Every other Monday, thousands of physical educators from around the world take part in an online Twitter chat on topics relating to #physed. The community votes for the topic and community members moderate the chat. The result is an amazing professional development opportunity called #PEChat.
A0. I’m Joey, I teach at @StGeorgesMtl here in Montreal, 🇨🇦. G1 worked on catching/tossing, G3 on health-related fitness components, G2 on gymnastics sequences. #pechat
Wonderfully informative from two educational legends! Having just spent time training with @pilly66 at @appecasia, this podcast really helped consolidate the knowledge I had about instructional strategies for games as well as timely feedback. #pechat#physed#edu Thx @andyvasily
A great discussion w/@pilly66 in my latest #RunYourLife podcast. In this episode, Shane shares his vision, his work, and the major lessons learned that have helped to guide his journey in education. #physedhttps://t.co/zcH7QOpinm Thanks for your time Shane. @ConnectedPE
A1: Children come to school and #afterschool from so many backgrounds and histories... misinterpretation is a challenge. Tone plays an important role too. #PEChat
A1. Words carry a huge amount of power. Be careless in the way we choose our words can have all kinds of negative impacts on our students learning and/or their well-being in class. #pechat
Great point! Student experiences/situations create a filter through which seemingly harmless messages can become distorted. We need to be aware of that as we communicate with them. #pechat
A1. We need to be mindful that students come from different experiences/situations than us, and those experiences/situations influence how messages are interpreted. #pechat
A1. I come from the elementary level and the importance of positive communication with Ss is huge in helping build confidence and relationships. Some students may not have someone in their lives to do this. #pechat
A1 Being mindful with word choice allows me to build rapport and develop trust with students. The old phrase sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me is far from the truth especially at the level I teach! Words DO hurt #pechat
A2. I believe that being an effective communicator means delivering a message that is clear, concise, and understood by the students. It also means tailoring that message to meet different students’ needs. #pechat
A2. Short and sweet is what comes to me. The gym is an exciting place for most Ss so the importance of clearly communicating rules and expectations in a short amount of time is key. It’s also great to do a quick recall at the end before starting. #pechat
A2. An effective communicator is able to eliminate the “grey area” when working with students. They are clear and concise with expectations, rountines and procedures. #pechat
A3. Meaningful and encouraging comments go along way with Ss. When teaching new skills some Ss might get it right away and others might struggle. Encouragement is important to help keep those Ss engaged and motivated to achieve the skills. #pechat
A3.a “Keep It Simple”: Try to say less (I’m terrible at this). Saying less forces you to pick the “right” words, puts the subject at the forefront of the conversation, and helps avoid confusion in your teaching. #pechat
A3.b “Keep It Positive”: Not in a “good job” way, but more in the types of words you use. Instead of “but”, say “and”. Instead of “have to”, say “get to” #pechat
A3.c “Know Your Students”: Kind of the golden rule of teaching, knowing your students - what they like, what they don’t like, what’s going on in their life - can help you pick words that will have a greater impact and motivate them in your lessons. #pechat
A3.d “Know Your Stuff”: Having a strong understanding of the content you are trying to teach will make it easier for you to break it down and present it in different ways so that you can meet the needs of different learners. #pechat
Communicating w/ student’s previous year PE teacher is an effective way to keep language/terminology similar when teaching specific content. Creating a common language throughout all levels of the PE department has been extremely beneficial to our PE program. #pechat
A3.e “Know Your Goal”: By knowing where you are trying to take students (i.e. what mastery of the lesson’s outcomes can look like), you can ensure that you are using language that is always guiding them in the right direction. #pechat
A4. Recently completed a G3 dance unit. Whole time we talked about “our awesome music video” and our “music video premier”. Lots of students who have YouTube accounts in class. Loved the idea of making a HQ video in PE. Had zero issues with engagement #pechat
A4. Also, telling students that #physed will help them develop “the knowledge, understandings, and skills (KUD) they need to live as many ADVENTURES in life” is way more motivating to lil kids that “the KUD you need to make sure you don’t die of disease at a young age”. #pechat
A4. After teaching a lesson on leadership & how critical it is 2 have an above the line response when dealing with any event. I hear Ss saying to each other “that is a below the line response” or “that’s an auto pilot response” press pause & use an above the line response #pechat
A5. I want to continue to take the time to choose my words purposefully when I teach. That starts with a clear understanding of a) what I want to say and b) where I’m trying to lead my students. #pechat
