My goals for 2010 and Marc Prensky’s article
Being a physical education teacher and also a science major I was a little nervous going into this class because let’s just say I can have some difficulty with technology. I thought about perusing this masters program because it was going to be a challenge that I wanted to conquer, it would make me look more diverse as a teacher, and also it could help me incorporate some technology into my classroom. Some students do not like physical education for one reason or another and it is hard to come up with new ideas or lesson plans to get every kid excited. My physical education classroom is different compared to most because we do not play kick ball or hand ball, but instead we focus on the strength and conditioning of each student. My students are learning to do Olympic based lifts and learning how to incorporate lifting in their lives to become not only better athletes, but healthier individuals. With lifting comes some difficulty because what most people do not realize is that it is not just about how strong you are, but your brain needs to make neurological connections in your brain to be able to complete an Olympic lift.Marc Prensky makes a good point when he says, “the brain constantly reorganizes itself all our child and adult lives, a phenomenon technically known as neuroplasticity.” This is very true because our brain can be molded like silly putty and made into a brain full of knowledge or a brain full of confusion. And this is were I come in as a teacher because it is my job to ensure my students have a clear understand on how to do a lift correctly and find ways to help their neurological pathways make a connection with their bodies. Students become frustrated when learning the new lifts because they feel they are not getting it because they are not strong enough, but that is not the case. What needs to happen is that their neurological pathways need to make that connection with their body parts to complete the lift properly. My goal is to use technology to show my students the way their brain is working during a lifting exercise or find information that can help me explain to them why it may take them longer than others to learn an Olympic lift. I think if I was able to visually show my students what their brain is doing during athletic events then they would not become so frustrated with themselves and also learn something about the human brain.
Marc Prensky also makes a great point when he says, “social psychology also provides strong evidence that one’s thinking patterns change depending on one’s experience.” And I completely agree with that statement because I know as a student and athlete I have always learn more when the environment I was learning in was that positive, welcomed exploration, strict, and was encouraging. My goal is to create such an environment, but also an environment where any kind of student can learn.
The children today have become overwhelmed with everything technology weather it is facebook, their iPod, or MySpace. But even though technology seems to being running our lives and the lives of our students I feel that this could be used to our advantage. My goal is to find a balance with technology and physical education. During my undergraduate program I was fortunate to use something called dwarfish and also force plates. I was assisted by my professors when using them and was never able to use them by myself. My goal is with the help of this class become more comfortable with technology so in the future I could get a grant to get a dwarfish or force plates so that my students can also see the biomechanics and exercise physiology portion of working out and not just learn how to do the lift. I want my students to understand what is happening to their bodies when they lift and why it is important to stay in shape. I also want to be able to set bench marks for my students. Both of these technologies will help me show my students what they have improved on since being in the weight room and areas that they still may need to improve on. Overall, my goal for this class is to become more confident in my technology skills and to be able to incorporate this confidence into my classroom.
