Nicholas Plourde

May 1, 2014
Lesson #4
Demonstrate Trick Plays for Offensive Efficiency in Football Gameplay
Alicia Harlow
East Longmeadow High School

My planning and preparation for my final lesson was one area in which I was able
to create content that fit in with what the students were learning, but was unable to put
into action due to unfortunate circumstances that forced me to implement activities that
were created in a short duration of time. The presentation of trick plays in football were
concepts that I felt merged well what they had already been taught in the sport seeing
as it was the final day in the unit. Since they already had the basic knowledge for the
skills and format of football, they were able to utilize these scenarios without any
problem when taking part in gameplay. Also, based on the fact that it was raining, my
teaching had to be moved to indoors when I had originally outlined for it to be done
outside. With that being said, I had to adjust the rules for how the games were going to
be played right before the learners arrived, which resulted in my communication of
these guidelines to them not being very clear. In the future I need to do a better job of
making sure to create backup tasks that the students can perform for any lesson
scheduled to transpire outdoors in the event inclement weather forces alterations to be
made in regards to the setting of where the teaching takes place.
The content of my lesson was that of which was effective due to the prior grasp
of the material exhibited by the learners, though, at the same time, lacked in its capacity
to motivate these individuals. As I already stated, the students were familiar with the
essential concepts regarding the sport of football. Therefore, by introducing material that
was quite advanced in relation to the background information needed for executing trick
plays, the class was challenged at a proper level. The one issue that arose with this
content though, was that the learners were not driven to want to apply them during
gameplay. For example, I encouraged them to huddle up before carrying out their plays
in an effort to guide their planning out of what they were going to do so that they would
then be more inclined to take advantage of these schemes, but they instead wanted to
keep the games moving without having to stop. To ensure that my classes are more apt
to implement the focus of my lessons into its tasks for the future, I plan on tailoring my
activities so that they better encompass the content for which is the focal point behind
what they are learning about.
My transitions and classroom management were two segments within my lesson
that, in my opinion, produced mixed outcomes. Furthermore, the time where the class
moved from the different portions of the teaching did not last for an extended interval,
which was crucial for providing the students with various opportunities to respond. This
was most apparent when switching teams on and off the court to start new games
because they were able to get right into play in a relatively rapid amount of time. On the
other hand, the supervisory facets of my teaching were not a strong point of my
presentation in light of the fact that I did not hold some of the learners accountable for
their disruptive behavior. In fact, it was almost as if these students felt like they were in
control of how the class was run, because although I did desist their misconduct, it was
not done in a manner that issued consequences if they continued to engage in such
actions. I hope to prevent this manifestation from occurring again by establishing clear
behavioral expectations that will be outlined at the beginning of class in which the
learners must follow, or else severe ramifications brought on by any unruly acts will
ensue.
My delivery of the content presented during the lesson was effective in reference
to incorporating different instructional tools to meet the students needs, but not
conveyed to them in a way that was organized. I thought that my greatest strength in
this area was how I was able to touch upon the diverse learning styles of those within
class regarding the material (trick plays) by explaining it, drawing it out on a whiteboard,
and physically demonstrating it to them. This helps to explain why when I posed several
checking for understanding questions, the learners were able to answer all of them
correctly; thus, offering further validation of their comprehension for what I introduced
through these didactic aids. My biggest mistake in the teaching was that the
composition of my instruction was confusing for the students to follow. The order that I
explained the concepts did not follow a progression that moved from simple to complex,
which began with first going over throwing plays and then moving on to the less
complicated running plays. To hinder this transgression from arising in the future, I will
bring a notecard displaying the process for how the activities are planned in the lesson
so that I can refer back to it upon delivering its content.
The feedback that I gave to the learners was useful in how it related directly to
the material focused on in the lesson; however, was not disseminated in a vast supply.
With the students having problems to merge the concepts that were introduced to them
into their performance, I made it a point to have the majority of my instructional
comments to them be about these particular notions. As a result, it slightly helped in
increasing their carrying out of this content, which was important for me to analyze
whether or not they had fully attained it. From this proceeding, it should be noted that it
led to the limited number of instances for when I brought forth this verbal observation.
Had I been able to make more of these statements in respect to other skills introduced
throughout the unit, it might have aided in propelling the class to implement these
strategies into their execution in an effort to capture my attention. My goal for granting
the learners with more feedback going further is to point out motions of any material that
I have ever presented to them regardless of if it is not interwoven with any targeted
skills, tactics, and/or strategies.
The feedback that I received from my cooperating teacher about my lesson
highlighted various aspects that I flourished with, while others that I need some revision
in. They noted how I did a good job of reviewing the learning outcomes, performance,
and behavior tied to this pedagogical episode. This, I believe, can be attributed to the
wrap-up for which I conducted at the end of the teaching where I went over all of the
concepts presented in it. Contrary to this display, they expressed that I should rotate
around the instructional facility to scan with my back to the wall more frequently. This
was simply due to the fact that I stayed on one side of the gymnasium when all of the
football games were being played. My plan to fix this issue is to stay constantly moving
throughout the entire lesson around the activity space so that everyone in the class is
always in my realm of vision to prohibit this indiscretion from materializing again.
The most important thing that I learned from this lesson is how vital it is to exhibit an
attentiveness towards any gameplay that the students are participating in. The reason
being for this is that it pushes them to work harder knowing that the person whom is
assessing their performance is always in close proximity of them. I found that through
my refereeing of these games, the class was also more excited based on the fact it
helped to make the games somewhat more competitive rather than having them govern
these matches themselves. In being more actively involved, the learners, in turn, have a
greater incentive to give maximum effort considering that the teacher is more likely to
make note of their contributions. From my surveillance, I discovered that the feedback I
gave out was more beneficial for the students despite the amount I administered not
being that for what is considered as extensive. Overall, if a class is able to see that their
instructor has taken interest in their carrying out of content as opposed to staying back
and letting them learn it on their own, they will find more of a purpose in why to exhibit
such heightened labor when practicing new material.