Physical Education

Task 2: Instruction Commentary

TASK 2: INSTRUCTION COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 6 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the
brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Commentary pages exceeding the maximum will not be
scored. You may insert no more than 2 additional pages of supporting documentation at the end of this file. These pages
may include graphics, texts, or images that are not clearly visible in the video or a transcript for occasionally inaudible portions.
These pages do not count toward your page total.

1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the video clip(s)? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson plan
number.
[Video clip 1 and 2 are from lesson 2. Video clip 1 shows me engaging students in the warm-up
activity and transition into our warm-up game of sharks and minnows. Video clip 2 shows me
organizing the class for the strength component and talking about the days lesson focus of the
proper use of squat technique.]
2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment
Refer to scenes in the video clip(s) where you provided a safe, respectful, and organized
learning environment.
a. Describe how you provided a positive, low-risk emotionally and physically safe
environment.
[Throughout the first video clip, I am walking around the gym engaging students by checking in
with them and seeing how things are going as it relates to their every day lives. I am also
looking for students who are off task and prompting them to get back on task as well as giving
students an opportunity to demonstrate they know our warm-up routine (5:03).. I try to use this
time to check in with students and see how focused they are during our exercises. At 04:50 in
the video,) a student throws me her inhaler, something she does everyday, because she doesnt
want to have to hold it but also because she trusts me to watch over it for her. I take these types
of interactions with students as them trusting me to take care of their well-being.
As a teacher I believe that it is my duty to make all students feel safe from physical injury but
emotional harm as well. As you see in video 1 (7:45) two students are engaged in a warm-up
activity of sharks and minnows. I remind the students to watch for others as they move around
the gym and to be safe at all times. This is a very basic and common form of prompting students
to be safe but it is essential to remind them of this very important idea.
Supporting my students emotionally is just as important as making sure they dont get injured in
class. To address this, I listen to all students concerns give students opportunities to show
peers that they can be successful at completing tasks for the class, being a supportive member
of a team as well as a valuable member of the class. In video one (5:11) I ask a student, who is
on an IEP and struggles to stay on task most days, what the next exercise is for our warm-up.
When he provides me with the correct answer I repeat it and give him praise for his correct
answer and hope this positive feedback will promote more thinking and applying of the warm-up
principles.]
b. Explain how rules, routines, and transitions maximized students engagement in the
lesson.
[Due to students prior knowledge of rules and routines, this lesson is quite short on coverage of
rules as we are going through exercises. At the 6:00 mark of the first video, we do a simple
transition from our dynamic warm-ups to a simple warm-up game of sharks and minnows. The
transition time could be a bit quicker but students know where to go and start moving almost
immediately. Skinners Behavioral Theory states the best way for students to learn is by
conditioning their responses to stimuli. Keeping this in mind I work every day to create a routine
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Physical Education
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

for warm-ups, transitions, and behavior so students know what to do when I give them specific
directions. To develop the conditioned response I provide as much positive feedback when
students are on task, following directions, and transitioning quickly as stimuli. I find students
enjoy being told they are doing something correctly, especially when in front of peers, so
positive feedback has been a very effective form of stimuli for my teaching style. Alternately,
when students are not exhibiting desired behaviors I quickly direct them back on task as you
see in video 1 (2:25). There is a student on the back of the room who has a learning disability
and struggles to stay on task throughout the period most days. Often a simple reminder to him
about what he should be doing works to get him working again. Sometimes it takes a little more
of a push though and thats when I use some incentives like playing his favorite song towards
the end of the class.]
3. Engaging Students in Learning
Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your response to the prompt.
a. Explain how you actively engaged students in learning tasks aligned with the objectives
of the lesson in the psychomotor domain and at least one other learning domain
(cognitive, affective).
[To recap, the three learning objectives for this lesson were for students to demonstrate an
understanding of how to properly use squat techniques, transition from activities quickly, and
demonstrate and ability to stay on task during warm-ups. Throughout most of video 1 we are
going through our dynamic warm-up routine. While students were completing the exercises I
was walking around checking for understanding of the exercises for each student. Most often
simply my presence helps students focus on the learning task. However, in the rare occasion
my physical proximity does not I will prompt students with a question to check for understanding
as you see in video clip 1 (5:12) and/or corrective feedback as in video clip 2 (0:50) to get
students back on task.
I pay special attention during warm-ups to talk about proper squatting technique (5:40). I did this
to give students a clear understanding of the critical elements to a proper squat then. Later in
the lesson I observe students ability to transfer what I discussed during warm-ups to the circuit
we were doing. I considered this objective to be more cognitively focused because I was asking
the students to replicate something I had previously modeled; some memory was needed but
the actual skill itself was very basic but did require students to remember (including the
cognitive domain) and apply physically (including the psychomotor domain).]
4. Strengthening Student Competencies
Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your explanations.
a. Explain how you actively monitored students actions during the learning task(s) and
asked questions or provided corrective feedback to improve student competencies.
[My first step in monitoring students actions during the learning tasks is to move around the
entire gym making my presence known to all students, you see this throughout the video. As I
make my way around the gym I am checking for proper technique as well as ability to stay on
task. When I see a student completing a task correctly I use positive feedback so the student
knows they are doing the movement and/or task properly as you see in video clip 1 (5:04). I
believe the most important aspect, when trying to improve student competencies, is to not only
give feedback but also pose questions to students show they can show their understanding and
reinforce what they already know. An example of this is in video 1 (4:02), where I prompt a
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Physical Education
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

student to tell me what exercise is next on our list, he comes close to getting it right but his
friend next to him has the correct answer and shares it with the class. An example of me using
corrective feedback was also in video one at the 2:25 mark where one student was off task in
the back of the class. It doesnt always work but just a simple hey lets go, often works to get
the students back on track. ]
b. Explain how you used instructional cues/prompts, explorations/demonstrations, and/or
student analysis of their own and/or others psychomotor skills to develop student
competencies in the psychomotor and at least one other learning domain (cognitive,
affective).
[In video two I bring the class to the weight room for our strength component of the lesson and
speak directly to the lesson focus. At the 1:50 mark during the video I again address how to use
proper squatting technique for the students, to do this I demonstrate what I am looking for as
well as point out critical elements of the movement. As the video shows, I am looking for
students to get low and parallel with the ground and stand up tall. After watching the video I
think it would be better if I were to ask students if they could tell me some of the critical
elements of the squat technique. This will bring more of the cognitive domain into the lesson in
addition to the psychomotor domain being used currently. ]

5. Analyzing Teaching
Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your responses to the prompts.
a. What changes would you make to your instructionfor the whole class and/or for
students who need greater support or challengeto better support student learning of
the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language
learners, students with higher/lower proficiency levels, underperforming students
or those with gaps in content knowledge, or students needing greater support or
challenge).
[As I look back at the video and reflect on my objectives of the lesson, I see ways to improve my
instruction to better support student learning of our central focus. First, I need to do a better job
of moving around the classroom and engaging with a larger variety of students. The video
shows that the students who I ask questions and provide opportunities to show what theyve
learned are the ones who are most often on task. Students who are in the back of the class and
with whom I dont engage as frequently are students often off task and not completing the first
objective (which is to be on task during warm-ups). To do this I will try and move around the
perimeter of the group and not have my back to students, which gives them the opportunity to
get off task and will keep them engaged. I would also like to try allowing students to lead warmups and shift that portion of the lesson towards student directed rather than teacher directed. I
could do this by first asking for volunteers to lead the warm-ups but I it would be very important
to set the tone of this teaching style off right by making sure the students who volunteer are
ready for that responsibility. As the semester progresses I would open up this leadership role to
any who feel comfortable in that position. I may consider attaching bonus points to whoever
volunteers to lead in hopes of entice a variety of students, not the same ones over and over
again.

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Physical Education
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

Additionally, transition time between moving from the gym and moving to the weight room
garners modification. It took about 3 minutes before we finally got started with our circuit,
which is about 2 minutes too long. Next time I will have students get into groups before we
leave the gym and head for the weight room in hopes of alleviating any confusion with grouping
before we get into a new venue. I would also like to create some sort of signs with the exercises
listed on the for the day and place them at each station so students will have a constant
reminder.]
b. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your
explanation with evidence of student learning AND principles from theory and/or
research.
[As a teacher I really want to get students to a point where they complete tasks because they
enjoy it or at the very least because they know what needs to be done to be successful in my
class. I recognize that as I walk around the gym the students who are on task are the ones who
are in my vicinity and the ones who are not on task are on the other side of the room. I also
want students to understand the relevance of the exercise we do and how they can be applied
to their current everyday lives or future lifelong fitness. Piagets theory on assimilation and
accommodation makes it clear that it is easier for students to be successful when they can
assimilate information from the outside world and apply it to information they already know.
Students who accommodate dont make the connections of why we are doing what I am asking
them to do. Rather, students just do it because its what I told them to do. With this in mind, I
need to find ways to help promote assimilation so students can understand the importance of
exercise and find ways to apply it to their life.
Skinners Behavior Theory states that through conditioning behavior can be shaped and molded
into a desired response. With this idea in mind I need to continue to reinforce my expectations
for transitions and more specifically my expectations for students behavior during instruction. If
students are more focused while I am giving instruction less time will be spent repeating myself.
As it pertains to student learning there would be more time for practice and feedback during
practice, which will better prepare students for performance assessments.]

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