“Great Teachers are Equal Opportunists” Chapter 6: Schmidt

I really enjoy reading the chapters on other content areas that give great tips and suggestion. When Schmidt gives detail in each chapter, I learn more about another subject and I also begin to make connections with strategies and tips I could use in physical education. Even though some of the ideas are opposite of what is done in P.E it really helps me to think creatively to see what works in P.E and how I could modify a good suggestion to something that works in P.E or health education.

In physical education and health, teachers are trying more then ever before to incorporate reading, speaking, and writing skills. I always appreciated journaling to tie in with an assessment or a way for students to express themselves, reading this chapter I liked the idea behind the calendar journaling. I was not familiar with the idea of using a calendar as a journal format, but I believe this is something that would really work well in a P.E setting. Since it is important to make and set goals, I would really like to use the idea of a calendar journal to track the progress of my student’s goals in P.E. Many great things cam come from a goal calendar, many students can make individual goals based off of the unit, look back to see what they have accomplished or look forward to see what they will accomplish. I believe students would really like the idea and feel even more motivated in physical education then they ever did before.  

On the same track of motivation, I liked the idea of Focus on the Gold. I cold use this idea for many things, I can use it in the calendar journaling to highlight the improvements that I see and great goals and expectations the students is making for him/herself. Also I could use and believe I do already use this idea when I give feedback to students when I see them improving on a skill that they are struggling with. I always try to use other phrases rather than just saying “good job.” I feel that students do not really listen or the phrases do not seem meaningful when it is told to everyone else in the class. I like to use words that specifically pertain to the students and their progress. For example, “ wow! Jenny you have really made an improvement on your form when you’re shooting, keep up the good work!” When showing a students that you can see a change shows the student that you care about them and notice the progress being made.

Another thing that I really liked from this chapter to use as a tool for motivating students is the idea behind a Writers Hat.  Many times we tend to see something liked this used in game setting of a sport and in writing. This would be something great to also use in a physical education setting. Students can tie something small to their shoe, or wear a lucky t-shirt. The main idea is to get the students in a mind set in which they now feel at easy, or even lucky where they can perform better. In my class, if I run into a unit where I see many of my students struggling, I can pull this trick to see how much the environment changes based off of a trick to ease the tension or fear of what is being taught in class at that time.