• Goal setting,  Professional Development,  Teacher Reflection

    Professional Learning + Data = analysis student learning – Part 2

    Last month I began the journey of discovery about Professional development for this academic year.  Part one in my reflecting is here.  I have taken more time to reflect on this and also chatted to Jarrod Robinson who gave me a very interesting book – Essentialism – which amongst a lot of the things that I am digesting has made me wonder What is/are the things that give the most impact to the work I am doing? What is Essential in this moment (and what can be trimmed away or left out)?  If the focus is Student Learning and I have specific outcomes, then they should be explicitly taught and…

  • Concept based learning,  feedback,  Health,  MYP,  pegeeks,  Research,  Teacher Reflection,  Technology in PE

    Training – Running and Fitness

    This week I have caught up on Jarrod Robinson’s (aka The PE Geek) podcasts and it has been a little while so I had many episodes to choose from as I have picked up my training this last 10 days so more time to listen to ideas and see what appeals in my current thinking and planning of units.  If you don’t listen to the podcasts, think about adding them as a resource of about 20mins/ fortnight to your calendar. I am in the midst of cramming my brain full of Training Principles and ideas for my Grade 10 unit.  I want to have them leaving the unit considering How…

  • collaboration,  Google,  PE Hangout,  pegeeks,  screencasting,  Technology in PE

    TeachTechPlay Episode 4.5

    Who are your mentors? heroes? who inspires you in your field?  I have about 10 #physed people who are on my go-to list and whom I follow avidly on Twitter and regularly email or text with in many different forums.  I was delighted to be invited to take part on a special PE episode of Teach Tech Play hosted by Michael Ha and Eleni Kyritsis.  The premise of this Google Hangout is to share a tool you use in your classes in 4 minutes.  Each presenter shares their tech go-to tool and then there are a few questions to clarify or extend your knowledge and then after each presenter has…

  • Goal setting,  Teacher Reflection

    SEPEP – introduction

    Imperial Team for the Winter Olympics by Stefan CC BY April has come and with it the knowledge that our last PE units are about to begin.  We made the decision to cut a unit this year as our PE spaces are always compromised in the last few weeks of school for assemblies, productions and the rest.  Instead of trying to complete our last unit and write end-of-year reports, I have decided to give our Dept 2 weeks of buffer time.  This is in reaction to the squeeze we all feel at the end of the year with stress of marking, feedback and report writing all along with the other…

  • MYP,  pegeeks,  Teacher Reflection,  Technology in PE

    Just Dance!

    I am not a trained Dance teacher.  I like dancing, but I am hardly a professional.  I can teach dance but I really wish I was better.  I discovered Just Dance on our Wii and after listening to Jarrod Robinson discuss how he uses Just Dance in his classes and talking to Alex Thomas, I am jumping on the bandwagon. I have always gone for traditional Dance methods – teach moving to the beat, offer some dances such as folk or line or paired dances and then look at different styles and study videos on Youtube  and try some more basic moves and then ask students to create a dance.…

  • iPod Trial,  Teacher Reflection,  Technology in PE

    All teched up, where to from here?

    Ultra-modern Cabot Place by UGG boy UGG girl licensed CC BY Last post on our iPod Trial at UNIS… The school year is almost done and so finishes our iPod trial in the MSHS. Before I go into the end products, it is important for me to thank Ed Gilbreath and the Tech team (especially Mr Long) for the opportunity to trial mobile tech in PE and for my own professional growth and learning during this process. I would also like to thank Clint Hamada for his never-ending patience and wise sage-like advice at times of despair and for sharing our home computer with 4 iPods and related issues.  And…

  • Google,  PE Hangout,  pegeeks,  Technology in PE

    #PEHangout 2 – Concepts

    I am very excited to share our second PEHangout via Google Hangouts.  If you missed the first one you can check it out here. We are all now getting the hang of this technology (almost) and it was really great to start talking about Concepts with the panel.  Alex Thomas, Jarrod Robinson and I (with support from an internet-down Ken Forde) chatted a bit about what we get up to in our PE lessons and started circling the really big topic of Concepts and how we see this within the contexts of our classes.  It was clear by the end that we felt there are three areas that we focus…

  • iPod Trial,  pegeeks,  Teacher Reflection,  Technology in PE

    iPod Trial – Update

    Contest /B mode by Granada Turnier CC BY Pioneering new ideas or changing to new ways of operating takes time. People look at you a little differently and can often expect rapid shift or change in a short amount of time.  If this sounds familiar, keep going! It has taken a while to get really into the trial with my MS HS students. My initial excitement is not waning but it has taken time to work out how we are going to use these devices to really engage student learning and to ensure that they will work. A few notes of the process over the last few weeks: • iDevices…