Monday, September 20, 2010
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.
Friday, September 10, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, September 3, 2010
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.
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.
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