Lab 15: February 20th, 2012

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1. Today in lab we each taught an 8 minute lesson within our squads. My lesson was about fitness concepts and I chose to focus on the heart and the importance of cardiovascular fitness. How the Heart Works  The purpose of this lesson was to teach the children how to take their pulse and allow them to discover that doing more activity made their heart work harder and get stronger. I was to do this lab again tomorrow I would attempt to make my activities more exciting. I do think that I did a good job in explaining how to take the pulse and why the heard needs exercise just like your arms or legs. I thought it was good to ask the students questions such as "what is physical fitness?" "how do you exercise your heart?" etc. As with most lessons, I think that it would be beneficial to be even more prepared for different situations. I believe that you can never be too prepared, so it is always helpful to run through your lesson once more even when you think you have reviewed it enough.

2. One of my most effective teachers was a professor here that I had my freshman year for "Anthropology of Gender." The reason that I loved having class with this particular professor is because she was so passionate about the subject that she was teaching and it really showed. She had extensive knowledge in her field and she loved sharing it with us. I probably did the most reading and writing for that class but I really love going to class. The teacher was always willing to explain a topic if necessary and offered herself for help whenever we needed it. I felt comfortable in her class and she was very approachable.

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3. Over the summer I work with elementary children every day, BUT I work with them/teach them in a pool setting. I am shocked to see how different it seems when they are on dry land. In my pool/lessons I control every aspect of their movement because I have to, if children don't follow the rules in the pool there are consequences that can be life threatening. In a gym, children seem to be much more at ease and indulge in more freedom. As I prepare to teach in the field experience I hope to gain more confidence teaching children on solid ground and learning a new set of behavior management techniques. My biggest fear is probably students misbehaving and me not knowing the correct thing to do to salvage the situation. I hope to learn these things while in the field.