TPGP Reflection:

PS3 was a whirlwind of months for me. While I would not trade any experience, there is one regret that I do have, I failed to reach much of my third goal. In these next couple paragraphs I will focus in on each goal and reflect on how I achieved or failed to meet them. 

Goal #1- Expand my knowledge about classroom management in the gymnasium- ACHIEVED!

    This goal was a large focus of mine, mainly because I had so many different personalities in all 4 of my PE classes that no 1 strategy would work with all of them. I did attend an ATA workshop seminar series that was specific to beginning teachers. There were many take aways from them in regards to this goal however, the main lesson I learned and applied to my teaching in PS3 was that exact thing- not all classes can be treated the same. Strategies that are successful in 1 class may not necessarily work in another. I had to change my managemenst skills based on the class that was in the gym. For example, one PE class responded really well when I corrected their behaviour by saying, "The longer this explanation takes for me to get through, the less time you will have to play the game." they usually got back into check pretty quick. The classes that did not respond well to that form of crrection had strikes goven out to them. Like in Baseball, students were allowed 3 strikes in 1 class until the were "out" and for the remainder of the class their job was to clean the black shoe marks off of the floor. Luckily, I never had to give out more than 2 strikes in a PE class- the strikes worked well for other classes. 

    While I did seek out opinions and strategies from the other PE teachers in the school, I will admit that I could have given this a little more focus. Mandy was my "go-to" when I had issues with behviour in PE class and I received many good strategies from her to try for next time. I regret not going to Sandra and Erin more for class management strategies, whenever we talked the conversation turned more to the activites we were doing in PE class, not HOW to get students to do them. 

Goal #2- Increase the use of technology in PE class- ACHIEVED!

    While I would have loved to incorporate it more, I think I successfully achieved this goal. The main way technology creeped into PE class was through iPads. I used iPads for": recording volleyball skills assessment, music for the dance/skipping and cooperative games unit and the students used iPads to record their partners in the basketball skills assessment. I tried using the iPads for attendance submission each class but I felt the app really slowed me down and that took away from active time for the students, I disregarded that idea after a couple of attempts. 

    Something that I wish I would have done to use more technology in PE was using pedometers to track steps and incorporate that into the Sport Ed. model strategy. I unfortunately was not organized enough in the last couple weeks to book the pedometers from the University Curriculum Lab, so they were not available. I looked into buying a class set of my own however, it was not in the funds for me at the time. It is still a goal of mine to attempt to organize a unit using the Sport Ed. model, hopefully I will get that chance in the near future. 

Goal #3- Maintain my positive attitude throughout practicum by keeping a reduced stress level and keeping to a fitness routine- NOT ACHIEVED!

    While 2/3 of these goals were achieved, I am disappointed with myself for not sticking to this goal with more diligence. I will honestly say that there was not a point during the practicum when I felt stressed, I managed my stress by staying well organized and getting enough sleep. I always showed up to school with a positive attitude and was more than happy to start my day. Where I fell short was in keeping up with my fitness goals. I knew this was going to be a struggle for me because the commute and early mornings were going to add up and my energy was going to be low by the time I returned back to Lethbridge each evening. This is the main reason why I made the goal in the first place- I did not hold myself accountable. I wish I was not so hard on myself in these regards, I did what I could with the energy and time that I had however, I feel I could have done more. 

With this all being said, I am still proud of what I have accomplished in the past 4 months. It was been quite an adventure- one that I would not change for the world.