Teaching Philosophy

Post date: Oct 15, 2009 8:24:22 AM

Physical Education Teaching Philosophy

“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. (Robert M. Hutchins).” In the world we live in there are new things and ideas happening every day; new sports, new techniques, and even new ways of teaching. Thinking outside of the box on ways to teach or sharing new ideas in the classroom is a responsibility as an educator.

As a physical educator, I help students adopt and maintain a physically active lifestyle. In order for the students to do so, I teach them the necessary knowledge and skills to perform an activity at a competent level. With practice and repetition, the students feel more confident in their abilities to perform any given activity. Having a student that's competent and confident in their abilities will encourage them to be active in the classroom and possibly for their lifetime. Having the necessary skills to have an active lifestyle also has its benefits, it can help students perform better academically, it will reduce the risk of Cardiovascular Disease and obesity, strengthen bones and muscles, and it can even improve your mental health and mood by giving the student a positive self-image.

Aquatics, dance, sports, gymnastics, outdoor adventures, and lifetime activities are the content areas my students will learn in class. Performing all of these will require knowledge and skills the students will continue to refine throughout the year. In class, we will incorporate our affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domains. According to the SHAPE standards students will also be able to recognize the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction. The student will also learn how to exhibit responsible personal and social behavior while doing activities in the classroom. If both of those are met the classroom will be a very welcoming and enjoyable environment where students will want to come to class.

For some students, activities are going to be difficult and for others, it may not be as challenging. As a physical education teacher, I will be challenging and supporting the students based on their needs. I will assess every student individually to see what instruction they need and when I need to modify a lesson. Students will be assessed by quizzes about the game strategies and rules, skills test, and an informational essay/paper on a given subject/unit.

When implementing my curriculum I will be optimistic and encouraging to my students, optimism and encouragement are powerful in a students life. Not all students come from a welcoming home life, so having a positive and encouraging classroom environment students will want to come to class to have fun and learn. They will also know that my classroom will be respectful and safe, there will be no judgment of skills or fear of failure, every student has different skill sets and every student has room to improve.

I personally will continue to grow as an educator by collaborating with peers, personal reflection, and trying new games/content. I will also keep my classroom up to date by adopting new ideas tailored to my student's skills, as well as, using technology in the classroom. Through professional relationships with veteran teachers and peers across the state, I will continue to collect ideas to increase my content knowledge.