I got back from Oklahoma City this weekend, and I just wanted to thank all the coaches from Region 3 who attended my sessions. It was a pretty small congress, but it was great to see you guys who were there. I would love to hear from you, here on the blog, so we can keep the discussion going! Thanks again for attending my lectures! Give me a holler!
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Coaching to the Learning Styles
Beth Gardner
Heart of Texas Gymnastics
In his book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intellignences, Dr. Howard Gardner addresses the different ways we learn as individuals. Each of us learns in various ways, with a blending of learning styles, but we are each prone to learning best when given specific cues that suit our individual brain patterns.
In this session we will discuss the various learning styles and how to effectively use them to better coach our classes. From creating lesson plans to interacting with the children in groups or individually, the use of cues, which address the various learning styles, make classes far more effective. We will address seven learning styles, how to use them to our advantage and how to identify to which cues a child might best respond.
Gender Differences When working with classes heavily weighted with one gender or the other, it is helpful to give cues that are most likely to reach the greatest number of students within that class.
Age Considerations
Understanding the Seven Learning Styles:
Feelings, Nothing More than Feelings: The Kinesthetic Learning Style
Do You Hear Me Now?: The Auditory Learning Style
Monkey See, Monkey Do: The Visual Spatial Learner
Easy as 1,2,3: The Logical Mathematical Learning Style
You’ve Got a Friend: The Interpersonal Learning Style
Get Outta my Space, I’m Intrapersonal
Nanny Nanny Boo-Boo and the Musical Learner
Hints for Identifying Learning Styles The observant teacher can pick up hints from each child as to which learning style suits him or her best. We will talk about simple clues to watch for in order to better communicate with each child.
The Pitfalls of Our Own Learning Styles Not only do we need to be alert to our students’ learning styles, but we also need to be careful that we do not make assumptions based upon our own learning styles.
Incorporating the Learning Styles into Lesson Plans Once a lesson plan is developed, it is a good idea to review each rotation and consider if cues for each learning style have been incorporated into the lesson plan.
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Preschool Safety
Beth Gardner, Heart of Texas Gymnastics
materials available at gymsmarts.com
blog at gymsmartscommunity.com
Preschool children present their own set of criteria within the gym environment. The differences do not stop at those skills which we teach preschoolers and how we teach them. Rather, they include the safety issues of which we should be aware.
Safety warnings
verbal not written
repeated often
Safety games
Three purposes to a good warm-up.
Hold times
Ballistic vs. Dynamic
Keeping the spine straight and eliminating unnecessary torque
Knees / Splits
Class Ratios
Field of Vision
Obstacle course layout
Diminishing Distractions
Consistent Cues
Articles and Safety Information
Keeping the Parents Engaged in Parent/Tot Classes
Safe Spotting
Passive Heimlich
Bars Safety
Industry Standards
Small Hands
Inversion
Age for hanging unsupported
Skin the Cat
Beam Safety
Industry Standards
Nursemaid’s Elbow
Floor beams vs High beam
Double bouncing
One child per tramp
Nursemaid’s Elbow
Spondolysis / Spondylolisthesis
Physiology of the Preschooler
Strength
Lack of flexibility within the shoulders
Alternative stretches
Down’s Syndrome / cervical neck x-ray
Safety rules apply to special needs kids too
Floater coaches
Posted in Lecture Notes, Preschool Safety, special needs | Tagged Congress Lecture notes, gymnastics, Preschool Safety | No Comments »