Day two! Getting a baseline!

Today was Day two in my badminton classes. As always, the students in 8 AM class looked exhausted. Usually there is a turn over happening in the first week where I still receive many new students that as a result won't know anything about the syllabus so I end up spending some time with these students. I always try to design my class in such a way that it is ok for me to do so.

Here is how the class went:
As soon as students came in, I checked with some basic questions whether or not they brought the required materials and are ready to play. I checked to see if they gave themselves a Personal and Social Responsibility score out of 4 and explained it again if they forgot. Then, I gave them a name tag and off they went to explore the game of badminton. I always like for the students to gain an appreciation of the game by just exploring it in stead of going straight into skill development. Most students enjoy that and it slowly wakes them up :)

As I finish introducing the new students to the course syllabus, I bring the class in to explain the skill assessment portion. They all paired up and one person stands in a designated square with a birdie and racket. On my signal, the person with racket gets 15 seconds to hit the birdie up into the air. It must be at least net high and keeps it going while staying within the box.
After 15 seconds practice they receive 3 rounds of 30 seconds where the partner counts up the number of hits. After one person does it, the other person does the same routine.
That assessment gives me a good sense of the skill level of the students.
Following that exercise, I organize the students into doubles and have them play "keep up".
With 4 people, keep the birdie in the air. As I come around, I watch the students move into space, look at shot placement and accuracy, decision making and returning to base. From their, according to game play I put them in A, B or C which is advanced, intermediate and beginner.
Then I can put them in teams of 4.
In the first class I have a variety of A's, B's and C's so I did not put them into groups yet. I will do so by next class. In the second class, all students happen to be categorized as A or B and with 15 students it was easy to make 4 groups of 4 + one extra, which was fulfilled by Dan.
As soon as I got the second group into teams, I asked them to tell each other 2 things about themselves, name a coach and give the team a name according to a country (not USA). SO we got 4 teams:
1) The Swedish Seniors
2) The Flying Dutch People
3) The Fighting Kangaroos
4) The Vietnamese Venom
I think the teams were very creative and they seem to get excited about starting some small competitions. :)

As I started the last 10 minutes of class, I went over some history of Badminton and some basic rules. I completed with a debriefing of what has been learned and what we will do on Thursday.

When I returned to my office, it was time to create the team playbooks. Given that I do not have a fund for teaching, I was prepared to buy cheap folders in Wall Mart but than found they had colorful clipboards on sale for 50 cents each so I bought a different color for each team.
In the clipboard I now have the following:
1) Pledge of sportspersonship
2) Daily Routine
3) Fitness Cards (3 warm-ups specifically designed for badminton)
4) Fitness check sheet
5) Roles and Responsibilities check list
6) Team Points Score sheet
7) Rubric for P/S Responsibility

Next class I will take a picture of each team and create a title page with their team name.
So far, I got my goal accomplished: be organized and get students excited.

One thing I so far really enjoy and look forward to seeing how it unfolds is the team points. Each team can earn points if all team members are in class actively participating. They can also score points if they win challenges.

What is next? Thursday is all about getting the routine together. I will quickly show a few stretches and exercises on the warm-up cards. Then I let the fitness leaders lead the warm-ups.
Next I will allow some time for the group to meet and go over the theory we discussed. Following I will explain the sheets in the Team clipboard and students will sign the pledge. I will provide a short lesson on the serve and do an application contest. We will do the scoring together for the day and they will finish by creating their own cheer.

I am excited! So far so good!

Sport Education Model - First Experience

Cover of Sport Education Seasons

Well, there you have it. Day 1 has passed.
Besides having the past days being chaotic as far as catching up with papers and exams after going to the PETE conference, I would say bravely to have chosen the task to experience with a new teaching model. The Sport Education Model is brand new to me. In fact, even though I had heard about it, the first articles, research and text I read on it was Tuesday! A little bit late don't you think to start changing the complete design of my course? Yes, I agree but I am hoping it will be worth it.

Last Saturday I was in a session with Dr. Mohr and Dr. Townsend who are at Appalachian State University. They are the authors of the Sport Education Seasons Book.

In that session, the authors discussed the design of their Basic Activity Instructional Program (BIP) at the university where they use PE majors to help teach the BIP courses. I find that very intriguing. In my own education in Belgium, we as PE majors were also involved in instructing activity programs. Usually not at the college level but at the K-12 level. I think any experience the PE majors get as far as teaching PE is awesome. So I started to think about this idea just as I was finishing up creating my own model for helping new GA's with teaching BIP courses.

They use the sport education model as well so while I wanted to try out my own Instructional model for helping Teaching GA's in their first year of teaching BIP courses, I also wanted to try using the sport education model as they (Dr. Mohr and Dr. Twonsend) believe it to be a very effective model for teaching BIP courses.

SO here I go! I was in a slight panic thinking about the fact that I already printed my syllabus and was teaching this course today! I had 2 days to get organized and change my thinking towards the design of the course.
I email both Dr. Mohr and Dr. Townsend and they have shared many materials with me regarding teaching badminton using the sport education model.
So I started with the creation of the syllabus. I used the syllabus I received and altered it a little bit towards the needs of myself being new at this and the context in which I teach. The courses they design are 15 weeks long while ours are only 8 weeks long so I changed a few things.

A few preliminarily observations:

• they use physical activity logs to encourage students to increase their fitness and skill level outside of class. I find that interesting. I created these and hand them out and the students seem to be fine with completing them. The model indicates that you can provide them choice between a personal fitness plan and a physical activity log but I only chose the PA log as I do not see myself having enough time to test fitness levels. While we will be working on fitness throughout, I wanted to start small... and perhaps add more next semester. I just find 8 weeks very short, and really with Thankgiving, it is only 7 weeks we have class. So this is the one area I still need to explore.
• The students will be organized into teams of 5 to 6 and each student will be assigned a role.
• I will use several roles: coach, manager, official, fitness trainer and player. While all are players, the one assigned to the players' role will take on the role of missing students if there happen to be absences in the class.
• The course is designed as a season, with practices, tournaments and championships.A practice would consist of: Warm-up/coaches meeting, skill/theory/tactical review in teams, skill/theory/tactical instruction session with instructor, practicing skills and tactics, contest, and debriefing.
• The first day we go over the syllabus, the second day I will do a skill/tactics assessment and later will create the teams, the third day I will organize the teams, explain the daily routine, learn the history of badminton and do some badminton team games that foster team building. Than the teams are made and we go for 5 lessons through the above routine learning the basic skills and tactics. Later we prepare for the tournaments and we finish with a championship. The final day is a celebration.
• Throughout the season the students will receive 3 tests and 3 assignments. The tests will gauge at their content knowledge while during the assignments I will attempt to have the students connect badminton to the importance of physical activity. The 3rd assignment will be a personal reflection of their experiences using the sport ed model to learn about badminton. In one assignment I will use technology, probably collaborative wiki assignment. And in the other one I will have them the students create either a warm up card specific for badminton, a game card or a skill card that can later be used in my other classes. Each team will have to design 2 of each and they get to choose which one. (these assignments are not completely set yet)

After designing my syllabus, I was talking with Dan about it (who is a new GA in the program). I also mentioned my model I wanted to try out so I thought of a research/paper idea. Dan mentioned how he would like to get started with some research so we decided on a case study.
Dan would shadow 1 of my badminton class this next 8 weeks. After a month, we will sit down and I will explain the steps within my model to creating peac courses. Later in the 8 weeks he will design his Spring courses. In the Spring, we will have frequent debriefing sessions but throughout the entire process we will keep a blog of both our experiences.

Now for the first day:
- Overall I think it went very well but had some students who were let us say "less engaged" which bothers me.
- I guess what mostly bothers me is that some students will go out of their way to get an override, I talk with them and explain to them beforehand that they must be serious about being actively involved. It is often these students who look like they do not want to be there. So, I only had 1 or 2 that seemed somewhat distracted but I will monitor their activity level and involvement carefully next time.
- I explained what I meant by social and personal responsibility and showed the difference between a student in attendance and a student in active engagement. Some students I found seemed at times like I was discussing stuff they knew already. But in fact, when I asked students to move into the badminton court, some would not know the lines and when I asked them about the new scoring system, some students did not know those things either so I know they already learned 3 things!
1) Scoring till 21
2) yellow lines = badminton
3) any player can make a point, not only the server
- I had make to make it clear that using a cell phone in class was not appropriate ( I am all for technology but there is a place and time) and funny thing, I had a student in the open text someone... I actually read it out loud (because it was not harmful really, innocent I believe work related note) and said what would happen if I would see it used in class.
- The 2nd class I think I ended better as I let them just experiment with the racket and birdie.

What's next?
This weekend I have a few tasks:
- Read sport education book
- Create warm-up cards
- Create skill and tactics assessment
- Write out lessons for Tues/Thurs
- Create Personal and Social Rubric
- Check Badminton books

I am happy with day 1, now let's see how it progresses!

zi8 is here!

Zi8 vs Zi6 Kodak Video Camera
After just mentioning to people that the zi6 Kodak digital video camera is the best video camera for PE teachers to use to observe their pre-service teachers I found out a new version just came out!
It is the zi8!



A few informational videos on comparing the zi6 and zi8 resolution:
1) Going to Germany! These guys are funny.
2) Wired: videos and other information.

zi8:
- external mic jack cable
- HDTV connector
- Flexible USB connector less possibility for breakage
- It has 720p (60fps) and 1080p (30fps)
(zi6 only has 720p)
- appears to be lighter and sleeker
- Cost about $179 vs zi6 being $149

Use Video Camera's in PE!

I am here at the PETE conference and some people were asking about the camera I use.
Just a quick note as I keep forgetting the type of camera I use in PE and I think it is awesome.
Using the Kodak zi6, I can tape all my students and they can look at their teaching session right away. I can also directly upload the video's into Youtube, Ning, wikis or other sources.
These camera's are great because you can use them just to tape moving students but I find them also useful to tape motor development sessions. You can slow down the movie so you can analyze the specific movements.
Here is what the camera looks like:















You can review the images right on the camera or upload them to the Internet for students to view. It takes only a few minutes to upload the movies.
At this moment, the product retails for about $150 but at times it goes on sale in Walmart and you can get it as a much cheaper price.

Insanity Fit Test #2

I was in fear of this moment but knew it would come at a rather bad time. Just ran like 28 miles or so on Saturday and knew fit test #2 was suppose to be that day. Decided to give my body some rest before hitting it hard. Anyway, after running 28 last Saturday (which was hard by the way but I knew it was going to be hard as it was my longest run since July), riding bike 20 miles on Sunday and taking Monday off from exercise, I started the Tuesday off with 2 jogging classes before getting to my fit test. I was ready and warmed up for this so here are the results and comparison from the first fit test.

Test 1 /Test 2
Switch Kicks: 83 /100
Power Jacks: 52 /52
Power Knees: 79 /97
Power Jumps: 20 /27
Globe Jumps: 9 /11
Suicide Jumps: 13 /14
Push Up Jacks: 20 /24
Low Plank Obliques: 52 /55

Improvement, yes. Do I feel or look any fitter... humnnn I dunno I was happy about some improvement but really suck at jumping... it just takes everything out of me. Now I have to say that I already did 24 push-ups in my classes with my students so I am proud I was able to do 24 jack push-ups as well.
What do I think of insanity after 2 week? It definitely has helped with my arm strength. I do not notice an affect in my running yet, mainly I am still too tired to do insanity AND run even though I have done it twice now but afterwards I am dead and worthless for two days. After two weeks, I am happy with the results and look forward to the next two weeks, I enjoy doing insanity and it keeps me from going insane in grad school so all is well :)

Dissertation title

Writing a dissertation title is not an easy task but I am taking a leap and trying it out!

Task 1 in writing my first three chapters of my dissertation was to create a title. In writing a title, one should have your variables and the people involved mentioned in the title.
First some background: I want to find out what types of technologies Physical Education Teacher Educators use within the PETE program. From that I want to find out how these technologies are used. Are teacher candidates (TC) taught how to use these technologies and/or how to teach PE using these technologies? Or are technologies simply used as a tool to accomplish learning objectives? I also believe I need to find the factors underlying the integration of technology. Why are certain programs implementing certain technologies and not others? I wish to examine a range of technologies from communication technologies to social learning tools, active tools, and technologies that enhance content knowledge.
The purpose is to find out which technologies are being used and where is technology integrated effectively. It would be great for NASPE or even International associations to find out how technologies are integrated effectively or not so appropriate professional development or support can be developed and implemented.

So, that brings me to the titles:
The first one is simply this: The integration of technology within Physical Education Teacher Education.
Now, given that I am asking the teacher educators opinions, perhaps I should create a title that states: The views of teacher educators on the integration of technology in Physical Education Teacher Education.

I have also considered testing an instructional design theory as far as looking at the integration of technologies in different levels: from using technologies by professors, to using technologies by teacher candidates to learning how to teach with technologies for TCs. This is just a thought as I am not sure if there is something out there that looks at this hierarchy of levels of integration as that is exactly what I am looking at.

The main issue is: you can implement a tool but that doesn't mean future teachers will be able to teach with the technology.
So 3 levels: Professor - Student - Teacher
1) Is the professor using the technology as a tool to address the content objectives?
2) Are the TCs learning to use the tool?
3) Are the TCs learning to teach with the tool.... integration in teaching PE.

At this moment, my belief is that most PETE programs or in phase 1 while to support technology enhanced PE in public schools, PETE programs should be using level 3. And than there is the notion of which technologies are taught at level 1 vs level 2 or level 3. For example, using a heart rate monitor may be used within PE courses but TCs are not taught how to teach using HR monitors while they may have had a course on how to teach PE using pedometers.
That being said, I question whether or not ALL technologies should be taught keeping "teaching" in mind. For example, I can have TCs create a wiki portfolio in class and know that after creating the portfolio, they would be able to include the use of wikis in their PE class or NOT?

SO, brings me back to the title: An investigation into the level of technology integration in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs.

As you can see, still working on it! :) Suggestions are always welcome.

My first book!

When I arrived from work yesterday I noticed a package from Germany and knew my first book had arrived! Even if it is a publication of my thesis, it is still a book! So I can be proud to have it in my hands. Here is what it looks like:















It includes 141 pages double sided and it is imply, my Masters Thesis. The title of the book is: "Exploring New Technologies in Physical Education Teacher Education: Wikis and TGfU: A collaborative approach to understanding games education".
Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller

Now that I have one published, let's see if I can start my next one... This Fall I will be writing my first 3 chapters, create my survey and get a pilot study going. Together off course with teaching 6 activity courses, taking 3 courses and doing some other jobs on the side...
I am telling you, it is going to be insane!

An insane start to an even more insane semester!

After a short holiday, we are back at work! I had a lot of fun visiting my family in Belgium. It was a wonderful trip! Even though I had planned to do city trips, drink beer and eat chocolate, I still needed to be active throughout so I ran, lifted weights (hihi) and biked just as these pictures attest.

Even though I stayed fairly active, I did gain a few pounds for living the **good** life :) Now that I am back in Fayetteville and work/school starts next week, I am getting back on track! And what better way to jump start my fitness with the fit test in the new "INSANITY" program. This program is 60 days long and it has a strong cardio focus. Every two weeks you must complete a fit test. The program has a different workout almost every day and uses a lot of plyometrics. This being said, a normal warm-up kills me! So to say the least, you are dripping sweat after only a few minutes and if you think you are about to die, the warm-up comes to an end and the workout begins. It is simple INSANE. However, I am up to the challenge so here I go.

Today, Day 1: Fit test and here are my results: 8/22/2009

Switch Kicks 83
Power Jacks 52
Power Knees 79
Power Jumps 20
Globe Jumps 9
Suicide Jumps 13
Push Up Jacks 20
Low Plank Obliques 52

I know that probably doesn't mean anything but I think I am weak and unfit right now so I look forward to see what the next two weeks have in store so I can improve those scores!
This Fall semester is going to be insane in every sense of the word so I am ready to dig deeper! Bring it on!

That time has come!

Starting my dissertation planning! The Notebook!

After one year of probing and searching of how to formulate my thoughts on my dissertation research project, I have made the plunge! On this day, July 25th, I bought my official "dissertation notebook" from Barnes and Nobles. I went there to buy a book to read on the plane to Belgium but came back with THE notebook.
I think it is quite appropriate as well. It has a lot (yes a lot) of pages for me write my thoughts in about my dissertation. I thought, now that I have my idea and some concrete research + guiding questions, I must write it down in an official "dissertation" notebook. This makes me very happy because I can say that I have made the first steps and will share them here with you.

Dissertation topic: The integration of technology in Physical Education Teacher Education.

The need: (learned in my grant writing course that everything should go back to the need, problem, issue, whatever it may be). With the current treat of rising obesity levels among children worldwide, innovative technologies are used to increase the level of physical activity among children within schools (CDC, 2008). With these developments in technology, physical education (PE) classrooms are changing and PE teachers are learning to adapt to this new makeover. According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the National Council for Accreditation of teacher Education (NCATE), PE teachers are bound to enhance their programs with alternative life long physical activities and innovative fitness programs to include new technologies.

Purpose: I wish to investigate the use of technology within Physical Education Teacher Education programs as compared to the use of technology by current PE teachers. It is believed that an increase in technologies has occurred so one must know what is currently being used, how is it used and therefore we can assess whether or not PE Teacher Candidates are receiving specific training in technologies that are currently being used in PE.

• To identify and compare the types of technologies currently taught by PE teachers PE faculty within university Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programs. - This answers the WHAT!
• To identify and compare the types of technologies PE teachers and PETE faculty "believe" to be taught to PE teacher candidates - I want to find out whether these beliefs are different between the 2 groups because in the end, PETE faculty and current PE teachers must communicate current pedagogical needs to enhance the quality of instruction to future PE teachers.
  
• To evaluate and compare the current technological proficiency of PE teachers and PETE faculty as well as their beliefs on the technologies that should be taught. - Technological proficiency can be a barrier to implementing technology, this is important to know when evaluating the integration of technology.
  
• To identify and compare the factors that affect technology utilization of PE teachers and PETE faculty.- WHY are they using or not using certain technologies?
  

Research Questions (ideas): Questions derived from purpose

• What are the current technologies taught by PE teachers and PETE faculty and how do these compare?
• What technologies do PE teachers and PETE faculty believe to be important tools to learn in PE?
  
• What is the current level of technological proficiency of PE teachers and PETE faculty?
• What are the factors that affect the use technology by PE teachers and PETE faculty?

Methods:

• Create Expert panel to assist in the development of the surveys (PETE conference 2009 - I would like to discuss this option with several potential candidates)
  
• Pilot survey using the CUPR listserve - Canadian faculty members
• Must find a way to pilot the PE professionals survey as well
• Quantitative analysis and comparisons - correlations (must explore this)

This is as far as I have it thus far. My timeline?

• July - Sept. 2009 : Lit review + survey development
• Oct. 2009: PETE conference - discuss opportunity for expert panel
• Oct-Nov 2009: Revise survey with panel
• Dec. 2009: IRB for pilot study
• Jan. 2010: Send out pilot surveys
• Feb-April, 2010: Collect data and review survey
• July 2010: Complete literature review + write first 3 chapters
  
• August 2010: Comps (exams)
• August 2010: Research Proposal
• August/Sept. 2010: IRB
  
• Sept 2010: Send out surveys
• Nov. 2010- April, 2011: Data analysis + Writing Results
• May - June, 2011: Complete writing
• July-Aug. 2011: Defense
  

Too ambitious? Well, I guess we will see. I know that not everything always goes as planned but I can be flexible as time goes on. Right now I am on a 3 year plan but could take 4 years so I won't panic if it does not happen as planned.

Suggestions or Comments anybody?

Midnight 50K Race Report

The Midnight 50K run began at 8 pm at Lake Sylvia, about 40 minutes from Little Rock. The entire run is on forest roads. There were 2 full equipped aid stations, one at 7.5 miles and one at the turn around at 15.5 miles. It had been so hot lately but news came that it would be a cool run so that made me very happy!
I went to the race with the intent to run the 25K even though I wanted to run the 50K. I just did not feel I was trained to do a 50K. A month earlier I got sick with some type of respiratory infection and when I got better the heat came! Never ever did I live in such a hot state! almost every day this summer, temperatures were in the 90's, which in Belgium would be like a heat wave. When I started training again, I would have to quit after running 3 miles! Soaked in sweat and unable to breath properly drove me to limit my running. I did start biking but with an average of 80 miles per week on the bike and 20 miles in weekly running time, I knew I was not prepared to do a 50K!
Mostly, I was afraid I would get hurt from not being prepared. I was not afraid of staying out for hours and taking it easy, walking more than running. I was conflicted. I wanted to complete the 50K as that was a goal I set last year but I knew it was not going to be pretty and I did not want to end up crippled for a month after the run. I decided to sign up for the 50K and than drop to the 25K. I just thought to myself, you never know...
So I huddled at the back of the pack when they started the race and ran extremely slow! I really felt that I was going way to slow but I told myself to take my time and just enjoy the moment. Really, this was the first time in a long time that I was feeling great while running. The temperatures were fantastic! I packed everything to run a 50K, just in case so I have enough sport beans to last me over 7 hours, just in case. The first miles are uphill and I took it easy. The mood was great and there must have been almost 100 people there! Way more than last year. Last year I ran my first trail race by completing the 25K and there were not that many people than but it was a lot hotter at that time. As I ran, I started to set goals and told myself that if I would make it to the 7.5 miler aid station below 2 hours, I would continue. If it would take me 2 hours or longer, I would do the 25K.
I got to the 7.5 mile aid station in an hour and 25 minutes! I was so surprised! I was feeling awesome and had a big smile on my face. I looked around and asked: "So what do you think? Should I do the 25 or 50?" One guy looked at me and said: "You look so fresh, keep going!" So that is what I did. He also said that he was going to drop to the 25K so I could keep his friend "Charles" company! I ran ahead and met Charles on the road. He is from Memphis and a software development I believe. We ran together for about 6 miles I think. He was a lot stronger on the hills and I seem to be quick on the downhills so we kept up with each other until about 2 miles from the turn around.
I love it when I see people running back from the turn around and actually predicted the first 4 being "Nick, Jamie, Darby and Paul". In the end, Darby had some GI trouble and Paul passed him. Seeing them run back made me so happy. They are amazing runners and I get to run with them! (ok, well far behind them, but still :)
I saw Charles again at the turn around and after almost 3 hours, we were on our way home! I could not believe that I felt so happy. I really think that with the stress of the summer coursework I needed this run! I needed to be outside moving so that is what I did, I just kept going! I lost Charles after a few miles, ran quickly past the 7.5 mile aid station again and was about 5 hours into the run when I felt pain for the first time. My left quad was not cooperating the way I wanted so I thought I slowed down but I actually ran negative splits! At the last 2 miles, I met Karrie, Jamie's wife and we ran to the finish together. That was nice given that at the OT 50K, Doug and Jamie ended up finishing together!
I believe that we finished with a time of 5 hours and 42 minutes. I went into the lake for a bit, which did wonders to my legs. Than I drove to Little Rock and well, between 3 am and 8 am did really not sleep well. I was so scared that I would feel as I did the day after completing OT. When I finally got up, I was a little sore in my left quad but I was feeling great and very happy! In the afternoon, I even went on a 12 mile ride and felt great! I will take it easy this week but I am just so amazed that I feel this good.
What's next? I would really like to start training for a 50 miler. Perhaps I will pace someone at Traveler again which could be like a 50 miler.