Contexts of Development TIPR + edTPA Prep

Current Teacher Behavior

1. Describe how the teacher implements a consideration of the students' physical development and/or Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model into instruction, assessment, and/or procedures. What more could/should the teacher do in this regard? Provide specific examples.

My cooperating teacher implements Brofenbrenner's Biological Model into instruction, assessment, and procedures by first getting to know all of his students individually. From what I can tell, he has a great relationship with each of his students (microsystem). The main part of Brofenbenner's Model that he encompasses is the mesosystem. The mesosystem is the relationship between the individual and their school teachers/administrators. I have noticed that many of the students come to my cooperating teacher to let them know things that are going on in their life. Because of this, the students have a great relationship with him because he is very understanding and comforting. This is part of the exosystem.  The macrosystem encompasses cultural, societal, and religious beliefs. He does a good job discussing religion when asking the students where they would want to serve their LDS mission. Some students brought up how they are going to serve missions once they graduate and the teacher discussed with them more about this topic. He also relates to the students culture by changing up the exercises and incorporating ones from other countries and cultures. 

edTPA Prep

Also answer the following questions:

1. What does the teacher do to learn more about students' personal, cultural, and community assets?
1. The teacher connects with the students in multiple ways to find out their various assets. He connects things that he knows about them in a way to motivate them. An example of this was when a soccer player was slacking during the workout. The teacher helped motivate him by saying that by completing these workouts will help him have an advantage when it comes to tryouts. He also learns more about his students personal life by asking them how their weekend was, how their day was, how their game/performance went, etc... He also 
2. How does the teacher incorporate those assets into instruction?
1. He incorporates these assets into his instruction by asking them questions about their weekend, game, etc while he is taking role. I like that he does this because it is a good way to kill two birds with one stone. He is taking role and also making it less boring by having meaningful and thoughtful discussions with his students. 
3. How does the teacher use those assets to build relationships with students?
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4. How does the teacher demonstrate responsiveness to students with varied needs and backgrounds?

Student Needs

2. (one paragraph) What are these students' needs with regard to the topics above? What more could or should be done?

Plans for your Lesson

3. (one paragraph) How will you address these needs when you teach your mini-lesson to this class?

Identity TIPR

Current Teacher Behaviors

1. (one paragraph) Which of Erikson's psychosocial crises are the children in the class facing (may be more than one)? Which of Marcia's identity states seem(s) to be most prevalent? What specific teacher behaviors do you observe that either help or hinder the students to successfully navigate their identities? Cite specific examples.

In my opinion, I think the Erikson psychosocial crisis that the children in the class are facing the most is Industry vs Inferiority. I think this because the students are given heart rate monitors during the 45 minute workout portion of the course. All of the heart rate monitors are preprogrammed to a specific max heart rate goal for each student. It is the same specific heart rate goal for every single student. There is no variation. Because of this, many of the students do not reach or maintain the heart rate goal for the majority of the workout. This causes many of the students to become very discouraged and frustrated. Obviously, it would be very difficult to program the heart rate monitors to be specific to each individual student since all of the students in each class share the heart rate monitors, but I think that if there were even ten of the heart rate monitors that had a slightly lower heart rate goal, it would be more beneficial. Those students will then be physically able to hit their heart rate goal and maintain it. They will be able to see that their hard work pays off and that it just isn't all for nothing. This relates to Industry vs Inferiority because the some of the students are frustrated and they want to learn to be successful, but because of the way that these are preprogrammed, they do not feel like they are successful. Although, I do think that the teacher does a good job continuing to encourage the students even though they don't hit the goal. 

The Marcia identity state that seems to be the most prevalent in this class is identity moratorium. During this state, "the status in which the adolescent is currently in a crisis, exploring various commitments and is ready to make choices, but has not made a commitment to these choices yet." https://www.learning-theories.com/identity-status-theory-marcia.html. The reason why I think this is because I can tell that a lot of the students are overwhelmed with all of their responsibilities and life in general. One student in particular expressed his feelings towards the teacher about how he was so overwhelmed with the stress of the upcoming soccer tryouts. The students are ready to make major life choices--college, career, etc... but they just have not exactly figured it out yet. 

In the example that I gave above, the teacher then responded to the soccer student by saying that you may feel less stressed if you work out and put in lots of effort into the workout because it will release endorphins which can help him release his stress.  He also said that by doing this workout, he is a step above some of the competition because he is focusing on being in shape and putting in the work. Another example of how the teacher helps his students achieve their identity is by encouraging them that failure is inevitable and is going to happen, but if you continue to strive and overcome it, then you did not fail. He also builds trust in the classroom. 

Student Needs

2. What are the students' needs with regard to identity development in this class? What more could or should be done?

The students and teacher discussions have never alluded to identity and identity development in class. I think that this is something that should be changed. I think that having conversations with the students about identity is something that is extremely important and beneficial. Being able to discuss this in an appropriate manner is also crucial. I think that the teacher could have created an identity chart at the beginning of the year which every student would fill out. It could give the teacher a better understanding of who the students are.

Plans for your Lesson

3. How will you address these needs when you teach your mini-lesson in this class?

Honestly, I think that this is something that is going to be difficult to teach in just one lesson. When I start teaching, this is something that I will be able to address more because I think that it is something that needs to be addressed throughout the semester, not just in one lesson. Also, I do not really know how to address identity in my mini lesson. I will collaborate with other peers that are in my content area. 

Vygotsky TIPR

Current Teacher Behavior

1. What evidence do you see in your field experience of specific teacher behaviors that are related to Vygotsky's theory of sociocultural cognitive development? Specifically address the use of More Knowledgeable Other(s), how the teacher determines the students' Zones of Proximal Development, the types of scaffolding/assisted learning provided, how the teacher helps students internalize the information, the types of cultural and technological tools used, etc.

My cooperating teacher implements many parts of Vygotsky's theory in his teaching. He uses the idea of More Knowledge Other(s) directly because he is considered a More Knowledgeable Other. He is someone who has a better understanding than the learner. He directly explains and demonstrates each exercise for the workout and same goes for the specific sport that they are focusing on for that unit. He also incorporated this idea when he makes groups or pairs of students for exercises and game play. He strategically makes these groups to have 1 or 2 More Knowledgeable Others paired with students who are not as strong. This is a great way for the students to learn from their peers. It also provides a great opportunity for the More Knowledgeable Others to work on leadership skills. 

Zone of proximal development is the difference between what a child can achieve independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner. This idea relates really well to More Knowledgeable Other. This idea is also used when he groups students together. Some exercises, activities, and game can be completed successfully without groups or partner. This is when the child can achieve something independently and without help from someone else (more knowledgeable other). In instances where some students could not complete something successfully on their own or when he is introducing a new sport or workout, that is when he will group the students accordingly. 

Scaffolding "is a teaching method that enables a student to solve a problem, carry out a task, or achieve a goal through a gradual shedding of outside assistance". (https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/teacher-resources/scaffolding-in-education-a-definitive-guide/). He uses scaffolding in every lesson that I have witnessed. An example of when he uses this is when he will breakdown the workout into smaller, more manageable parts. Instead of making it long and confusing for the students, he breaks it down and simplifies it in order for all of the students to understand it. He also uses cues when introducing a new exercise or sport. For example, in one of his lessons that he did, one of the workouts was toe touches on the bleachers. The cue that he gave the students to work on was "quick feet". This helped the students break down the task further and focus on one specific part of the skill. He also uses cooperative learning throughout his lessons. This is used when he puts the students in groups or teams and the students work together to complete a task or activity. 

The main technical tool that he uses during his classes are heart rate monitors. These are used during the 45 minute workout portion of the class. These provide a great opportunity for the students to learn the importance of heart rate during the workout as well as motivate them.

Student Needs

2. What are these students' needs through the lens of Vygotsky's theory? What more could or should be done?

In my opinion, I think that the students should have more discussions regarding what they are learning and reflecting on that throughout class. I think that this would help the students who are not More Knowledgeable Others be able to learn more about a skill or game in a different way as well as collaborate with others who know more about something than they do. I also think that the students should be encouraged to do more activities independently. I do not think that this should be done every time, but sometimes, I find that the students become distracted when working in groups with their friends. This idea relates to the Zone of Proximal Development. 

Plans for your Lesson

3. How will you address these needs when you teach your mini-lesson in this class?

I will address these needs when I teach my mini-lesson by having the students complete the first half of the workout individually and then the second half of the assignment the students will complete the workout in groups that I will assign. I will make sure to have at least one student who is considered a more knowledgeable other in order for that student to help the other students who struggle. I will also have the students do a discussion at the end of the lesson in which they will discuss with one another what they learned that lesson. 

Piaget TIPR

Current Teacher Behaviors

What evidence do you see in your field experience of specific teacher behaviors that are related to Piaget's theory of cognitive development? 

Since physical education is an active class, it is directly related to Piaget's theory of cognitive development because Piaget's central idea is that children are active and motivated learners. The students are active throughout the entirety of the class and are motivated both extrinsically and intrinsically. They are required to wear heart rate monitors during the workout portion of the course. They must hit and maintain their target heart rate for at least 80% of the workout in order to receive full participation points for the day. 

I have noticed that some students are in disequilibrium when they are introduced to a new sport or exercise that they have never been introduced to before. After a demonstration and oral explanation of the specific skill, drill, or exercise, my cooperating teacher will observe his students and notice is some of them seem confused or if they seem to be in disequilibrium. When this happens, he will go up to the student one-on-one and further explain how to do the exercise safely and correctly. The majority of the students assimilate the new specific exercises and relate them to ones that they have previously learned. I have not noticed any students fall into cognitive dissonance.

He uses stage 4, formal operations, to help students explore new concepts (exercises, sports, drills, skills, etc...) 

Student Needs

What are these students' needs through the lens of Piaget's theory? 

I think that students need more information to add to their schema. Schema is how people organize knowledge into categories in their head. I think that the students should be given more explanation as to why a specific exercise is important and how it physically benefits your body which can help with any disequilibrium that students may be experiencing. I think also introducing more exercises that the students do not know so they are continuing to think abstractly and compare exercises to one another (stage 4) could be very beneficial. 

Plans for your Lesson

How will you address these needs when you teach your mini-lesson in this class?

I will address these needs when I teach my mini-lesson in this class by explaining the importance of the exercise. I think that if students understand why they are doing something, then they are more likely to participate. Also, if the students understand the importance of the exercise, then they also may continue to do it when they are no longer taking my class. 

Assessment TIPR + edTPA Prep

Current Teacher Behaviors

1. How does the teacher assess student learning? Identify specific instances of informal and formal, formative and summative assessment and explain the types of assessments (e.g., self-assessment, portfolio, project, performance, etc.) that are used. 

The teacher assesses student learning in almost every lesson. This is done in many multiple and different ways. The most popular that my cooperating teacher uses is informal assessments. For the majority of the class, the students are working either on their own, in smaller groups, or larger groups. The teacher will walk around and ensure that the students are on task, are completing the exercise safely and correctly, and are discussing on task. Formal assessments also occur almost every day. On a normal day, the students will play a sport for 45 minutes and then do a workout for the other 45 minutes. During the 45 minute workout portion, the students are required to wear their heart rate monitors. In order to receive full participation points for the day, the student must hit and maintain their heart rate for 80% of the workout. This is more of a formal assessment. An example of a formative assessment that he does is exit slips. Sometimes, he will have his students fill out a quick exit slip on paper responding to a question that he asked them. He also uses lots of peer teaching throughout his classes. 

How valid, reliable, biased, and practical are these assessments?

In my opinion, I think that he does a fantastic job at incorporating assessments into physical education. I think that sometimes it can be harder to incorporate these concepts into physical education, but he does a great job at doing this correctly. I am thankful that I have been able to observe his classes to see the various ways that these ideas can be used in physical education. 

edTPA Prep

Also answer the following questions:

1. How does the teacher use formative assessment to monitor learning throughout a lesson or unit?

He uses formative assessment to monitor learning throughout a lesson or unit in various ways. One way that he does this is by doing self-reflecting on his lessons. This is something that he discussed with me one day after class. He was telling me that he always reflects on his lessons at the end of the day. He will note things that he thought went well and ones that did not go well. He will then try to adjust the lesson the next day to change what went wrong or implement what went well. This is an example of reflecting on formative assessments. He also will have pre-planned formative assessments for the lesson each day. He will usually write questions down on white boards which the students will discuss in either groups or reflect on paper.

    

2. How does the teacher design or adapt assessments to allow students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning?

An example of when the cooperating teacher adapted an assessment for a student was when a student had a broken hand. He had a badly broken hand so he could not do a lot of the exercises that were planned for the day. After explaining the workout plan to the class, he pulled the disabled student aside and gave him alternate exercises. He had preplanned these alternate exercises for the student before hand so he was not just making something up on the fly. Another example was in his weights training class there was a student who had disabilities to where he was confined to a wheelchair. He adapted every single workout for the student to complete while he was in his wheelchair. I thought that this was absolutely amazing. He went above and beyond to make sure that these students felt welcomed. 

    3. How does the teacher (a) give feedback on these assessments, (b) help the students understand that feedback, and (c) encourage/give opportunities for students to use that feedback to improve?

The teacher gives feedback to the students I discussed above by following up with them after the day to make sure that they felt comfortable completing those exercises, but that it was still challenging and getting their heart rate up. He would constantly encourage all students, but especially his students that had these physical disabilities encouraging them to keep pushing and that they are doing great. He will also let students know if they are completing an exercise incorrectly. In this instance, he would remind them the proper way to complete the exercise correctly and safely, give them cues, and then have them demonstrate the skill while he is observing. 

Student Needs

2. What are these students' needs with regard to assessment in this class? What more could or should be done?

I think that the students should be assessed in more formal ways--quizzes, tests, exams, etc... I have yet to see the students receive or take any sort of formal assessment in this nature. I think that this could be a good way of making sure that the students are learning the specific rules of the various sports. 

Plan for your Lesson

3. How will you address these needs when you teach your mini-lesson in this class?

I will have my students take a short exit ticket quiz which will have them reflect on what we did in class that day. This will give me a good idea if the students are on task, if they learned the importance of the lesson, and if they liked it or not. I will give them open ended questions as well as a few multiple choice questions about the specifics of the lessons. I will also make sure to do other assessments such as checking up on students throughout the exercises to make sure that they are doing them correctly and safely. 

Classroom Management Reflection/ Goals Check In

1. What are your concerns about managing a class that is using technology? What are your plans for addressing those concerns? 

A concern that I have about managing a class that is using technology is making sure that all of my students are on task. With technology, it is very easy to have multiple taps or web browsers open making it easy to toggle between each. I want to make sure that my students only have the assignment open that they are supposed to be working on--not being off task. Another concern that I have about managing a class that is using technology is not implementing it enough in physical education. I know that the use of technology in all subjects can serve an important purpose, but I am struggling with how much is too much or not enough.

I am going to address these concerns by having great classroom management when it comes to tech use. I want to make sure that my expectations are clear in the syllabus and disclosure document that both the student and parent/guardian will sign. This will help prevent miscommunication between me, the student, and the parent. I also want to collaborate with other teachers--those in my content area and those who are not--and how they manage technology in their classes. Getting input from other educators is a great way to have new ideas. 

2. How is your lesson planning going for your field experience? What issues do you need to bring up with your cooperating teacher? What questions do you have for me?

My lesson planning is going great for my field experience. I am actually teaching tomorrow and could not be more excited. It worked out perfect for me because the students in the fitness for life class, which I will teaching in, using have a 45 minute workout portion and a 45 minute sport play portion. Tomorrow, is a short day. Instead of two 45 minute portions, the will be having two 25 minute portions. I will be teaching my lesson during the 25 minute workout portion. 

I do not have any issues that I need to discuss with my cooperating teacher. We will be using the heart rate monitors as the technology in the lesson, which he already taught me how to use. 

I have no questions for you, Dr. Cox. 

3. Look back at the goals you wrote at the beginning of this class. How are you progressing in meeting these goals? What do you need to do to meet them? What can I do to help?

The first goal that I wrote down earlier this semester was that I wanted to learn more about online grading and course websites such as Canvas, Skyward, etc... I definitely have learned how to successfully do this since we have created our own Canvas website and collaborated with other students on their Canvas website. 

The second goal that I wrote down was to learn more about various websites that can help all students expand their learning on various topics. I have also learned more about this topic this semester in most of my education courses. Learning about the various online tools that can be used in the classroom has helped me become more creative. 

The third goal that I wrote down was to learn more about how and why technology is so important in future classrooms. At the beginning of the semester, I did not understand the importance of technology in the classroom since I grew up with little technology and I felt like I did just fine. After a few weeks of this course, I have grown to better understand the importance of technology in the classroom. Since technology is growing at such a fast pace, students are more than likely going to be more advanced with technology than I will be as their teacher. Since the students are so in tune with technology, they are more likely more comfortable with it. Being able to implement technology in my classes, I can help my students become creative with it inside and outside of the classroom. 

Technology Artifacts, Part 1

3 tools that we explored in class that I think would be useful to use with my future students: 

1. FlipGrid

What is it? 

FlipGrid is a mobile app that allows teachers to ask a question, then the student will respond with a short video. The students are then able to respond to one another, creating a "web" of discussion. 

Why did I choose this tool? 

I chose this classroom tool because it is a great way for students to get active outside of the classroom. I can have my students physically show me their progress with an exercise, demonstrate proper form of an exercise or skill, provide differentiation for students who prefer alternate ways to submit assignments, etc... 
For students who do not have access to devices outside the classroom, I have issued iPads to those students who have filled out the technology permission slip form. 

My example:

https://flipgrid.com/fea4f17c


2. Canva

What is it?

Canva is an online tool that allows users to choose from hundreds of various designed layouts, or create their own if preferred, for use in presentations, posters, infographics, social media, business cards, etc... 

Why did I choose this tool?

I chose this classroom tool because it provides a great resource to students who prefer to be creative while using technology. Students are able to create visuals through a free and easy to use website. I can have my students create infographics discussing various physical education and health topics, create pictures to add in presentations regarding physical education and health, and much more. 

My example:

*Made using Canva

3. Quizzizz

What is it?

Quizzizz allows teachers to conduct student-paced formative assessments in a fun and engaging way for students of all ages. It is very similar to the popular online assessment tool, Kahoot! It is also a free tool, which is great for teachers and students. It can work on any device: web browser, iOS, android, and Chrome apps. This is great since we will be using Chrome Books throughout the semester. 

Why did I choose this tool?

I chose this tool because providing various ways to assess students can make the classroom more fun and engaging. Quizzizz is a great way to implement technology in the classroom--which most students love--while also being educational. I also love this tool because I can easily check up on my students and see their progress, if they are understanding the material, and see which topics I need to put more emphasis on. 

My example:

https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5d956d15ef7ede001ef1a31e

*Made using quizizz