Erica Pryor

KIN 355

TRA 4

Sunday, Nov. 1

Teaching Review Assignment #4

The first virtual physical education video was the “Rock Paper Scissors” lesson. The
primary objective of this lesson was likely to engage students in several anaerobic exercises. The
teacher accomplished this goal by playing Rock Paper Scissors with the students, and after each
round they either had to do five (5) or ten (10) reps of various exercises, such as mountain
climbers, push-ups, high knees, and more. One effective teaching behavior that was exhibited in
this video was that the teacher clearly explained the rules for Rock Paper Scissors. This helped
the students or the viewer of the video know how to play the game that was central to the lesson.
A second effective teaching behavior that was exhibited in this video was that the teacher had a
lot of enthusiasm for her lesson. This is important because it helps to peak interest and attention
to the lesson. A third effective teaching behavior that was exhibited in this video was that the
physical activities were modeled and demonstrated by the teacher. This is important because it
helped show the students what to do. While, this part of her lesson wasn’t totally effective since
she did not verbally explain the activities, she did demonstrate them, which is part of an effective
strategy. A fourth effective teaching behavior that was exhibited was that the audio quality was
great. This is effective because it limits the auditory distractions for students and helps to make
the lesson clear. A fifth effective teaching behavior is that the teacher maintained eye contact
throughout the video. I noticed that the teacher was intentional about looking into the camera,
just as if she were looking into the eyes of her students. This is effective because it helps to
capture attention.

Despite, these effective strategies displayed in this video, there were several areas for
improvement in this lesson. One area to improve is to give more consistency between what she
said she would do and what she did. In the explanation of rules at the beginning of the video, the
teacher said that she would say “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!” Before each round. However,
when she went into actually beginning the activity she did not say anything. This was confusing
for the viewer who was trying to time the activity with her. I would suggest that the teacher
improve consistency between what she says that she will do and what she will actually do. A
second area to improve is discuss safety. Even though this teacher cannot personally ensure that
the viewer/students are able to have a clear space to partake in this physical activity lesson, the
teacher could have explained what the viewer will need to safely participate. After the rules and
before the activity began, I would make sure to let the viewers know that they will need enough
open space so that they can participate in push-ups, mountain climbers, etc. I would also want to
let them know that if at any point they feel unwell or unsafe, they should stop doing the activity.
If this teacher would have done this, I think the lesson would have been much better. A third area
to improve would be to give more clear directions and instructions on the physical activities.
This teacher does a good job demonstrating the exercises, but lacks the “how-to” aspect of the
lesson. If I were the teacher, I would change it so, after each round of “Rock Paper Scissors” I
would explain what the move was called and some of the key steps or pointers on how to take
part in the activity. This would provide extra clarity and help to ensure student/viewer safety.

The second virtual physical education lesson was Mr. Austin’s Virtual PE class. The
primary objective for this lesson was likely to have students use their bodyweight to get their
heart-rates up. The teacher accomplished this goal by having students do exercises using just
their bodyweight in short intervals to get their heart-rate up and then gave active cool-down
cycles in between. One effective strategy that Mr. Austin used was giving thorough instructions
on what the students were supposed to do. In this video, he thoroughly explains every move and
also demonstrates the moves as well. A second effective strategy that Mr. Austin used was that
he provided modifications as well as challenges. He effectively gave three different levels of
difficulty and allowed the students to decide which one they felt most comfortable doing. This is
effective because not all students will be at the same level, so it is important to give various
difficulty options. A third effective strategy that Mr. Austin used was that he explained the key
word “bodyweight.” Defining key words is important because it helps students learn the topics
and concepts better than just mentioning words that they might not know. A fourth effective
strategy that Mr. Austin used was encouragement. He said in his video that it didn’t matter how
the students had to do the work out, as long as they were doing the “best you can!” This is
effective because the students will feel encouraged to do the what they can. This will help keep a
positive attitude about the many ways the students can participate in physical activity. A fifth
effective teaching strategy that Mr. Austin used was that he used anatomically correct names for
the muscle groups. This helps students learn from a young age what the correct muscle names
are.

While there were many effective teaching strategies shown in this video, I found three
areas where this lesson presentation could be improved. The first area for improvement for Mr.
Austin’s lesson would be to maintain eye-contact. I can imagine that talking to a camera could be
a little strange, but I think this would really help improve attention and maintain interest for the
students. A second area for improvement for Mr. Austin’s lesson would be to pre-set up the
technology or edit the video to avoid the pause to situate the timer. This moment in the lesson
caused an unintentional pause for the students and downtime where students’ attention can
wander and then become distracted. The beauty of teaching virtually, is that it may be possible to
edit the lesson videos before uploading them to get rid of unintentional wait time. A final area for
improvement would be to add more enthusiasm to the lesson. While, I can tell that this teacher
appreciates the chance to teach this lesson, I don’t feel as though the teacher brought enough
enthusiasm. Per Professor Harnick’s lecture videos, it is important to make your students feel as
though the most important thing in the whole world is happening right inside your classroom. I
think this teacher could have included more enthusiasm by using a more dramatic tone of voice
and bigger and more excited body language and facial expressions.

The third, and final, video physical education lesson was all about hand-eye coordination.
This lesson’s primary objective was to have students practice hand-eye coordination. This lesson
reached that goal by having students bounce a paper ball from hand to hand without catching it
in between. One effective teaching strategy that was used in this lesson was that the teacher
clearly had this lesson planned ahead of time and the materials were ready to go. This is an
effective strategy because it allows for less down-time between to grab materials or think about
what will come next in the lesson. The teacher in this lesson had the circle of stuffed animals and
the paper all ready to use in the lesson prior to beginning. A second effective teaching strategy
that was used in this lesson was that the teacher peaked the interest of the student by using
stuffed animals that they might be interested in. He could have used a rope, string, or even a
blanket to create the circle, but instead he chose the stuffed animals and made sure to point out
some of them. It is important to relate to a potential interest of the students’ during or in the
warm-up for the lesson if possible. A third effective teaching strategy that was used in this lesson
was that the teacher created a variety of difficulty levels. He taught the lesson in the middle level
and then, at the end of the video, provided an easier modification of using paper plates and a
harder modification of using only one hand. This is effective because it acknowledges that not all
students will be able to participate at the same level because of their developmental, personal,
and growth differences. A fourth effective teaching strategy that was used in this lesson was that
he added a little bit of competition. The teacher told the students that they should try to beat his
score. This would be a little easier in an in-person classroom, but I thought that he did a nice job
of bringing the competition in this way. A fifth effective teaching strategy that the teacher used
was giving clear directions. The teacher clearly explained how to make the ball, how to use it
and take part in the activity, as well as make clear what materials would be needed. This helped
the lesson run smoother and the students to know exactly what is expected.

There were a few areas for improvement in this third video, however. One area for
improvement is that he could have mentioned the lesson objective—hand-eye coordination—
earlier in the lesson. I think it is important to let students know the objective near the beginning
of the lesson so they know what they are working on. While he did mention this, I believe that it
would have been more effective to mention it at the beginning. Another area for improvement is
that he could have elaborated more on how to stay safe while engaging in this lesson. At the end
of the video, he told the students to stay safe, but what does that really mean? To make this more
effective, he could have explained how to stay safe in this lesson, like clearing an area where you
won’t trip on anything, making sure there is nothing you could knock over and break around you,
or any other general safety tips for the students. A final area for improvement in this lesson
would be to provide feedback on how to improve the scores. The teacher gives the students the
challenge to beat his score, but doesn’t tell students how they can improve their scores. If he did
this he would increase the students’ motivation to get better at the skills as well as improving
their hand-eye coordination with practice and specific feedback.

Overall, these lessons provided a better idea of what a virtual physical education lesson
could look like. Prior to this assignment, I was unsure of what a physical education lesson would
look like in a virtual format. However, now I am much more comfortable with that idea. One
thing that I learned from watching these videos is that there are many ways to teach and engage
students in meaningful physical education skills/activities while being online. This assignment
will help me create my lesson plan later in the semester because it provided me with a good
reference point for what my lesson could look like. Also, since I was able to take the time to
evaluate what other, more experienced teachers, did with their physical education classes I now
better know what I want to include and what I want to exclude from my lesson. Overall, this was
very helpful for my future in creating a virtual lesson plan.