Safe learning environment
My goal in managing a classroom is to always ensure that I create a safe and effective learning environment for all students. For physical education courses I can do this by drawing on the safety considerations from all my activity courses I have taken at UVIC and also through my personal experiences during my two week practicum in Campbell River.
Some general safety considerations I have learned along the way are:
- Always ensure equipment is safe and appropriate for the given game.
- Always ensure that the activity is being done in an area free of harmful substances and safety considerations have been pre-planned for the lesson.
- Ensure that all students know and respect the rules of the game as a lot of rules are instated for safety purposes.
For French courses and Physical Education courses:
- Stay up to date with the schools emergency action plans.
- Ensure students are able to react in the event of an emergency.
-ATTACHED IS A POWERPOINT ON CLASSROOM SAFETY DONE FOR A UNIVERSITY LEVEL COURSE
Inclusion and Adapting
I pride myself on the ability to plan for a variety of students. I understand that students all learn in different ways at different rates and by holding this knowledge I am able to include all students in the lesson as well as keep them engaged. An example of this was in my coaching placement at Lake Hill teaching basketball. One of the students was able to pick up the skills I was teaching because of his previous experience in the sport but the majority of the students still needed work in the skill of dribbling. He was distracting me and other players by not staying on task so I had him start doing the drill with two basketballs and he immediately responded in a positive way and stay on task. I think it is important not to assume everyone will learn at different rates and to have progressions to challenge those who learn quicker.