Blog 18: 4/28/15

Blog 18

4/28/15

On Tuesday the 28th I volunteered for Dr. Davis' lab from 6-7 and from 7-8.  I will first discuss my experience with the 6-7 lab.  Tonight was a full house for volunteers.  However, there was not a lot of students present tonight.  The graduate assistants Lesley and Maddy told me to float around the Rockwall gymnasium, the dance studio, and the Sims lab.  The Rockwall gymnasium had older students from around 2nd grade and up.  I observed Jackie teach six students.  When I was there she was very organized and used a system that I really liked.  Before each activity she would have the students sit on their poly-spot.  Once everyone was sitting she would explain the activity and then let the students do that activity.  When it was time for the activity to end she would have the students clean up the equipment to where they found it and return to their poly-spots.  Once there she would pick one student who participated well and sat on their poly-spot well to go check off the activity they just completed.  This extrinsically motivated the students to be their best so they would get the reward of checking off the activity on the poster.  I think this was a great routine that was put across in a positive way.  In the dance studio there was younger children.  Unfortunately there was not that many students today.  A few things the teachers were working on were locomotor and object control skills.  One activity that I really liked and never say before involved a movement story.  The teacher explained to the student about storms.  She asked what it means when it thunder and lightings.  She next asked if it was safe to be outside during a thunder storm.  They of course said no.  She next explained the game.  They are on a walk outside and this is when they do different locomotor patterns she selects when they see her stomp her feet this means the thunder is there and they have to go inside.  They do this by placing their ball on the cone.  I liked how the teacher incorporated a movement story into a simple activity.  If she were just to say to do a locomotor pattern and when she stomps pick up a ball and put it on a cone, students will not be as motivated.  Incorporating a movement story helps makes the activity fun and exciting for both the students and the teacher.  Lab from 6-7 allowed me to do something I do not do a lot which is to sit back and observe teachers teaching.  I enjoy getting involved in the lessons and participating with students but today because of numbers I could not do this.  It was good to see different teaching styles and strategies.  I can use these when it comes to my own teaching.