Colleen Mistler

Ms. Murray

Summary Reflection Paper

PHED 239- Module 2

Agawam High School

High School

12/9/14
Dr. Mangano

Throughout the past seven weeks, I have had the opportunity to teach students at a high
school level. I taught at Agawam high school with the cooperating teacher, Ms. Murray. I
have grown dramatically throughout this module. Before this module, I had only worked
with children under the age of five. Although teachers use the same basic principles, teaching
high school compared to PreK students is a very different experience. I advanced in my
planning strategies, specifically planning for the unplanned. Examples of this are planning
for different gymnasium locations or different equipment. I also developed my skills in
language and terminology, relating them to the high school population. I learned how to be
personable and relatable to students, and how to make connections with students and physical
aspects outside of class. I progressed my methods of providing motivation for students to
partake in physical education, something that I had not experienced to the degree that I did
with high school students. Many of the qualities that improved my teaching are important
aspects to teaching physical education to high school students.
A major importance with teaching high school physical education is motivating the
students. Some students are uncomfortable with their bodies, with other students, or physical
activity in general. Getting to know the students and providing examples that they can relate
to helps increase motivation. Relating material to the real world, and providing examples that
directly show students why a skill is important for students to realize the benefits of lifelong
health. This also motivates students to become physically active outside of the classroom.
Selecting age/developmentally appropriate units and lessons for the students, as well as a

variety of extensions for the students will also increase motivation and activity level of high
school students.
Another important aspect about teaching high school physical education is having
variability of activities. Providing students with a choice of multiple activities every day is
beneficial to students. This allows students to choose activities that they have interest in.
Structure must be provided, however, to ensure that students do not choose the same activity
every class for their entire time in physical education. Activities should be appropriate for all
levels of skill proficiency. Having this variability also allows students to recognize all types
of physical activity, and lifetime activities. If done properly, different activities will also
incorporate students to interact with each other in various terms, such as team work, strategy,
communication, or simply with respect and appreciation or motivation.
Interactions between students themselves and with the teacher as well are very important
aspects in high school physical education. Holding students accountable for their personal
and social responsibilities is beneficial for the students. This accountability teaches students
the importance of following instructions and respecting others. There are many national
standards for high school students that focus on ones social responsibility. By high school,
students should understand how to interact in groups, and holding the students accountable
for their positive or negative actions will teach them of their obligations. Students need to
realize how their actions influence others, and how they can impact many components to
future life, such as motivation, success, respect, and impact.
Another important aspect to teaching high school students is identifying all types of
learners and adjusting lesson plans to teach a variety of learners. There are numerous forms
of learners, some are auditory, kinesthetic, or visual learners. Depending on the particular

student, some may also learn through a variety of the three learning styles. Checking for
understanding of what the students learned is also important to increase content knowledge
of the students. If some students do not understand the content, sometimes hearing it from a
peer in different terms can influence learning. As a teacher, it is also important to have
pedagogical content knowledge of the information they are presenting, in order to relate and
compare it to other aspects that students are familiar with.
With the transition from teaching PreK to high school, I learned many new strategies that
were important to teaching high school in particular. As stated before, the basic principles of
teaching do not change, but the connections and strategies used to present those basic
principles varies with the population. Experience and becoming familiar with students and
how they interact with one another will increase the confidence and determine how
comfortable the teacher is. I developed my skills and certainly my confidence in teaching
students who are closer in age to me throughout this module.