Teacher Input Form 3 by Bethany Christensen

Active demonstrations

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 03:53:05 UTC

- I almost always use students when demonstrating a task or activity because it engages students when they themselves or classmates are up there helping them show them what to do. It also allows us to teach to all types of learners - auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. This is also much more effective when they are shown the demonstration in the actual space that they will be playing in.

Sharing and discussing the rubric with students

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 03:55:50 UTC

- (Take a look at slide 64) At the end of the gymnastics unit when I was going over how groups would be getting together to create a routine together, I shared with them the rubric criteria in which I was looking for when watching their routines as well as showing them the self assessment that they'd get performing them. This helped them visualize and understand the expectations and the objectives of this activity.

Student choice

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 14:06:36 UTC

- Implementing student choice into lessons is so important because it promotes such a higher level of engagement in the class. An example of this would be during my lesson on health-related components of fitness, I let my fifth graders know that at the flexibility station, they were able to choose which stretches they wanted to do, but still hold it for as long as many seconds as the playing card number.

Flexibility

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 15:29:42 UTC

- An example of my flexibility would be one day I was teaching the younger grades a skills-related components of fitness lesson in stations. The power station required students to jump UP onto the box mats and also jump FAR onto different colored poly spots. As they were jumping onto the box mats, the lighter ones began to slip under some students. Seeing this, I was able to add some sticky poly spots underneath the box mats that were slipping so that this did not keep happening.
- Another example is while teaching a Basketball passing game to first grade, I noticed that the game was not going as I had planned and I had wanted them to be moving more, so I scrapped that game immediately and changed what we were doing to a more simple bounce passing activity with a partner.

Students contribute to extending content

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 20:34:06 UTC

- During the gymnastics unit while groups were coming up with their routines, I overheard a couple students having to re explain what some of the moves were to other people in their group.
- Another example of this would be whenever we are reviewing a concept, skill, or a game, I frequently ask the students to explain it to each other or the group as a whole to see if they can recall the information by themselves and how they articulate it to someone else.

Linking the purpose to the larger curriculum

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 20:44:40 UTC

- I typically tie in each lessons' purpose to the larger curriculum by relating what we're doing to other subjects outside of school as well. An example would be during the gymnastics unit, being sure to explain to everyone that even if they may not enjoy gymnastics as much as other sports it's super beneficial to engage in these kinds of activities to improve their overall fitness which will also help them in the sports they enjoy playing and their daily lives.

Using different questioning techniques

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-08 21:24:55 UTC

- An example of this would be using conceptual clarification questions while teaching. At the beginning of each unit and even most new lessons, I always make sure to ask what the students already know about it to get that background knowledge of where we're all starting at.
- Another example would be my usage of probing questions such as during my lesson on dribbling in the Basketball unit when I demonstrated dribbling incorrectly on purpose and asked them "What happens if I dribble it like this?" I then have them go through and come up with the four things I should be doing instead and following up with questions such as "And why is it important to dribble the ball at waist level?" so that they can answer with things such as "then you can see who you can pass to" or "so that the other team doesn't steal the ball".

Think, pair, share

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-09 04:26:05 UTC

- This is a quick way I sometimes get the students to talk about the critical elements of a skill or how what we're learning can connect to other things such as our health, fitness, and wellbeing by having them discuss their thoughts with a partner and then sharing a couple with the group.

Using the students as resources

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-09 04:29:53 UTC

- Sometimes when a student comes up to me asking "Can you tie my shoe?" or "How do we play this game again?" I will direct them to another student that can help them out. I don't do this because I'm lazy, I do it to have that student practice explaining concepts to other people and also practicing their shoe tying more to become a pro at it. This helps my students develop and strengthen life long skills.

Grouping of students

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-09 12:09:55 UTC

- In recent weeks leading up to the winter break, students are naturally getting a little bit more rowdy, so we have had to cut back on allowing the older grades to pick their own groups, therefore we have been picking groups for them for a few days now, which includes us maybe putting each student with someone that they're comfortable with but also not going to be distracted and off task with. This has definitely gotten a bit better over the past few months, but it will only get better and better with more time to observe which students can work well together and who cannot.

Self reflections

bchristensen29_1 — 2022-12-09 14:24:06 UTC

- Immediately following the performance of their gymnastics routines, students filled out a self assessment slip to reflect on their performance and how their group worked together. These individual reflections allowed students to answer open ended questions regarding all three domains of learning. Students gave examples of specific skills that they did well in ("communication") and reflected on what could have been better for their group ("being silly"). They also listed what they individually brought to their group's routine that was unique and valued ("flips"). In this reflection, they assessed their cognitive abilities, their own and group's psychomotor abilities and they themself and their group's communication abilities (affective).

Content explanation is scaffolded, clear, accurate, and connects with students' knowledge and experience

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-01-23 20:22:51 UTC

- Units are scaffolded by breaking down each important skill within that discipline. An example of this is in the hockey unit, they learned how to stick handle/dribble the ball, pass, perform face offs, shoot, and some defending and offensive tactics. By breaking these down lesson by lesson, they are able to process it better after isolating each specific skill. Once they do this, we start to put it together in some more drills and then in gameplay. This way, those that have less knowledge in this area can catch up a little and eventually are able to play with a better range of students in different skill levels.
- An example of connecting the content with what students know is during the Basketball unit when I was teaching them shooting, I mentioned Michael Jordan and taught them the "swoosh" to remember the follow through in B.E.E.F.
- Understanding these students' experience, I know that most students in this area are decently athletic and use that along with my observations to see how long we need to spend on each drill.

End of unit assessments

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-01-23 20:31:39 UTC

These types of individual assessments show me physical evidence of what each student has cognitively learned throughout our hockey unit.

Specific feedback to individual students

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-01-23 20:41:05 UTC

- During the gymnastics unit while groups were coming up with their routines, I was going around to give feedback to individuals who were struggling with either others in their group or any frustrations that occurred. EX - one student was upset that the other members in their group "weren't letting them pick something out", in which case I addressed those/that individuals in the group that it's required that everybody gets to pick something to add in and we also need to be respectful towards our classmates and their opinions and contributions.
- Another example is during our Basketball unit, I went over to a second grade girl that was using both hands symmetrically to shoot the ball and reminded her that the "elbow" part of B.E.E.F. means having your dominant hand and elbow underneath the ball.

Exit CFU's

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-01-24 16:49:05 UTC

- During the Basketball unit, I had the students rate themselves with a 1, 2, 3, or 4 holding their fingers up to show how they think they did using the B.E.E.F. cues that day. This informal assessment style is beneficial to see students ponder their performance and effort levels.

Communication about purpose and content invites them to think critically, encourages curiosity, and understanding of content

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-12-11 19:06:09 UTC

I had a student the other day in 4th grade during our lesson on how to set the ball in volleyball ask a great question - he asked "Why do we need to set in volleyball?" This is an example of students actively seeking out the purpose and relevance of content.

Students take initiative to collaborate in unplanned ways

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-12-11 19:48:09 UTC

There are times where we will begin an activity, and students will come up with ideas and/or strategies to become better or beat another student/team. An example of this was while we were playing a game of Guard Your Pin (students guard their individual pins and roll/throw the balls to knock others down), when a student teamed up with another student so that one person can guard both of their pins and the other can knock people's pins down. This shows initiative and collaboration in my classroom.

Critical thinking and deeper learning

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-12-12 11:53:34 UTC

During our Volleyball bumping lesson in 4th grade, a student asked "Why do you use your legs when bumping? Is that for momentum?" To which I responded "Exactly! Using your legs also allows you to move to get the ball if it comes to you a little bit too forward, backward, or sideways as well." This is an example of how students in my class initiate higher order questions and extend discussions with confidence.

Clear standards for success

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-12-14 23:32:52 UTC

In our jump rope unit this year, 4th and 5th grade students collaborated with me and with their classmates to create the rubric that was used to assess them at the end. My next goal for this area is to become more consistent in referring back to it during the lessons in which the students are working in groups together and creating their routines, instead of just at the beginning and end.

Students voice their needs and assume responsibility for their own learning by making necessary adjustments to learning experiences

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-12-14 23:37:02 UTC

Students of all ages feel comfortable enough to voice their needs and questions in class. An example of this would be during our basketball unit, Kindergartener Luke asked Brigid to help him with his dribbling. She so kindly said yes after seeing him struggle a little with the ball and reminded him to "use your finger pads". He then corrected himself and improved.

Using multiple forms of communication

bchristensen29_1 — 2023-12-15 15:50:06 UTC

New this year, we have posters of visuals of verbs/pronouns/items that can be used for students that aren't as verbal as others so we can reference them when needed.