PDFE 13

To better understand feedback, I observed a yoga class at Berry College and was able to see many example of extrinsic, instrinsic, knowledge of results, knowledge of performance, descriptive, and prescriptive feedback.

Extrinsic:
- Teacher tells a student "That's exactly how the pose should look" after seeing him complete a pose
- Teacher tells a student "I'm impressed with your improvement" after a difficult pose
Intrinsic:
 - a student feels the correct muscle stretch when she moves into a position
- a student knows she has succeeded in a pose because she no longer feels pain when doing it
Knowledge of Results:
- Teacher informs a student that she is going through the motions of a sun citation too quickly
- Teacher shows a student what her final pose looks like by demonstrating it with her own body
Knowledge of Performance:
- Teacher tells a student that during a sun citation push-up her arms are too far apart
- Teacher tell a student after class to keep practicing at home because she has noticed an improvement in many difficult poses
Descriptive:
- Teacher describes the difference in the intended pose and the pose the student is in to help her reach the intended pose
- Teacher describes which muscles the students should feel stretching during the current pose to help them know if they are doing it correctly
Prescriptive:
- Teacher says "Good, but next time, position your feet directly below your hips for better balance."
- Teacher tells a student an alternative method to use to go about reaching a desired pose

Feeback is meant to serve many purposes. The following are ways in which feedback can be useful along with examples from the yoga class I observed.
Motivation:
- "I'm impressed with your improvment."
Reinforcement
- "That's exactly how the pose should look."
Information
- Teacher telling a student to move her arms closer together during a push-up
Dependence
- I didn't see any examples of dependence in the class that I observed. I believe that it is possible, though, in yoga to depend on an instructor's opinion on how a pose should look. If a student were to ask after every pose if he were doing it correctly, that would be an example of dependence.

PDFE#14

In class on Monday, November15th, we participated in a lab concerning part-practice and whole-practice methods. Part-practice is a technique used in learning a skill that isolates different areas of the skill then puts them all together. The theory behind part-practice is that by practicing the different components of the skill separtately, an individual can learn the whole skill more effectively. Whole-practice is the method used when a person learns the entire skill at one time, without isolating any of the individual components within it.

My partner and I experimented with part-practice and whole-practice methods by using them to learn to juggle. I tried using the whole-practice method while she did the part-practice. She started by tossing one tennis ball up in the air and catching it with her other hand. This was repeated 40 times while I evaluated her. After a one-minute break, she added a second ball and practiced throwing it at the exact time the first ball reached its peak. After another 40 trials, she had perfected the skill with two balls. She took another break and started again with 3 balls. Though adding the third ball was much more difficult for her than adding the second, she quickly picked up on how to manipulate the objects and could successfully juggle for several rotations. I, on the other hand, was only allowed to practice with the 3 balls the entire time. At the end of each of our three trials, we took a 5 minute break then took a retention test. She scored much higher on the retention test than I did. I believe that the part-practice worked much better in this situation because the body must learn to juggle slowly and adjust each time a ball is added. If a person tries to begin with 3 balls instead of one, the body can become overwhelmed and the result would be dropping all the balls. Our results matched what book teaches about part-practice versus whole-practice, though there are certain situations when whole-practice would be more ieal. When we participated in the lab, we were in a main hallway of the Cage Building where people were frequently walking by.  Several times we had to stop to let a person pass so we didn't risk hitting them with a ball. Also we were limited to the space between the walls of the hall and often a ball would hit the wall before we could catch it. These are two outside factors that could have influenced our results.

PDFE#11

For the Personal Development and Field Experience #11, I chose to observe a physical education class for 2nd graders at the Berry College Elementary and Middle School, the school where I work. On the day I chose to observe, the students were playing a game of individual dodgeball in a gym because the weather was not appropriate for playing outdoors. The P.E. class is scheduled to be 40 minutes long, but as I saw on Tuesday, November 16, the entire 40 minutes is not spent in activity.

From the time the coach picked up the students from there classroom, 2:45 passed before they all reached the gym. Another 1:15 was spent quieting the students and getting them to all gather around the coach so he could give them instructions. The first 4 minutes of class time is classified as "management." Once the students were quiet and listening, the coach spent 3:30 reminding the children of the rules (all had played before) and showing them boundaries. This part of the class is in the "instruction" category. After instruction, the students took 1:15 to assemble across the gym floor, find spots where they wanted to stand, and divide up the balls. This can also be considered "management." Finally after a total of 8:45, the students began to play. The first game, classified as "activity," lasted 10:15. The coach had modified the game so that if a student got out, he/she could do 5 pushups to get back in. I liked this version of the game because each student was constantly participating in some way. After the 10:15, the coach allowed time for the students to get a drink of water and have a short rest before the second game. The break, which I classified as "waiting" because most of the students did not need a break, lasted 4:30. Once the class had again gathered together, the coach took another 2:00 to emphasize a few of the rules that he had observed students having trouble with. The students took 1:00 to get in place before beginning the second game, which took 11:30. At the end of the second game, another period of management occurred where the students were asked to put up the balls and line up at the door. This took 1:00, leaving 3:00 to walk back to the classroom.

In all, the students spent approximately 10:15 in "management," just over 25% of the allotted 40 minutes. 5:30 were used for "instruction," roughly 12% of the class. Students were "waiting" for 4:30, or 11.25% of 40 minutes. The total time spent on the actual activity was 21:45, only 54% of the class time.

Based on the percentages I calculated, I don't believe enough time was spent on the activity. Students at Berry College and Elementary School only attend P.E. classes twice a week, for 40 minutes at a time. When almost half of that time is spent in areas other than activity, I think changes need to be made. One thing I would recommend would be asking the children's teacher to consider letting them leave the classroom 3 minutes earlier and return 3 minutes later so that they would already be in the gym at the time P.E. was scheduled to start and wouldn't have to leave until it was scheduled to end. Also, I would eliminate the break between the games to save up to 5 minutes of time. Students could be instructed to get a good drink of water before P.E. began and then they wouldn't feel the need to get more water before the class ended. These two simple changes would add approximately 11 minutes of playing time to the P.E. class, bumping the percentage of "activity" time to 81%.

PDFE #12

In class on November 8, we learned about extrinsic feeback. Two ways to give feedback to a subject are by providing them with knowledge of their performance and knowledge of their overall results. Extrinsic feedback is crucial to the learning process, but individuals who receive it too frequently may become dependent on it and never fully develop the ability to evaluate their own performance. "Knowledge of performance" is a type of extrinsic feedback in which the person evaluating the task provides the individual performing the task with helpful details about their general performance. "Knowledge of results" is the type of extrinsic feedback in which the person performing the task is provided with information about the outcome of their performance.
For the lab, I partnered with Caysie and we were asked to take turns moving a pencil from one line to another. The distance between the lines never changed. We were each blindfolded for the task and each performed it 30 times. The only difference was I received feedback between every single trial, and she only received feedback when she requested it (10 out of 30 times). On average, my partner had a lower average of distance from the target line to her pencil mark than I did. Providing the knowledge of results worked better when it was provided only when requested. I believe that this can be attributed to my partner developing the skill to evaluate her own performance and also being able to get in a groove with moving the pencil. I, on the other hand, may have lost my groove while waiting to hear my results each time. The results matched the textbook because the partner with the lower average was the one who only recieved knowledge of results when she felt she needed it.
One factor that could have influenced the results is focus. My partner is a golfer and has developed an ability to focus in any situation. However, by our class time for Motor Learning and Behavior, my focus is usually shot. Also, many numbers of distances were being called out in the classroom at the same time during the tests. If one of us misunderstood a number called out by someone other than our partner to be our distance results, it might have affected the overall results.

PDFE #10

In class on November 1st, we paired up and experienced the concepts of varied and constant practice with partners. In constant practice, an individual or team will repeat a procedure exactly the same way every time to perfect the action. During varied practice, variables such as distance, time, or number of repetitions is changed to provide the individual or team a chance to practice under many different circumstances.
My partner and I took turns aiming a bean bag at a hula-hoop with a circle inside. I changed the distance from which I threw the bean bag each time, in a repeating sequence of 4 meters, 5 meters, 6 meters, 4 meters, etc. My partner threw the bean bag from 5 meters each time. We each threw the bean bag 15 times, took a 5 minute break, and repeated the sequence 3 times. At the end of the throwing/aiming sessions, we were asked to take a retention test in which we threw the bean bag only 5 times, each time from 5 meters. The theory was that my partner would score better that I would since she recieved constant practice from 5 meters. We actually scored the same, however. The results didn't match the readings from the textbook. The results could have been affected by a number of outside variables, though. My partner had just come from a workout and was tired, while I didn't feel tired. Also, we were in a crowded area that made it difficult to stay focused on the task and hard to not bump into another team when throwing the bean bag. Many bean bags were flying recklessly through the air and we had to keep an eye out for those as well. Perhaps if those variables had not been factors the results would have better matched the theory, but it was still a fun and educational lab for teaching the differences in constant and varied practice.

PDFE #9

When I was growing up, I remember going to my PE class two or three times a week. Typically we would sit in rows and warm up/stretch for the first 10-15 minutes. Then, we would receive instructions for our daily game, then play for the remaing time (usually 30-45 minutes). I remember games like dodge ball, kickball, basketball, capture the flag, and freeze tag as well as activities like jumping rope and different kinds of races. I always enjoyed PE because I was a very energetic kid and needed time to let out that energy. One of my favorite days of the whole year was field day, when we got to spend the whole day outside participating in different events and playing. By the time I got to middle school, we only had PE one semester per year, but for that semester we had it every day. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did in elementary school because during those years we had to set goals and really push ourselves to meet them. It wasn't the care-free, playful PE that I had grown to love, but it was still a great way to release energy. In high school, we were only required to take one semester of PE for the entire 4 year period. We were introduced to new ways to exercise such as lifting weights and yoga. It was easy to get away with not doing much in high school PE and several students didn't participate all year. I enjoyed PE in high school and liked hanging out with my friends in my class. I feel like it got me in great shape for that one semester, but that was only because I chose to participate everyday. I also played recreational softball for 8 years when I was a child. I loved the "team" feeling and several of my best friends from childhood softball are still my best friends today.

I don't believe the current Georgia requirements for PE are adequate. Not nearly enough time or emphasis is spent on exercise and fitness. In middle school, students are not required to have any PE time at all! People, especially growing children, need time away from instruction to let loose and exercise. It has been proven to help the mind think more clearly and focus better, therefore making it a fantastic way to help students excel in the classroom. In high school, students are only required to have one semester of PE in 4 years. The theory is that in that one semester students will learn how to exercise and then implement it into their daily lives on their own, but this rarely happens.

I think a quality PE program would allow students to have PE class at least 21/2 hours per week, get each and every student involved and playing, be a positive environment, teach students about exercise while they play, and over all, be fun.

PE is both beneficial and important while children are still young for many reasons. It provides regular, healthy physical activity, develops movement skills, positively influences attitudes, and allows students to gain confidence while they are not self concious.

After learning about traditional and skill theme approaches to PE in class on Monday, I believe the skill theme approach is most appropriate for young children. I like how it focuses on improving the skills of each child instead of just the ones who are already skilled. Also, I think it's important that no child is singled out, which can sometimes happen with the traditional approach. Children tend to have trouble focusing for long periods of time, especially when they are thinking about something else, like the activity they are about to partake in. Because of this, the skill theme approach is better because it gets students playing and moving faster than the traditional approach which requires the explanation of rules and organization for the games. I believe when I was in elementary PE we used the traditional approach and, though I loved it, I think the skill theme approach is a better way to go about a PE class for elementary and middle school aged children.

PDFE # 8

How did your performance progress in terms of the stages of learning described in

chapter 7? Did your experience match what would be expected based on the information

presented in the textbook? As you progressed, what where the biggest challenges you

faced and how did you go about meeting them? What happened to your performance (in

terms of the stages of learning) when you tried to tie the knot upside down
During class on Monday, October 23, I participated in a lab exercise with Caysie Holley. Our assignment was to take turns tying a rope into a bowline knot and record observations of our partner as they attempted to learn how to tie the knot. I went first tying the knot while Caysie recorded my progress. I was only in the verbal-cognitive stage for about 10 trials and I was able to successfully tie the bowline knot the first time, though I had to look closely at the directions and think about every step. I glanced at the directions occasionally while I was in the verbal-cognitive stage and couldn't let my mind wander away from my task. I had to pause alot to make sure I was headed in the right direction also. I stayed in the motor stage for trials 10-20 or so. During this stage I felt confident about my knot tying abilities and could finish the bowtie know farily quickly and easily. However, there were still moments of confusion and occasional error, but for the most part I was consistent. Finally, I entered the autonomous stage around the 21st trial. By this point, I could tie the knot almost effortlessly and even found myself talking to my partner and the other people at the table while I performed the task. The motion was natural and I felt like I couldn't forget it if I tried. I progressed through the three different stages almost exactly as the book described and experienced alot of what it said I would.experience in each stage. One of the biggest challenges I faced was making the loop large enough for my hand to fit through. Though I could tied the knot early on, it took nearly 15 trials for me to figure out how to make the loop bigger. Once I discovered how to do it, I could do it every time. When I tried to tie the knot upside down, it was like I was back in the verbal-cognitive stage but I moved through the stages much more quickly than I had when I was first learning to tie the knot. I enjoyed this exercise for teaching the stages of learning. I think it was a fun, interactive way to show students a lesson and allow them to have hands on experience.

PDFE #7

Personal ability inventory

Multilimb coordination - 3

Control precision - 2

Response orientation - 3

Reaction time - 4

Rate control - 3

Manual dexterity - 3

Finger dexterity - 4

Arm–hand steadiness - 4

Wrist–finger speed - 3

Aiming - 2

Explosive strength - 3

Static strength - 3

Dynamic strength - 3

Trunk strength - 4

Extent flexibility - 5

Dynamic flexibility - 5

Gross body equilibrium - 3

Balance with visual cues - 3

Speed of limb movement - 3

Gross body coordination -  3

Movement rate - 4

Motor timing - 3

Perceptual timing - 4

Force control - 2

My 5 Proficient Skills
1. bouldering
2. dodge ball
3. balancing large trays in my hand/on my shoulder (waitressing)
4. flexibility
5. jumping distances (long jump/triple jump for track and field)

Ideal Ability Profile
*Bouldering
Important abilities for bouldering:
1. Multi-limb coordination
2. Trunk Strength
3. Extent Flexibility
4. Reaction Time
5. Hand-Eye Coordination
6. Stamina
7. Gross Body Equilibrium

If a person did not exhibit the above abilites, he/she could still become a skilled climber. Personally, climbing is something that I have really had to work at to improve my skills. I'm naturally flexible but not strong. By using my lower body strength and upper body strength equally, instead of totally relying on my arms, I was able to complete climbs that would have otherwise been impossible. Also by doing exercises to strengthen my core I have been able to improve my abilities, since the majority of strength and balance comes from the core. Also if someone can move their limbs quickly and precisely, they wouldn't need to rely on strenght to achive the climb. They could simply move up the wall or boulder quickly and would not need immense strength to succeed.

PDFE #6 Balancing Lab

In class on October 18, we traveled down to the MAC gym in the Cage Center and split up into three groups to perform different balancing tasks. Each group timed and ranked its members according to their balancing skills. My group included Caitlin, Jenny, Caysie, Kara, Melissa, and myself. The six different tests of balance were:
Stork Stand
Diver's Stand
Heel Stand
Sideward Leap
Bass Stepping-Stone
Book-Balancing Walk

After completing each exercise, we realized that no one had received first place in every task, but Kara and Caysie seemed to excel in each event (Kara placed 1st in 4 events and 2nd in the remaining 2, while Caysie also placed 1st in four events and 3rd in the remaining 2). We believe these results can be attributed to their general motor ability that they have gained due to participation in other sports. Kara used to be a cheerleader, which requires a great deal of balance and Caysie plays golf which requires incredible focus. I, on the other hand, have never played a sport that requires balance or worked on improving my balancing skills. As a result, my rankings were consistently lower than those with general balancing ability. For the sideward leap, nearly all of us tied but the results were more scattered in the other activities. We all found the Heel Stand to be the most challenging and believe that is because it is not something that our bodies are used to with daily activities. Likewise, the Diver's Stand was very difficult due to our having to close our eyes. None of us had practiced balancing without sight and therefore, couldn't easily integrate any general balancing ability. Overall, I found the lab to be beneficial in demonstrtating different balancing techniques and showing that past experiences in a task can lead to general motor ability in similar tasks.

PDFE 4/5 Interview and "Becoming Invaluable" Reflection

I recently emailed Dan Snider, PT, via email and asked him several questions concerning his career in physical therapy. Below are my questions and his responses:

1. What made you want to enter the physical therapy field? Is there a particular moment that stands out in your mind as the moment that you knew physical therapy was going to be your career?

Answer: It was just an idea I had and I went with it. Turned out to be a good one because I love my job.

2. Do you have any advice for how to excel in PT school?

Answer: No good advice. Getting in is the hard part.  Go in knowing there is no way you can do all the required reading (at least I couldn't). I fell asleep with a large heavy book on my chest every night. I was also married with 4 young children which may have had something to do with it.

3. Was there ever a moment when you doubted your decision to become a physical therapist? If so, please explain.

Answer: No

4. Where was your first job as a PT and what type of PT work was it? Would you recommend this type of PT work?

Answer: I started in inpatient rehab and have been doing for 14 years. I love it

5. What would you consider to be the biggest advantage/disadvantage that comes along with being a PT?

Answer: Advantages: decent pay, fun job, plenty of options of where to work, I constantly get job offers, I get to make a difference in people's lives

Disadvantage: the only way to make a large jump in pay is to become an administrator, work in a rural nursing home, or travel

6. Do you think it takes a special kind of person to enter this field of work? What characteristics do you think a good PT exhibits?

Answer: A person has to be reasonably intelligent and have good people skills.

7. Do you ever find your career to be stressful? If so, when? How do you handle it?

Answer: All jobs are stressful. I have good supervisors and coworkers so my job stress is minimal.

8. Do you think it is a good change that in order to become a PT, a student no longer has the option to get a master’s degree and must go straight for the doctorate degree? Why or why not?

Answer: I think the doctorate is ridiculous.  It's not even a PHD. It's a doctorate of PT. Any time I have discussed it with MDs or DOs they think it is ridiculous also. If I wanted to become a DPT, I could spend 10,000 dollars and do it online. Would that make me a better PT?  Would it change the way I treat pts? I doubt it. Would I call myself a Dr? Definitely not.

9.         After working as a PT, would you ever consider changing your career? Please elaborate.

Answer: I love my job. The only reason I would change careers would be if I could no longer physically do the work. I primarily work with stoke pts and it requires a lot of lifting.

The “Becoming Invaluable” slideshow was very beneficial to me. I wasn’t positive about what career I wanted to enter (physical therapy) until late in my sophomore year of college, so the presentation helped me to see that even though I wasn’t on track with planning for my future as a freshman, I have caught up and am now about where I should be. It also reminded me that I need to constantly be looking for ways I can be better well-rounded so that I am a multi-threat when applying to graduate school.

I liked how the slideshow broke down each year of college and told specific tasks that should be completed in that time frame. According to the slide about the junior year, I am doing everything I should be to ensure a bright future.

I especially enjoyed the resume tips in the show. I am always eager to hear good advice on how to make my resume better and more professional. I also thought the part about how to plan strategically was a nice addition. Though I now know I want to do physical therapy, I don’t usually consider minor details about it because I still feel like it is so far away. However, I’m realizing that it is getting closer to being a reality every day and the slideshow reminded me that I need to be considering aspects such as, which area of physical therapy I want to get into and where I would like to live to do my work. All in all, I enjoyed the presentation and found it to be a very helpful source.

Minutes from Group Meeting on 9/20

-met at Valhalla at 5:00pm (every member was present)
-discussed what outline/project should entail
-formed outline
-discussed next meeting (class time)
-adjourned at 5:20pm

PDFE #3 "Movement Preparation"

On Thursday, September 16, I watched a group of middle school students from Berry College Elementary and Middle School play an intense game of dodge ball behind the Cook Building on Berry College campus.

            Frequently during the game, the students have to react to balls being hurled at them. They can either dodge the ball or catch it to stay in the game, but if they cannot react quickly enough and do no do either, they are out. From the moment they notice the ball coming at them until an action has been decided and carried out, or lack of action has been carried out, is reaction time.

            While watching the student’s play, I saw several instances where a student would think about catching a ball and extend his/her arms to catch it, but at the last second decide they wouldn’t be able to catch it successfully and attempt to move out of the way. However, by the moment of the decision to dodge the ball, they were not able to move their arms quickly enough and the result was that the ball grazed their fingertips. Because the students had the option to dodge the ball or catch it, they tried to consider which would be most beneficial. In the end, it was their thinking about their options that caused a slower overall reaction time and this is known as Hick’s Law.

            A few times during the course of the game, I noticed an older boy who had much experience with the game of dodge ball pretending to throw a ball towards an opponent’s abdomen. Before the ball would leave his hand, though, he would abruptly change his aim to the opponent’s lower legs. The person would have to attempt to change his/her position in order to avoid being pegged and to stay in the game but it rarely would work. This can be explained because of the psychological refractory period. The reaction time for the second stimulus, in this case, the boy changing his aim at the last moment before release, is slower than the first stimulus, the boy pretending to aim for the abdomen, and the reactor typically couldn’t react fast enough and got hit.

            Because none of the children are new to the game of dodge ball, they have fairly accurate spatial and temporal anticipation for where and when the ball will make contact with something. Some of them will stand perfectly still and watch a ball land only a foot in front of them because, having participated in many dodge ball games over the years, they know they are not in danger of being hit. Another example is the way they can move into a ball to catch it. They can tell where the ball is going and know exactly when to close their hands around it. Even though I am many years older, because they can so accurately predict contact with the ball, they have skills in dodge ball that are far superior to my own. 

Minutes from 1st group meeting - Jenny, Caysie, Lauren, Emma

On September 13, 2010, my group met during class. What took place during the meeting is as follows:
-First, my original group (Lauren and myself) decided to merge with Caysie and Jenny
-We selected a group leader - Caysie
-We selected a member to record minutes - Emma
-We selected a topic for our project - The Effects of Autism on Motor Learning
-We planned to meet at Valhalla next monday, 9/20 at 5pm to discuss an outline for our project
-The meeting was adjourned

Movement Classification PDFE 2

Movement Classification


On Tuesday, September 07, I observed a soccer game played by students of Berry College Elementary and Middle School, aged 7-9 years old. The game occurred during a P.E. class in a field below Frost Chapel on Berry College campus. The following is a list of one-dimensional movement systems and movements I observed during the children’s soccer game that fit into them:

Fundamental Movement

a) Locomotor – The students exhibited locomotor movement when they ran alongside the teammate who was dribbling the ball, waiting for it to be passed to them. Because they were simply running and were not currently manipulating the object, the ball, this is considered locomotor movement.

b) Manipulative – The students exhibited manipulative movement when they had a chance to dribble the ball up the playing field in hopes of scoring. Because passing, dribbling, and kicking a soccer ball are all examples of object manipulation, this part of the soccer game is considered a form of manipulative movement.

c) Stability – Before the game started, the students were instructed to stretch their muscles, especially in their lower bodies because soccer involves so much running. Stretching does not require great movement or manipulation of an object and is therefore put under the classification of “stability.”

Muscle Groups Used

a) Gross – Examples of gross motor skills used during the soccer game are standing and running, as they involve large muscle groups.

b) Fine – An example of fine motor skills used during the soccer game is the way the goalie blocks the soccer ball from entering the goal. Blocking an object like a ball requires small muscle movements and involves hand-eye coordination.

Type of Task

a) Discrete – The action of kicking and aiming the soccer ball for the goal is a discrete motor skill because it is a brief action with a definite beginning and end. It begins when the foot prepares to kick and ends a few moments later when the ball either enters the goal or is blocked by the goalie.

b) Serial – The persistent dribbling of the soccer ball up and down the field is a serial motor skill because it uses a set of discrete skills together, like running while dribbling and guarding the ball from the other team. Dribbling is also something that occurs many times within one game.

c) Continuous – A soccer game could be played forever, if the players continued to play. The scores would only keep getting higher. Usually the only thing that ends a game of soccer is a time or points limit. This aspect of soccer could cause it to be a continuous motor skill.

Cognitive-Motor Elements – The students showed some decision making skills during the game. They did not have to use their brains extensively, but did have to decide issues such as, when to pass, how to avoid a player on the opposite team if they had the ball, and how to kick the ball towards the goal to increase the chances of it entering the goal.

Environmental Predictability – The environment on the soccer field was very open. The opportunity arose a couple of times for a player to run straight up the middle of the field without interference but players dribbling the ball were also blocked from running a straight path several times also. Players can kick the ball towards the goal with hopes of scoring from dozens of places on the field and a team can change positions, from offense to defense, in a second. These aspects make a soccer game an open environment.

Examples of Gentile's Two Dimensional System:
Body Stationary, No Object Manipulation, No Environment Variation, No Context Variation
-Stretching prior to the soccer game
Body Stationary, Object Manipulation, Environment Variation, No Context Variation
-The blocking of the ball by the goalie
Body Transport, No Object Manipulation, Environment Variation, No Context Variation
-Running with teammates waiting for the ball
Body Transport, Object Manipulation, Environment Variation, No Context Variation
-Dribbling the soccer ball
Body Transport, Object Manipulation, Environment Variation, Context Variation
-Kicking the ball into the goal

PDFE "Observing Movement"

On Tuesday, August 24, I attended a Physical Education class with the second graders of Berry College Elementary and Middle School. They had their class in the open field below Frost Chapel on Berry Campus. For the P.E session, the children played a game where they had to hide an object worth a certain number of points in their hands and try to avoid being tagged by the opposite team. If the offense ran from one side of the field to the other without being tagged, they received points for the objects in their hands. However, if they got tagged, the received no points for their team. Both teams took turns playing offense and defense and at the end of the game the team with the most points won.


The activity was designed for children so it was safe for them. Though, many of them stumbled and fell trying to tag others/avoid being tagged, the grass was soft and they always bounced back up quickly. Through the game, the students were practicing and enhancing skills in strategy, agility and speed. Every student was actively engaged because they all found the game so entertaining and fun. Even when a few grew tired, they did not sit down but instead walked back and forth between the two sides cheering on their teammates.

I don’t believe I would want to change anything about the activity. The P.E. coach said that he has been with the school several years and in that time has had a chance to see what works and doesn’t work with the game. It was very clear that it ran smoothly and I wouldn’t want to modify something that already works so well.

Every student fully enjoyed his/her time of playing the game and several asked the P.E. coach if they were going to get to play it again next week. I believe this game is a great way for young children to exercise and let go of some built-up energy after spending much of their day in a classroom.

A little bit about me...

My name is Emma and I am a junior at Berry College. I began my college experience at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but being from a small town, I quickly discovered that city life wasn’t for me and formed plans to transfer after my freshman year.


Once I got to my new school, I began to consider what I wanted to do with my life. Though it was only my first year at Berry, I was already a sophomore and felt it was time to begin exploring all my options for my future. I have always known that I want to go into healthcare and at the time was majoring in biology. I had been leaning toward physical/occupational therapy for several months when I discovered the exercise science program. After looking into exercise science extensively, I knew it was the right path for me to be on and I changed my major. I love the kinesiology department and truly enjoy going to my classes. I feel like everything I do for my new major is important and will one day help me to be a successful practicing physical/occupational therapist. After graduating from Berry, hopefully in May 2012, I plan to attend graduate school at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to earn my doctorate degree.

I want to go into physical/occupational therapy because, though I have never doubted my desire to be in healthcare, I don’t believe that I have the stomach or the emotional strength to work on the “sickness” side of medicine. I want to work with people who are getting better, and I want to be the one who can help them regain simple, daily skills that are so often taken for granted. After working with children daily here on campus through Berry College Elementary and Middle School, I am contemplating even going into pediatrics with physical/occupational therapy. Though my teaching skills are limited, I love the simple mindedness and wonderful imaginations that children possess and feel most like myself when I am around them. Because of this, I believe working in pediatrics in my future profession would help me to be a better healthcare provider, but I am unsure as that time is still years away. In the meantime, I am enjoying my days as a student at Berry and trying to soak up all the school has to offer.

Intro Message

This is my introductory blog. This is a link to the course website - http://kin330.blogspot.com/