C4Ta #3

In his blog, The Physical Educator, Joey Feith discusses how technology is essential for the education of his students. He uses it as an outlet to share what tools and methods he utilizes through his teaching. In his post, How I Teach: Ash Casey, he interviews a PE teacher from the UK, Ash Casey, who uses technology in his course. Casey begins by giving some of his essential tools that he uses in the classroom. He lists items such as Keynote, Word, iStockphoto, Twitter and iAnnotatePDF. He states that these items allow him to expand his base of knowledge on a day to day basis. When asked about his classes he claims, "I am not afraid to look silly and I will hoop and holler and try to get my students engaged." This shows that he is very active with his students and will try all types of methods to get them actively participating. At the end of the post Casey discusses the best piece of advice he ever received. He admits that when he first started teaching he thought he knew everything, but he learned from his mentor that he had a lot of things he could change about his teaching style. Casey states, "I used to consider myself as the finished article until I came to realize that I am a co-learner in every session I teach." I found this quote to be very true because as an educator we should be learning from our students just as much as they are from us. We should not believe that we know everything already but instead be willing and able to learn new things.

In the next post, Team #PhysEd Stories: Standards Based Instruction, Sarah Gietschier-Hartman discusses her grading method adjustments in her PE classes. She begins the blog talking about how in the beginning of her career she did not put much effort into her student's assessments. After reading the book, How to Grade For Learning: Linking Grades to Standards by Ken O'Connor, she decided to create new strategies for assessing her student's learning. Instead of continuing the standard format she had been accustomed to, she instituted a new one based on two components. These two components are Standards-Based Grading and Standards-Based Instruction. These are both more accurate representations of the students' achievements in the classroom. They are checked against the national/state standards that are set and allow the student and parents to compare their student with their grade level equivalent. She also created a more "kid-friendly" description of the grades:

Level 4 = "Wow!" (100%)
Level 3 = "Got It!" (89%)
Level 2 = "Getting There!" (79%)
Level 1 = "I need more practice. (69%)

By creating this new method she is able to relate these categories more effectively with her students. By giving them these "fun" terms for grades it gives the students a goal they want to achieve (Wow!). She talks about how it is important for the student's to understand the grading system in order to know what grade they want to obtain.