Exposing the Physical Education Perception Gap
Jitterbug Game Part 1
The
idea behind this video is that 1st grade students are throwing balls at
creatures moving on the wall. When a student hits one of the bugs,
the bug squishes. It is the comments from teachers and the public
that provoked me to write this series of articles.
I have been seeing this video a lot lately, so I through I would
voice my professional opinion. The main thing that sticks out when I see
this videos, is the gap between what the public thinks Physical
Educators do, and what Physical Educators actually do (Well, the good
educators anyway).This gap
is why the public allows school districts to get away with reducing and
eliminating physical education, or allowing Physical Education to be
taught by unqualified personnel.But, I digress, I will write this article later; now back to the
game. The public sees this and thinks, “this
looks fun, it’s a great game, or what a great teacher”.But not so fast, there is a lot more to Physical Education than
playing fun games.The challenge in Physical EDUCATION is TEACHING lifelong fitness
skills and making it FUN.If my
job was just playing “fun” games, then my job would be as easy as the public
and many teachers and administrators think it is!Fact is, we don’t know if this is a good teacher or not.What she does with this activity and the kids, will determine that.Projecting an app on the wall, does not make her great, but she is
thinking outside the box.But
again, back to the game itself. This game, as
is, would make a good “filler” game, or a good warm-up to a throwing
activity.However, it would not
be a good stand-alone game.
The Good: * This is
a creative idea, and has potential *
All the kids are actively engaged. *
Kids are getting plenty of throwing opportunities
* Skills involved: throwing and throwing at a moving
target. * It is fun for
the kids
The Bad:
* Since the teacher is the one actually
“popping” the bugs (jitterbug app), she cannot help the students with
improper throwing technique.I
doubt that she can see the ones with poor form. (This is my biggest concern)
* It is a one dimensional activity.Which, as a warm-up or filler is not bad, but with tweaking, could
make for a better activity. *
Kids are fighting for the ball (this is minor, and an easy fix), if the
teacher is good, she will have this solved before I wrote this.
My Thoughts: *
If this teacher adds a camera, there is software that will actually
allow targets to burst when they are hit, freeing up the teacher to work
with the students.Now, the
activity can be used for assessment and instruction.
* The teacher need to address the fighting for a
ball. (this is a very simple problem) *
If I wanted this for anything other than a throwing warm-up, or assessment
tool (once the camera is added), I would add one or more skills to the
activity. Now, I applaud anyone who actually
took the time to read my thoughts, as you actually have an interest in
Physical Education.Hopefully,
it helps to see that Physical Education is not about playing “fun” games,
but is about TEACHING skills in “fun” ways!J
