Thoren Bradley E.

T
Tiger Pride
Fall 2015
Final Systematic Observation Report
Overview
As an E.T for the Fall 2015 semester of Tiger Pride, it was my duty to
provide Sheldon Simas with adequate help and support with teaching of his
lessons. In addition to physical assistance, it was also my job to provide him
with thorough and timely data based analyses of his teaching performance
throughout the semester. The students were 3 rd graders at Cleveland
Elementary School in Stockton, Ca. I had heard some horror stories about the
cooperation level of Tiger Pride students, but this group was something
special. Always overflowing with enthusiasm, the 3 rd grade students rarely
needed a push to engage in activity. Sure enthusiasm can often lead to offtask students, but Id rather redirect energy than struggle to motivate any
day of the week. Coming from a low-socioeconomic school and community,
these students rarely get the opportunity to participate in extracurricular
activities or sports. Thats one of the most inspiring parts about leading them;
you really get an opportunity to get them excited about activity.
The students were led through lessons of Frisbee, football, baseball, soccer
and even badminton. Although game play was not used as a major
component, the sports sort of act as a delivery system for the students to
learn motor patterns that can apply throughout many different activities. That
is why it is best to break down the skills and simplify the sport for such a
young age group. By videotaping these lessons, we (E.Ts) are able to go
home and analyze the quality of the D.Ts lesson delivery and content.
Systematic Observation forms provide us with charts to fill out as we watch
the recorded lesson. Some of these observations are more quantitative, while
others deliver a more qualitative style of analysis. Although valuable as a
personal

learning

process,

the

most

important

service

that

these

observations provide are for the D.T. Each week we close with a meeting that

entails a collaborative effort of analysis between the Delivery and Evaluation

team. In other words, we use the aforementioned reports to enlighten the
D.Ts on how they can improve both their lesson plan and lesson plan delivery
for the coming weeks.

The following paragraphs will provide you with a cumulative report on the
performance of Sheldon Simas using the summaries of the most significant
Systematic Observations I completed. By analyzing the data as a whole it is
easier to find trends, averages and common tendencies of the teacher in
question.

SOFIT
All it would take is one minute within our department to hear the term
MVPA. Not just a fancy acronym, MVPA stands for moderate to vigorous
physical activity. To expand, each P.E lesson should contain around 50%
MVPA. Although opinion based, in the SOFIT observation sheet you will mark a
Y/N when students are or are not engaged in activity within the 10 seconds in
question. Once finished, it is calculated to find the total % of physical activity.
The following graph shows the overall progression of Sheldons MVPA %
throughout the semester. (This is, of course, based solely on my own
Systematic Observations to minimize the variation between different
evaluators)
Delivering a highly active lesson is not easy, and being able to
immediately view the data based on your teaching performance is a real
blessing. Luckily I was able to fill out a SOFIT form nearly every week in Tiger
Pride. I say luckily because in my future career, I must find a way to compact
efficient activity in a short frame of time and keep people moving. I think
Sheldon struggled a bit with constructing activities that kept all students
engaged in an activity. For example, using lessons that had students doing a
lot of waiting for their turn to participate. This inevitably led to behavioral
issues and uneasiness when students where aware of the whole class

watching them. However, I will compliment his progression in MVPA from the
lessons of September 30th to October 28th. This could be due to the
consistency of weekly debriefs within those weeks. There was a final drop in
MVPA % at the end, which was due to a rainy day that couldve used some
more preparation and maybe a better indoor space. To improve in the future,
Sheldon could critically analyze the content and structure of a lesson plan
before his delivery to ensure it facilitates widespread participation. If, god
forbid, it doesnt. He can utilize flexibility to adjust the structure of the
activity without completely stopping the lesson all together. Highly active
lessons keep students engaged and keep the lesson from falling off the
tracks.

Time Analysis
Although I was not able to complete a large amount of Time Analysis
sheets, It was indeed my favorite. In my opinion, time analysis provides the
reader with the most thorough analysis of the effectiveness of a lesson. How
often students were receiving instruction, participating in activity or simply
victims of over managed lessons. Management does need to exist in a lesson.
However, there are effective ways to deliver management type teaching
without letting the quality and pace of the lesson suffer. Lessons that contain

too much management should raise a red flag to the reader and generally
reflect poor preparation. The following pie chart is a representation of the
mean structure of Sheldons lesson structure within the scope of a Time
Analysis perspective. (Please keep in mind this only reflects the content of 2
lessons.)

Time Analysis
Activity (37%)
Management (31%)
Instruction (32 %)

The highest percentage of the Time Analysis variables was the Activity
variable this means students were engaged in an activity for an average of
37% of the lessons in question. That is exactly the variable that should be the
highest. However, within these lessons Sheldon spend a large amount of time
managing and delivering instruction as well. This isnt necessarily a bad
thing. As we know, students need both of those things in every lesson as well.
However, If Sheldon was to ever desire improvement in this category, the
best way to do so is by changing the way in which he executes management
and instruction. For example, instead of explaining an entire activity to a
group of 3rd graders for 5 minutes, your time may be better spent peppering
in the instruction throughout. It can still be effective to deliver concise and
direct cues whilst the students are active in a skill as well. It could be argued
that after the first minute or 2 they arent going to absorb any more
information regardless. You are better off getting them active and working to
deliver instruction and management in increments instead. When students
spend too much time receiving verbal instruction or information you can
easily lose their interest. In result, problems with attention and behavior are
bound to arise.

Idiosyncrasies
Although at first glance it may seem a bit silly to tally the amount of
habitual phrases a teacher uses, I assure you it is not. Why? Because even 3 rd
grade

students

can

sense

the

level

of

confidence,

composure

and

professionalism a teacher has. There is no better way to facilitate a solid

learning

atmosphere,

than

using

effective

verbal

delivery

and

clear

instructions. Phrases like you guys, k and alright have a tendency to

weaken the weight your words carry and even cause students to lose
confidence in you as a leader. Within the following graph you will find some
trends within the scope of the semester in relation to the habitual phrases
Sheldon used while delivering lessons.

If you look to the left of the graph you will find an incredibly high number of
word usage. Youll find some words drifting north of 35 times within a 25minute lesson. It did seem however, that after a few weekly debriefs there
were some phrases consistently minimized. This couldve been due to
conscious effort, or simply subconscious thoughts instilled during debrief.

Regardless, the process of highlighting delivery flaws serves as a spark or

catalyst for instructional improvements. Once again words carry a load of
weight, and even the young children can sense your confidence and
professionalism through your vocabulary.
Conclusion

Although the one flaw in Tiger Pride is the reliance on group

cooperation, the beauty in the program is the fact that the quality of
learning you receive from the opportunity is 100% based on your
personal effort. Despite the quality of group cooperation you are still
given the opportunity to think critically about the pedagogical
processes and variables that contribute to quality teaching in Physical
Education. I know personally that now every time I speak, create a
workout for a group or even deliver instructions I cannot do so without
thinking critically about my effectiveness. Because of this, I have
already become a more effective leader and professional. I think
preparation; background knowledge and content delivery are the
variables that serve as directly proportional to the quality of a lesson/
teacher. However, without being able to utilize the tools and resources
around you to reflect on your weaknesses you will never improve as a
person.
With that said, I will conclude with the following.For those reading
this that have yet to participate in the Tiger Pride program, I urge you
to use the collaborate nature of Tiger Pride to improve yourself in the
field that you are aiming to make a future out of. Never again in your
career will you be given individuals whose sole purpose is to provide
you with feedback on your performance as a professional. Use the
opportunity to grow.