Hard Work Pays Off
By: James Perry
In the summer of 2009, I decided to begin a journey that I knew very little about. I had finished my third year of teaching and I realized my time was running out to start continuing my education to meet the state requirements for the teaching profession. I figured that my best way to pursue my master’s degree was through an online program because I coached basketball during most of the school year and throughout the summer. After researching my options, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to continue my education through Michigan State University, the same place I received my Bachelor’s degree in education. I got a sense of what I wanted to get out of the MAED online master’s program when writing my professional goal statement to the university. My goal was to learn. I knew that even though I felt well prepared as a beginning teacher, there was room for me to grow and to improve my teaching abilities. Not only was I going to be given the opportunity to take classes to improve as a teacher, but my concentration area would allow me to learn how to better myself as a coach as well.
I knew from a young age that I wanted to become a teacher and a coach. I think the main reason was because of the positive experiences I had with certain teachers and coaches throughout my childhood. Once I came to the realization that I was not headed to the NBA or NFL, I began to take a serious look at possible career paths. I thought that teaching and coaching are two very rewarding professions and I had a lot of knowledge that I could give back to others. I was able to pursue my dream job as I graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in education. As a current physical education teacher and basketball coach, I understand the importance of keeping up with the best current practices and learning new ideas to implement in the classroom of gymnasium. That is why I chose to pursue my master’s degree through the MSU MAED online program and here is my story on how I achieved my goal.
One intriguing aspect of the MAED program was the many options that were given to complete the requirements of the program. There were only a couple of mandatory courses that everyone takes and the rest you were given a choice as to what fits your needs best. I decided to choose a concentration area that would help me improve as a teacher and coach so I went with “Sport Leadership and Coaching”. I also had the opportunity to enroll in a couple of elective courses so I chose a course in classroom discipline and a class that fulfilled the state reading requirement. I could go on and on about all of the courses that I engaged in throughout my master’s program but I will focus specifically on a few that I thought taught me the most about improving as a teacher and a coach and also about myself as a learner.
The physical, mental, and social development of youth is an area I focus on as a physical education teacher and a basketball coach. I took a course called Promoting Positive Development of Youth in Sport (KIN 857) in the fall of 2010 that concentrated on the best ways to deal with kids and athletics. The class was well run and it required us to read two texts, both of which I felt had a positive impact on my views about interacting with youth and sports. The first book, “Game On”, gave me some perspective about what is happening in youth sports in America and around the world. The author put an emphasis on how modern youth sports has become hyper organized and deadly serious. The other text we had to read was called “True Competition”. This book allowed me to learn the differences between positive and negative competition, and how to implement change in my program, team, and practices. Both of these books gave me new ideas about positively developing youth in sports.
KIN 857 taught me that the way I present myself as a coach has a major influence on the youth that I work with. A coach plays many roles in an athlete’s life such as a leader, mentor, role model, teacher, and friend. The influence a coach has on an athlete can have an effect on that person’s life, similar to my experience where my past coaches and teachers helped sway me to my current profession. If I had more negative experiences then maybe I would not have chose the career path that I did. Some of the main points I take away from this course to help me in my profession is that by having qualified staff members, teaching the necessary skills, following best research practices, and creating a safe and positive environment, my basketball program will help encourage youth to be physically active and participate in after-school sports such as the game of basketball.
Another course that had special meaning to me was The Physical Bases of Coaching (KIN 856). This course brought back memories from my undergraduate kinesiology courses at MSU. KIN 856 centered on the physical traits and movements of physical activity. I had to think back to my anatomy and biomechanics courses in order to succeed in KIN 856. One thing that I really found useful from this course was an assignment in which we were to construct a workout program that was specific to the sport that we coached. I enjoyed learning about and working on this particular assignment because as a beginning varsity girls basketball coach, I wanted to implement a weight-training program for my team. The book and online resources for the course did a nice job of highlighting the correct and incorrect ways to perform certain lifts or exercises. A term that I had not heard since my undergraduate courses that came up a lot was “contraindicated exercises or movements”. This means movement that is not recommended because it is potentially dangerous. I took special notice of this when creating my workout plan for my team because I did not want to put their bodies in danger of getting hurt.
The Physical Bases of Coaching was informative in teaching me proper prevention, care, and rehabilitation of injuries. I had to do research about different types of injuries by using online journals and summarizing what I had learned. It was beneficial for me to learn about these injuries because many of them I may witness in physical education class or during basketball practices or games. Some injuries I learned about involved the ankle, knee, shoulder, wrist, back, and head. Learning about head injuries was interesting because of the importance college and professional sports are beginning to place on these types of injuries. Players that suffer concussions or concussion-like symptoms are monitored more closely now and players are being held out longer to fully recover from the injury as to not impose further damage. In my MHSAA rules meeting for girl’s basketball, one of the areas of emphasis was head injury. Players were not to be let back in the game if signs of concussion were present. They are not allowed to return back to basketball until being cleared by a doctor. KIN 856 was a challenging course but made me take a close look at the physical nature of my coaching.
The next course that had particular impact on my learning in the MAED program was CEP 883, Psychology of Classroom Discipline. This course switches gears from the coaching/youth sports courses that I mentioned above. When choosing this course as an elective, my thought was that the more I can improve my classroom management, the more effectively I can teach my students and the more information I can pass along to them. I was not real sure what to expect in how much this course would help me since I teach in a large gymnasium. I was able to modify some of the ideas and techniques they gave in the online resources and course text to fit my setting. CEP 883 gave me methods to increase student motivation and to foster positive social student behavior. The book gave the formula to motivate students as “motivation = expectation x value x climate”. This meaning that all three components have to be present to motivate that student who needs more of a push than others. This made sense to me and I was able to apply it to my physical education teaching to motivate my students. I make sure to make my expectations clear to the class whether at the beginning of the year, start of a unit, or just the start of a class period. I try to give them an understanding of the value behind what we are trying to accomplish and how it has an effect on their life now and in the future. Participation in physical activity is a good way to teach value because I can tell them the importance it has for them now in terms of being physically fit or becoming skilled in a school sport as well as value for being healthy later in life. The climate has to be appropriate for the child to be highly motivated too. Some students need a more controlled atmosphere with specific instruction and routines in order to perform at the highest level.
The classroom discipline course also taught me both why and how behavior problems exist and discussed specific methods for use in the classroom to help me become an effective problem solver. There were many reasons for behavior problems in the classroom and some that really stuck out to me were: proximity of student to teacher, lack of understanding material being taught, lack of intrinsic value, problems at home, etc. I could see where each of these reasons could lead to poor behavior in the classroom, but the one that worried me most was “problems at home”. This caught my attention because I felt that the other problem areas were easy to see or in my control whereas a lot of times the teacher does not have a great idea of what is going on outside of school with a student. The student may be dealing with parents going through a divorce, abuse at home, lack of attention, etc. The online resources and the text gave some valuable ideas of how to deal with a student who has issues at home. It mentioned setting up a conference with parent/student/teacher to discuss expectations and to make sure everyone is on the same page. It gave the idea of having the student sit near or work with a student who is friendly and helpful and can be a positive influence on the troubled student. The text also suggested having the student meet with the school counselor or social worker to aid in helping the student control its issues outside of the classroom. This course has helped me in managing my classes in the gym as well as handling discipline problems when they occur.
Finally, I will discuss the effect completing an “online” master’s program has had on me as a teacher and an individual. Coming into the ED 870 Capstone course, I would categorize my computer technology knowledge as beginner. I was familiar with Microsoft programs and using the MSU ANGEL site, but did not have much prior experience building a web page. When I discovered that the main project in this class was to create an online portfolio, I was sweating it a bit. It made me feel a little better when talking to my group members and they expressed they were in a similar situation as myself when talking about computer technology and creating websites. It also calmed the nerves when I saw how involved the professor and teaching assistants were in the course. Viewing the weekly “instructor chats” and receiving emails on a regular basis showed me that the instructors in charge of the ED 870 course were there to help and wanted the students to succeed as long as the effort was made by the student.
I was pleased to see that technology has come a long way, as I had attempted to create an online portfolio during my student teaching year, but had little success as it was very confusing and over my head. I was able to find a web-building tool that worked for me in “Weebly” that I thought was very user friendly and allowed me the option to be creative when designing my portfolio. I feel fairly confident in creating a web page after experiencing this course and am looking forward to seeing the finished product of my online portfolio. I have good intentions of creating another web page or modifying my current one to gear it more towards my teaching physical education and coaching basketball.
The Capstone course has not only allowed me the opportunity to learn how to create a web page but it also gave me the chance to reflect on my MAED program and how I got to where I am now. The goal statement reflection helped me realize what I wanted out of the MAED program and what I got out of the program. The synthesis essay tied together my experience as a whole and made me think of all the great strategies, techniques, and ideas, etc. that I gained by completing these courses. The future as a learner essay reminded me that I am not done with my learning as a teacher and coach and that I can always improve because technology changes, students learning changes, and the best ways to teach change as time goes by and research continues. I am proud that I was able to complete the MAED online program though Michigan State University and I am happy to say that “hard work pays off” as I feel that I am now a better teacher and coach because of the courses I went through, even though they were not always easy and very time consuming!
I knew from a young age that I wanted to become a teacher and a coach. I think the main reason was because of the positive experiences I had with certain teachers and coaches throughout my childhood. Once I came to the realization that I was not headed to the NBA or NFL, I began to take a serious look at possible career paths. I thought that teaching and coaching are two very rewarding professions and I had a lot of knowledge that I could give back to others. I was able to pursue my dream job as I graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in education. As a current physical education teacher and basketball coach, I understand the importance of keeping up with the best current practices and learning new ideas to implement in the classroom of gymnasium. That is why I chose to pursue my master’s degree through the MSU MAED online program and here is my story on how I achieved my goal.
One intriguing aspect of the MAED program was the many options that were given to complete the requirements of the program. There were only a couple of mandatory courses that everyone takes and the rest you were given a choice as to what fits your needs best. I decided to choose a concentration area that would help me improve as a teacher and coach so I went with “Sport Leadership and Coaching”. I also had the opportunity to enroll in a couple of elective courses so I chose a course in classroom discipline and a class that fulfilled the state reading requirement. I could go on and on about all of the courses that I engaged in throughout my master’s program but I will focus specifically on a few that I thought taught me the most about improving as a teacher and a coach and also about myself as a learner.
The physical, mental, and social development of youth is an area I focus on as a physical education teacher and a basketball coach. I took a course called Promoting Positive Development of Youth in Sport (KIN 857) in the fall of 2010 that concentrated on the best ways to deal with kids and athletics. The class was well run and it required us to read two texts, both of which I felt had a positive impact on my views about interacting with youth and sports. The first book, “Game On”, gave me some perspective about what is happening in youth sports in America and around the world. The author put an emphasis on how modern youth sports has become hyper organized and deadly serious. The other text we had to read was called “True Competition”. This book allowed me to learn the differences between positive and negative competition, and how to implement change in my program, team, and practices. Both of these books gave me new ideas about positively developing youth in sports.
KIN 857 taught me that the way I present myself as a coach has a major influence on the youth that I work with. A coach plays many roles in an athlete’s life such as a leader, mentor, role model, teacher, and friend. The influence a coach has on an athlete can have an effect on that person’s life, similar to my experience where my past coaches and teachers helped sway me to my current profession. If I had more negative experiences then maybe I would not have chose the career path that I did. Some of the main points I take away from this course to help me in my profession is that by having qualified staff members, teaching the necessary skills, following best research practices, and creating a safe and positive environment, my basketball program will help encourage youth to be physically active and participate in after-school sports such as the game of basketball.
Another course that had special meaning to me was The Physical Bases of Coaching (KIN 856). This course brought back memories from my undergraduate kinesiology courses at MSU. KIN 856 centered on the physical traits and movements of physical activity. I had to think back to my anatomy and biomechanics courses in order to succeed in KIN 856. One thing that I really found useful from this course was an assignment in which we were to construct a workout program that was specific to the sport that we coached. I enjoyed learning about and working on this particular assignment because as a beginning varsity girls basketball coach, I wanted to implement a weight-training program for my team. The book and online resources for the course did a nice job of highlighting the correct and incorrect ways to perform certain lifts or exercises. A term that I had not heard since my undergraduate courses that came up a lot was “contraindicated exercises or movements”. This means movement that is not recommended because it is potentially dangerous. I took special notice of this when creating my workout plan for my team because I did not want to put their bodies in danger of getting hurt.
The Physical Bases of Coaching was informative in teaching me proper prevention, care, and rehabilitation of injuries. I had to do research about different types of injuries by using online journals and summarizing what I had learned. It was beneficial for me to learn about these injuries because many of them I may witness in physical education class or during basketball practices or games. Some injuries I learned about involved the ankle, knee, shoulder, wrist, back, and head. Learning about head injuries was interesting because of the importance college and professional sports are beginning to place on these types of injuries. Players that suffer concussions or concussion-like symptoms are monitored more closely now and players are being held out longer to fully recover from the injury as to not impose further damage. In my MHSAA rules meeting for girl’s basketball, one of the areas of emphasis was head injury. Players were not to be let back in the game if signs of concussion were present. They are not allowed to return back to basketball until being cleared by a doctor. KIN 856 was a challenging course but made me take a close look at the physical nature of my coaching.
The next course that had particular impact on my learning in the MAED program was CEP 883, Psychology of Classroom Discipline. This course switches gears from the coaching/youth sports courses that I mentioned above. When choosing this course as an elective, my thought was that the more I can improve my classroom management, the more effectively I can teach my students and the more information I can pass along to them. I was not real sure what to expect in how much this course would help me since I teach in a large gymnasium. I was able to modify some of the ideas and techniques they gave in the online resources and course text to fit my setting. CEP 883 gave me methods to increase student motivation and to foster positive social student behavior. The book gave the formula to motivate students as “motivation = expectation x value x climate”. This meaning that all three components have to be present to motivate that student who needs more of a push than others. This made sense to me and I was able to apply it to my physical education teaching to motivate my students. I make sure to make my expectations clear to the class whether at the beginning of the year, start of a unit, or just the start of a class period. I try to give them an understanding of the value behind what we are trying to accomplish and how it has an effect on their life now and in the future. Participation in physical activity is a good way to teach value because I can tell them the importance it has for them now in terms of being physically fit or becoming skilled in a school sport as well as value for being healthy later in life. The climate has to be appropriate for the child to be highly motivated too. Some students need a more controlled atmosphere with specific instruction and routines in order to perform at the highest level.
The classroom discipline course also taught me both why and how behavior problems exist and discussed specific methods for use in the classroom to help me become an effective problem solver. There were many reasons for behavior problems in the classroom and some that really stuck out to me were: proximity of student to teacher, lack of understanding material being taught, lack of intrinsic value, problems at home, etc. I could see where each of these reasons could lead to poor behavior in the classroom, but the one that worried me most was “problems at home”. This caught my attention because I felt that the other problem areas were easy to see or in my control whereas a lot of times the teacher does not have a great idea of what is going on outside of school with a student. The student may be dealing with parents going through a divorce, abuse at home, lack of attention, etc. The online resources and the text gave some valuable ideas of how to deal with a student who has issues at home. It mentioned setting up a conference with parent/student/teacher to discuss expectations and to make sure everyone is on the same page. It gave the idea of having the student sit near or work with a student who is friendly and helpful and can be a positive influence on the troubled student. The text also suggested having the student meet with the school counselor or social worker to aid in helping the student control its issues outside of the classroom. This course has helped me in managing my classes in the gym as well as handling discipline problems when they occur.
Finally, I will discuss the effect completing an “online” master’s program has had on me as a teacher and an individual. Coming into the ED 870 Capstone course, I would categorize my computer technology knowledge as beginner. I was familiar with Microsoft programs and using the MSU ANGEL site, but did not have much prior experience building a web page. When I discovered that the main project in this class was to create an online portfolio, I was sweating it a bit. It made me feel a little better when talking to my group members and they expressed they were in a similar situation as myself when talking about computer technology and creating websites. It also calmed the nerves when I saw how involved the professor and teaching assistants were in the course. Viewing the weekly “instructor chats” and receiving emails on a regular basis showed me that the instructors in charge of the ED 870 course were there to help and wanted the students to succeed as long as the effort was made by the student.
I was pleased to see that technology has come a long way, as I had attempted to create an online portfolio during my student teaching year, but had little success as it was very confusing and over my head. I was able to find a web-building tool that worked for me in “Weebly” that I thought was very user friendly and allowed me the option to be creative when designing my portfolio. I feel fairly confident in creating a web page after experiencing this course and am looking forward to seeing the finished product of my online portfolio. I have good intentions of creating another web page or modifying my current one to gear it more towards my teaching physical education and coaching basketball.
The Capstone course has not only allowed me the opportunity to learn how to create a web page but it also gave me the chance to reflect on my MAED program and how I got to where I am now. The goal statement reflection helped me realize what I wanted out of the MAED program and what I got out of the program. The synthesis essay tied together my experience as a whole and made me think of all the great strategies, techniques, and ideas, etc. that I gained by completing these courses. The future as a learner essay reminded me that I am not done with my learning as a teacher and coach and that I can always improve because technology changes, students learning changes, and the best ways to teach change as time goes by and research continues. I am proud that I was able to complete the MAED online program though Michigan State University and I am happy to say that “hard work pays off” as I feel that I am now a better teacher and coach because of the courses I went through, even though they were not always easy and very time consuming!
