Jerry Fisher

Another week has gone by and I feel like everyday is getting more entertaining. After teaching a unit of Ultimate Frisbee and Tinikling, with the FITNESSGRAM thrown in for good measure, things are starting to pick up in the class. As with most of the chapters in the Marzano book, there is limited use of the strategies in a physical education class to begin with, in this class they probably would not have been used anyway. As I stated previously, the use of cues and some types of questioning can be seen implamented in the class as you attempt to teach strategies as they relate to an activity. The use of problem solving can be seen in most situations, as students attempt to gain an advantage in competition, or even in their attempts to get out of participating. The use of similarities and differences can come into play when your teaching new activities as most of the games that I introduced can be related to something that most students have played in their past. Some new activities are just variations of other familiar things, and I like to point out the differences and similarities when teaching these activities. Therefore, even as I find it difficult to relate many of Marzano’s strategies to the class, digging deep enough I can see some things that resemble those strategies.
As for a brief summary of my experience during this clinical, I have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy my time with the students. This week we again had to include some of the instruction time to the FITNESSGRAM and that again leaves a lot of dead time for students in class. This week I spent some money and bought a pair of team handballs and a portable pop-up net so that I could introduce the sport of Team Handball. The unit on Ultimate Frisbee helped to introduce the rules and the objective if the game, so the students picked it up quickly, similarities again. I was very amazed at the attitude of the students in regards to taking care of the items I brought in for them to use. I have seen them go out of their way to hammer other items that we have used in class without much concern. After a brief talk about the fact that I spent my own money on these things for them to use so they could experience something different, they made sure nothing got destroyed. I was enjoyable to see them not wanting to leave the gym for a change as soon as possible, a lot of them hung around and wanted to continue playing. Now I must prepare for the sunshine and the great outdoors as I promised to introduce Touch Rugby before school lets out. So even as my clinical time requirement has ended, I have decided to continue to spend time at the school. The students want me to continue and I feel obligated to finish some of the projects we have talked about doing once the weather breaks. Plus, now that I have this money invested in Frisbees, balls, nets, and Tinikling poles, I need to reap something out of my investment. Since I plan on student teaching next spring, and I will have to spend some time in the high school, I’m hoping that I will see some of these incoming freshmen and they will remember our time together.