Claire Poad Practicum in Adapted PE Journal #1 1/27/14 1. Complete the following statements.

When I meet a person for the first time, the first thing I notice is The first thing I notice when meeting a person for the first time is a persons smile. To me, a smile can tell a lot about what kind of a person someone is. A person who uses a wheelchair A person who uses a wheelchair still has feelings, attitudes and personalities. The only difference is the fact that they may not have full mobility of their legs. If I received a severe spinal cord injury in an accident, I would If I myself got into a spinal cord injury accident, my faith, my family and my friends would be something that I would look to in much comfort. This would definitely be an unbelievably hard thing to overcome, but in the end, its about making something great out of the situation youre given.

2. Describe what you feel are the three most important aspects students with disabilities should receive from physical education class? Patience, motivation, and excitement (fun). You need to pay attention and always be communicating with your student. Students with disabilities are going to make very slow progress or may not make progress and that is why patience is such an important thing.

3. Elaborate on your feelings regarding students with disabilities and what you expect to better understand as a result of this class. My feelings regarding students with disabilities has grown so much since starting adapted physical education my freshman/sophomore year. I am so much more comfortable being around and interacting with students with disabilities. Something I expect to understand better is how to help these students or how to calm them down when they have breakdowns. That may be the one situation I get nervous about when working with students with disabilities,

4. What is a positive mental attitude? A positive mental attitude is when given a tough situation to deal with, you do it with determination and high hopes that you will receive the outcome you want.

5. Do you believe you have a positive or negative mental attitude? In what ways do you demonstrate your attitude? Give an example of when or how your attitude was expressed through your actions. I believe I have a positive mental attitude. I demonstrate this by not letting people or situations get me down. I can only control my attitude and it is my decision to let things get me down or to keep myself positive. An example would be when my students at St. Joes are struggling at a skill over and over. When this continues, I step back and take a different approach to make sure my students can achieve the skill. Never giving up and always keeping my determination.

6. What positive contributions do you plan on bringing to your practicum setting? How can a negative attitude diminish your contributions? Helping my classmates out and getting help from my classmates. An example would be communication and interaction in the classroom, or outside of the classroom which demonstrates collaboration. Journal #2 2/10/14 For the past two weeks I have been going to the Belmont school for a high school class and a middle school class. For the high school students, we have been alternating between badminton in the gym and going up to the weight room for some weight lifting. This way they are not bored with one unit day after day. The middle school students however, stay in the gym the entire time with the badminton unit. Some observations I have notice are that students know every day what they need to do and what they need to get done. They start off with laps and dynamics every single day without having to be told. When the unit starts, they get right into what theyre supposed to accomplish. Although during the unit some students do need reminders to get back on task. Activities that were performed included the badminton tournament and weight lifting certain parts on certain days (arms and chest, legs and back, etc.). Something I learned about myself today was that students are recognizing what you are doing during class time constantly. Even walking around and conversing with the students has a big factor on their attitudes. Always staying positive and helping them when they need it is very important.

Something I learned about teaching today kind of relates to what I said above. You need to stay positive if you want your students to stay positive. Students are going to get off task constantly but walking around and conversing with them will help them to stay more on task. Journal #3 2/18/14 For the past two weeks, class has been pretty repetitive because of the badminton tournament. Every other day they are still switching off from the weight room back to gym activities (badminton as of now). Whenever students are waiting to play in a tournament game or if they just completed a tournament game, I play a couple games with them to ensure that they stay active the entire class period. In the weight room, I am there as a guide as well as a spot if they happen to need one. Otherwise, they have their own lifting sheets that they follow each time we go to the weight room. Observations that I notice is that they still come into the gym starting their warm ups without having to be told. They get going right away with laps, followed by dynamic lines, and stationary workouts. Something new I have noticed is that the students have been starting to get to class a little late more often. Matt has told them in the past that if they happen to be late that they need to bring an excuse slip but I have yet to see one turned in. Activities performed included playing badminton with the students when they are not in a tournament game and supervising the weight room while the students are lifting. Something I learned about myself is that it may not seem that students appreciate you but in reality, students look up to you more than adult realize. Including everyone throughout the class period and throughout the year is vital if you want students to trust and respect you. Something I learned about teaching is that it is okay to participate in the activities that you are teaching to your students. If you have a class that you know you can trust and will not be constantly goofing around, if a student needs a partner, go for it. It also means a lot to that student if you [participate with them.