Student Teaching Journals

1/11/23

Today was my first day of teaching and I had set the bases for the rest of the semester. I
learned how to take attendance and create assignments. Also a big tip I learned today for
student teaching was PE is all about classroom management. In other words, moving through
class in the most efficient way.

1/12/23

Second day of student teaching was in the fitness center. I learned that every Thursday
students will weight train and do cardio. My biggest observation is this is an area that students
do not take as seriously. My biggest challenge is to get students to enjoy this activity.

1/13/23

It's the end of the week and Ive learned a lot in just the past few days. There is a big need for
students to stay physically active and a lot of them do not care for PE. I want to advocate for a
healthy lifestyle.

1/17/23
Tuesday is a track day. What Ive learned is most students do not have the motivation or the
physical fitness to at least jog one lap around the tract. Even though my master teacher
threatens to doc points, some students do not care. It makes me believe I may need to come
woth a different approach.

1/18/23

Today is our unit lesson which is paddle tennis. The students are in tournament play and swap
the people they play everytime we do the lesson. I came in the middle of this lesson so students
already know the rules and technique.

1/19/23

Thursday again is the fitness center. I am starting to understand the routine of being a PE
teacher and the adaptability you need to work in the space you are given that day. Also, in the
fitness center Ive noticed some students tend to not follow directions. It's vital to keep a good
watch on the class for safety purposes.

1/21/23

We continued the paddle tennis unit today. Teams swapped today and played different
classmates. What I like is that we split up the class into competitive and non competitive groups.
I think it gives students the ability to play with other classmates at their same level. This is
important because a big gap in skill level can make students feel bored or discouraged when
playing.

1/22/23

Another fitness center day. A little bit about the fitness center is there is a cardio group that does
elpticals and bikes for 7 minutes each. Then there is a weight lifting group that does machines
and one area of free weights. The fitness center deals greatly with time management. Students
are timed at each station and rotate on the teacher's call. It's important that a student doesnt
stay too long at one station because they can become distracted or become overworked.

1/23/23

We are back on the courts for our unit lesson. What I like that my master teacher does is split up
equipment so that everyone is responsible for bringing it back. For example in paddle tennis
everyone will grab a tennis ball and in order to leave class they have to come back with the
tennis ball. This way everyone keeps track of their own ball and the responsibility falls on that
person.

1/24/23

We have finals week this week and the grading is worth 20 points because it’s double the
amount of PE class time. For half the time we finished up the paddle tennis unit. The other half
of the time was indoor soccer. Students had a really good time playing indoor soccer and the
majority of the students were highly active.

2/1/23

Today was the first day of the new semester and we are starting our first part of the soccer unit.
My master teacher went over key words and vocabular when explaining how to dribble and trap
the ball. Also she used visual examples on what her expectations were in terms of proper
mechanics.

2/2/23
Students were in the fitness center today. A lot of students will try to rush the workout when
weightlifting. This is the time to have good class management skills and make sure students are
on task. My master teacher always reminds the students of expectations to maintain order.

2/3/23

Students were doing the soccer unit today. They were working on dribbling and trapping the ball.
I liked how my master teacher built up to each skill after every drill. Also, the area that we used
was small enough to manage but big enough for the students to get a good exercise in.
2/28/23

Today we did some cardio and indoor soccer. My mentor teacher split boys versus girls teams.
Even though it can seem bad to split students in this way it gave the class a more competitive
edge. Plus my mentor teacher said for inclusivity students can pick what side they would like to
go on so all students feel supported.

3/3/23
For today we played a full game of soccer outside. What was notable about this game is that the
coach split the teams in four. Each side of the soccer field had a goal. The point of this was to
keep all students engaged while scaffolding for students who werent as in shap to run up and
down the field.

3/21/23
Students were learning to play spikeball. This was part of my CalTPA filming so students were
learning how to serve. Ive noticed that students tend to act differently with the camera and can
be shy during filming.

3/24/23
Students had played a game of kickball and it was something they struggled with. It showed the
importance of giving visuals to students and building up to a game. It prevents the lesson from
going smoothly.

4/19/23
I had given one of my lessons in the fitness center. Students had to identify the muscles they
were using and determine if they were correct. What I wish I would have done differently is
pronounce the names of the muscles for students.
A good way of enhancing self management would be to start using my planner again.So that I
can maintain organization. Also, I can use more time with God and plan out time with him.
Another good way would be slowing down time and being present where I'm at instead of
having my mind wander.