Whistle Talk

When it was time to dive into Module 6, I was very excited to learn the module was all about online portfolios and goal setting. In this particular assignment, we were asked to create a three part plan for our students to self-assess, set a goal and then reflect. I created this Google Sheet  for my students to plan out their goals for their fitness tests.  Each quarter, my students participate in the FitnessGram fitness tests.  Before taking this class, I didn't really do much with them. I sent a copy to the district, but after that, I have no idea where they go or what is done with them.  In creating this assignment, I am going to change the way I am do fitness testing. In order to truly allow my students to grow and progress I need to complete the fitness test at least twice a quarter so students can see their growth. Starting in 2nd quarter, I am going to try to implement this goal sheet to one of my classes to see how it goes. My concern is time.  These fitn...

In module 2, we learned about formative assessments and some tech tools that support different types of formative assessments. For our assignment, we were asked to create an infographic comparing two different tech tool used for formative assessments. An infographic is a comparison tool which helps summarize lots of information in an organized and interesting manner. For my infographic, I used the online platform, Vengage and compared Plickers and Kahoot. I like the concept on an infographic and I would like to try to somehow incorporate it into my PE classes.  I thought about having my students compare sports, fitness concepts, athletes, etc. It may be something they do at home or if we have a rain day and we don't have space to have PE. It's still just and idea, but I'm pretty sure I can get it off the ground by next quarter. Both Plickers and Kahoot! have wonderful features that can be used for a variety of assessments. In PE, it can be difficult to organize a tech ass...

Assessment was always a scary word for me. I always thought they required pencil, paper, and a time limit. As I have been working though the course work for this endorsement, I have learned that assessments can be anything to help you realize if your students are learning what you have intended. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this particular course. I felt that all of the assignments we were asked to create were things that I could use in my PE classes. Module 3 dove into the development of summative and formative assessments.  One of the articles written by the faculty of the NIU Development and Instructional Design Center broke down the components of each type of assessment and explained what each one entails. You can read the full article here . This article can be used as a starting point for many teachers, myself included. However, the more I dove into this article and the others in this module, I realized that I was doing most of the examples in my class...

The art of bread making. I'm not sure which I liked more, making the bread or eating the bread.  There is something to say about homemade bread.  It definitely took me back to my grandma's kitchen when she would make her bread and the house would forever smell like fresh bread. My sister Ellen brought the bread baking back to the family a few months ago when she found herself with too much extra time during the work day.  I know how that sounds but you have to understand a little piece of information about Ellen...she is a very impatient person.  She gets stuff done in an efficient manner which can lead to having a lot of down time, especially since she works from home.  Ellen can and will sit in her home office and just hammer out her work until it's done.  She was finding that she would be done with work in the early afternoon and would have nothing to do.  She found small tasks to occupy her time, but even those she'd get done quickly and still ha...