PDFE #13

For this PDFE assignment, I observed a cross country practice for the Berry cross country team. At the practice I observed, the team was working on speed work at the track. For this, each team member first did a warm-up, stretched, ran 5 miles, did a cool-down, and then stretched again. The 5 miles were split up into 1 mile time trials where each team member was given a time to do their miles in. I found examples of both intrinsic and extrinsic feedback throughout the practice. The examples that I used came from the workout itself.

The following are the categories of feedback observed and a couple of examples in each category:
~Intrinsic - 1) runners look at their watches to let themselves know if they are going to be on time for each lap; 2) if runners were assigned the same mile times, they worked in groups…if a runner began to fall behind the group, they knew by observing the other runners in their group that they are slowing down too much.
~Extrinsic - 1) The coach told a couple runners after their first timed mile that they ran too fast and that they need to slow down in order to save energy for the following miles and be able to run the last couple of miles on time; 2) Runners on the side that could not participate in the activity would often say to the groups of runners with the same mile times “Way to work together”.
~KR - 1) The person recording the mile times would call out times after every mile; 2)There was another couple of people of the side of the track that would call out times every time a runner passed.
~KP - 1) The coach said “That lap was right on time”; 2) A runner not participating said “Stay with your group so you don’t fall behind” during the second lap of the second to last mile.
~Descriptive - 1) The coach said “You are going too fast the first couple of laps…its going to tire you out and you won’t finish the mile on time”; 2) The coach said “You are shortening your stride.”
~Prescriptive - 1) The coach instructed a runner to lengthen their stride; 2) A runner not participating told one of the girls in the activity to tighten their form back up.

The following are some functions of extrinsic feedback. For each function, there is an example from my observations of the Berry cross country team’s practice and a comment on how that example of feedback served the function:
~Motivation - Example: Runners on the side that could not participate in the activity would often say to the groups of runners with the same mile times “Way to work together.” Comments: When the runners heard someone commenting on something good they were doing, they may feel a little better about their performance and be more confident in themselves to keep working hard and staying within their assigned mile time.
~Reinforcement - Example: The coach said “That lap was right on time.” Comments: By a runner hearing the coach basically saying they did perfect that lap, they can try to do the same the next lap. In running, you can tell when you have found a good pace in an activity like this. The coach reinforced the correct pace for the runner so they can try to get the feel for the right pace and reproduce their good performance in the following laps.
~Information - Example: The coach said “You are going too fast the first couple of laps…its going to tire you out and you won’t finish the mile on time.” Comments: Hearing information like this from the coach helps the runners adjust their pace accordingly. The runner may have felt really good the first couple of laps and gone too fast, then felt tired the last couple of laps and gone too slow. They may have finished on time, but their pace is fluctuating too much. The coach observing the runner can pass on this information that the runner may or may not already know to let them know how important it is to keep a constant pace throughout the run…it won’t tire you out near as much.
~Dependence - Example: On every lap, a runner not participating in the activity would tell someone that was running “Good job”, “Keep it up”, or some other kind of motivational feedback. Comments: Although this may seem like a good idea to the observer, the runner may come to depend on that external motivation to finish their miles on time. The runners will not always be around people telling them good job in a race, so they should not constantly hear someone say it during an activity like this. If they do hear that motivation from someone else constantly, they may lose their internal motivation and personal drive to finish each lap on time or do well in a race.

PDFE #14

This PDFE assignment was done as an in class lab with a partner. During the lab, the students became more familiar with the effects different kinds of practice can have on the success of mastering a task. The different types of practice include part and whole practice. There are three types of part practice that include segmentation, fractionization, and simplification. All can be used to help make a skill easier for someone to learn, but the type of part practice focused on in this lab was segmentation. In segmentation part practice, one aspect of a skill is isolated and practiced. Then, the second aspect is added and the two are practiced. More aspects of a skill are added until the skill is in its whole again. Whole practice simply means the entire skill is practiced rather than splitting it up into different parts. During the lab, one student used segmentation part practice to learn how to juggle. The skill was split into 3 parts added onto one another, then the fourth part was to practice the entire skill of juggling. The other student completed all the trials only using whole practice. I was the student who only practiced juggling in whole, but I have practiced the skill before. My partner had not practiced juggling before. Our results were the opposite of what they should have been. For us, whole practice had more success because more juggles were made before the balls were dropped in my retention test. In reality, if a skill has not been practiced by someone, part practice should work more efficiently. The outside factor that mainly influenced the results of this lab was outside exposure to juggling. Also, the level of coordination of someone could also have an effect. Someone with poor hand-eye coordination wouldn’t be as good at mastering juggling as someone with great hand-eye coordination.

PDFE #11

For this PDFE assignment, I observed my cousin’s softball practice for the league she plays in outside of school. I observed their practice on Thursday evening, November 18th. To collect the data I needed for determining what percent of time is spent receiving instruction, participating in an activity, waiting, and involved with management, I focused on my cousin who pitches for the team. At the start of practice, the coach talked shortly to the team before they spent a few minutes running a lap around the field and individually stretching. After the coach got the team all back together, he explained the activity they were about to do. I have never played softball, so I do not know what the drills the team did were called, but my cousin off to the side for a while practicing her pitch with the assistant coach and another player that I think was the back-up pitcher while the majority of the other team members were on the field with the coach practicing their reactions to different positions the ball could go to on the field after it is hit. The team was brought back together and talked to for another minute by the coach. The team then split up into two different groups…some stayed on the field and the others went to bat. My cousin was pitching for a while then sat for a couple minutes while the back-up pitcher was able to practice. After sitting there for a minute or two, it looked like the assistant coach came over to instruct my cousin on her pitching technique. This took up 42 minutes of practice and filled up the data sheet I was given in class, so I stopped there, but the practice still had another hour and 15 minutes left of it. During the 42 minutes of practice I observed for data collection, my cousin spent 20% of her time receiving instruction, 61% of her time participating in an activity, 11% of her time involved with management, and 8% of her time waiting. I feel like the percentages were fairly appropriate for the setting. I think that more time should have been spent doing activities like running warm-ups and stretching in the beginning of practice. Not much time was spent waiting during my observation, but it the data sheet would have been for a longer time, I think the percent of time waiting would have increased because my cousin practiced pitching first. The back-up pitcher got more time to practice and my cousin spent more time waiting after the 42 minutes of data collection. Other than spending more time on a warm-up which would increase the percent of time spent during activity, I would not make any changes to the practice. I think that 61% is a good amount of time spent participating in activity for softball because other time is needed for setting up equipment and instruction. The good thing about the practice is that the girls weren’t standing around waiting very much. I would consider the softball coach as being an effective leader because he managed the time during practice very well.

PDFE #12

This PDFE was a lab done in pairs that was meant to help the students become more familiar with the different types of extrinsic feedback. The different types of extrinsic feedback include knowledge of results (KR) and knowledge of performance (KP). KR is extrinsic information that tells the learners something about the success of their actions with respect to the intended environmental goal. An example would be when a judge giving a score to a diver, dancer, gymnast, etc. KP is extrinsic information that helps performers interpret the quality of their actual movements. An example would be when a coach tells a gymnast that their tuck was not tight enough or when a therapist tells their patient that their step was too short. In the lab done in class, one student received constant feedback while performing a task while the other only received feedback upon request. In all the trials, the goal was for a blindfolded student to successfully move their pen or pencil from one line to another. The student who only received feedback upon request performed better in every trial. Feedback was requested 13 times in 30 trials. After the trials, a retention test was given. In the retention test, absolutely no feedback for either student was given which would serve the purpose of seeing which type of feedback would produce better results. The student who only received requested feedback during the trials did better on the retention test. These results matched what we are told in the course textbook and in the online power points…that feedback given only upon request gives better results during performances and practice. Although the results seem to be due solely to the types of feedback given, there may have been other factors influencing the results. The student who received constant feedback went first in my lab group, so the student who only received requested feedback was able to see what worked and what didn’t for that lab student. Also, the second student (who only received requested feedback) had a better strategy for performing well on the trials and test. She held the hand that she wasn’t using on the paper between the two lines and was able to better judge the distance between the two lines by sensing when her hand ended. Distractibility could have been a factor as well as the students knowledge of distance measurements. The feedback given was a measurement of how far away the student was from the target line. A student with more knowledge on how long a mm exactly is would be able to adjust their movements more accurately.

PDFE #10

This PDFE assignment focused on a lab performed during class time that helped the class members better understand the results of constant and varied practice. The differences in constant and varied practice schedules gives reason to the differences in results that constant and varied practice schedules yield. In constant practice, one variation of a task is focused on. This task is repeated over and over again giving a person a lot of practice on that one task. Varied practice allows someone to practice different variations of a certain task. Although both are focused only on one task, varied practice gives practice in more various situations a person may encounter during a game or performance. Varied practice usually results in a better performance and better skill retention. Constant practice may give great results at practice, but these results often do not carry over into performance situations because it is not likely for that one variation of a task that was practiced to be the only one that will be addressed. In this lab, we were paired with another class member. One member focused on constant practice by throwing a bean bag at a target from the same distance each trial. The second member of the lab pair focused on varied practice by throwing a bean bag at a target from 3 different distances throughout the trials. Each class member, whether they focused on constant or varied practice, threw the bean bag 15 times in each trial. 3 trials were performed meaning that the bean bag was thrown a total of 45 times during practice. A 1 minute break between each trial was taken. After the 3 trials, a 5 minute break was taken. After the break, a test was performed to see which kind of practice yielded the best results. The test consisted of each class member throwing the bean bag to the target from the same distance of 5 meters. Both my lab partner’s and my results for the retention test was very similar. I only got one more point that my partner, and I was the participant focused on constant practice. The results did not match my expectations seeing as varied practice tends to yield the best results. I think that the main reason for these results is the fact that the test consisted of a constant throwing distance. In general, test situations for a certain skill will not be this constant.. This gives reason why varied practice is considered to be the best. If the retention test consisted of throwing from varied distances, I am confident that the results for the test would have backed up the information presented in the lab/chapter readings. Other factors besides the kind of practice performed that could affect performance include the following: distraction during practice or testing, being in a close proximity to other class members, having an injury to an area of the body important for practice and testing (shoulder, arm, hand, etc.), fatigue due to previous exercise before the lab was performed, getting tired of performing the repetitive movements for 45 throws, etc.

PDFE #9

My personal physical activity and physical education background:
- I don’t remember my experiences in physical education throughout school very well. I attended school in Paulding County from elementary to high school. In elementary school, I know we had PE at least once a week, but I do not remember how many times exactly that we met. Although I do not remember specific things about my elementary PE experiences, I do remember it being one of my favorite classes. I am sure that a lot of skills were developed through participation in PE in elementary school because physical and cognitive development is vast during early childhood. My favorite activities in my elementary PE classes was gymnastics, rock climbing, and playing with the big parachute. In middle school, I remember taking PE for only one year. I enjoyed this PE class because we played more structured games. I was a very competitive person in sports, so I enjoyed participating. In high school, I only took one semester of PE and one semester of health. High school PE was fun because I took it with a couple friends, but the activities were not near as fun as elementary or middle school. In high school, we learned more about various sports. I was really only interested in soccer, basketball, and cross country, so learning about the other sports was not very fun for me. Looking back on my high school PE experience, I appreciate it a little more because it made me more well rounded in my knowledge of various sports. Apart from PE, I was a very active. I did not play sports formally until 7th grade, but I was constantly playing outside with my big sister. From 7th grade until I graduated, I participated in soccer, basketball, cross country, and track, so I stayed pretty active throughout the whole year.

My assessment of current Georgia recommendations for Physical Education:
- I do not consider the current recommendations in Georgia for PE are adequate. In early childhood, there seems to be so much progress in motor development. If classes met more than just once or twice a week, this motor development may could be progressed even faster, and children may could develop stronger abilities or more skills. In middle school, there are no requirements for PE which doesn’t seem right. Physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development are continuous throughout life. In school-aged children, these aspects of development seem to progress much faster than in adulthood. Because of this, 3 years of no physical education will not help children in middle school progress their physical development. I also think the Georgia requirements in high school for PE is also inadequate. I believe that being physically active is very important. With a growing number of obese children and teens constantly on the rise, it seems like requiring more than one semester of PE would make sense. Because so little time is spent in PE classes throughout school, it is important for the classes to be of good quality. I would consider a good quality PE class to be one that has a class size similar to academic classes, that includes activities that require movement from all the students for the majority of the class, that gives students plenty of practice time on the skill being taught, that has a positive environment, that is fun for all the students, that addresses all 3 learning domains (psychomotor, affective, and cognitive), that is taught by someone with a PE background, that has adequate equipment and facilities, and that results in a high level of success.


My evaluation of the importance of physical activity and physical education for children:
- PA/PE is particularly important for children because it is during this stage of development that attitudes are developed and can be influenced the most. PE requirements are more extensive (but still not adequate in my opinion) in elementary school than in middle or high school. This means that the most exposure to PE/PA in school will occur in childhood. Skill foundations are best formed during childhood. PA/PE is important for this because if skill foundations are not developed, participation in skilled activities later in life will likely decline. Children in elementary school are less self-conscious than those in middle or high school. This means that children are more likely to participate and try new things. Early exposure to physical activity during PE classes can influence later lifestyle choices. There are two different approaches to teaching PE classes: traditional approach and skill themed approach. The traditional approach focuses more on sports and games. It usually results in a low percentage of student activity and participation. A lot of time is spent on rules, instruction, and organization. More skilled students will most likely get more practice, and the less skilled students may be embarrassed when all eyes are on them. In a skill themed approach to teaching PE, there is an emphasis on skilled games and activities that allow a higher percentage of students to be active at a time. Skills are able to be practiced and improved more, and the opportunity for skill improvement is equal for all children. The less skilled students are not singled out, so they are more likely to enjoy participating in the activities.

PDFE #8

I worked with Katie for this in class lab experience. While learning how to tie a bowline knot, her performance followed the stages of learning very well. During trials 1-10, Katie moved from the verbal-cognitive stage to the motor stage. After the first 10 trials, she seemed to be at the autonomous stage of learning because she no longer had to pay her full attention to what she was doing and could talk or look away for a bit while tying the knot without slowing the knot-tying process. Katie stated that she is very much a visual learner, and that she does better with short, clear, and concise instructions. She was confused when reading the very descriptive directions for each step. During the first couple of tries, she could not complete the knot. She was displaying aspects of the verbal-cognitive stage of learning by using self-talk, spending a lot of time reading the directions, and spending time looking at the pictures of each stage. She said that the pictures were confusing too because she could not tell which part of the string was above another. She got frustrated with trying to understand the directions and pictures, so a visual demonstration on how to tie the knot was given to her. After the visual demonstration from the professor, Katie had no problem tying the knot. The first couple of knots that she tried on her own were of fair quality, but after some practice, she began consistently tying good quality knots fairly fast. The second half of the first 10 trials, she was displaying aspects of the motor learning stage by being more consistent with her success and movements. During the following trails after 10, it seemed like Katie was in the autonomous stage and had no problem tying the knot. After some amount of practice tying the knot using the same 5 steps, Katie tied the knot upside down with no problem on her first try. Tying the knot upside down took a little longer because she had to think about the steps again, but she was able to tie a good quality knot fairly quick without error because of she mastered tying the knot right side up.

PDFE #7

On the rankings for my personal ability inventory, I ranked myself at least a 3 on all abilities. I ranked myself lower on most of the physical proficiency abilities because I do not have very high relative strength in most areas compared to other people, and especially when being compared to a male. I ranked myself higher on the coordination abilities, and about average on the perceptual motor abilities. I only ranked myself as a 5 in 6 abilities: rate control, finger dexterity, arm-hand steadiness, motor timing, perceptual timing, and force control. I think that I rank at a fairly high level of proficiency in the following 5 sport, recreation, and work-related activities: untying a small knot, driving in traffic, kicking an accurate soccer pass to a moving player, playing pool, and carrying a tray of food or drinks. I chose to make an ideal ability profile for carrying a tray off food or drinks. Having a high level of proficiency in this skill would probably require strong abilities in the following: arm-hand steadiness, reaction time, manual dexterity, gross body coordination, perceptual timing, response orientation, and force control. The varying environment of a restaurant can demand strong abilities because a waitress is constantly moving around customers and other workers. When adding the aspect of carrying a heavy tray of food or a tray of several full drinks without lids, more ability demands arise. 2 ways a person with a non-ideal ability profile could be successful is to practice and to start out with smaller loads on the tray they are carrying. Even though overall abilities are believed to stay the same even with practice or experience, practice can help a person develop their abilities to their fullest potential. Starting with only two plates of food rather than four or with 3 drinks instead of 10 can allow someone to get the feel of balancing things on a tray and manipulating it in a moving environment. I think that my personal ability profile coordinates well with the ideal ability profile for carrying a tray of food or drinks that I created. This is only because of practice. I have worked in a restaurant for over 2 years, so carrying a tray full of food or drinks in a moving environment seems pretty easy. The only time I have trouble is when I am carrying several plates of food on a tray. Even though I ranked myself high in my balancing and coordination abilities, my arm and trunk strength is low. Developing more strength in my arms and trunk could enhance my proficiency at carrying a heavy tray of food.

PDFE #6

In this lab, we tested the individual differences in the ability to balance. Both static and dynamic balancing tasks were used to conduct the test. The goal of this lab was to show that a general motor ability does not exist. This argument is supported by making the inference that because there are individual differences in balancing abilities, there are individual differences in all motor abilities. These individual strengths and weaknesses in various abilities are influenced by various factors such as an individual’s personal experiences, heredity, and amount of exposure to a skill. Our group consisted of 6 students including myself, and everyone in the group participated in each test. The balancing tests performed include the stork stand, the diver’s stand, the heel stand, the sideward leap, the bass stepping-stone, and the book-balancing walk (3 static tests and 3 dynamic tests). For each of the tests conducted, there were different rankings of everyone in our group; however, there were 2 participants that consistently ranked in the top 3. These participants’ performance showed that they have more of an ability to balance than the other participants. The participant that had the greatest ability to balance out of our test group used to be a cheerleader, which proves that an individual’s personal experiences and exposure to certain activities can influence their various motor abilities. This lab was fun…it allowed each student to see where they stand in their ability to balance in comparison to other classmates. It was interesting to see first-hand how the factors and backgrounds associated with each student really did influence the individual differences in performance on the balance tests. I agree with the argument the lab was trying to prove, which was: there is a variation of individual strengths and weaknesses in the motor ability to balance, so there are variations of individual strengths and weaknesses in all motor abilities.

PDFE #4/5

(Part 1) For the first part of this PDFE assignment, I interviewed an Occupational Therapist named Ashlee that works at Infinity Children’s Services. I did the interview on Tuesday, October 5th. The questions and answers that were recorded in the interview are as follows:
1. What made you choose Occupational Therapy as a career? -I did an internship during my undergraduate studies where I followed a Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapist. I was not sure which type of therapy I wanted to study in graduate school, so after observing all of them, I decided that I enjoyed Occupational Therapy more than the others. I enjoyed it more because there seemed to be more activities you could do with the patient, and the time seemed to pass by faster when I was shadowing the OT.
2. Where did you go to school, and how long did it take to get through the program? -I went to Occupational Therapy school at the University of Tennessee at the Chattanooga campus. The program took about 2 years, and I graduated with a master’s degree.
3. Do you think that you made the right career choice? -I think so. I really enjoy what I do, and my job is very rewarding. I love working with kids, and to help these kids become more a more independent individual. Some of the kids were just slow learners, but most of the kids I work with are special needs children.
4. What is the best part of your job? -I think that the kids are the best part, but sometimes it can get kind of overwhelming. Having patience is a critical part of this job because without it, things could get frustrating. Some of these children have behavioral problems, so the problems with learning associated with their misbehavior is addressed during the therapy sessions.
5. What is the worst part of your job? I think that the worst part of the job is the paperwork. Insurance companies are constantly wanting something, and everything you do must be documented. If you get behind during the day with your paperwork, you have to stay late to finish which isn’t always fun.
6. What settings do you work in? -I work mainly in a clinical setting, but we do home visits too at Infinity. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I travel to patients’ homes to do therapy sessions. How much I travel depends on how many patients there are that need Occupational Therapy but do not have a way of getting to the clinic.
7. What made you want to work with kids? -I have always had a love for kids which influenced my choice. I also did a couple other internships and field experiences in both undergraduate and graduate school, so I got to see Occupational Therapy being practiced in different settings. Out of all the settings I experienced, pediatrics to me was by far the most fun and interesting one.
8. Do you see yourself working with a different population or in a different setting in the future? -I ended up specializing in pediatric OT, but when you pass the board exams, you are certified to work with any population in any setting. I don’t see myself changing my career to another population or setting, but it is nice to know that it is always an option.
9. What does your work week consist of (how many hours and days a week)? -I work about 40 hours a week Monday-Thursday. The work day begins at 8:30 and ends around 6:30. We see patients from 9-6, and the other time is spent preparing for the day and finishing up notes. I am at the clinic most of the time, but do home visits on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
10. Do you think that being an Occupational Therapist is a stressful job? -I wouldn’t consider it a very stressful job when you compare it to jobs like being a police officer or firefighter would be, but there are some levels of stress with any job. One of the most stressful things about my job is dealing with insurance companies. Insurance companies are constantly making changes to what they will cover, and are trying to cut back on the reimbursements for pediatric occupational therapy for children who have Medicaid. A lot of children that come to the clinic are children from low-income families, so most of them have insurance through Medicaid. They try to reduce the number of visits they will cover unless you can prove that the child will benefit from more therapy. This gets stressful because you see these children who all need help, but are sometimes not getting it because its not covered by insurance. Making sure you give the child what they need is sometimes an obstacle. The other aspect that is sometimes stressful is the kids. Although you know that some of these kids can’t control their tantrums, your patience is tested a lot when trying to calm them or give them a proper punishment for the tantrum.

(Part 2) The following is a reflection of the slide show entitled “Becoming Invaluable”:
This slide show was very informative about how to succeed in school, how to choose career, and how to get a job. Internships are very important because they allow you to gain experience in a career you are interested in pursuing . In the slide show, it was stressed that beginning this field experience early is important. Also, graduate schools often require internship or experience hours, so the more experience, the better. Being a multi-threat and a well-rounded person are favorable characteristics that graduate schools often look for in potential students. This is important because it explains how getting involved in multiple things…school organizations, community volunteering, being a scholarly student, etc…can help develop different life skills that will boost your chances of getting into graduate programs. Making goals that are challenging but reasonable is another good tip from the slide show. In 5 years, I want to be practicing pediatric occupational therapy. To help me achieve my goal and stay on track, I have made a plan of what I need to do. Planning to take the GRE, looking for Graduate Assistantships, keeping a strong GPA, and getting plenty of experience to increase competency of a certain subject are all things that should be included in a plan to attain the goal of getting into a graduate school. If attending graduate school is not for you, getting more experience hours and an increased competency is crucial in order to be a competitive candidate against those who chose to go to graduate school and get a master’s and/or doctoral degree. I didn’t know that sports careers were very competitive to get into…I would assume that for professional teams, a job would be pretty hard to land, but sport-related careers are competitive not only on the professional level but on all levels. Having a strong resume increases the likelihood of getting a desired job. Things that would be on a strong resume include outstanding grades, a lot of experience, multiple networking and professional development events, and high extracurricular and community involvement. No matter which career you look into, you should first ask yourself your desired salary, your expected quality of life, where you want to live, and what your willingness to move is. Researching multiple aspects of different career paths can help you find a job that you enjoy and that best fits your expectations.

PDFE #3

For this PDFE, I observed a soccer game for a team I used to play for in Dallas. Their game was this past Saturday. While the team was warming up, the best demonstration of reaction time I could think of would be when the goalie was getting ready. When she was preparing for the game, she had someone start to throw the ball in different directions while she got her reactions warmed up. Then she moved on to warm up in the big goal while the other team members practiced shooting. An example of Hick’s Law would be when a defender was caught by herself by two offenders. Her reaction time to get to the girl who was going to shoot was very slow because of the different things that could have happened. They could pass the ball back in forth, just dribble the ball in to shoot, shoot from far away, shoot from close up, etc. Because of all the different ways the play could go, the defender was uncertain how to act and was not able to react quick enough to help prevent a shot on goal. A psychological refractory period occurred when a player was dribbling the ball down the field and came to a defender. The girl with the ball faked one way but went the other. The defender had a slower reaction to the second movement because she had already been faked out once and maybe thought it would happen again. For spatial and temporal anticipation, an example would be when each half started. The girls who did not have the kick off knew exactly what to expect from the other team and when to expect it. They knew that as soon as the whistle blew, the girls who have the ball are going to kick off. Kicking off almost always begins the same way…two girls are in the center circle and one passes the ball to the other. Because the team that didn’t have the ball knew exactly which girl the ball was going to first, they could automatically run in that direction as soon as the whistle blew. It was fun visiting my old team, and they turned out having a great game winning with a score of 3-1.

PDFE #2

Context of Setting:
For this PDFE, I observed a swimming practice at the YMCA. The owner of Bella Roma has two kids in elementary school who attend regular swimming practices, so I thought it would be a neat experience to go watch them practice. Their practices are every evening during the week at 5:30. I do not think that the kids are required to attend every practice during the week to be part of the team, but they are expected to come at least twice a week.

One Dimension System:
Loco-motor movements were the main actions made when swimming. The whole body is used in order to travel from one side of the pool to another. There was no object manipulation in their swimming practice, so there were no movements associated with manipulation. There were a few stability exercises when the kids were practicing to dive, but other than that, no balancing or stability movements were observed. While swimming, the kids were using their whole body to propel themselves through the water, so all gross muscle groups were used. However, I would say that the large muscles in the arms in legs were doing the majority of the work. There were also some fine motor movement skills that the kids were practicing while swimming. During the breast stroke, there was some fine motor manipulation of their hands to help them get further with each stroke. During diving, the smaller muscles in their feet were used to balance on their toes before diving into the pool. Swimming would be considered a continuous task because there is no definite beginning or end to the motions. I would say that swimming requires more of an emphasis on motor skills rather than cognitive skills. However, since the children are at such a young age, they may be thinking about their technique more so than an experienced swimmer would. The swimming practice was held in an indoor pool, so the environment predictability is closed. There is a defined distance from one edge of the pool to the other with no sudden changes in their surrounding taking place.

Two Dimension Systems:
1. Carrying a tray of food across a restaurant: Body Transport, Object Manipulation, Environment Variation (with all the people moving through the restaurant), No Context Variation.
2. Belly Dancing – Body Transport (Body is moving while dancing), Object Manipulation (most dancers have something in their hand while they dance as a prop) , No Environment Variation, No Context Variation.
3. Typing on a Computer: Body Stationary, Object Manipulation, No Environment Variation, No Context Variation.
4. Singing in the Shower: Body Stationary, No Object Manipulation, No Environment Variation, No Context Variation.

PDFE #1

For my first Field Development Experience, I visited my high school to observe their cross country practice. I went to Paulding County High School, where I ran cross country for 4 years, so I thought it would be interesting to see how the team is doing. The coach said that most of the runners were fairly new…sophomores and freshman, with a few upperclassmen. The team was doing speed work the day I visited, so they were working out on the track. It has been a very hot and humid summer, so I was interested to see how the younger runners would cope with the heat.
Anytime you are doing a physical activity in the heat like the runners were, there are always going to be health risks like dehydration, heat exhaustion, etc. The only thing the coach could really do to be prepared for an emergency due to the intense heat would be to ask the runners to drink a lot of water throughout the school day, and have a trainer there in case an emergency was to occur. He also said that on days where they are running out in the woods, he has them run in pairs so that if something was to happen, the partner could run to get help. I think that all the runners, especially the younger ones, are enhancing their movement skills. When you do speed work activities, it tests your running techniques even more so than distance activities do because the runners are used to distance, not necessarily faster paced running for shorter distances. The mileage is the same as if they were doing a long run, but it was broken up into timed laps on the track. The students are actively engaged in the activity, and the activities are developmentally appropriate for the high school students because the mileage is low…not near what it would be on a college level. They are only running about 30 miles a week compared to the 60 that most college students run a week. The coach also did a good job modifying the activities for the runners he knew needed a little help. I would have made the same modifications that the coach made by having the less experienced runners do less mileage than the older runners until they got used to running longer distances. As far as enjoying the activity goes, cross country is a voluntary sport. No runner is forced to come out for the team, so I would say that they all enjoy being a part of a team and running every afternoon. But, on days like the one I came to observe, you could see the exhaustion in some of the runners faces which doesn’t necessarily look enjoyable. I really enjoyed going to see my old coach and seeing how the team was doing. I think that they are going to have a very good season, and a great next couple of years because all the young runners are going to have plenty of time to improve.

About me...

My name is Jenny.  I was born and raised in Georgia.  Since I have been at Berry, I met and got married to my wonderful husband, Ackley, who is a Corporal in the Marine Corps.  It has been very hard to be apart from one another with me being in Rome and him being in Jacksonville, NC, but we do make the most of it and see each other every chance we get!  He just got back from a 9 month tour in Afghanistan, so I am very thankful that he made it home safe and is back on US soil!  We just got a miniature pinscher puppy, and we named her Harley because my dad was in love with motorcycles.  She is staying in North Carolina with Ackley to help keep him company while we are apart, and I miss both of them very much.  I am a bartender at Bella Roma Grill, and I have been working with Bella Roma for the past 2 years to help pay my way through school.

I am a senior Exercise Science major and Psychology minor.  I am applying to graduate schools this semester to hopefully get into either a Doctorate or Masters Degree program for Occupational Therapy.  After going to OT school, I want to work primarily with children.  I have done 2 internships in the past.  The first internship I completed was 2 summers ago at a place in North Carolina called Jacksonville Physical Therapy.  This was an orthopedic clinic that I volunteered at for the first half of the summer then got hired as a technician for the second half.  After that experience, I realized that maybe physical therapy wasn’t for me…or at least physical therapy with adults wasn’t.  It was not hands-on enough and seemed too impersonal as far as the patient-PT relationship goes.  My last internship was this past summer at Infinity Children’s Services in Rome.  I absolutely loved it!  I got to sit in on Speech, Occupational, and Physical therapy sessions with the kids, and by the end, I decided that Occupational Therapy was a better fit for me than PT.  To me, OT just had more options on what the therapy activities could consist of and was entertaining for both the patient and the therapist throughout the whole session.  At Infinity, the children are primarily part of the special needs population, and it was a great experience to meet and build relationships with the kids. 

Welcome to my blog for Motor Learning.
This is a link to the course website:  http://kin330.blogspot.com/