Reflection 2

As this 8 week course comes to a close I find myself feeling as though I have gathered all kinds of useful information that will help me to improve my teaching style and understand the learning process of my students. I had learned of the different learning theories as an undergraduate, but the in depth look at each of them has truely heightened my knowledge. I can actually put a tag on my teaching style, and describe which theories work best in my environment. I have to say that I pretty much thought that my teaching style related mostly to the cognitive learning theory. As a p.e. teacher I like to relate student's ability to retain information to physical activity whenever possible. There are studies that prove that to be true, but I have found that there is much more to learning than simply retention.

Constructionism is a theory that takes knowledge that students already have and builds on it. What a great theory for learners in a physical education setting that builds on skills and puts them all together to develope a final product. Swimming is a great example; students first learn to float, then kick, then arm strokes, before putting it all together for a final product which is a full stroke. I have also learned to embrace the learning theoty of behaviorism. This "old fashioned" theory still actually has its' place in the classroom. Praise is a good thing, there is no way around that, but there is a fine line with students where they are either working for praise or working for knowledge. I guess that the one thing about my instructional strategy that will change after this course is that I will pull from a hodge podge of different stategies and theories, and I will more that likely use all of them at some point. Having an open minf about instruction and learning is the only way to reach every student.

As opportunities arise to teach health in the classroom I will have the ability to utilize tools to make classes more interactive. A white board that students may use to become involved in an otherwise dull lecture is a great way to keep their attention. I will also definately be using virtual field trips. The more that students can see, the more concrete the information is that we teach them. Virtual field trips a excellent for making information relevant and showing students the world without ever having to leave the classroom.