Standard 4 Component: 4.a Demonstrate verbal and nonverbal communication skills that convey respect and sensitivity across all learning experiences Artifact: Letter home to the parents Date: Spring 2018 Reflection: My ability to demonstrate nonverbal and verbal communication skills was assessed during PED 356 Adapted Physical Education and Sport. In this class I wrote a letter home to the parents/guardians of my specialized student. The letter included feedback on how my student was progressing in our weekly sessions and what I thought was best for my student going forward. The letter to the parents relates to component 4.a in different areas of communication skills. The letter exemplifies my respect toward the privacy of the student and family and my sensitivity about the progression of the student. Demonstrating different kinds of communication skills is important as a physical educator because we are going to have to communicate to parents and students every day of our lives. Some parents will react positive to a letter home rather than a face to face talk. Some students will react positive in one situation and negative in another. As physical educators we need to be able to adapt to any situation that is present and make that situation turn positive.
Dear Parents of Student NAME , Over the last two and a half months NAME has been involved in the Sport & Splash events every Monday night from 6-‐8 pm. I’ve had the pleasure of teaching NAME at 6 o clock every week in the gymnasium. I have learned so much about NAME over these last couple months. In the first couple lessons I was nervous and NAME and I were just trying to get a feel for each other. Now we both look forward to every Monday night and show up excited to have fun. NAME was hesitant at first to do some of the activities I had planned, now I know which activities he likes and dislikes, so our hour together always goes by great. His patience and focus has increased throughout our time together. In the beginning of the year I was trying several different sports games with him to see which ones interested him. After some trial and error I figured out NAME just loves to talk about different kinds of animals and some of his favorite movies. So I then started to base my lessons off of his favorite characters or bugs and NAME has loved it ever since. Also what I realized with trying out the different sports games, NAME isn’t a huge fan of ball-‐related games such as basketball, soccer, football, etc. Every time I would have a catch or kick around a ball he would just want to inch closer and talk about what was on his mind. I loved talking to him but I had to find a way for him to exercise while doing things he loves. NAME always loves playing games like tag and hide and seek, and also loves “dragonfly running” as he likes to call it. So I decided to create my IEP goals for NAME about running and conditioning. I figured Jeremiah would love the outdoors because of his love for animals, so I think if I can strengthen his conditioning he could be able to start going on hikes and runs. On these hikes and runs he can stop and see some of the bugs that he loves talking about as well. I also have been working on some track and field events with him in case he might want to participate once he gets older. The progress in his running/conditioning has been great over the last month. NAME used to want to sit and talk after just one sprint or lap but now he keeps up with the pace I want him to follow. Sometimes he’s running longer than me and I have to stop to catch a breath now. His psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains have all been increased each time I see him. NAME can now come in on Monday and tell me some of the cues from the week before and also he’s been obedient and working well with other students. Sometimes he sees another student Chris sad on the other side of the court and he wants to go cheer him up every time. NAME also has been paying attention a lot more when I’m describing the task we are going to do. In the beginning of the year he would tend to shut the activity down but now he tries everything I ask him to do. Some of the activities that we’ve done over the last month on his IEP were running the bases, hopscotch, relay races, capture the flag, and more. We’ve also done some track and field activities such as running and throwing to a target like javelin, broad jump, long jump, hurdles, and more. The only modification I really added were boundary size of the activity, making sure we took breaks for water, and used smaller foam balls to throw. It was tough for NAME to get a grip on some of the bigger, harder, balls. The biggest addition to my lessons were my visual aids. I would recommend to any further teacher that visual aids work perfectly with NAME. I
print out several pictures each week of some of his favorite animals and movie characters and use them in our activities and NAME has a blast with it. Lastly I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with NAME. NAME and I have more fun every week and I’m disappointed it has to end. NAME is a great kid and has a great imagination. I hope the best of luck to him throughout his life. Sincerely Andrew McGuire