Home

Philosophy of Teaching | Coaching Philosophy | Cover Letter | My Resume | Unit Plan | Lesson Plans | Respecting Physical Education | History of Physical Education | Important Abstracts | Children in Sports | Service Learning Program | Contact Me
Todd Wilson
Service Learning Program

Learning outside of the classroom is in many ways, as important as learning inside the classroom. Venturing out into the community allows students to learn from people of all ages. People of different ages will be going through different stages of their lives and can remind students of learning experiences in the past, and teach students of the things they can look forward to in the future. The experiences in a community that an individual may have the opportunity to take advantage of, can oftentimes be a learning experience that is remembered forever.

When I acquire a job teaching physical education, I plan on implementing a "service learning" program that I have designed that will allow my students to take what they have learned in my class, and teach it to a physical education class at a local elementary school. After completing a basketball unit and stressing the importance of fundamentals such as ball handling, passing, shooting, and teamwork, my students will teach a small basketball unit to younger children.

Each day, for approximately one week, my students will make the short journey to a nearby elementary school and teach the younger students the fundamentals of the game of basketball. My class will be broken up into small groups which will each be assigned to a small group of elementary students. Once in their groups, my students will start off by teaching the basic rules of basketball; not that the rules will be completely enforced, but it is still a good idea to cover them. Each group will now begin teaching the basic ball handling skills with the right hand and then with the left hand. Following ball handling, the class will move on to passing. Stationary passing will start us off, then the children will attempt to pass while running, and finally, the children will attempt to pass off the dribble. After passing has been sufficiently practiced, my students will teach the basics of shooting. They will start off shooting close to the basket, and as the children improve, they will slowly move further away from the basket. Each skill will begin with an explanation of its importance and how it can be used during a game.

At the end of the week, each group of students will compete against the other groups with my students doing the coaching and officiating. Doing this will allow the younger students to put to use all of the skills they have been taught, and also give my students a chance to observe what kind of job they have done. This "service learning" project will not only give the elementary students an opportunity to spend time with people they admire, but it will give my students a chance to think back to when they were that age. My students will be able to see the changes they have make in their lives and also appreciate the teachers they have back at their school.