Controlled Choas, Fitness Testing, and... Making an Impact?- Week 4

Each day this week has brought with it a kaleidoscope of emotions, jumping from one end of the poles to the other each lesson. I’m exhausted just looking back on the host of experiences that took place. Monday is now a distant blur and Tuesday/Wednesday nearly indistinguishable. Thankfully I have my daily reflections to remind me of important happenings. My first second grade lesson Monday morning couldn’t have gone better, and lucky for me it happened to be the lesson my supervisor came to see. Delighted at what I accomplished (for there was quite a load of fitness testing data to retrieve), I felt the week would be smooth sailing. How dumbfounded I was when the same lesson with another second grade class the next day felt like riding an old wooden roller coaster! With each wave of classes the same lesson plan was taught and different results ensued. I groped for understanding all week. How could the same lesson go so well for one class and seem nearly impossible to complete with the next!? 

I analyzed my instructional practices, the content of my lesson, the layout of equipment…everything and anything I could think of. (IPTS 9J) I’m not saying that my reflections on these areas were fruitless. In fact, as I practiced my ideas for improvement or experimented with solutions, I was often pleased with the positive results. However, the results seemed slight in comparison with the ideal lesson I had experienced Monday morning. I hounded myself each lesson. I had to be doing something wrong. Interestingly enough, as I began reading chapter three of classroom confidential for this week’s assignment my thoughts about my classroom experiences began to change. This week’s chapter was about diversity, specifically cultural diversity. Now my school is rather culturally UN-diverse, but the principles of diversity apply nonetheless. I began to realize how naive it was for me to expect the same results from each class because my teaching routine was consistent. Each class is its own entity, revolving around a solely unique classroom culture. You may have the class with the kinesthetic achievers bursting with pride to show you their athletic poweress. The next is full of competition seekers who push the rules and boundaries vying for titles. The following is flogged with cliques whose main purpose is to share their every thought and feeling amongst a grouping of peers. Of course the classes are never as one-track as this, having a range of subcultures within. Still, why in the world then would I expect my classes to respond some sort of harmonized manner to my teaching!? What a task at hand we teachers have. It is a rather laborious one, though incredibly rewarding: when teachers sensitize themselves to student diversity in all its formats. (IPTS 1B, 1K)

Furthermore, in my week-four adventures I have
come face to face with the difficult and daunting reality elementary PE teachers must face not once but twice in an academic year: fitness testing. What a challenge it is to maintain a classroom of highly energized learners while trying to collect data on each individual’s physical abilities purely through observation of testing and recording results! I has been a huge blessing to be able to co-teach and collaborate with Mr. Park in how best to accomplish this feat. The students would have much less opportunity for activity and learning if it were not for the co-teaching techniques that we have used. We are continuously problem-solving as we encounter new obstacles to this first year of newly mandated fitness tests as well as fitness “challenges” for the first and second grades. Each Tuesday morning I participate in a conference call amongst the six other elementary PE teachers in the district. This past week much of the discussion revolved around best practices in implementing fitness testing. Trials and errors as well as success were shared amongst the group. I realized the amount of time this will take for the other teachers, where co-teaching is not an option, is substantially longer than they anticipated. This week has taught me how effective co-teaching can substantially enhance student learning and the value of collaborative problem-solving with colleagues. (IPTS 8K, 8N)

Goals for next week:
1.) practice and teach first edTPA lesson!
2.) provide more opportunity for students' cognitive growth throughout lesson. Adding critical thinking questions and comprehension checks. Students should be able to tell me what the goal and purpose of the learning segment is at every point.