.
3.Condition- This explains the circumstances under which the "what" is to be completed. (Ex. Given a quiz or in general space)
4.Degree- This helps out with assessing if the student was able to perform the task given to them. This shows the accuracy needed to be successful ( Ex. 1 out of 3 times, 95 % of the time)

An example of a psychomotor objective:

The student will be able to gallop using different pathways in general space without assistance from the teacher 95% of the time

Who- Student
What- Gallop
Condition- In general space
Degree- 95% of the time

Standards, Goals & Objectives! Oh, My!

The reintroduction of standards, goals and objectives did not bring any information that was new to me, but what it did was reinforce my understanding and the way I have previously used them. I was very interested to find out that the different states in the K-3 standards, many of them had the same concepts. Making sure students were able to perform movement concepts, have an understanding of how to apply them to different strategies and skills while also developing an understanding for why physical activity is important. Even the most basic understanding of physical activity and its benefits is what will set the tone for the rest of these students careers in physical education. The standards have become very unified throughout the United States and that says a lot about how far physical education has come in and the respect the subject is gaining.

The goals that can be set for each class or each school are endless and should be made specifically to the needs of that program. Being able to go back and change the goals and objectives should not be considered a failure of the program, but creating a more developmentally appropriate program.

The objectives although tricky at times are very important to have as a teacher. I feel that you can never have enough practice with objectives and being able to test myself and review of these objectives really refreshed my memory and usage. My feeling with objectives is they are the simplest way to make sure what you are assessing what is supposed to be assessed. It makes your lessons more concise and when all combined together should really lay out the goals of your overall program.