Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

While reading through chapter six of Models of Teaching, I had a difficult time relating the provided information on “concepts” to a Health and Fitness Education classroom. Anything more than the superficial aspects of the Concept Attainment Model (2015, p. 147) seemed specifically developed for lessons which provided time for students to sit, listen, and reflect on the problem they were facing and then have a class discussion on ways to solve them. In health and fitness class periods, there is very rarely significant time dedicated to sitting and listening. A lesson is often introduced briefly and then it is the instructor’s obligation to correct behaviors on the move, as they arise. An example might be during a baseball unit, after the instructor introduces proper throwing form, students would begin practicing the throwing motion. As the instructor notices students using incorrect form (or at least not close enough to being correct), the student might be asked to reflect on their previous form, compare it to the expected form, and then make corrections. All of this would most likely occur within thirty seconds. The impression made by chapter 6 of Models of Teaching, led me to believe that this process should be one that takes between several minutes to entire class periods. The reality of a health and fitness class does not allow for long periods of inactivity, though.

Conceptually, health and fitness classes are based on a few important ideas. These ideas, or concepts, are broad enough to encompass all physical activities yet specific enough for an instructor to convey to his or her students. In my future class, these concepts would include participation, physical demonstration, and cognition. Participation is, for the most part, self-explanatory. Students are expected to participate in the activity using the learned cues from the lesson. While the students do not need to experts on the activity, they are expected to use what they have learned in an attempt to develop their skills. Physical demonstration builds off of participation. The students should be able to demonstrate (to a degree) the correct form/function of the activity. If the lesson was passing a soccer ball, the students would be expected to pass the ball using the inside of their foot, point their other foot toward their target, and follow through to complete the motion. If a student continues to use their toes to make a pass (even if it is completed) they are not demonstrating the physical aspect of the lesson. Finally there is an expectation, with many lessons, that the students acquire some level of strategic knowledge of the activity. An example might be during a tennis unit, students should acquire the strategic knowledge that hitting the ball away from their opponent is more beneficial than hitting the ball directly to their opponent. Each of these concepts can be monitored by the instructor, reflected on by the student, and corrected by the student. As was mentioned, the main difference between the way these concepts are defined in a health and fitness class and in other in-classroom subjects is in the way that student performance is able to be observed and adjusted.