Styles of Learning

Learning in the physical education classes that I have participated in while at Bettendorf Middle School has been more limited than I had hoped for. The unit plan was well underway by the time I arrived so most students fully understood what was expected. However, there were some who found it difficult retaining the instructions for the lesson. For example, with a sizable grant from the administration the school was given heart rate monitors with digital displaying watches. In short the students strapped a monitor under their shirts and synched the watch to it so they could look down and instantly see if they have reached their target heart rate during the activity. Assisting the programming of these contraptions was in high demand with the 6th graders who were just too anxious to get going. So after showing one of the leading students in the class they took it upon themselves to show his/her peers what has to happen for it to work. Sometimes the teacher isn't always the best instructor. Once the monitors were working, the rules of the games being played were reinstated. During the game a handful of students obviously were not paying attention to the rules and had to be reminded, with some eventually sitting out to reinforce the importance of safety playing floor hockey. Teaching the rules seemed to work best when acting out a certain scenario rather than simply lecturing. Most learning in these classes seemed pretty standard without too much variety. However, a certain class did need a helping hand to comprehend. The adaptive physical education class, which happened to be my favorite, took a lot of patience and open-minded thinking to impliment the instructions. Whether it's the student with Downs, or a severely autistic student it was always providing a challenge. Teaching here it is imparative to instruct to the strength of the learning style the individual students possess. I seemed to notice a lot of visual instruction utilized here along with verbal cue words keeping the big ideas short and sweet and easy to remember. Although many think learning isn't appearent in physical education I would disagree completely because of the constant challenge of teaching new skills to kids who are to anxious to sit quietly and listen.