Running head: P.E.

TEACHER OBSERVATION

Elementary Physical Education Observation

John Mitchell
Ivy Tech Community College

P.E. TEACHER OBSERVATION

INTASC Standards Rationale Page

Standard #3: Learning Environments
The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative
learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and selfmotivation.

Name of Artifact: Elementary Physical Education Observation

Date: February 21st, 2015
Course: EDUC 240: Intro to Physical and Health Education

Brief Description:
This is the halfway point into the semester and my partner and I had an observation
project assigned for us to do. It begins with each of us visiting an elementary school to observe
the P.E. teachers lesson plans, strategies, and management skills and the schools safety features,
accommodation, and opportunities for the students. I collect data and begin to compose our
comparison thoughts in an essay form.
Rationale:
To document my understanding of INTASC Standard 3, Learning Environments, I
observed the different school gyms in which students are expected to learn and perform physical
activities in. There are also different teaching styles that are used in these environments. By
doing this assignment, I bettered my understanding of importance of gym classes and the spaces
provided for the activities asked of the students.

P.E. TEACHER OBSERVATION

Introduction
For this assignment, two schools were chosen to be observed in the elementary P.E.
classrooms to get a better understanding of physical and health education. The first school was
School 51 located in the middle of Indianapolis. Brandon Gillard was the P.E. teacher and he was
good with his students. The students seemed to be excited for class that day. The second school
was Kitley Elementary which is located in the southeastern part of Indianapolis. Devon Anderson
and Donna Chatham were both P.E. Teachers that co-teach a class together. The students from
this school loved this class and were eager to break a sweat.
Classroom Observation Experiences
The experiences at the different schools were intriguing because it showed that there are
many ways to engage children in positive energy. As soon as the children arrived to class anyone
watching could tell they were excited to be there. The warm-up was moving around the gym
either walking, dancing, or running. After the warm-up was the big activity for the day. The goal
for both classes was to get the childrens bodies in motion. According to the textbook
Elementary Classroom Teachers as Movement Educators, body movements include locomotor,
nonlocomotor, and manipulative skills, which is running, bending, and either swinging or
throwing of the arms (Kovar, Combs, Campbell, Napper-Owen, & Worrell, 2012). These body
movements were integrated at each school. The students were exhausted by the end of each
session and couldnt imagine the balls of energy, that the students reflected, not being able to
attend a gym class.

P.E. TEACHER OBSERVATION

Similarities
The schools that were observed had motivating supportive teachers and there were many
similarities between the classes. The structure of the lesson plans is one of many of the things
was noticeable. The warm-ups both started with the basic locomotor skills to get the students
heart rate to increase, then the teachers gave the instructions for the activity, and the students
began. By the end of the activity, the students were fatigued and started there cool-down to
decrease the heart rate.
Another similarity was the dress code, because proper shoe ware was the only piece of
attire that the students had to wear. Participation was involved among all the students during the
entire session and from the activity that was chosen from the teachers, no students were singled
out. The students were informed that it is important to always watch their surroundings and keep
their distance between other students. According to the textbook, personal space is a space that
no one else invades or occupies at the same time and is used to prevent injury among students
(Kovar, Combs, Campbell, Napper-Owen, & Worrell, 2012).
Lastly, the national and state academic standards were incorporated into the lessons.
Instructions and examples were given from the instructors before each activity and each student
was physically active at a high level. The most obvious standard that was shown in the lesson
was all the students were enjoying themselves.
Differences
All teachers have to follow the same code of teaching but they are not robots. Each
teacher has different creative ways to address subjects that students have to learn. Another
difference would be the different ways the P.E. teachers used positive reinforcement to promote
getting the attention and good behavior from the students. The teachers observed at Kitley

P.E. TEACHER OBSERVATION

elementary used sprays from bottled water and if the students had good behavior they got
sprayed with it at the end of class. This might seem silly but the students looked forward to those
sprays because it was fun and refreshing after breaking a sweat. School 51 played music during
the warm-up and for good behavior they each were able to dance instead of walk around the
gym. There was not one student without a smile on their face.
The biggest difference between the observations that were taken place would be that two
teachers instructed together at Kitley and only one at School 51. The use of two teachers can be
more effective towards getting the lesson taught if there are 15 to 20 students in the class, but at
Kitley two teachers are nearly enough because the amount of kids in a classroom are 64 students.
The reasoning for this is unknown but it could be from the amount of funds each school has.
Conclusion
The explorations we have endured to get the understanding on how and why to teach
physical education is very interesting and inspirational. These teachers were fantastic and yes
they had many similarities and differences but both were able to get the point across successfully.
All the students responded very well and seemed very excited to come to class. Physical and
health education should not be looked frowned upon as an unnecessary course. Students need to
be educated and involved in physical education to keep their minds and bodies healthy.

P.E. TEACHER OBSERVATION

Reference Page
Kovar, S., Combs, C., Campbell, K., Naper-Owen, G., & Worrell, V. (2012). Elementary
classroom teachers as movement educators (4th ed., pp. 53-54, 77). Boston: McGrawHill.