Assignment 3A

     Having a PE lesson was a bit different than most of the others in this class, I am guessing.  The pre and post assessments are much simpler.  I chose to teach one of the running days rather than one of the swimming ones.  I asked students to record what they thought was a reasonable goal time for the run.   Then I had them write which parts of the run would be the toughest, easiest, etc (they have ran the course before).

     I gave students strategies to overcome running up hills, down hills, different breathing patterns, small ways to conserve energy while running, etc.  Most of them had never been "taught" to run so they were actually very interested. 

     The best part of the day was watching those students who pushed themselves and beat their goal time.  While they finished exhausted you could see the look of accomplishment on their face when I read their finishing time.

Assignment 2B

     I incorporated my lesson into our preseason basketball conditioning so the students I used were actually all basketball players.  Overall the lesson was a success, in that their fitness improved from the beginning of the week, to the end of the week.  They all improved at different rates as some excelled in certain aspects of the biathlon and others struggled.

     For a physical education lesson I think pre-assessments are fairly straightforward and it is easy to measure progress throughout the lesson.  I recorded their times on the first day when they ran their practice biathlon and we used that as a barometer for the rest of the week.  All of the students improved by the end of the lesson.

     I do think that the one gaping hole in my pilot is that all of the students I used were already somewhat fit and athletic.  If this were an actual PE class there would be students of all different abilities, and I would have to adjust my rubric slightly.  However, I feel that improvement is success.  No matter what the end time is, if it is better than the original then the lesson was a success.

Discussion 1A/Assignment 1

     To get the ball rolling, I'm 25 years young and spent most of my childhood in rural Northern California.  I earned my BA in communications from Sonoma State University in 2010 but didn't quite have teaching on my radar just yet.  I moved to San Diego and spent a few months just working in restaurants and bars, enjoying the San Diego lifestyle for a bit then decided I wanted to go even further South.

     In December 2011 I bought a one way ticket to Colombia, packed a bag, and took off.  I spent the next 5 months backpacking through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, spending most of my short life savings on the adventure (would do it again in a heartbeat).

     Upon returning to the states I was faced with that big decision of what direction to send my life next.  After working a few jobs that weren't really my fit, a friend asked me to be his assistant for the high school basketball team he coached.  This is where teaching came into the picture.

     I decided being around kids was my passion (besides traveling).  While coaching I also became a substitute teacher, to determine if I could handle classroom life.  I was not deterred from the path of education and have been working as a substitute teacher/high school basketball coach the entire time I have been involved with the National University program.

     I had taken personality tests before so the results weren't much of a shock to me.  I typically appeal to people's emotions a lot and make sure everyone feels included.  I prefer discussing topics with no right answer rather than something that is cut and dry.  I think despite all of our personalities, the biggest thing with teaching is to be able to interact and reach a variety of personalities.  If I can clear that hurdle then that will be a huge step.