Transitions

Okay, I need a list of good transition tactics to be used in physical education.  What I am currently working with right now is okay, but I want to see what better stuff is out there!
Here is my current list:

-Set expectations at beginning of year to hustle in and out of activities.  Set a president early
-Count down from 10 or 5
-First group to show me they are ready to go will receive equipment and courts/fields first (or will be the first to leave)
-Positive Reinforcement (O I LOVEEEE the way this group is showing me they are ready!!!!!!!)
-Jogging instead of walking to different locations on campus for location transitions

What would you include that works well for you?  Please add your input!!!!

#Edchat

So I gave #Edchat one last go for this semester.  I have to say I am unfortunately still not very impressed.  Maybe it was because the topics where not of high interest to me but I did not pull as much information out of the conversation than I had through PE hash tags that were not chat rooms.  One useful thing I did grab out of the Edchat was parent engagement handbook PDF files online.  Save those little diamonds incase my future employer does not already have something set up.  It was useful in terms of information that parents can refer to if their child is having difficulties and what they can do for them.  I had one person post a tweet bringing interesting information I had previously not thought of: ‘how come you can find photos of administration handing awards out to students but there is so much controversy over teachers having photos posted of students’.  Just some food for thought that had not occurred to me before.  One thing I was not too happy about in the chat room was the articles someone was posting about “Is School Hurting Our Children?”, referring mostly to heavy backpacks and how a girl obtained a concussion from playing on a school’s soccer team as her reasoning why school is inappropriate.  They did not have much of an argument but having posted such a thing was pretty irritating to have to sort through while I was trying to find worthwhile information.  With teacher appreciation week coming to a close there were a lot of articles recognizing one teacher or another, or even how to best recognize a teacher.  The last main aspect present in the conversation was the growing awareness of rebellion against standardize testing throughout the country, particularly Texas.  That pretty much summed up my experience in the chat room.  I posted a few private replies to one post or another but like I mentioned earlier it wasn’t the type of topics I was truly interested in.  I mostly sat in, watched everything that was happening as a spectator.  I am hoping that a physical education twitter chat will blossom as time continues, and I am beginning to contemplate starting my own to see what happens.  Any suggestions?   

Summary of My EDSS 530 Class

Reflections on what I have learned this year with adding technology into P.E.

I have always enjoyed the idea of using technology in the classroom.  Not all students are interested in physical activity, but the chance to use technology in the class adds just one more aspect that might “hook” a student who normally would not be interested in the class.  It offers all students another form of material to learn from.  It adds more depth to the curriculum, the limit is your imagination and knowing what is available for you to use.  And what equipment you have… but I am not hired yet so as of now I can live in my happy little bubble/perfect teaching/infinite equipment dream. 

This semester I started out as I will explain in the video blog above, that PLNs were fun and dandy, but I had never used them for professional development before.  That was an eye opener for me!  I can now proudly say I am a professional twitter freak.  For that is where I gather most of my new material and talk to other P.E. teachers.  I have had numerous people “follow” me who identify as teachers and coaches from all over the county.  That is a good feeling let me tell you.  I ponder how many of these followers know I only have a handful of week’s experience and no real teaching job.  That’s a humorous thought.  I hope they don’t read this…  Aside from Twitter, I have also embraced a professional P.E. logging Diigo that saves all my fun files for later.  I am enjoying this site.  It keeps me organized and I am able to refer back to everything I’ve read and reviewed on the web.  I am sad to say that I was not able to reach my goal of starting a social network for P.E.  Someday I might be able to get that one going, but for now it’s for my own personal use.  My blog as been a great addition to my professional development as well.  I am not a fan of writing so most of my reflection happens with David, who also is in a P.E. background.  It’s nice to be able to do the venting reflection with him too sometimes, poor kid.  The bog has offered me a chance to still reflect on big ideas and give David a break too.  Since the beginning of the semester to May 4^th, I have logged in 50 posts and I don’t plan on stopping.   

Over all?  My stereotype of Twitter has changed, I have become a blogger for more than just DIY projects, and my resources for P.E. have gone through the roof.  I have to say, it is so nice to be linked up to all these sources, and especially other teachers.

My Blog: http://edss530murdoch.blogspot.com/

A link to my Diigo listings: http://edss530murdoch.blogspot.com/p/physical-education-tags-from-diigo.html

My Twitter account: follow me @briannamurdoch https://twitter.com/#!/BriannaMurdoch

I am always looking for more, suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated!!!

Reflections Week Six

Reflection on expectations

Wow.  Don’t let any rules slide in my class let me tell you.  You let one thing go at it all falls apart.  That is one of my main lessons I have been learning this week.  Rules and expectations must remain the same for all students.  My particular issue is with students talking while I am talking, and a refusal to sit down.  Talking while I am talking and standing was something that my previous teacher of my classes let slide.  When I took over I took the same attitude.  If a few students were standing in the back I would haggle them to sit or if two students were having a side conversation I didn’t stop the rest of my 54 student’s attention to quite them up.  Not doing that again.  More students start refusing to sit, a lot of time is wasted on trying to reinforce something that was been excepted for the whole year.  When I first started I did not fully understand why it was so important to have students sitting.  Until they were becoming more and more inattentive and a couple students having more freedom to push others, just over all being goofballs while standing.  I did not mind the two students talking until more and more students starting talking as well.  Not to mentioned the students around the talkers were becoming lost as well.  It wasn’t working out for me.  Now I am stuck with wasting precious time trying to get the class under control because too many expectations have slid by in the last year or few weeks.  Transitions are slow, and I hate the feeling that the students run the class, not the teachers.  Boy have I learned a big lesson on expectations.  I will do my best to put a band aide on this year, but my first year of teaching will be looking very different…hopefully.