Differentiation

As you can tell I have had this blog for previous courses. I am choosing to keep my other blog posts up so that I can add onto the information I have already learned and shared. Also so I can look back on my posts and use them in my future of teaching physical education. I do have an introduction about myself that is at the bottom of the page, so if you scroll all the way down you can read a little bit about myself and why I picked teaching as a profession. 

Differentiating instruction in physical education has a lot to take into account when developing a lesson for the students. Learning levels, body development, age/grade level and special needs to name a few. I am currently a para professional at the elementary school level and help teach grades transitional kinder all the way to fifth grade. If we are doing a lesson on throwing and catching I cannot teach the same content to kinders who are five years old like I would to fifth graders who are ten. There are so many different ways to teach a skill in physical education that at times I feel like it is never ending. Although it may seem challenging, it is a fun challenge because the students are not the only ones who are learning, I am learning as well. Throughout my career I will always be learning new things and strategies that I can use in my teaching and instruction. I find that collaborating with my peers will be beneficial and finding online blogs and data bases with information and experienced shared by other teachers is extremely helpful as well. Not all strategies used for differentiating instruction will be beneficial for my students and lead them to success but it does not hurt to try because out of all the students I see throughout a week of PE, it might just help one person and that is what matters. 

Throughout my time as a teacher I always have to remember to self-reflect and get feedback that I can take and analyze myself and make changes to my instruction so that I can reach a bigger population of students to help them be successful. For those that I do not help become successful in a PE setting I have to find new ways of differentiating instruction and help them as well. It is a never ending process, but I want to be a teacher to help the students, it is not for myself and it is not for the money, clearly, I am there to help the students learn through being physically active. 

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney