Teacher Interview

Link to Teacher Interview:  https://youtu.be/pb0kXFKKc24

I interviewed Ryan Van Alst, a physical education teacher at St Joseph Catholic School in Lockport, IL.  Ryan has been a PE teacher for 14 years.  I originally met Ryan when we were both recently training for the Chicago Marathon in the same running group this past summer. 

 Prior to every different unit and activity that he teaches, Ryan will first talk about the history of the sport and give students handouts to do at home.  Before they go to the gym, they go to the classroom so they can visualize what they are going to do before they physically do it.  This maximizes what they will be able to do in the gym and encourages students to do their best at each activity along the way.  Another key is to learn the level that each individual student is at and help to push them accordingly to do their best.  Each student moves at a different rate and we must notice the different levels of learning in order to better educate all students.  We should make every effort to help students who learn at a slower level or just are not as good at certain gym activities feel part of the group.  As discussed in the Woolfolk text, promoting a caring relationship with our students and creating a classroom community are positive steps towards preventing management problems (p. 504).

The three overall rules that Ryan describes for his classroom are having good sportsmanship and respect for other students, following the rules, and participation and giving 100% whether it is during the warmup or the given activity for the day.  He also notes that as teachers at times we must improvise by, for example, bringing in our own equipment for certain activities. There are only certain tools that are given as a teacher and at times we will have to bring certain things from the outside to boost the overall learning experience. For example, bringing plastic bottles to use as bowling pins, music to enhance certain activities, etc.

He also talks about stations and the use of small groups as being the key to managing kids and keeping an organized classroom.  It is essential to know the students on a personal level and know which ones are disruptive and not group those kids together.  We must group kids together so they can learn from each other in a way that will maximize teamwork and teach the kids to work together and know which students to put in which groups. This correlates to the idea presented in the Woolfolk text that “the ideal way to manage problems, is to prevent them in the first place” (p. 502).  As they say, prevention is the best medicine and knowing which students to place in which groups can help to better manage the classroom and prevent classroom disruption.  By having smaller groups, he can also maximize classroom participation by allowing more opportunities for students to be involved and less down time in the classroom.  As a teacher, I will always focus on learning from the moment one comes into the classroom to the moment they leave.  As discussed in the Woolfolk text, the basic management task for teachers is “gaining and maintaining student cooperation in class activities” (p. 490).  All students should be doing something during a lesson and be engaged in learning.

With regard to punishment and rewards, discipline in the classroom is first done on an individual basis.  Ryan will try to handle a situation with a student individually on the side before involving parents.  If the situation is unable to be contained, he will contact parents and/or the principal.  Each situation is unique and depending on the result of an initial confrontation, further action will be taken accordingly with the goal in mind of preventing minor disruptions from becoming major.  He also uses a reward system in the classroom by using points based on participation, which encourages the students to take a more active role in the classroom.  As a PE teacher, a large percentage of the student’s grade is dependent on participation and the points they acquire.  Another reward used is the potential to be the classroom stretch leader at the beginning of each class during warmup, which a lot of students enjoy doing.  In my classroom, I can see myself using a similar reward system.  As described in the Woolfolk text, praise should be “sincere recognition of a well-defined behavior so students understand what they did to warrant recognition” (p. 263).  I believe this to be true and will always ensure that with any praise and reward given, the students have followed through on their work and showed good sportsmanship and teamwork in order to receive the reward.  As a teacher, praise should focus on the student’s efforts, accomplishments, and actions, especially when the actions help others (Woolfolk, p. 264).